LaMarcus Aldridge
Carmelo Anthony
Chauncey Billups
Chris Bosh
Kobe Bryant
Tyson Chandler
Kevin Durant
Eric Gordon
Blake Griffin
Dwight Howard
Andre Iguodala
LeBron James
Kevin Love
Lamar Odom
Chris Paul
Derrick Rose
Dwyane Wade
Russell Westbrook
Deron Williams
I have to chose 12 out of these 19 players, which players would I chose?
Marked in red I would be cut from the team.
Whom would you cut?
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Tournament abroad delight and LeBronized at home
For most of my basketball life between 2nd and 5th is one of europes biggest youth tournaments played in Lund Sweden. Always over 300 teams and this year 2012 it was 310 teams competing in different agegroups.
I went there this year with both of my youth teams (boys and girls born 1998) and we had a blast. Both teams learned a lot and played some nice ball during the tournament. Girls teams had upset in the group final where we beat the winning team of the tournament, we lost the semifinal later on and the won the final. That was a team that the girls never had won against before, so a huge mentalblock is removed.
Boys team had some thrillers in quarterfinal where we won after overtime and semifinal game against one of the 2 top teams in the nordic countries was also a thriller, where we ended up loosing with 2 points. We had multiple chances to win that game, but it wasn`t our day. But still it was a great game in many ways and they won the final easily the day after, so in many ways our game against them was the "final".
Smiling after a great tournament I was looking forward to the danish cup final with the boys team. I knew it wasn`t gonna be a easy game and I told the boys that early on when we won the semifinal. We have no EASY games, we havent started to grow yet and and are very smmall. We need to a lot right to play the way we did for example in the semifinal in Lundaspelen tournament.
We got totally LeBronized, we looked pale, didn`t play as a team in offense or in defense, old habits was showing. Like LeBron we talked the talk bit didn`t walk the walk. I tried almost everything to wake them up, but when you cant substitute like you want its hard to change it as a coach and also for a player to go from mental chaos, calm down and then go in and play normal ball again.
We ended up getting a beatdown and we shouldn`t, but we weren`t there mentally in many ways and that made us look like we weren`t the physically either. We choked plain and simple and we didnt find our way back.
To be honest I was wondering where my team was from 3 days earlier, but there is are many lessons in this.
.
We went there the same day as the final and that wasn`t the best preperation before the game with a 3 hour cardrive at 7 in the morning.
After peak performances often there is a downer coming soon after, we all know it but it didn`t cross my mind before this game.
I didn`t have a real sitdown with them in the days before removing any thoughts of an easy game and so on, YES I said it to them but like you would say it to older players. Looking back I now know the signs in my players, but I was still "high" after the tournament, so I was in a relaxed state of mind, so was also my players but in the wrong relaxed state of mind :-)
BUT......was it just things we/I did wrong, well NO, young players, their first final ever, coming from some great games, high in confidence, many people chearing.
Its huge for kids....and when you aint used to playing for medals, well its often very hard the first time. They to win a final, you have to be in one before. There is a lot of truth in that of I look back to old teams that I have coached and friends teams and so on.
I aint taking nothing away from the team that won, they played tactically perfect for that agegroup, they backed of and gave us all the shoots we wanted from the outside. I myself would NEVER use that tactic in youth games, but it worked like it does 98/100 games in that age since % is low from the outside.
It disturbed us big already in the first minutes, since we came from 6 games just days before where everybody but one team played hard noosed defense, max armslength away with deny defense.
We couldn`t handle it, thats something we need to learn. To be open for a shoot every time you catch the ball and select when to shoot and not to shoot aint easy. We lost our teamplay totally..
Back to practice with new lessons learned and i can just conclude with, basketball is fantastic and its ups and downs whatever the love for game just keeps growing in me.
Never again Lebronized, we will be prepaired and ready mentally and phsyically better from now on.
I went there this year with both of my youth teams (boys and girls born 1998) and we had a blast. Both teams learned a lot and played some nice ball during the tournament. Girls teams had upset in the group final where we beat the winning team of the tournament, we lost the semifinal later on and the won the final. That was a team that the girls never had won against before, so a huge mentalblock is removed.
Boys team had some thrillers in quarterfinal where we won after overtime and semifinal game against one of the 2 top teams in the nordic countries was also a thriller, where we ended up loosing with 2 points. We had multiple chances to win that game, but it wasn`t our day. But still it was a great game in many ways and they won the final easily the day after, so in many ways our game against them was the "final".
Smiling after a great tournament I was looking forward to the danish cup final with the boys team. I knew it wasn`t gonna be a easy game and I told the boys that early on when we won the semifinal. We have no EASY games, we havent started to grow yet and and are very smmall. We need to a lot right to play the way we did for example in the semifinal in Lundaspelen tournament.
We got totally LeBronized, we looked pale, didn`t play as a team in offense or in defense, old habits was showing. Like LeBron we talked the talk bit didn`t walk the walk. I tried almost everything to wake them up, but when you cant substitute like you want its hard to change it as a coach and also for a player to go from mental chaos, calm down and then go in and play normal ball again.
We ended up getting a beatdown and we shouldn`t, but we weren`t there mentally in many ways and that made us look like we weren`t the physically either. We choked plain and simple and we didnt find our way back.
To be honest I was wondering where my team was from 3 days earlier, but there is are many lessons in this.
.
We went there the same day as the final and that wasn`t the best preperation before the game with a 3 hour cardrive at 7 in the morning.
After peak performances often there is a downer coming soon after, we all know it but it didn`t cross my mind before this game.
I didn`t have a real sitdown with them in the days before removing any thoughts of an easy game and so on, YES I said it to them but like you would say it to older players. Looking back I now know the signs in my players, but I was still "high" after the tournament, so I was in a relaxed state of mind, so was also my players but in the wrong relaxed state of mind :-)
BUT......was it just things we/I did wrong, well NO, young players, their first final ever, coming from some great games, high in confidence, many people chearing.
Its huge for kids....and when you aint used to playing for medals, well its often very hard the first time. They to win a final, you have to be in one before. There is a lot of truth in that of I look back to old teams that I have coached and friends teams and so on.
I aint taking nothing away from the team that won, they played tactically perfect for that agegroup, they backed of and gave us all the shoots we wanted from the outside. I myself would NEVER use that tactic in youth games, but it worked like it does 98/100 games in that age since % is low from the outside.
It disturbed us big already in the first minutes, since we came from 6 games just days before where everybody but one team played hard noosed defense, max armslength away with deny defense.
We couldn`t handle it, thats something we need to learn. To be open for a shoot every time you catch the ball and select when to shoot and not to shoot aint easy. We lost our teamplay totally..
Back to practice with new lessons learned and i can just conclude with, basketball is fantastic and its ups and downs whatever the love for game just keeps growing in me.
Never again Lebronized, we will be prepaired and ready mentally and phsyically better from now on.
"Love the game. Love the game for the pure joy of accomplishment. Love the game for everything it can teach you about yourself. Love the game for the feeling of belonging to a group endeavoring to do its best. Love the game for being involved in a team whose members can't wait to see you do your best. Love the game for the challenge of working harder than you ever have at something and then harder than that. Love the game because it takes all team members to give it life. Love the game because at its best, the game tradition will include your contributions. Love the game because you belong to a long line of fine athletes who have loved it. It is now your legacy. Love the game so much that you will pass on your love of the game to another athlete who has seen your dedication, your work, your challenges, your triumphs... and then that athlete will, because of you, love the game."
---Unknown
---Unknown
Sunday, January 1, 2012
When Teams became Individual players
New year when I write this its 2012 and I have declaired it "The Year Of The Jerebko" on Facebook and what is written on facebook is always facts so thats how it is :-)
I was asked today by one of my oldest friends kid, which soccer team I cheer for and I was blank for a second and I said "Well it used to be Liverpool", but nowdays I cheer for whatever team Zlatan Ibrahimovic plays for. He thought that was strange and well i guess it is, when I was younger it was all about cheering for teams:
Soccer international - Liverpool
Soccer in Sweden - Malmo FF
Basketball NBA: Los Angeles Lakers
Basketball Europe: Yugoplastika, was propably the first back in the day
Basketball Sweden: Never really had one on the highest level since clubs from the district I grew up always managed to fuck it up.
Icehockey NHL: Pittsburgh Penguins
Icehockey Sweden: Farjestad
Floorball: Are you kidding me :-)
But nowdays I really dont have favourite teams I have favourite players and a cheer for them. And I really cant remember when that change came, but maybe because I have a big focus on basketball players individual development maybe I grew into that.
My favourite player in NBA is of course Jonas Jerebko, but I cheer for Kobe, Nowitzki and some others, but Lakers I dont care anymore. But I care how Kobe Bryant does....
Dont really care about Detroit Pistons but my brains says I have to care because a great part of "JJ`" success is in if detroit plays ball on a high level.
Sweden plays junior chamionship in icehockey I dont care, but the player with last name Friberg I cheer for him, killer attitude, scorer and not afraid to stick out his chin.
When swedish nationalteam in soccer plays I only watch if Zlatan plays and I know before the game that the odds that he will play great is very limited because of the players surroundning him on the field. But I cheer for him.....
I guess the only teams I really cheer for is the Swedish basketball national teams and for teams coached by friends, but its more of a supporting cheer.
Came home and watched the second half of Jerebkos game againts Indian tonite and I checked his stats before even trying to see the score. He did great 20 points, 12 rebounds and one very important steal.....Go JJ33
It was a very easy question a got from my friends kid, but teams well I guess thats in the past.
Back in the day I had favourite players of course with Magic Johnson as number 1, but I cheered for teams, those days are gone and so is 2011.
I was asked today by one of my oldest friends kid, which soccer team I cheer for and I was blank for a second and I said "Well it used to be Liverpool", but nowdays I cheer for whatever team Zlatan Ibrahimovic plays for. He thought that was strange and well i guess it is, when I was younger it was all about cheering for teams:
Soccer international - Liverpool
Soccer in Sweden - Malmo FF
Basketball NBA: Los Angeles Lakers
Basketball Europe: Yugoplastika, was propably the first back in the day
Basketball Sweden: Never really had one on the highest level since clubs from the district I grew up always managed to fuck it up.
Icehockey NHL: Pittsburgh Penguins
Icehockey Sweden: Farjestad
Floorball: Are you kidding me :-)
But nowdays I really dont have favourite teams I have favourite players and a cheer for them. And I really cant remember when that change came, but maybe because I have a big focus on basketball players individual development maybe I grew into that.
My favourite player in NBA is of course Jonas Jerebko, but I cheer for Kobe, Nowitzki and some others, but Lakers I dont care anymore. But I care how Kobe Bryant does....
Dont really care about Detroit Pistons but my brains says I have to care because a great part of "JJ`" success is in if detroit plays ball on a high level.
Sweden plays junior chamionship in icehockey I dont care, but the player with last name Friberg I cheer for him, killer attitude, scorer and not afraid to stick out his chin.
When swedish nationalteam in soccer plays I only watch if Zlatan plays and I know before the game that the odds that he will play great is very limited because of the players surroundning him on the field. But I cheer for him.....
I guess the only teams I really cheer for is the Swedish basketball national teams and for teams coached by friends, but its more of a supporting cheer.
Came home and watched the second half of Jerebkos game againts Indian tonite and I checked his stats before even trying to see the score. He did great 20 points, 12 rebounds and one very important steal.....Go JJ33
It was a very easy question a got from my friends kid, but teams well I guess thats in the past.
Back in the day I had favourite players of course with Magic Johnson as number 1, but I cheered for teams, those days are gone and so is 2011.
 |
| Picture before he took his 12 rebounds :-) |
Happy New Year and lets celebrate The year Of The Jerebko
Monday, December 26, 2011
Christmas spirits called my name
Well once again christmas has been and once again santa claus came, but for every year you get older he seems to bring less and less :-)
Maybe its because of central heating and chimneys aint big enough to bring a lot. But to be honest getting things aint that big of a deal anymore, but more and more I feel the tradition becomes important and all that christmas brings. My father has a ridiculos collection of santas carefuly placed all around his apartment and people stop to watch his collection. I think thats awesome.....christmas time is also some days away from basketball, but almost every year I find some basketball anyway and christmas day I watched Knicks vs Boston and.....
......welll, it sucked like usually NBA does, poorly technical skilled players with super athletic bodies aint my kind of basketball, but to be honest the fourth period was OK to watch, but the rest of the game made me wish I watching the discovery channel instead.
Its great that NBA is ON again after the greedout, but NBA to me is Jonas Jerebko, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, and some other players. I totaly think it has lost its supreme level, to many badly skilled players nowdays as I see it. You dont have to agree, but that how I see and also some older players that should have stopped playing some years ago. To name one is Vince Carter, he was the human highlight and well the light aint there anymore.
The NBA is strange, the move of Lebron James and Bosh to Dwayne Wades Miami was OK, but Cris Paul to Lakers wasn`t, there is chezz player behind it all and that Stern and well you cant say he hasn`t made the NBA succesfull because he has, but its just to obvious that he has one mission and that is getting Lebron a ring, no matter what.
When we watched the game we hade some talks about NBA, players, coaches and of course in that game was as always one referee in the center of attention. Cant remember his name, but calls ridiculos technicals, he provokes players coaches and he has always done that.
One person that watched the game asked why is he allowed to continue, well my answer was "He is a part of show" and his behaivor sells newspapers, airtime on TV and more......
Tonight swedish Jonas Jerebko is making his comeback season after his injury and his season will be a joy to follow, but other than that I will stick to euroleague, collegeball or even a local kids game which gets me more excited that NBA games.
Have had two practises today, we practise 13 hours in 3 days and the we rest a few days before the tournament in Lund, Sweden......that is a god things christmas brings the possibilities to practice more :-) and still get free time for the players and coaches.
2 days more of practises and then basketball detox for some days and then back to it again :-)
Maybe its because of central heating and chimneys aint big enough to bring a lot. But to be honest getting things aint that big of a deal anymore, but more and more I feel the tradition becomes important and all that christmas brings. My father has a ridiculos collection of santas carefuly placed all around his apartment and people stop to watch his collection. I think thats awesome.....christmas time is also some days away from basketball, but almost every year I find some basketball anyway and christmas day I watched Knicks vs Boston and.....
......welll, it sucked like usually NBA does, poorly technical skilled players with super athletic bodies aint my kind of basketball, but to be honest the fourth period was OK to watch, but the rest of the game made me wish I watching the discovery channel instead.
Its great that NBA is ON again after the greedout, but NBA to me is Jonas Jerebko, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, and some other players. I totaly think it has lost its supreme level, to many badly skilled players nowdays as I see it. You dont have to agree, but that how I see and also some older players that should have stopped playing some years ago. To name one is Vince Carter, he was the human highlight and well the light aint there anymore.
The NBA is strange, the move of Lebron James and Bosh to Dwayne Wades Miami was OK, but Cris Paul to Lakers wasn`t, there is chezz player behind it all and that Stern and well you cant say he hasn`t made the NBA succesfull because he has, but its just to obvious that he has one mission and that is getting Lebron a ring, no matter what.
When we watched the game we hade some talks about NBA, players, coaches and of course in that game was as always one referee in the center of attention. Cant remember his name, but calls ridiculos technicals, he provokes players coaches and he has always done that.
One person that watched the game asked why is he allowed to continue, well my answer was "He is a part of show" and his behaivor sells newspapers, airtime on TV and more......
Tonight swedish Jonas Jerebko is making his comeback season after his injury and his season will be a joy to follow, but other than that I will stick to euroleague, collegeball or even a local kids game which gets me more excited that NBA games.
Have had two practises today, we practise 13 hours in 3 days and the we rest a few days before the tournament in Lund, Sweden......that is a god things christmas brings the possibilities to practice more :-) and still get free time for the players and coaches.
2 days more of practises and then basketball detox for some days and then back to it again :-)
Friday, December 23, 2011
Bounds basketball documentary
"Bound" begins when "Hoop Dreams" left off, the characters going from high school to college in "Hoop Dreams" and in "Bound" the film begins following Robert Johnson in his senior year of college, as he works to graduate from the University of Oregon, and get his way into the NBA. The film focus on the untold story of the 1000's of college basketball stars who felt there whole lives they were destined for the NBA, but are in fact, bound for a career overseas...
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
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