My personal journey as a basketball player has filled with trials, tribulation, high, lows. Losses but many more victories. In order to get where you are going, you have to know where you came from. I often tell people I’m satisfied with my basketball career because I did what only 2% of the population does and that’s played college basketball. Most people will try to make you like a failure if you don’t play division 1 or pro ball. In order to be a pro at anything in life especially basketball, you have to understand that its a non-stop grind, day in and day out you must push yourself to new limits.

I never started playing basketball to be a pro, I only wanted something better in life than what I saw in my environment. Basketball has helped me get a college education, travel to places I only dreamed of, network with legendary coaches, but most importantly has allowed me to help so many in my generation reach their goals in life. My experience of playing on various levels of basketball has given me the ability to relate to many players. I am now able to share my wealth of knowledge and experience whether it be good or bad. It is my passion to help others reach their potential. One of my favorite quotes is from Thomas Edison “I haven’t failed I just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”.

One question I get asked all the time is how do I become a starter on my team? The first topic we need to discuss to help you become a starter is skill vs will. Skill is defined as the ability to do something well. The first thing you must figure out is what skills do you have? The basic basketball skills are dribbling, shooting, passing, rebounding, stealing, and shot blocking. What do you do best? Being honest with YOURSELF is very important because it allows you to understand where your strengths and weaknesses are. For example is you are a strong ball handler but you struggle shooting you must be honest with yourself so that you can seek out a high-level trainer to help you become a more proficient shooter. I advocate high-level trainers to speed up your learning curve.

Will is defined as expressing desire or willingness. In other words, what are you willing to do to obtain the thing you desire. In this case, you desire to be a starter on your basketball team. Are you willing to sacrifice watching tv, social network, going out with friends? In most cases, if we subtract the things we use for entertainment and focus more on the things we desire we could easily obtain them. For example, there are 24 hours in a day lets say we sleep 8 hours which leaves us with 16. We go to school for another 8 hours which leaves us with 8 hours left in our day.

Mathematically speaking we have 1/3 of our time to dedicate to reaching our goals. Let’s say you dedicate 1 hour per day to skill and strength development, which is 7 hours per week. If that time your spending developing your skills isn’t helping you achieve your goals then you must find a solution. You can either work more efficiently or dedicate more time. Whatever you choose to do you must be willing to do what it takes to obtain what you desire.

According to stellar-leadership performance, there are 4 types of categories that people can fall into according to their skill/will matrix. 1. Low skill/low will are those who begin a project, task, or role but have lower confidence because of past failures. 2. High will/Low skill people are enthusiastic to begin a project, task, or role but need coaching to help them develop their skill. 3.  A Low will/ High skill person is someone skilled with experienced who has hit a plateau and needs a new challenge or is being affected by other factors. 4. High skill/ High will is a skilled worker who is looking for opportunities to grow and develop.

Once you have identified your personal need for development now you are ready to become an asset to your team. A team is an organization it runs similar to a business. In business, you are either an asset or a liability. An asset brings value to a team, on the other hand, a liability takes away from a team. Every team or business functions in a certain way and needs certain personnel in order for the business to sustain itself. Every basketball team has a need even the championship teams. While you’re developing your tangible skill you should also be concentrating on your intangible skills also. Intangible skills have nothing to do with physical ability but are mostly based on your willingness to do something.

Are you coachable, do you have leadership ability, are you vocal in a positive way? Your attitude, words, and actions can have a tremendous effect on your team if you are on the bench our a starter. Make the decision to be a positive influence on your coaches, teammates, and organization from this day forward. Winning in a mindset and ultimate sign of greatness is not how many points you score but how well you help the people around you perform. Lebron James once said “ I think team first it allows me to succeed it allows my team to succeed” remember basketball is a team sport the ultimate goal is to win games. Of course you want to be a major contributor to your teams winning but first, you must be a minor contributor. Don’t let your personal ambitions overshadow the team’s success.

I once heard Jay Bilas tell a story how he was the # 2 ranked player coming out of high school when he signed to play for Duke University in 1982. Bilas was a four-year starter for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke University, on the men’s basketball team, from 1982–1986, and helped lead Duke to the Final Four and National Championship game in 1986. Krzyzewski’s 1982 recruiting class of Bilas, Johnny Dawkins, Mark Alarie and David Henderson still ranks as the highest scoring single class in college basketball history. In his college career, Bilas scored 1,062 points and grabbed 692 rebounds, while shooting over 55% from the field. When asked what contributed to his success and the team’s success he said something that stuck with me “ Know your role, accept your role, star in your role”.

There is only 1 ball and 5 players that can be on the court at one time representing your team. If you must have the ball in your hand to be effective you are severely limiting yourself as a player. Unless you are a point guard you have the ball in your hands for less than 3 minutes per game. Find out what your teams lack the most and immediately fill that void this will give a chance to get on the court. Coaches are always looking for great defenders and rebounders you can’t go wrong with focusing on those 2 areas.

Also, another attribute that will greatly improve your chances of becoming a starter on your team is your conditioning level. One thing I always prided myself on was being in the best shape possible. I knew if someone was more talented than me I could outwork and outlast them. Steve Nash 2X NBA MVP once said: “If every player works as hard as I did I would be out of a job”. He wasn’t the most athletic guy but because of his hard work and attention to detail, he was able to become a 2X MVP. He led the league in assist both years so not only did he have personal success but he made his teammates happy. When your teammates like playing with you it becomes a lot easier to get on the court especially with other starters.

In my career, I’ve have covered the spectrum when it comes to playing time, role, success on the court. I always say I’ve been a franchise player and I’ve been a practice player but my approach to the game has never changed. I found that staying balanced is the best approach never get too high or to low. Remain confident, determined, and consistent no matter your role on the team. It’s all about understanding. Understand yourself, what level you are at, what level you are aiming to reach and have a clear and conscious plan to obtain your goal. You should never work less hard because you are not getting as many minutes as another player. In fact, you should work harder because you have to carve out minutes for yourself. You must make the coaching staff feel that they must get you on the court somehow someway. Be the first to arrive at practice and the last to leave, the little things will add up.

I remember when I was a junior in college and I had just transferred to a new school. I was promised a certain amount of time that I wasn’t getting and I started to get a bad attitude not outward but within myself. I kept working hard but I began to lose my confidence because I didn’t know exactly what I needed to do to get more minutes. We played a very slowed down tempo that I wasn’t accustomed to playing and on top of that, I was asked to play a position that I didn’t normally play. I finally accepted my role because I wanted to play but I was more focused on the negative things instead of keeping a positive outlook. I eventually lost my confidence because I stopped doing what made me successful and just wanted to get on the court. I’d decided to call one of my former coaches Kyle Solomon to complain about my current coaches and I remember him telling me:

 I am thankful to my coach Kyle Solomon who reminded me of my role on a TEAM.   What he said changed my outlook and made me more successful.  He said:

A lightbulb went off in my head. While I was on the court I was worried about not making mistakes that would send me to the bench.  Upset about my rhythm being thrown off by substitution patterns.  Thinking about fairness.   And neglecting to do my job.   Be present and handle my business…  play my tail off for me, my team, and my coach.

That conversation changed my whole outlook and from that day forward I began to go back to do the things that made me successful on the basketball court. I had realized that coming off the bench gave me an advantage, not a disadvantage because I had everything to gain and nothing to lose the starters had to keep their positions all I had to do was be ready when my number was called and be consistently doing it. From that day I went from getting about 6 min per game to 20 minutes and in the starting lineup. It didn’t happen overnight but I kept increasing my minutes. If I got 10 minutes then I put 40 minutes worth of effort in 10 minutes of play. I had regained my confidence and had a new found outlook and determination to the game. It not only helped me obtain some of my personal goals but also helped the team become a lot better.

Please remember basketball is a team sport but you must find what value you can bring to the team. The fact that you’re on the team lets you know that coaches see some potential in you. Whatever your role is to accept it and then star in that role. If you don’t know what your role is or what the coaches expect from you don’t be afraid to ask. Be an asset to your team, stay positive and keep working on your game and you will not only see growth in your basketball game but also in your development as a person. Basketball is a tool to help you in life, tools are used to build things, use basketball to help you build your dreams.

Regardless of your role on the team remember your a born winner because winning is a choice you can make.