Nike Basketball News

Unstoppable Drive

nikebasketball_emea — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:01:36 GMT

To perform at the Final Four, you need drive - an unstoppable drive. Go behind-the-scenes and find out how Josh Childress, coach Messina, MVP Spanoulis and others prepared for the showdown in Berlin.

Superstar Material

nikebasketball_emea — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:19:49 GMT

Last time I discussed the importance of a superstar in your formation. But how do we get a star on board if we can’t afford one? Easy – recognize his skills before anyone else does.

What exactly makes a superstar? First of all: talent. One way of identifying talent is to check the statistics. But stats aren’t everything; lots of players fool us by playing great against weaker teams.

So, what you should be looking for are flashes of brilliance in the games that matter - match-winning shots in the playoffs, and plot twisting steals in the dying seconds of the finals. After all, it’s moments like these that win competitions.

Besides being brilliant, our potential superstar should also constantly improve his game. Although I believe every player should always work hard to boost his skills, regardless of his talent or age, this is especially relevant to a star. It’s what turns a great talent into a truly great player.

This of course, all comes down to mentality. The most talented player often tends to be the laziest - it all comes natural to him. He doesn’t have to work that hard to keep up with the rest. But ‘keeping up’ shouldn’t be his goal here. Beating everyone on his path and constantly evolving as a player, that should be his goal.

Only then will the long journey take him from the playground to the very top of the international basketball stage.

Coach Messina

Formacion Equipo

nikebasketball_emea — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:36:23 GMT

You want to win competitions? Better form solid team. Because these days, more than ever before, the shape of a team is the most important thing – even more important than the coaching. Here’s how you create a killer team.

Let’s start from scratch. When selecting players for our winning team, we look for: athleticism, versatility, personality and at least one superstar. We also need the medical guys to be absolutely certain about the physical condition of our dream team – we don’t want to have players benched half the season.

We need all that, but most of all we need trust. The coach and general manager should work together as one with the team’s resources and goals on their mind.

Now about the players - today’s game is becoming more and more athletic everyday, so they better be the very best athletes you can afford. A team that lacks athleticism cannot compete at top level.

As well as athletic, the team must be fundamentally sound.

Balance is the key word here. We need versatile players – players who are interchangeable on the court. In a twelve-man roster we only need four specialists: the point guard, the center, the shooter, and the defensive specialist. The remainder of my dream team can play at a minimum of two positions.

The team should work together as one throughout the season. For this, we need chemistry. So when you’re scouting, it’s essential to get as much information about a player’s personality as possible. Go see him live to check his reaction to a bad call, a substitution, or to the pressure of the crowd. Try to find out everything about his background, his family and friends and his practice habits – is he working out in the gym all day, or is he slacking around. Better yet – talk to him face to face and make up your own opinion. This is essential because with the wrong personality in your team – you can forget about chemistry.

So we’ve got the top athletes, the versatility and the chemistry – now get the superstar. Who can win if the system and the team cannot? He’ll give your whole team personality and gives you an edge over opponents. Plus a great player has the quality – to help teammates overcome their fear, igniting confidence and improving their ability to play under pressure.

Now that you have your great team, you’ve got great expectations – these will only be met if everyone in the process is responsible for their decisions and puts the team’s goals first - AND NOT THEIR OWN.

Good luck with your team - trying to beat mine.

Coach Messina

The Art of Practice

nikebasketball_en_GB — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:09:46 GMT

Want to really raise your game? There's no substitute for going one-on-one with yourself says the driving force behind Euroleague champions, CSKA.

Coaches are important. But nothing can take the place of your will to become a better player. You have to have the desire to make it to the next level - whether that means winning your next game on the playground or making it to all the way to the NBA.

As a teenager, I wasn't a great player but I always had a crazy passion for the game. I spent all my summers and winters playing 3-on-3 with my friends on my city's courts. The competition was intense. You had to constantly improve your game to stay on court and face new opponents. That's when I first realised that if you really want to get better, you have to work on your game on your own: practise your shot, improve your dribbling, work against an imaginary defender, sprint to become faster.

There is a real art to practising alone. First of all, you have to learn a move in slow-motion to understand the mechanics: how to use your feet; where to dribble the ball; how to keep your body balanced. Do it over and over and you'll begin to "feel" the move. When that happens, you can start doing many more repetitions at game speed. This is how you "set" the move in your mind and get to a point when you can execute it properly without thinking.

When you've "recorded" the new move in your brain and muscles then you need to create an element of pressure. It could be to score as many baskets as possible in one minute or to score three times in a row from one spot before moving to the next one and so on. But don't put on the pressure too soon - you might mess up the process and never learn that move correctly.

Take shooting. The best shooters know exactly how to practise their shot. They always start their individual session from short distance. Then, when they warm up, they'll shoot from 3-point range. At first, they'll go with quantity, let's say ‘make 100 baskets.' Then they'll start shooting under pressure, giving themselves specific goals like ‘make five in row from one spot' or ‘make 8 out 10 before changing position.'

So here's a simple shooting routine that I think is very effective. Mark five spots: the top of the key, the left and right wings, and the two corners. Start in the right corner and go round the five spots. Before you move to the next one you have to score two-times in a row from 2-point range. After you complete the first round, start making two 3-point shots in a row from each spot. Then, make a 3-point shot followed by a 2-point shot from each spot. Finally, you do the opposite: first you have to make the 2-pointer and then the 3-point one (it's more difficult, mentally.) At the end you'll have scored 40 baskets - but check your percentage or, more importantly, how long you needed to go through the routine.

You've always got to go through the same three phases learning any basketball skill: understanding the details; doing it over and over until you can execute it without thinking, then - and only then - practising it in real game conditions.

The training doesn't end there. The fundamentals are important, but without proper conditioning you won't be able to put them to use come game time. It takes work to become stronger and quicker on the court. Not everybody is fortunate to have a conditioning coach, but there is a lot you can do on your own. Running short sprints from the baseline to half court or from one foul line to the opposite one will improve your endurance. Combining jumping and sprinting is also very effective. Start jumping under the basket and jump five times touching the board and sprint to half court, give yourself twenty seconds of rest and start over again. Jumping the rope before practice will help your conditioning, improve your agility and your footwork.

Do not forget that in basketball it is important to be fast but it is even more important to become fast with the ball in your hands, especially when you dribble or drive to the basket. So for an added challenge try the sprints with ball in hand. Now you will be able to combine the fundamentals with your newfound agility and strength.

At the end of the day, it is the desire and the ability to push yourself harder than a coach would that makes the difference, whether you're on the playground or at the top of the Euroleague.

-*Coach Ettore Messina*

Develop your game with tips and advice from Coach Ettore Messina, on his monthly NikeBasketball.com blog.

If you have any questions or comments for his next post, or to tell us how his advice helped your game, email: nikebasketball.europe@nike.com

‘No Complacency’ – the unstoppable Coach Ettore Messina talks tactics

nikebasketball_emea — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:09:52 GMT

Euroleague champions CSKA's head coach identifies the qualities a team needs to make it to the top – and stay there.

Everyone calls my team ‘unstoppable’. Everyone except me. More often than not I’m focusing on our weaknesses and mistakes rather than our strengths. That’s because what distinguishes a good team from a great team is the ability to take care of the details every day. It’s about looking for the right angle, the right timing, bending your knees on every shot. These are the little things that make a big difference. I call it NO COMPLACENCY.

After the detail comes focus. I’m not afraid of long practices but I also know you can’t switch concentration on and off like a switch. That’s why we never spend more than two hours practicing - but those two hours are all OURS. Body and mind and heart must be on the court. In short, WE PLAY LIKE WE PRACTICE.

We’re lucky at CSKA because the club understands that pressure doesn’t make players. The team knows they’re expected to give 100% of themselves every game - but they also know even 100% doesn’t mean they’re invincible. Once we have analyzed our game, we move on to the next one, not overreacting to a loss or relaxing about a win. This ability to reset mentally after any game is of incredible value. It’s all about THE NEXT GAME.

I have been lucky in my career to have coached players willing to accept responsibility in tough moments, under very high pressure. This is essential to a strong team. I see it day to day, where my veterans are always ready to support the rookies. If I’m tough on any of them I can be sure that Trajan or Matjas or JR will be ready to explain to him why I reacted and the right response. They understand that they are the true owners of the team, not the president, not even me.

Thanks to this and all the qualities I’ve identified, I will admit that we’re hard to stop. But what gives me more pride is knowing that the day we get stopped (and it will happen) we will be able to say we gave 100% of ourselves and can shake hands with our opponent, congratulate them and move on to the next challenge.

Coach Ettore Messina

Develop your game with tips and advice from Coach Ettore Messina, on his monthly NikeBasketball.com blog.
If you have any questions or comments for his next post, or to tell us his advice helped your game, email: nikebasketball.europe@nike.com