Zac is Wack – a basketball webcomic

I guess by now you’ve heard about the new point guard for the New York Knicks. His name is Jeremy Lin, and about two weeks ago he had an opportunity to be a starter for the first time in the NBA. The reason he got this opportunity is because another player on the Knicks team got injured, opening the door for Lin to give it his best shot. Over his first 5 games, Lin managed to break a few records, as well as become just about the most popular player in the NBA!

Jeremy Lin was a great high school player, but no one ( except Harvard ) wanted to give him a scholarship. Once he graduated from Harvard, no one wanted to draft him into the NBA. Once he was in the NBA, no one wanted to give him an opportunity until someone else got hurt.

I think it takes a pretty strong person to keep working hard even though things never seem to work out. I don’t think Jeremy Lin could have done what he did without the support of his family and friends, the people around him telling him to never quit. But there are young players out there that have no one to rely on, no one there to believe in them. That’s when believing in yourself becomes key!

MY TWO FAVORITE JEREMY LIN QUALITIES:

1) He never gave up.

AND

2) He always puts his the team’s success above his own.

I think these are the two qualities I admire most about Jeremy Lin. And you can tell his teammates appreciate him for those qualities as well. No matter what people and the media say, I think Jeremy Lin will be who he is, and not try and live up to any expectations or be like anyone else.

Judy Garland said it best:

” Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. “

Many times I’ve told young players, that I coach, to work hard.  And when I’m telling them this, I look in their eyes and can see if they are really listening or tuning me out. Those that get it, become better. Those that don’t get it, fall short of becoming successful basketball players. The way I look at it is this:

You either work hard or you don’t. Simple as that.

You know what? You really need to work hard in EVERYTHING you do to be successful in LIFE.

Love this quote by Brian Tracy:

” You have to put in many, many, many tiny efforts that nobody sees or appreciates before you achieve anything worthwhile. “

This is a great video. Those that watch it and ” listen ” will get something out of it:

When I played professional basketball in Europe, I had an opportunity to play in Greece.  Now, the Greek fans are like no other. This video shows just how intimidating their fans can be for the opposing team. Notice how loud they are and how they shake the stands by their bouncing up and down.

Take the best college crowd in the U.S. and multiply that by 10 ( adding the fires and the constant waving flags!! ), and you’ll have the fanatical Greeks. I feel sorry for the person in the crowd who complains that he can’t see the game. HA-HA )

You would NOT want to make a hard foul on one of their players, unless you liked sneaking out to your bus after the game. Check out this video to see what I mean. Can you imagine having to stare at this while trying to shoot a free throw???

They actually constructed a plastic shield which curves up and over the visiting team’s bench, to protect the visiting team from getting hit by something flying from the crowd. One year, while I was playing ball overseas, my teammate at the time told me a story of a player that got hit across the forehead by some idiot fan who had thrown a battery onto the court!

Crazy!….and they do this the entire game!!!

( To get the true effect, turn up the volume ; )

iHoops is a great website for young basketball players. Not only will you gain valuable information about how to play the game, there is also a place for you to ask questions. Below is a recent article by iHoops.com

Kobe Bryant’s 3 Tips for Defensive Slides
By Ryan Wood, iHoops.com

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant is known for his five NBA championship rings and, more specifically, his amazing scoring ability.

But did you know that Kobe has been on the NBA’s All-Defensive team 10 times in his 14-year career?

Defense is one of Bryant’s strengths, so it pays to listen to him give tips on guarding your opponent. At the 2010 World Basketball Festival in New York, Bryant grabbed the microphone and instructed about 40 young players on how to properly execute defensive slides during a clinic at Rucker Park.

Here are three tips he wants young basketball players to remember:

Stay Balanced
When watching the young players do defensive slides, Bryant noticed several of them leaning their torso in the direction they were moving.

“When you’re doing defensive slides and start leaning,” Bryant said, “now when your man changes direction, it takes too much time for you (to change direction) and slide.”

If you keep your torso centered while you’re moving your feet, you’re ready to go either direction your opponent might take you.

“Everybody needs to think about staying in the middle,” Bryant said. “Your top part shouldn’t be moving.”

Active Hands
Bryant told the story of playing summer basketball in the Philadelphia area. He would often get top defenders guarding him, yet some of them would do their defensive slides with their arms still and down below their waist.

“They thought it looked cool,” Bryant said. “It wasn’t cool when I was shooting the ball in their face.”

Bryant has become a lockdown defender in part because he never lets his opponent get comfortable. One of the best ways to do that is to keep good lower-body form when sliding, but also make sure your hands are a nuisance to the ball-handler.

“You have to keep your hands active, all the time,” Bryant said. “Up, down, side to side, jabbing at the ball.”

Wide Base
Many young players, when doing defensive slides, don’t have their feet wide enough apart, so they don’t get as low as they should.

“If you keep your feet further apart, you have a wider base so your man can’t change direction,” Bryant said. “I keep my wide base, and if you change direction, I’m still with you.”

Widening your base when doing defensive slides might be a little uncomfortable at first, but it is the best way to play lockdown defense.

Just ask Kobe Bryant–one of the best in the world at it.

“Keep your feet really wide apart,” Bryant insists, “even as you stride.”