The Greatest of ALL Time

All across America, in bars and barber shops, in living rooms and locker rooms, in gyms after pickup games, the debate continues – Who is the greatest basketball player of all time? And the answer is…we still can’t decide. Kareem, Chamberlain, Jordan, Russell, Shaq – yes, Shaq, all get top votes. Maybe it will be Kobe or one day, Lebron James. But today, I want to talk about two players that I believe had the biggest impact on the game. Not just the NBA, but all of basketball from top to bottom. The play of these two individuals literally changed the game – not just the rules as in the case of Jordan and Chamberlain, but the actual culture of basketball. The two biggest impact players? Julius Erving and Magic Johnson.

Magic Johnson

I am accusing Magic Johnson of a game-changing crime. The post game is dead, and we know who the perp is – Magic Johnson killed it. He didn’t mean to do that, it just happened. I guess that means we can reduce the charge from post-murder to post-slaughter, because I can say in my heart of hearts he did not mean to do it. Shaquille O’Neal has kept it alive, but after he retires, the post game is officially demised (it might stay on life support with Dwight Howard, but after that it’s over).

By all standards at the time, Magic Johnson should never have played point guard. He should have been a power forward – the recipient of passes from the point guard. No one expected a 6-9 (legit 6-9) player to handle the ball – in the open court, broken court and in traffic with such ease. Great point guards were guys like Archibald and Frazier – shorter, quicker guys who could penetrate and make plays. No one ever thought that a 6-9 guy could play that spot with the same effectiveness. The Houston Rockets had Robert Reid playing point occasionally, and he was 6-8, but he was no Magic.

As Magic’s career was ending, a new mindset was developing in parents of tall children all across the country. No one wanted their Johnnie (big Johnnie) to be “stuck in the post” on their basketball teams. It didn’t matter if Johnnie got the ball on every possession and scored. Dad and Mom wanted to see Johnnie dribble the ball like a point guard and shoot the ball just like the little guys got to do. Thus began the death of the post game. Few people realize that post play is not the easiest thing to learn, and it doesn’t get easier because you are taller. It takes years to learn proper post footwork, positioning, shooting angles and most importantly, the feel of the defender. You don’t just show up in college at 6-10 and start dominating in the post unless you have been playing that position for awhile, and for good coaches. Otherwise, at 6-10 and no shooting/ball handling ability, you are known as a stiff. In the old days, a 6th grader who was 6 ft tall would play center. Same with a 6-2 7th grader, and a 6-4 8th grader. No matter what kind of team – school team, recreation team or club team, either the head coach or an assistant would work with these players in the post to teach them the fine art of effectively scoring. These players would then go to high schools and in many cases, play the same position for their high school team that had the same system. It made sense – get the ball as close to the basket as possible in the hands of a tall player equipped with the skills to put it in the basket.

Magic Johnson steamrolled completely over this mindset like Patton’s end run across France. Eventually, parents started fleeing teams where Johnnie was stuck in the post and coaches started teaching all of their players how to handle the ball and how to shoot from distance and how to play facing the basket, and somehow, teaching how to play with your back to the basket got left behind. Today, we have fewer effective post players than at any time in the history of the game (including high school, college and professional levels). Even our counterparts in Europe are developing 6-10 guys who step out and shoot the 3. Other than super human sized individuals (like Shaq), we may never see a true center again. Kevin Love might be the closest thing, as crazy as that sounds.

So I rest my case. The post game is dead. Magic Johnson, whether he knew it or not, killed it. His mere presence and style of play changed the game right in front of our eyes, and it caused a whole new mindset to evolve.

Julius Erving

For the longest time, dunking did not have the full respect of coaches, players and fans. You could dunk the ball, but no one did so with any regularity in games. Truth is, for guys 6-5 and smaller, it was an incredible demonstration of athletic ability and grace. For taller players, it was just something they could do because they were tall. But many people involved in the game did not value the dunk. If you missed a dunk in the 60s or 70s, chances are you were pulled from the game. When I was a kid growing up, dunking the ball wasn’t even allowed in college and in high school (thanks to Lew Alcindor)! Players like Alcindor and Russell and Chamberlain could all dunk with ease and did so regularly, but the old school coaches just turned away from it instead of embracing it.

Then came the Doctor. Erving played the game high in the air, which just wasn’t that common in the early 70s. Julius Erving dunked the ball regularly, and he did it with style, athleticism, grace and one more thing – power. Erving was literally throwing it down before anyone thought to call it throwing it down. And while the old guard still turned away at first, eventually, you couldn’t ignore it – and in fact, you were an idiot if you didn’t embrace it. Simply put, Erving took something that was okay for some, not for others, and really not accepted by the basketball establishment and turned it into the easiest and most reliable shot in basketball. Not only is it accepted, it is how the game is represented in highlight after highlight. Thanks to Erving, that 6-9 post player who finds himself all alone under the basket need not worry dunking the ball.

In fact, if he simply lays it up and somehow misses the target or it gets swatted from an unseen defender, the next sound you hear will be the horn, and as the player is heading to the bench his coaches will tell him, “You should have thrown that down!”

Like it or not, these two men caused changes in the game – not just rule changes, but changes in our attitude and philosophy and how we play the game. Further, we show no signs of deviating from the course these two men established 20-30 years ago. I believe that means they deserve mention in any conversation where the goal is to determine the greatest basketball player ever. It won’t help us get to an answer any quicker, but at least we’ll have all the players in the discussion.

- John Fischer

The Heart of CIF

It takes heart to play in the CIF and that is what I saw over and over again from the various players over this past weekend. I traveled about 200 miles this weekend covering games at Colony High School, The Galen Center and The Honda Center, and for a person who has a major disdain for traffic; it was well worth the drive.

I know we are approaching colleges March Madness and the NBA play offs, but for my money, there is no better value than the CIF playoffs. You get to see kids of all sizes and abilities play the game they love to the fullest of their capabilities. As an added bonus you get to see coaches bring their best efforts to the floor and at the same time exemplify the type of behavior that you would want any young person to model. CIF basketball is just plain fun and exciting. The organization of these events by CIF is tremendous. Each game that I attended went off without a hitch.

I witnessed players like Carl Hoffman. Loyola (playing on a bad ankle) give it his best while having to deal with his teams loss and taking responsibility of not coming through as well as he wanted to. When I asked him about his ankle(only the team and his family knew how bad it was). He told me, “it was hard to move, but it wasn’t the reason I didn’t play well”. Carl Hoffman is a class act with heart.

I saw Riverside King go into to a game against Mater Dei, where the only people who thought they could win was they and their families and pull out a resounding 14 point win. Bringing their heart to the floor and once again proving that the game is played not in the paper or in the rankings, but on the court. I also witnessed Gary McKnight, coach of Mater Dei, acknowledge that the best player on the floor in his game was Riverside Kings’, Kawhi Leonard who finished with 11 points, 20 rebounds and six blocks to show that San Diego State just stole one.

The CIF playoffs also show that hearts are not measured by physical statue. Michael Williams from Taft and Miles Cartwright from Los Angeles Loyola proved that by each scoring 32 points for their teams in losing efforts.

I also watch for every player, no matter what time in the game, if it’s 12 seconds to play or 1 minute who truly soak in the opportunity to play in a CIF game and I reflect back on my high school and college years

Man-Man

Jerome Green, Hoop Masters

“I don’t wanna play basketball, yea baby, ’cause I’m too small to hoop,”
–Rapper-Imajin

If you’ve ever been told that basketball is for people 6’0” or taller, or you believe you are too small to play basketball, I invite you to go to Inglewood High School (home of Paul Pierce) in Inglewood, California and watch 5’0”, “Man-Man”, real name Gerald Evans, who is in the 11th grade. I first saw Man-Man last year when he was a sophomore when his team played Santa Monica High School.

Man-Man caught the attention of several people in the stands and some were even laughing about how small he was. One person commented that he must be the team mascot, manager or coach’s son. But, I have scouted talent for over 30 years, and I knew he was a contributing member of the Inglewood team. This 5’ 0” had a swagger about him. Sure enough, four-minutes into the first quarter, this little bullet shot up off the bench and was at the scorer’s table. Prior to Man-Man coming in the game, Inglewood was playing pretty flat and Santa Monica was having their way with them. Well, in comes Man-Man, and like the movie “Gone in 60 seconds”, all of Santa Monica’s Mojo shifted to Inglewood. Inglewood went on to win the game as a result of Man-Man’s energy and Dashawn Gomez’ outstanding play down the stretch that sent the game into overtime. But it was Man-Man that shifted the tide and the game with his infectious energy.

I don’t even know if Man-Man even thinks of himself as a small player. He plays big, plays every possession and never quits. The minute he comes in the game, you can see how much he lifts the spirits of his teammates and the fans. I have never seen him not make an impact. If you are a player on the short side, or the large variety, you need to see Man-Man play. Not only is he quick and fast, but he also knows how to take advantage of everything he’s been given. Imagine being an opposing guard with average handles and then having to deal with this guy who is up in you, giving you no breathing room, and here you are trying to run the offense. It’s a daunting experience! A year after seeing Man-Man have an impact in a big game, I got to see him, once again, bring verve with a resolute spirit and acuity of ability to the floor that very few players have.

Man-Man has a huge heart, some above average athletic ability and an “I won’t quit” attitude. I don’t know if Man-Man will play at the proverbial “next level” that we all talk about, but who cares? There is so much focus on the “next level”, that I think we often forget about the level the players are at right now. There is a risk as a player, coach or parent of getting too far ahead of the moment.

Play hard, work hard, and bring your heart in each moment and let that determine what the future holds. The biggest trend in basketball is to go for size, and yes, the game is getting bigger and stronger. But if you really have a passion for the game, why not go as far as you can, for as long as you can? Basketball is an activity that can be played for a long time if you take care of your body, stay in shape and don’t have too many injuries. Who knows, the “next level” for you might just be the White House!

Tips To Make You A Better Player

Jerome Green

To be a better player you don’t have to be the most athletic, the quickest or the tallest. You do have to have basketball IQ and what I call basketball V.E.R.V.E (Vision, Energy, Resiliency, Velocity of learning and Encouragement). All the great players like Jordan, Lisa Leslie, Kobe, and Lebron have it. Without V.E.R.V.E you will always have limitations to your game.

Vision

When you are on the court what do you do? Do you see a play ahead, see the next pass or communicate with your teammates? When you are on the bench what do you do? Do you just sit on the bench sort of day dreaming or do you pay attention to the game by watching the flow of the game, looking for weaknesses in the other team and specifically watching to see what the strengths and weaknesses are of the player(s) you might be guarding. Some of things you should be looking for are:

Are the players left handed or right handed? Can they dribble or shoot with their off hand?

What habits do the players on the other team have? Do they get back quickly on defense or walk back?

What do they like to do the most? Attack the basket or shoot the jumper?

Energy

When you are in the game or on the bench do you supply energy to your team? Are you vocal and encouraging? Can your teammates hear you on the floor or from the bench? Does your coach know you are on the team or are you real quite on and off the floor?

Resiliency

What do you do after a bad play or bad game? Do you sulk, go home and blame someone else, including yourself, or do you actually go back to the drawing board and work on your game? I can recall when Magic Johnson had a horrible NBA final against Boston in 1983. He had a ton of turnovers and just a sub-par playoff series. The fans where also a little down on him because they felt he got Paul Westhead fired. What Magic did was go back to Michigan that summer and work on his game. When he came back the next season, he had a better outside shot, and was a stronger all around player. If a player of Magic’s caliber can do back to the drawing board and do his homework what do you need to do?

Velocity

You have to have powerful spirit to play the game of basketball. It’s not a game for the meek. What you lack in foot speed needs to be made up in learning speed and skill development. The more proficient you can become at managing the ball, the more valuable you become to your team, no matter what your size or athletic ability. Do you play defense and get after it? There is always room for players who play hard and smart.

Encouragement

Encouragement may be one of the most overused words in the English language. Many players are always looking for external encouragement, but very few rarely look inside. Courage is a component to the word encouragement. Life itself requires a great deal of courage and focus to achieve anything you want. Without courage, it’s hard to encourage. You have to have the courage to make mistakes, learn from them and start over again. Luvv is another ingredient to en-courage-ment, without luvv it is very difficult to have the courage to face your next obstacle and you will find yourself becoming discouraged.

“Short memories lead to good defense after mistakes”-.

Mark Adams, an ESPN basketball color man, commenting on a Hawaii player who made an offense turnover and then got in the proper deny defense, got the steal and went down and scored.

To play any game, you have to have a short memory and great bounce back abilities.

The First Basket

Jerome Green

Recently I read a review, in the Los Angeles Times on, “The First Basket” which documents the early stages of organized basketball. While reading this review I had to reflect back my basketball experiences as a black kid growing up in Rockaway New York. I learned very early on about northern-segregation, which was more based on economics and religion, than on the more southern issue of race. Race was a factor, but not as much as it was in the South. The North was more sophisticated. Outside of the Redfern Housing Projects there were conclaves of Jewish and Irish communities.

It was on the basketball court where we all came together, be it at Beach 116th street, Beach 9th street or at school. The game was above the segregation of race, culture, religion and economics. We just all loved to play.

The real binding factor for all of us was the knicks. Lead by head coach Red Holzman, a tiny, but powerful Jewish coach of the best team in the world. The knicks won the championship in 1970 and again in 1973, and while Clyde, Reed and Bradley had a lot to do with it, we all knew the Jewish coach, was most responsible to building a team and taking us to victory. We would watch the games and then all talk about them the next day at school. When the knicks won the championship in 1970, it was like we all did.

The one footnote is that the NBA itself was segregated, and blacks were not allowed to play until 1950, when Nat “Sweet Walter Clifton” and Earl Lloyd were signed to NBA contracts.

I haven’t seen the “The First Basket,” but look forward to seeing it this weekend. Read the Times review here.

Film showing locations:

LOS ANGELES: THIRD THEATER ADDED

OPENS IN LOS ANGELES ON NOVEMBER 14TH AT LAEMMLE’S MUSIC HALL IN BEVERLY HILLS,
LAEMMLE’S TOWN CENTER IN ENCINO, & LAEMMLE’S FALLBROOK 7 IN WEST HILLS

Director David Vyorst will appear for Q & A at the following LA area screenings:
Saturday, 11/15
Laemmle’s Music Hall – 7:20 PM
Sunday, 11/16
Laemmle’s Town Center – 1:00 PM 
Laemmle’s Fallbrook 7 – 2:45 PM 
Laemmle’s Music Hall 3 – 5:00 PM

Developing the Whole Athlete

John Wall Top national recruit

Jerome Green

I am speaking to more and more college coaches these days that are more concerned about GPAs and players’ character than how athletic or gifted a player is.  While the top players in the country will still get the speculative nod when it comes to choosing their athletic abilities over other factors, others won’t.  The other 7 players on that roster better bring more to the table than their basketball game. One of the rising stars in this whole-person approach to basketball is Coach Craig Robinson of Oregon State University men’s basketball. I know that he and the university have received major press as a result of his speech at the Democratic National Convention, and the fact that his sister is now the First Lady-Elect, but if you go to the OSU website and read his resume, you’ll see how Coach Robinson and his staff stand on their own merit.

More parents are now realizing that with tougher NCAA standards and higher required test scores and GPAs choosing a high school for its ability to develop the whole-person is more crucial than how many state championship teams they have. Finding the balance between athletic and academic excellence has become increasingly important.

If your son or daughter is being recruited by a university at any level (D1, D2, D3, NAIA) you need to become an educated buyer. Don’t get caught up in the fact that someone wants to offer you a scholarship; really take a look at what else they offer. Look at the staff: what are their backgrounds and how effective will they be in developing the whole person, not just the athlete? What else has the coaching staff done with their lives?

The NCAA has a commercial they run on television during all of their events called “going pro in something other than.” Players and parents need to pay very close attention to this commercial because the simple fact is that most college athletes will be going pro in something other than sports. I sometimes have the opportunity to speak with a General Manager of a major sports franchise, and one of the things that he mentions first is the perspective draft pick’s character. Millions of dollars are invested in athletes; just ask the Knicks about Stephon Marbury. The person that was cheated was Stephon: a long time ago his prodigious talent was placed ahead of his development as a person. Stephon is a good man; he never was held accountable early in his career. In discussing his current situation with the Knicks, he is quoted as saying:

“Looking back at the last two years, I kind of liked Larry Brown. I kind of liked Larry Brown. I’m like, ‘Man, I wish this guy was here to drill me now.”

Most young players today might resist the direction and correction, but so what? I would rather do what I felt was best for that player’s overall life than worry about winning a few AAU games. I have always been far more interested in the whole person than the athlete.

Quality teams combine both athletic talent and human talent. If you really look at most of the champions of sport, Bill Russell being one, their character was impeccable, and someone like Russell also had to demonstrate a strong conscience and courage while he was winning championships.

Today’s young athlete needs to learn not just the fundamental skills that go along with being a great or good athlete in their sport. They also need to learn how to become a whole person and how to develop an ability to listen and follow their conscience.

Slowing Down To Speed Up

Slowing down to speed up is one of the most important steps in getting better at anything. The principle of learning is the fuel to the process. To get better at anything you have to be willing to fall down, learn while you are down there, and then get up and try it again. You don’t learn how to make the big foul shot to win the game, until you actually missed the big shot a few times.

Many players today don’t have the patience to undergo the process of learning how to get better. Instant coffee to instant game is what a lot of players are looking for. The players that are more gifted physically can circumvent this process for a while, but even they, in the end, end up fully achieving their full potential.

On a very practical side it looks something like this. You need to learn to keep the ball lower, while also learning how to attack the basket. So what do you do when you play? Do you revert back to your old way, the safe way, or take a chance and start learning how to do it the new way. Players don’t realize that they look bad doing it the old way and look a lot better embracing the new and failing. When you embrace the new, you are demonstrating your ability to learn and grow.

My true luvv with sport has a little to do with the actual activity. My luvv for sport is tied into the process of learning and growth. How many players are really going to the top on the court or field?  How many players can go to the top of their chosen profession or pursuit of their ideas?

I watch players in the gym from age 6-18 and each one of them have some part of their game that they hold on to. No matter how many people tell them that it won’t hold up over time, they continue to do it.  It becomes far more critical as you enter High School. The Changes are so rapid for year to year, that if you are not working on your game, and getting better, someone you were better than a year ago can fly by you.

Slowing down to speed up is about being willing to learn. Learning is a key principle in life. I am currently watching a young player in the Hoop Masters program who came to us a few months ago. He was shy, quiet, and I hardly audible.  For 2-3 weeks, he would hang with me were ever I went in the gym. I didn’t know if he was going to make it. I gave him my traditional 2-3 weeks that allow new players to acclimate and then I compassionately laid it out for him. I gave him “if you really want this speech”. The speech usually ends up one or two ways. I never see the player again or he comes back more committed and more willing to work. This player chose the latter. Since our talk he has engaged at a higher level. His shyness has decreased and he is in the process of learning. Seeing principle in action always brings a tear to my heart.

There is no better time than now for all of us to learn how to slow Down to Speed UP.

Fantasy Basketball

by Jerome Green

It’s in the game at every turn. We see it, we feel it and we express it. The luvv of the game is stored in our DNA. It is so present and revealing that we don’t need a C.S.I crew to examine it or find out how it got there. It’s in the exchange between competitors that we get to explore who we are and why we are. What are we here to do? What are our lives about? Basketball, while not the Gandhi of wisdom, is a perfect place to discover a few things about us. No matter if it’s between the lines or on the sidelines. Every exchange, every possibility brings us closure to the courage that is needed to conquer our fears, overcome obstacles and learn.

Basketball is a fantasy game. A game that allows us to dream and venture beyond the realities of the realness of everyday life and into the playfulness of the world. Basketball is a game. A game made up of spirit, skill and athleticism. To play the game to it’s fullest requires work, not drudgery. If you find yourself laboring with the game, step away, but don’t run away.  Each player and coach who comes to the game comes with a set of expectations and a bucket full of potential. Sometimes players choke on their potential.  Potential requires work.

There is no better place for me to watch basketball right now than on a Sunday at the Hangar in Hawthorne, California. There you get to see 8-year-old 3rd grader and 18-year-old twelfth graders playing with their hearts, mindless to the outside pressures of the day. Economic recession? Not in their thoughts. What is in their thoughts is getting the ball up the court, making the pass, playing defense and having fun. I see some kids having fun, I see others worrying about not being good enough, but in each of them I see hope, passion and luvv.

Today’s player has to navigate in waters that I never had to. Everyone is looking for their ESPN moment, the top 10 play of the day. Being rated, being scouted, being chosen as the one is something that many of today’s players play for.  They have to manage their fantasy lives with the reality of being compared. One college coach told me-“ players have to pass the eye ball test, and look the part of a D1 player.”

As I look around the Hangar, I see parents with dreams and wishes, desiring their son to be the one that gets that D1 scholarship. Many parents want their child to be the one that everyone talks about being the horse or go to guy on his team. Yet, others parents just want their son or daughter to play the game to learn lessons about dedication, discipline, teamwork and achievement and develop life-long companions.

Imagine if each player had to carry the burden of the game only having value if you are the best-the game would die. What makes the game great is the process of the game itself. The process of getting better, understanding what it takes for you to make the winning shot. How many shots you took to be able to realize that one moment of victory and how many losses you’ve had and the learning that took place because of those loses.

The game was meant to be fun and in the process a few players get the opportunity to take that fun all the way to the top. The rest of us get to play the game in adult league, or intramurals or until our bodies give way to age. In the meantime, no matter if it’s the NBA or the PBA, you can see that glimmer in every ones eyes once the ball goes up. The question being asked over and over, will today be the day that I find peace in the game?

Before he passed, Paul Newman said, “It’s been a privilege to be here.”  What a way to go out. Realizing that the life you lived was wonderful and that it was a pleasure to be here, to exchange, to luvv and be luvved. I’ve heard coaches say leave it all on the floor and some people like Hank Gathers and others have done just that. We remember them, not for how they died, but how they lived.

The game is just that. A game. A funny, silly game invented by Naismith and refined and defined by thousands of others. I am sure when Naismith invented the game, he never in his wildest dreams thought that it would be where it is today, but then again, maybe he did. It is all a fantasy after all.