Have you heard the story of why Bob Huggins offered Jevon Carter a scholarship to West Virginia?

According to Huggins, he was at an AAU tournament in the summer of 2013. He walked in at 8 AM on a Sunday morning.

As he settled in, he saw a player playing relentless full court defense. He immediately fell in love. The rest is history.

Your Skill Work Won’t Matter If You’re Not Ready Mentally

Why was Jevon Carter able to do this? Certainly, some of it was physical ability. Some of it was mental toughness.

But there’s another part that every player can learn from.

He was ready to perform at his best at 8 AM on Sunday morning after playing all weekend.

Are you? Let’s remove the AAU tournament context. When you step on the court for practice, have you done the necessary things to put you in the best position to play to your potential? If not, you are squandering much of the hard work you are doing.

Here’s a couple ways to help ensure that doesn’t happen (while also making you happier and healthier at the same time).

How Sleep and Nutrition Are the Secrets to Elite Performance

Here are 2 ways you can immediately perform better. The great news is, you don’t have to step on a court or pick up a ball to do either. And they’ll even help you do better in school as well.

• Sleep more - are you sleeping enough? Probably not. I can’t tell you how many players I’ve coached over 20 years who come into practice looking exhausted.

Some are up late studying. More often, they are up playing Fortnite. If you care about your performance, that’s a no-no. (I’d even say that to the ones who are studying. I’d argue they’d be better off studying a little less and sleeping more!)

We all know how it feels to be tired. If you are not regularly getting 8+ hours of sleep, you are operating on a sleep deficit.

If you don’t believe me, listen to Lebron. He sleeps between 10-12 hours a day! Or, check out the Stanford sleep study where men’s basketball players who slept more ran faster and shot better than teammates who slept less.

Ultimately, this comes down to discipline. Put your phone away. Have a bedtime routine. Get some rest. If you do, you’ll have a leg up on the majority of players you play against - more energy & more focus.

• Eat well & hydrate - how’s your diet? If it’s like most players, it probably consists of extensive amounts of fast food. Garbage in, garbage out. How can you perform at your best when you are fueling yourself with bad foods? You can’t.

It’s why many pro athletes have their own personal chefs. Of course, that’s not realistic for most of you. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t make better choices.

Eating more protein. Including fruits and vegetables at every meal. Swapping out pop for water. If you just did that, you’d feel better and play better.

Do You Want The Pain Of Discipline Or The Pain Of Regret?

You do as much as you can to improve as a basketball player. You do shooting drills. You work on your ball handling. You work on your athleticism.

That is great. It is a necessary part of your improvement. However, to maximize your game, it’s not sufficient.

You must make sure you are rested and eating nutritious food. Is it easy to do those things? No, especially not at first. But it will get easier the more you commit to it.

And look at it this way. . . in 20 years, are you going to look back and say I wish I’d played more video games or I wish I’d done more to reach my potential as a player?

If you’re taking the time to read this article, I know the answer. Make sure the choices you’re making today are ones your future self would be proud of!

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