This week I took the test that I studied for relentlessly over eleven weeks. In this case, studying meant spending multiple hours every week working on specific parts of my game, working out in the gym, and analyzing film and data to improve future performances. I split the test up into multiple days.
Monday was the first day that I decided to start the test. I attemped fifty free throws, worked on the ball-handling drills, ran some 4-on-4 pick-up games, and did a plyometric workout. I made forty-three of the fifty free throws and only messed up 3 times during the 5 minute span of ball-handling drills. The next day was also spent at Rise playing 3-on-3 pick-up games and testing my mid-range pull-ups. I made eighteen out of twenty-five attempts and played amazing in the 3-on-3 games. Wednesday was different from Monday and Tuesday. I didn’t do any drills that applied to the test and played full court pick-up games for the majority of the time I was at the YMCA. The last hour was used in the gym to hit a leg workout. Luckily, I was able to get back on track Thursday. I tested my vertical jump and floaters on an outdoor court. I shot twenty for twenty-five on the floaters and my jump was measured around 33 inches. The next day was also a productive one since I tested another two parts of my game. I attempted 3-pointers and catch and shoot mid-ranges to finish the test. I connected on seventy percent of my three’s (thirty-five) out of fifty and thirty-seven out of fifty catch and shoot mid-ranges. After finishing my test and clearly noticing improvement in almost every piece of my game, I went into the weekend with the most confidence I’ve had in a while. This clearly translated to my performances in pick-up games because I scored a ton of points on Saturday and Sunday. The teams on Saturday included multiple juniors from Davie that play basketball and the teams on Sunday were composed of former and current college basketball players. I played great in the games on Saturday but it was nothing compared to my performance on Sunday. I made countless three’s and was scoring at will from multiple different spots on the court.
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After having tournaments for three weekends in a row, my Saturday and Sunday were freed up. This is why I focused on having the most fun possible while playing basketball this week instead of elaborately preparing for the weekend. I also practiced some drills to prepare me for the final test that’s supposed to show me if I improved or not.
I started Monday off with some king of the court and 5-on-5 games at the YMCA. My performances were mediocre. Although the players in the king of the court games were much older than me, I should’ve scored more points on them and played better defense. I played substandard in the 5-on-5 games also. I wasn’t a big factor in any of the games and only made a few shots in each game. Due to the tiredness I was feeling on Monday and the performance that resulted from it, I decided to rest Tuesday. I was back to practicing the next day at Rise. I played in 5-on-5 games and practiced some drills after. My performances in the 5-on-5 games were incredible. I scored the most points out of all players on both teams and scored them efficiently. The games were also competitive and eighty percent of the players were varsity or junior varsity players at Davie. The things that I worked on after the games were my mid-ranges and floaters. Thursday was spent running plays at practice for my AAU team as usual. I played at Rise the next day and scrimmaged against a group of players that looked like they were in their twenty’s. I was amazing in the scrimmage hitting at least 4 3’s and still involving my teammates in the game. I practiced multiple different moves and ball-handling after this. Even though most of the week was spent playing pick-up games, I managed to get in some really productive practice sessions over the weekend. I had a 2 hour session with a trainer that I’ve known since the sixth grade on Saturday and practiced 3-pointers, mid-range shots, and free throws at my favorite park on Sunday. After the tournament in week 9, I desired a bigger role on a team. I played on a team with all of my friends in a Winston-salem tournament because of this instead of playing with CVE, my AAU team. This meant that I had to be in amazing shape by the time Saturday rolled around since I would probably be playing the whole game multiple times. Conditioning and performance in pick-up games were the main things I decided to work on due to this.
As planned, I started my Monday out on the treadmill at the YMCA. After running for about 20 minutes, I played 4-on-4 games and king of the court. My performances were amazing in the games. I stopped a senior on the West Forsyth basketball team from scoring on me six times in a row and won almost every game I played. Tuesday was a productive practice session as well. I practiced some ball-handling workouts as soon as I stepped on the court and worked on my isolation game by playing in some 1-on-1 and king of the court games. I finished my day with 100 push-ups before getting in bed. I practiced at the YMCA again on Wednesday. I planned on running on the treadmill for a while before playing in games but the temptation of putting my basketball shoes on and calling for next got to me when I saw a full-court game going on. My performances throughout the games were remarkable. I was scoring with ease and efficiency almost every game even if someone much older or more physically developed than me guarded me. I slightly redeemed myself with a back and shoulder workout before the YMCA closed. I wasn’t able to do anything on Thursday since I could barely breath and found out that I had strep throat. Luckily, I was prescribed some drugs that quickly lessened the intense cough and difficulty of breathing that I had. I was able to go to Rise the next day because of this. I ran on the treadmill for about 25 minutes when I got there and did some plyometrics after. I attempted at least 250 3-pointers and 100 mid-range shots on the shooting machine after these workouts. Finally, Saturday arrived. I played decently in the three games and scored a total of 33 points. I knew I could’ve scored at least 45 points with the amount of shots that I took but I was satisfied with the fact that I even had a chance to attempt as many as I did. We also won the tournament and had a great time together in between the games. We ate at Panera, McDonald’s, and I hung out with two of my teammates after the games. The experience was awesome and won’t be forgotten. What I needed to work on this week was crystal clear after analyzing my performances in the last tournament I played in. I needed to take a step back from drills and play in games more often. My playstyle in the games last weekend seemed to have been rushed. I didn’t play at the pace I prefer to play at and I thought playing in more pick-up games would help me adjust better to that problem. I started my week off at Rise. I played in some pretty competitive games for the entire 2 and a half hours I spent there. The games started off as 3-on-3 games and led to 5-on-5 games after about 45 minutes. I played great in most of the games which should be impressive when considering the competition. The teams throughout the session consisted of multiple Davie junior varsity players, Davie varsity players, a varsity player that goes to Atkins, a Division 2 commit, and a trainer. Although I went to Rise the next day, the competition wasn’t nearly the same. I played 3-on-3 games and put up some shots while I was there. The people I played against in the pick-up games probably had the same skills of an average junior varsity player. Unlike the past 2 days, Wednesday and Thursday weren’t spent at Rise. I didn’t have access to a car after arriving home on Wednesday. This encouraged me to practice outside on my hoop. Thursday was spent at practice as usual. Luckily, I was able to return to Rise on Friday. I worked on a little bit of everything while practicing at game-speed to prepare me for the upcoming tournament. After this, I hit a bicep and shoulder workout to end the day. The tournament didn’t go how I expected it to. I played in 4 games and my team won 3 of them. Although that seems like something most people would be satisfied with, I wasn’t. The reason for this wasn’t because of the win to loss ratio, but because most of these games didn’t include me being used at the rate that I should've been. I only played about 10-12 minutes each game out of games that were 28 minutes long. Although I understood why my play time was diminished after playing poorly in the previous tournament, I didn’t think I would play the equivalent of a quarter and a half in the games. Despite this, I played amazing with the time I was given. I only took 8 shots out of 4 games and made 5 of them. This included a shooting percentage of seventy-five percent from 3-point range. I also turned the ball over just twice and played amazing defense. The takeaway from this week was to stay positive through difficult times and always give my best effort even if the situation isn’t favorable. The focus of this week was ball-handling. I’ve always been amazing at dribbling and shifting quickly while handling the ball to score or open up opportunities on the court which is why I was excited to practice more on this skill this week. I started my drills at the YMCA on Monday. The ball-handling drills that I practice usually take about 15 minutes. A few of the drills that are included in this time frame are between-the-leg, behind-the-back, figure eight, and in-and-out crossovers. After the ball-handling drills on Monday, I played some pick-up games and hit a plyometric workout. Although I still practiced my ball-handling skills on Tuesday, I did them at Rise. After the drills, I attempted some 3-pointers with some rebounding help from a friend. I didn’t workout either. Luckily, I was able to workout the next day. Unfortunately, I forgot to practice dribbling because of this. I played basketball for a few hours with some friends in pick-up games and then worked my chest and triceps out after. Thursday and Friday practices were similar to most others since they were spent at a team practice and included a light practice that aimed to prepare me for my upcoming tournaments. My practice session on Friday was spent at Rise. I practiced ball-handling once again and messed up less compared to when I practiced the drills on Monday. After the drills, I practiced game-like situations for about an hour and a half. Sadly, the drills that I practiced throughout the week didn’t seem to significantly impact my performances in the tournament. I played at the shooting guard position for most of the games and didn’t have the ball in my control as much as I would’ve liked to. Because of this, my main role was to be ready to shoot. My shot didn’t fall throughout all three games and I might’ve played the worst I’ve ever played. One of my favorite weeks throughout this project was most likely this one. This is because the main thing I worked on was 3-pointers. I have been the best 3-point shooter on almost every team I’ve ever been on and I take pride in my ability to efficiently make 3-pointers. I’ve always had high expectations of my ability to make 3’s which is why the start of this week didn’t put me in the greatest mood.
I started my week off at Rise like usual. I wasn’t very productive with my time at Rise since I was exhausted. The reason for this was because of my poor sleep schedule during Spring break. I was still able to record 75 3-point attempts and made 46 of them. Although this wasn’t a horrible shooting performance, I knew I could’ve easily made more than sixty-one percent of open 3-pointers. Luckily, Tuesday was much better. Although I didn’t track any data on my 3-point attempts, I still had a great time and felt like I improved at the YMCA. I ran 5-on-5 games, 2-on-2 games, and hit a leg workout. The 5-on-5 pick-up games were not too competitive, so I played pretty well, as expected. The 2-on-2 games were where I truly shined. I scored most of the points on my team even though I was playing with a starter on the state championship team for Private schools. The team that I beat included a West Forsyth senior on the basketball team and a junior collegiate player. After this, I hit a leg workout. This was probably my favorite basketball session of the week. The reason why I said probably, was because of Wednesday. I went to the YMCA again on Wednesday and went to the weight room, played in pick-up games, and attempted 75 3-pointers. I worked out my biceps and triceps in the weight room, played well in the games, and made 50 out of 75 3’s. My Thursday was spent at my team practice like it always is and I prepared for my weekend tournament on Friday by practicing game-speed moves and attempting 100 3-pointers. I was able to make 70 out of these 100 attempts. Both of these days were light intensity but I still felt like I made some progress. The tournament was held at the Greensboro Coliseum. I played a total of 3 games and we lost 2 of them. I scored 28 points throughout the tournament and had the best performance on the team overall.
The emphasis of this week was pick-up games. After performing poorly in the tournament last weekend, I decided I needed to practice in game situations more often. My Monday started like most others since I was going to Rise after school to play basketball again. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to play in any games since the hoops were raised for volleyball practice 30 minutes after I arrived. Luckily, I had a ride to the YMCA available. I played in pick-up games for about 2 hours there until leaving. My performance was mediocre overall since I slipped multiple times on the dusty courts and my shot wasn’t falling at the rate it usually does.
Although Monday wasn’t my best performance, I made up for some of it on Tuesday. I played in more pick-up games Tuesday, but this time they were at Rise. My performance was much better and I also hit a chest and tricep workout. The next two days were spent practicing with my AAU coach. On Wednesday I had a one-on-one session with my coach for an hour and a half at a YMCA in Winston-Salem. This session might’ve been the most physically demanding practice I’ve had in a while, but it was productive and I learned some things. Thursday was just another team practice day. The last day of the school week was probably my favorite. I went to Rise immediately after school and prepared for my first game of the tournament. I stretched, jogged on the treadmill, and then put up some shots before the game. All of this put me in a great state of mind to perform my best in the game. As expected, I played great. I finished the game with nine points off of the bench, multiple assists, and an efficient shooting rate. Although scoring nine points doesn’t usually make me happy, I scored them efficiently and off of the bench which provided a spark to the team. I also feel like I was able to showcase some of my skills and potential to the coach that I just started playing for a few weeks ago. The weekend went pretty well also. I scored 8 points, had at least 5 assists, made fifty percent of my shots, and started in the first game on Saturday. Once again, these weren’t the best stats, but I felt like I gained some trust from the coach and controlled the game well which led to a win against a great team. The last 2 games of the tournament weren’t terrible, but I could’ve done better in the third game and would’ve liked to win the last game for the championship. I only made 1 out of 4 shots in the third game and took just 1 shot in the championship. A big reason for my performance immediately dropping was a position change. I was moved to the shooting guard position and our point guard turned the ball over multiple times and looked me off after being open for an easy shot attempt multiple times. I didn’t let this get me down due to my contributions to the team throughout the tournament. I was happy with my performances but not satisfied with them. My most productive practice sessions occurred during this week. I recorded a total of 165 shots taken and played in multiple pick-up games at Rise Monday. 75 of these attempted jump shots were catch-and-shoot mid-ranges and the other 90 were pull-up mid-range shots. I went 47/75 and 52/90 on these shots.
Tuesday was similar to Monday since I attempted only 15 fewer shots that day. I made 37/50 catch-and-shoot mid-range shots, 32/50 3-pointers, and 35/50 pull-up mid-ranges. I also targeted my biceps in the gym later in the day even though I was supposed to work my back out as well. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to maintain this great start to the week. I spent all of Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning at my house working on my ABC project for my AP history class. I worked on the project for 9 hours straight and finished it at 6 A.M. This meant I didn’t sleep at all and would’ve had to get ready for school soon so I decided to miss half of the school day. I went to my team practice after school and that was the only basketball I played throughout the two days. Luckily, I was able to practice a lot more the next day. I went to Rise and attempted 200 shots. I went 51/75 on catch-and-shoot mid-ranges, 54/75 on 3-pointers, and 28/50 on pull-up mid-range jumpers. I hit a plyometric workout after putting up shots to finish my Friday. The weekend included a 3 game tournament, a freestyle practice, and another plyometric workout. I performed unsatisfactory in the tournament due to a lack of aggressiveness and not shooting enough. I went 3/9 from the field throughout the 3 games and only had 10 points. I could’ve blamed my rough performance on my pinky that dislocated around 10 days prior or the fact that I was trying to find my groove with a new team but most of it was probably mental. Being confident and aggressive are necessary for playing my best version of basketball. On Sunday, I finished up my week at Rise with another plyometric workout and a fun individual practice with my earbuds in. My practices were intense all week and the only thing I truly regret was how I procrastinated on my project which affected some of my time that could’ve been used to play basketball or workout. The beginning of my week started with a practice for my new AAU team. The practice was centered around running plays and a few drills. I wasn’t able to work on my individual game much because of this. Luckily, Tuesday was a different story. I shot 75 3 pointers, 75 catch and shoot mid-range shots, and 75 pull up mid-range jumpers. After this, I played 2 on 2 games, 3 on 3 games, and ended the day with 50 freethrows. I made 41 out of the 50 free throws.
On Wednesday, I spent my time at the YMCA. I wanted to get in the pick-up games as soon as I arrived but I had to shoot freethrows first. I attempted 75 and made 64. After shooting my free throws, I obviously went to play in some 5 on 5 games. Thursday was similar to Monday since I had another practice. This practice was for the A team of the organization and not the B team. I was put on the B team to have a better opportunity to showcase my skills for the coach of the A team. This is why I’m currently attending practices for both teams. I was able to shoot 50 free throws after the end of practice though. I went 43/50 on them. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to work on my game at all on Friday unlike the past few days. Although this was unusual of me, the opportunity to go to a Charlotte Hornets game for free was rare also. I spent the Friday evening and night with my friend at the game. As expected, the Hornets lost, but I had an amazing time. Over the weekend, I played in my first tournament with the A team and B team and played some more basketball for fun at the YMCA the next day. My performance in the tournament games could’ve been much better since I was missing a lot of open 3 pointers but I did the best I could. The following day I played some pick-up basketball and worked out my chest and triceps in the gym at the YMCA. This week probably could’ve gone better due to only shooting free throws on 3 days but I did make an effort to attempt them when I had the time.
The first day of week three was spent with one of my Davie teammates at Rise Indoor Sports. We worked on catch and shoot mid range jump shots and 3-pointers to start the day. Soon after, more people started to show up to the courts. We decided to play 4-on-4 pick up games on a half court. I played good but not as well as I knew I could. There were a few 3-pointers that I missed that I usually make, but most of my layups seemed to fall in even if they were contested by a defender.
The next three days were spent at practices or tryouts for different programs. I was driven to Rise immediately after school Tuesday for a tryout. Despite my amazing performances in the scrimmages, I was cut. This obviously hurt but I knew that there was another AAU team I was interested in. I had a tryout for this team on Wednesday and a practice the day after. Friday wasn’t a great day for my progress. I went to the YMCA to get some extra practice against older players for my upcoming tournament the next day with some of my friends. After calling next for the upcoming pick up game, something unfortunate happened. I dislocated my left pinky for the second time around half way through my first game. The idea to play in three regulated basketball games the night after dislocating a finger for the second time probably isn’t the best idea, but I love basketball too much to not at least try to play. Ironically, I had two of the best games I’ve ever had. Throughout all three games, I racked up sixty points. I scored twenty-two the first game, nine the second, and twenty-nine the third. For the most part of Sunday I rested because of my overused pinky but I was still able to finish my test to see my starting point for my skills. My vertical jump was measured at twenty-eight inches and I messed up on the ball-handling drills four times in a five minute span. Overall, this week was extremely productive. I made an AAU team, finished my starting point test, and gained some confidence.
This week didn't start off on the most productive note. I was reaching for Tylenol immediately after waking up Monday morning due to the ongoing headaches that I'd been facing since the weekend. I wasn't able to go to school or play basketball on Monday due to the head pain that I'm almost positive was caused by an elbow to the back of the head that I received while playing basketball a few days ago. This meant that I had to be careful while exercising and playing basketball this week.
The first day that I was able to play basketball was Tuesday. I didn’t take the test this day that is supposed to show where my starting point was for my basketball skills because I didn’t play basketball for the last three days. I took it lightly and focused on my shooting form to be better prepared for my test. Wednesday was the start of my process to becoming a better basketball player. I didn’t have any severe headaches throughout the school day and was confident that I could give my full effort towards the test. I started the test with my free throws and shot an incredible ninety-four percent from the line. I’m not too sure how I’m going to progress from making forty-seven out of fifty free throws but I guess I should be proud of that. After the free throws, I moved on to mid-range jump shots. I made 34 out of 50 catch and shoot mid-range attempts and eighteen out of twenty-five pull up mid-range attempts. I wouldn’t say I’m happy with either of these performances but I think I did decent. The last part of the test that I was able to finish this day was my 3-point shot. I made thirty out of fifty catch and shoot 3-pointers before the basketball hoops were raised for volleyball practices. I decided to workout since I couldn’t finish my test this day. The rest of the week I didn’t contribute much my project. Thursday was a perfect day to finish my test but I decided to shoot my floaters for the test and then play 3 on 3’s and 5-on-5 pick up games that day. I made nineteen of my twenty-five floater attempts. The 5-on-5 games were competitive so I don’t regret playing in them. Friday was similar to Thursday because the whole day was spent playing pick up games with the girls varsity basketball team and with my friend’s church group. The weekend was relaxing for the most part since I didn’t play any basketball. This is unlike me since I can’t recall a weekend that I’ve ever not played basketball. This doesn’t mean I didn’t try to practice though. I went to the YMCA around two on Saturday and wanted to work on my game and then workout but all of the courts were being used by little kids or volleyball players. This means I could only workout so I hit a leg workout that still has me sore. Lastly, I rested on Sunday. My mother wanted me to spend the day with her and we finally left the house for lunch at two so my plan of practicing basketball wasn’t looking promising today. Although I didn’t finish my test, I’m glad I was able to play in a lot of pick up games and start working out again. My schedule should become much more efficient since I’m not dealing with head problems anymore and I don’t have school basketball practices. I plan on finishing my test as soon as I get off of school Monday and I’m looking forward to getting to work. This week I created my website and planned an initial test of my basketball skills. The test will have multiple drills about different parts of basketball that are necessary for a player to be successful. I will find my starting point by the end of the test that includes 50 free throw attempts, 50 mid-range attempts, 25 floaters, 25 pull up mid-range attempts, 50 3 point attempts, ball handling drills, and a vertical jump. I will also be playing pick-up games and eventually AAU games to improve my in-game performance meaning I will try to track my performance in those games.
Every drill included in the test will be performed multiple times throughout the 12 weeks and more often on weeks where I prioritize that skill. An example of this would be practicing my mid-range jumpshots and pull up mid-range jumpshots a lot on the week that I prioritize my mid-range game. Since I have to have a balanced game, I will work on other skills like my ball handling and vertical jump but just not as much as my mid-range that week. It might be confusing as to why I decided to add vertical jump training into the project but it’s important for a player like me. Although it isn’t a direct basketball skill, it raises the ability of how well you might be able to do certain things on the court. Anytime a basketball player goes up for a layup, contested jumpshot, rebound, or block, it is better to get off of the ground higher than your opponent. Since I’m a shorter basketball player, every one of those skills is harder for me but increasing my vertical jump would help all of them. Becoming more athletic will be crucial to how I am viewed by coaches and my success against older players. |
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May 2024
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