I'm not out there sweating for three hours every day just to find out what it feels like to sweat.. I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win. I have no individual goals. We play for one reason and that's to win the title. Practice is more important than the games, and I will practice when I'm hurt, when 95 percent of the players in this league would sit out. I expect all of you to do the same thing. You will follow my lead.
"If what you have done yesterday still looks big to you. You haven't done much today."-- Coach K.
"Nothing will work unless you do." -- John Wooden
"I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don't do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results."-- MJ
"Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen."--MJ
"My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength."--MJ
"Be strong in body, clean in mind, lofty in ideals." -- James Naismith
Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today. --James Dean
"Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best." -- Tim Duncan
"They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they'd make up their minds." -- Wilt Chamberlain
"You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them."--MJ
"People ask me if I could fly, I said, "yeah.... for a little while."--MJ
"A guy who gives you less than what he has to give is, one, telling you what he thinks of you, and two, telling you what he thinks of himself." -- Pete Carill "Never underestimate the heart of a champion." - Rudy Tomjanovich "Don't go to the grave with life unused." - Bobby Bowden
"In my enthusiasm and intensity I will often push people to the limits of their capabilities -- and that must entail a certain degree of risk. The great thing is that the risk pays off when that person suddenly finds something in themselves they didn't know was there."--Sir Georg Solti
Those who risk nothing risk being nothing.
Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.
The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places.
Making the NBA's All-Interview Team for each of his last 13 seasons in the league,
"I was asked for years about being a Republican, probably because most black people are Democrats. My mother heard it once and called me and said "Charles, Republicans are for the rich people." And I said, "Mom, I'm rich."
"I am not a role model. I am paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court. Parents should be role models. Just because I dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids."
"I don't care what people think. people are stupid."
"What does politically correct mean? If you're fat, don't ask me if you're fat, because I'm gonna tell you the truth. You're fat."
"Sometimes that light at the end of the tunnel is a train."
"We don't need refs, but I guess white guys need something to do."
"If I weren't earning $3 million a year to dunk a basketball, most people on the street would run in the other direction if they saw me coming."
"Kids are great. That's one of the best things about our business, all the kids you get to meet. It's a shame they have to grow up to be regular people and come to the games and call you names."
"I got pulled over when I was behind the wheel of a Porsche in Philly once for what we call DWB - Driving While Black."
"I don't how anybody taller than 6-4 can sit in those seats. And the airline executives don't give a damn 'cause they never walk back there in the first place. I don't fly first class because I have a lot of money. I do it because I need the room."
"Any time a little midget does something like this, you gotta give him a 10 (regarding a Nate Robinson dunk at All-Star weekend)!."
"Thank God for Jerry Springer's show. I thought only black folks were that screwed up until I watched Jerry Springer."
"I came to the realization a couple months ago that I am fat. If you get tired from walking - and that's all that golf is - then you are officially fat."
“You know it's going to hell when the best rapper out there is white and the best golfer is black.”
“If somebody hits you with an object you should beat the hell out of them.”
Aside from nba organized basketball, I originally fell in love with streetball . I loved the crossovers, in your face handles, moves, acrobatic dunks, no look passes, all that creativity and was what actually made me enjoy basketball. It surprised me even more when I found out a former And1 player, Rafer Alston, a streetball legend from Queens, NYC was from my hs, Benjamin N Cardozo. He even made it to the NBA which was even cooler. Plus, he played PG, so I loved all those handles and would try endlessly to imitate those moves. The confidence ball handlers demonstrate is amazing; in your face, never say die, fearless this and that, is incredible. He was traded to the Magic but had a decent run with HOU. When he played for And1, I don't think I even watched basketball. But watching those tapes on ESPN was exciting as ever. I also enjoyed guys like Philip Champion, "Hot Sauce" and Alimoe from And1, although I know And1 has changed and players have come and gone and its destroying the game because kids just want to do all the flash and hype of the game and not learn fundamentals, teamwork, etc. Regardless, streetball hypes me up whenever I see the ridiculous crossovers, behind the backs, etc. and I know I wanna do those too. Most importantly, its fun. Just enjoy yourself.
Skip to My Lou, Rafer Alston's NBA journey
NYC Basketball
Words from Alimoe
Original And1 Mixtape Volume 1
Skip to My Lou
Hot Sauce Mix
Streetball is entertaining and fun but lets not forget the only way these guys were good at what they did was practice. Ball handling is essential; taking care of the ball is instrumental to the game and if you can't handle the ball, you can't move on to anything else. Ganon Baker instructs us on some excellent ball handling drills. None of those tricks and flash are worthwhile if you can't handle the ball at all!
"I realized early in my career I needed to share something besides how to bounce a ball, how to shoot a basketball. I had to share some things with 'em that would pay off later in life." -- Ronald Bradley
NBA coaches are teachers nonetheless. NBA basketball is competitive and everyone takes their roles seriously. Yet, these professional coaches instruct us how to live life on and off the court. Not only are we taught basketball skills but we learn things like dedication, sacrifice, preparation, hustle, heart, desire, hard work, dedication, commitment, accountability, courage, teamwork, etc. all from the game. Everyone will not get into the nba and for hs and college coaches to guide their players, these young men and women must be prepared for life once the game ends. I remember reading about a hs coach, Morgan Wootten who led his Dematha Catholic hs to victories and produced a bunch of nba players.; not only did he win but he taught the importance of life lessons to his players. Other great coaches like John Wooden of UCLA, Lenny Wilkens, Pete Carril of Princeton, Dean Smith from UNC, Mike K. of Duke, Bob Knight from IU, these names stick out to me because they were so dedicated to the game and they made sure their players absorbed not only winning basketball but impt. life lessons. Too many to name, there are a bunch of great nba coaches, Red Auerbach, Phil Jackson, Larry Brown, Jerry Sloan, Don Nelson, George Karl, Gregg Papovich, Pat Riley, all these old school guys who know how to teach the game.
See, there are ways to be successful and in order to get there, you must know what you are doing right or wrong; coaches, teachers, parents, friends, mentors, family, hs teachers or even college professors all have in impact on my life or on anyones, one way or another. Criticism is inevitable but a good sign. Like Randy Pausch said, "when you're screwing up and nobody saids anything anymore, they gave up. " Be grateful that your teacher not only wants to correct your mistake but to teach you how to properly be successful in life and beyond. Pausch said he was at a football practice once and his coach kept riding him and never gave him a breather, constantly getting on him; he thought it was tough but he learned that it was because he cared. It taught him not how to play ball but how to approach anything in life. Pausch also said it best, that
"the best way to teach something is to make them think they're learning something else."
Athletics, skills, basketball can be taught but carry a higher lesson: how to live well and healthy regarding work, family, relationships, school, life, dreams, etc. I'm sure everyone, like myself, has had a few teachers, hs, college, anywhere that we cannot forget. When a teacher goes beyond the classroom, above the curriculum, to teach you something that is more valuable, you know there's something special.
Don't try to fix the students, fix ourselves first. The good teacher makes the poor student good and the good student superior. When our students fail, we, as teachers, too, have failed. ~Marva Collins
I feel like all these other guys, that winning is winning and the game of basketball is basketball but when the game stops, what will you do then? You need to be prepared and ready for family, work, relationships, growing up, etc. Teachers are invaluable and usually open up an ear or two.
When our instructors, mentors, teachers, friends, family members, etc. teach us more valuable lessons, we change for the better. If some people I have met have not said the things they've said, showed me certain things, or instructed me, taken me out, called me out, yelled at me, stopped me at certain times, etc, I wouldn't have been who I am; I would be thinking a different way and maybe not living the way I do or behaving rather differently or adversely towards life. Experiences change you, make you better; you grow, you mature, you learn when you sometimes don't want to hear it; the truth. It just shows what kind of a person you are and what other people are around you. Teachers will challenge you, only to see how you can give not to them but to yourself; sometimes, they want to see what you are made of and what you truly think of yourself.
The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth." ~Dan Rather
The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind. ~Kahlil Gibran
The best teacher is the one who suggests rather than dogmatizes, and inspires his listener with the wish to teach himself. ~Edward Bulwer-Lytton
I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework. ~Lily Tomlin as "Edith Ann" "It is foolish to expect a young man to follow your advice and to ignore your example." -- Don Meyer
The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. ~William Arthur Ward
