After the rain comes the sun

Because of work and youth basketball tournament in Sweden with my two teams I havent been able to see as much as I wanted to from Eurobasket in Slovenia.
And of course my native country Sweden playing there for the first time many years was something I wanted to follow.

After the last couple of practise games I was almost in tears.....it didn`t look god at all and then after games against Greece and Finland I was looking for places to hide. You can loose in sports in so many different ways and who expected Sweden to beat Greece at least not me. Who expected Sweden to beat Finland, maybe I thought.

But the way they lost those games was not ok, but lets talk about the positive because it happened......Sweden resurected themselves and stod up form the dead on a 9 count.

Beat Russia....yeah, yeah the didn`t have all players and so on, they played bad.....so did Sweden in the first two games, that is how sports are. More ups and downs than San Fransisco, more happy feelings and sad feelings than the Titanic movie, whatever you know what I`m trying to say.

Im happy to say that after Eurobasket has ended for the swedish squad I`m proud to be a swedish basketball maniac. The future belongs to us.

We had a new star show himselves and I wrote on this blog before eurobasket that Ludde Håkansson should play PG for Sweden regardless that he is 17 years old. He is the best we got at that position and after some games he was standing there as first choice PG. Damn I love it when I´m right!


Jeff Taylor is a star and everybody that has followed him in Vanderbuilt already knew that if his NBA club allows him to play he will be a megastar, but the odds works against him. He far from one of the best paid players on his team, so bench for him. Hopefully he has created a problem for his bobcats know cause he played like a superstar in this Eurobasket.

We got Jonas Jerebko a perfect role player and sidekick for Jeff together with Ludvig Håkansson we have a leathal 3 combo. We have som really skilled young guns coming up in the ranks and yes the future is ours.

According to some basketball page Headcoach Brad Dean stopped after the last game as NT coach, so now its al about finding the right HC for the job and the right staff around him.

I know who I want as NT coach and I may be wrong but I doubt it!

Swedens NT goes Eurobasket in Slovenia

Well, watched the last game before the real deal in Slovenia for Sweden. Jonas Jerebko didn`t play at least not in the second half and that is what I had time to watch.

These are my thoughts about Swedish NT and chances in Eurobasket.

1. Have to play extremely disciplined in offense and get the ball to the right players to put up shots.
To be able to do that they can not be stationary and play NBA isolation.

Movement and sharing the ball, but still getting the ball to to right players at the right time is in my mind the key.

2. Yes, Ludde Håkansson is only 17 years old, but he should play PG as I see it.

3. Swedens is at the moment doing a terrible job on ballscreens and staggered screens if they go under ballscreens on purpose (which it looks like) they will be killed in the Euros.

4. Becides Jerebko, Taylor, swedens "bigs" Joakim Kjellbom and Brice Massamba has to step it up 2 levels.

5. Jeffrey Taylor is a quality player and if they will let him play next season in the NBA the whole world will see it, but it looks like he will show it already in the Euros.

6. Sweden has to hit their open 3`s I dont see that confidence in Swedens shooters that should be there or should I write has to be there.

7. Miracles can happen!

Proud Swede up in this!

Well it was not many years ago, when telling somebody that you where from Sweden was equal to "you dont know anything about basketball". Well that has changed and now Sweden is getting respect from all over the world and recognition from the experts, scouts, coaches and more.

With stardouble in Jonas Jerebko and Jeffrey Taylor in the NBA and Frida Eldebrink as a Eurostar and Farhiya Abdi in the WNBA Sweden nowdays has some credability in the basketballworld.


Young players all over the world playing as youth pro´s and going for that international basketball job. National teams doing good from senior teams to the youngest NT`s. All NT`s playing A-division Eurobasket but 2, some years ago it was totally different.

Respects most times come from extremely hard and focused work for many years and there is where the federation started it all with focused and planned NT`s. Coaching education in Sweden has the last decade or so become education and not just a weekend away from home.
Demands and coaching licenses just makes it so much more pro and some of the wrong people dispeares from basketball which is great.

Some bitch about these demands, but I truly think its for the best in the long run even if some serious coaches experiences it as a burden its the right way to go.

I coach in Denmark and danish basketball experienced history being made this summer when womens U16 played themseleves to a third place in B-Division and got a spot in A-division next summer. I think that was the first time ever for a girls NT from Denmark made it to the A-division and as for me coaching Horsholm girls 98 its a great motivation.

But I think many forget that playing B-division and playing A-division is totally different worlds in so many aspects, quality goes up a couple of levels in many things, exposure is a whole other world.
This year there was 16 teams in the A-Division and 17 in the B-Division and finishing third in B is in my world finishing 19th.

Swedens men u16 NT went up last summer as nr 2 I think and this summer they went down directly again. This summer Denmarks men U16 played themselves up as winners of B-Divison and Sweden went down to B-Division.

I truly hope that the danish federation will put more resources to these two NT`s to stay in A-Division and all together focus more on the youth nationteams than the seniorteams. Denmark is to small to not have the greatest focus on youth NT`s.....only 12 000 basketball players in country you have to get "EVERY" talent to go all in and make it up to seniorlevel. If they can go to college, europe the odds becomes so much better for the senior NT`s to do god in the future.

8 days or 192hours or 691 200 seconds, cant wait!

In 8 days teampractices start up again with my teams and that is just so great.
 After 20+ years in coaching I still have that hunger, that passion and I cant wait for it to start again.

Season 2013/2014 here we come!

Time to do coaching YOGA here are some of the exercises:

Have a great Sunday folks :-)

My coach sucks!

I found this videos some years ago and it really has some good points in it. Also hard not to love the computer voices lol



Have a nice weekend.

No rest for an old basketball junkie

Summer 2013 and I have 5 days left of this summer vacation. Only used 3 weeks and will have 1 week in september. I have had almost 2 weeks without basketball and almost is the keyword since I organize a tournament for boys and girls born 1998 13th to 15th of september I have to put in a lot of hours regardless vacation or not.

Thats also why I have vacation the week before the tournament, so I dont kill myself in process with 32 hours of normal work and tournament organizing on top of that. Tried that the first year but only eight teams then and it was zombielevel 1000 my body and brain went to.
Boys tournament
Girls tournament

So older but also smarter :-)

Almost everything in place that has to be in place at the moment. Missing one girlsteam and one boysteam when I write this and hopefully thats soon in check. That would be a blessing from above from the basketball goods.

Made this video I just love to find "new" stuff to use for different purposes in basketball.

Big O speaks about Pre Season Invitational 2013

Basketball+ passion= LIFE

2 pics & 2 videos - Great inspiration and maybe a tear or two