How to prepare for college basketball

15 tips for incoming freshmen - College Basketball Experts Blog

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Sep 1, 2011

• Doug Gottlieb

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Sixteen years ago I arrived on campus at Notre Dame. I was in awe, yet I thought I knew everything. Five years later I walked out of Oklahoma State a different person.

I'm wise enough to know I cannot, and would not, change that experience. But I do wish I had done so many things differently and enjoyed the best years of my life more.

The college years have their ups and downs, and there are lessons to be learned. But far and away the most difficult time in my life was the first year.

In my case, I essentially experienced my first year of college twice. I transferred from Notre Dame to Golden West College, and then to Oklahoma State. So, if there is anything I am an expert at, it is that first year on campus.

I asked some of my former teammates, colleagues and other former hoopers what would be the 15 things incoming freshmen should absolutely do when they reach campus. Our list is below, but players, know this: Every former player envies your opportunity to write your own history and the freedom you have to do so. Learn from our successes and mistakes and follow these rules. They will guide you to Year 2, when you will be far more comfortable and the college life will start to slow down for you.

1.Unpack for the long haul

While seemingly every player who enters college does so with the belief that their basketball skills will lead them to fortune and fame after college, the most important advice anyone can give a player is to mentally and physically unpack and expect to stay for four or five years. Forget the daunting odds of making the NBA: There are just 30 players drafted who will receive a guaranteed NBA contract, and you will be competing with the thousands of players in college basketball, not to mention overseas, for those spots. An even better perspective is this: College should be the greatest time in your life, enjoy the ride. Do not waste time thinking of where you maybe should have gone or what lies ahead. Focus on the here and now -- the friends, the guest speakers, the classes, the parties and the life lessons. Plant roots. Leave the "next level" as a motivator in the gym and weight room. If the "League" happens, great, but when college is over, it is over. And while you may want to come back, it is never the same.

2.Be cool, don't try to be cool

When you are a college freshman, you want to fit in, you want to be cool, liked and maybe even admired. To that end, athletes in particular will sometimes get ink, dress loud, talk loud, wear their lid differently or flaunt rims to match the size of their egos. Maybe that is who you are, or maybe that is simply your idea of how to be cool and seem above the fray -- truth is, you are already cool. The girls and the guys all gravitate toward athletes already, you do not need an introduction with your clothes, voice or ride. Fit in, buy in and set an example of how to handle yourself. The athletes most often remembered as the coolest are the ones who are the most approachable. Keep that in mind.

3. Get ahead in class

Nothing derails your playing time, your party time or your enjoyment of college like getting behind on your classwork. I remember being overwhelmed at Notre Dame from the reading and the overall academic acumen of my fellow students. If you need it, ask for help early, set aside reading time every day and get ahead. Meet with your professors and try your best not to get distracted. Some coaches will not invest minutes in you if they think you might not be eligible. Assistant coaches don't want to fight for you in meetings if they are constantly chasing you to class. Act like an adult and get your work done. Juniors and seniors do it because they have figured it out. And don't be too prideful to ask for help.

4. Tank up like a race car

I ask athletes all the time, "Are you a Maybach or a Camry?" They all think they are sports cars and they are right, so why not fuel up like one? Look at the gas cap for a high-end auto and you'll see it requires high-octane fuel. View your body like a Brabus Benz with a V-12, and feed it the best. Can you ring the Taco Bell at 1 a.m. after a party? Sure. But you are not a lineman trying to add 15 pounds of weight. Eat like a sports car. Eat like a pro. Stay off the fried food, throw in a salad, pound your protein drinks and follow your trainer's diet advice. Bad food is a vice as bad as any other. Remember, there have been plenty of players who have eaten themselves out of money, too.

5. Be nice to the team managers

Managers are usually students who want to be coaches eventually and they are incredibly important. First, managers are guardians of the gear. When midseason comes around and your shorts shrink to the John Stockton category, managers can get that fixed. Don't big dog them at parties or around campus, because they are the most likely ones to feed you when your jumper is broken in November. One more thing, as a frosh that same manager may even be on staff by your junior or senior year. If you have his back, he will have yours.

6. Keep working on your game

Between school, lifting weights, pickup ball, individual workouts and a social life, it is very normal to begin skipping your independent work in the gym. Don't do it. If there is one thing every former baller will tell you, it is that they wish they spent more time in the basketball practice facilities. The more reps you take, likely the better you will shoot in practice. The better you shoot in practice the more shots your coach will allow you to take and, frankly, miss in games. Sunday may be an off day, but 1,000 shots should leave your hand that day.

7. Get to bed

College can be like New York, a city that never sleeps. There is always something to do, even at 4 a.m. Playing Madden, jumping on Twitter, Facebook, Skype, texting friends/girls, watching games on TV, studying, whatever. Bottom line: You need to get eight hours of sleep. From a basketball perspective alone, you look better when you are rested and coaches notice. You will play better, you are less likely to get hurt and you will be able to study and read longer. No one is saying you cannot go out on a Saturday night, heck, maybe even a Thursday night here or there, but as a practice, get your rest. Your game will thank you.

8. Take it easy on the ladies

Most basketball players do quite well for themselves in the girlfriend category. "Pump your brakes" is my best advice. Have fun, be safe and avoid toxic relationships. Drama from relationships with coeds, or more serious problems such as unplanned pregnancy, will do nothing but infuriate coaches and leave them with the overall sense that you are immature and not dependable.

9. They are watching you

We used to have an expression at Oklahoma State: "If you [break wind] on the Strip [the bar-filled Washington Street in Stillwater] they smell it in the office."
You may think your off-court activities are private. They are not. And that's especially true with all the NCAA investigations and bold headlines stemming from athlete arrests or violations. The program will know if you are up late playing pool. They will know if you sneak into a club. They will know if you are playing beer pong at the Fiji house after "Monday Night Football" with practice the next day. They will know. They always seem to. Act as if your coach is with you, because they likely are, especially in small college towns.

10. Be a good host

There will be several weekends early in your college life in which high school recruits will come to campus on official visits. At least one of them is likely to play your position and may be competition for your role. Don't sweat it. You have an entire year to show coaches how good you are and why they signed you and this kid may not even come to your school. Be a gracious host, sell your school, become a recruiting assistant and show coaches and teammates your confidence and maturity.

11. Take game shots

Find out what shots you need to make to play within your school's system and work diligently at them. Save the rest for summer ball. No matter how well regarded you are, as a freshman, your team is likely to already have an offensive identity. Bo Ryan, Tom Izzo, Jim Boeheim, Jim Calhoun, Roy Williams, Coach K, Sean Miller, Ben Howland, Tubby Smith, Bill Self and many more have been coaching since before you were born, and it takes a lot for them to change what they do. Want to get shots in their offense? Work on the shots you would get in that offense.

12. Learn to play hard all the time

The No. 1 adjustment players make in their transition to college is learning how to play hard all the time. While guys are bigger, stronger and faster, college teams focus on getting the optimum intensity out of players in practices and games. Try to take plays off in college like you did in high school or AAU ball and you will either get lit up by a pick or a jump shot. And then you will be sitting on the bench. Get used to practicing, working out and playing at the most intense level possible, as often as possible. You are likely to get abused in practice early on -- stay the course and pick up the intensity.

13. Invest in your body

I know, Kevin Durant led the NBA in scoring and he couldn't even bench 185 one time coming out of college, so why should you? Because there is exactly one 6-foot-10, 215-pound freak of nature named KD.

In the weight room you usually have a strength coach whose sole purpose is to change your body for the better. Ask Russell Westbrook about the change in his body at UCLA. Jimmer Fredette changed his body at BYU. You will be faster, jump higher and get hurt less the harder you go and the more you buy in. You are investing in yourself when you get under the squat rack. Stretch like you're 40, lift like you're 18 and your body will develop muscles that previously were dormant. It will help your game.

14. Let your coaches in

At Oklahoma State we had to come see a coach every day we were in Stillwater, period. I built a pretty good bond with Coach Eddie Sutton, with whom I still speak every couple of weeks. My relationship with Coach Sutton grew organically over time, and though I wish we were closer then, I put most of that on myself. When you talk to your coaches you will better understand them and they will better understand you. Build on that and you will have a relationship you can bank on when times are tough. Plus, you will have someone to talk to, work out with and watch tape with and it will not feel forced. Coaches really want you to perform as well as possible, if for no other reason than because it helps them make more and recruit more players.

15. Slow down

Watching Austin Rivers struggle at times during Duke's exhibition game in China made me think of the most obvious problem freshmen run into: They are playing harder than ever and yet way too fast. Playing too fast usually makes you foul more, turn the ball over more and fall out of rhythm as a shooter. And guess what, all of the above lead to you sitting on the bench more. Play harder, but not faster. Think quicker, don't play quicker. Over time you will find that your natural playing rhythm will be faster. That it is the most difficult part of the freshman transformation.

And usually once you do it, you are officially a sophomore.

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Preparing for College Basketball: Master the Basics

Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletter 4. 12 features an interview with Stanford University’s men’s basketball strength & conditioning coach Keith D’Amelio, who previously worked with the Toronto Raptors. D’Amelio is a featured speaker at the 2nd Annual Boston Hockey Summit and Basketball Symposium which takes place on Saturday, May 22nd and May 23rd at Northeastern University. Below is an excerpt of the interview.

BM: As a college strength coach, what are the greatest athletic deficiencies that you see in players as they matriculate from high school to college? Put another way, now that the season has concluded, what is the biggest thing that a high school senior could do from now until day one of college to prepare athletically for the next level?

D’Amelio: The biggest thing that I have noticed is that these kids simply do not have the fundamentals of movement down. Having spent the last 8 years in the NBA I knew that the overall talent level would not be the same but I did not realize that the athletes would have such poor movement abilities. Â Some of these kids simply do not know proper running mechanics. I am talking very simple things, like having never been taught the cross over or the proper foot position to make their lateral movement that much more effective.

The biggest thing a High School athlete can do as they prepare for the next level of play is in regards to getting the proper mechanics of movement down pat and also their ability to decelerate. That is one of the biggest things missing in most athletes’ training. Everyone focuses on the speed component and getting fast. The game of basketball requires very little top-end speed. What is does require is a tremendous ability to decelerate your body (under control) and to then produce force going in another direction. Another small thing that can make a huge difference in enhancing one’s basketball athleticism is in developing change of speeds. For the offensive player this is a huge advantage that he has over the defensive player, if he can develop the ability to change speeds (which I think can be taught and enhanced) he can do some special things on the court.

For the remainder of the interview, subscribe to the Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletters. For more information on the 2nd Annual Boston Hockey Summit and Basketball Symposium, visit its web site.

Below is a video that includes some core exercises, including the Bird Dog, which are mentioned in the extended interview.

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