Basketball Diary

Probably been done before, but now I have an office job at work, I find my body is better rested for more basketball.

In this thread I'm going to simply write what I've been doing, working on, recent games (mainly pickup)

Feel free to blog your own games and activities in the realm of basketball.

First post I'll start with a bit of background & perhaps I'll eventually get some vids up.

11/11/13

Height: 5'8 Age: 26
I've been playing ball for about 4-5 years. Not in too good a shape at the moment weighing in approx. 85kg. I'm a combo guard and my real strengths are my ball handling and mid range shooting and passing.
I also have a good feel for pacing of the offense.

Currently trying to start a daily skipping routine to loose a little bit of weight. I'd like to be around 75kg. I suffer from jumpers knee in both knees, and I attribute the weight I'm carrying to that.
Started a daily squat and stretch routine a few weeks ago & it has really helped my knees. Having jumpers knee really slows down my game and greatly effects my defence.

That's it for now. No game tonight, Next day of play is looking like Wednesday. Today being Monday, watching my gf bball tonight & also recording my mates game for him tomorrow night.

Happy Ballin'

Cool thread.

Ill try to blog some of my nights in here

Looking forward to reading about fellow ballers adventures :cheers:

[QUOTE=Kaspah]Cool thread.

Ill try to blog some of my nights in here

Looking forward to reading about fellow ballers adventures :cheers:[/QUOTE]

Welcome :cheers:

Got an hour training sesh tonight with my brother, been scouring the net for some 2 man drills to do, I think i'll just go back to basics tonight and do all those ball handling / shooting drills.

Then a couple hours of pick up games.

Recorded my mates game last night at one of the local comps, higher level of competition there, that I don't feel i'm ready to play in.
Captured one of the guys I know getting crossed... NASTY.

Till next time :D

Happy Shooting

Ran drills last night with the bro, just simple dribble with this hand, that hand, crosses, figure 8's, around the world, lay ups & such. Pretty good work out, but I got to organise it a bit better.

Than I had a couple pick up games later, my knees were really bothering me so I couldn't play to my fullest, had a couple sloppy turn overs.
Hit a couple clutch layups in the first game though to win the game (10 minute game) 12-14.
Got the defensive rebound, and went on the fast break, 1 on 1 against a slightly taller and longer Asian dude, Euro stepped but he didn't bite, bodied him going left and put up a right handed roll with my back to the basket and dropped it in - pure fluke. That tied it at 12-12.
Then we got another stop, I received the ball on the left baseline midrange with a small opening, They had a very tall long centre. Drove it and with the right hand as I was under the back board managed to hook it up quickly before the centre could get his arms up for it and banked the shot in with about 10 seconds left. That put the score at 14-12. They missed a 3 at the buzzer.

After that first game I was pretty useless, I felt so unsure and sloppy, not really sure what was up. My knees were really aching by half way through so I just left it at that.

Going to miss the next few sessions and recover my knees a bit, next basketball sesh is looking like Saturday arvo, Thursday today.
I normally play my best on the Saturday sesh. Can't wait.

Till next time

Played on the weekend, my knees are getting worse, so I'm thinking about taking the week off. Really sucks, cause I want to get better but my knees just can't keep up.

For the next few weeks I'm purely going to try improve my handle and passing and try and get them to the next level, want to try and become a good PG.
At the moment, every where I play has SG and forwards but no real PG, mainly shoot first PG's.
I'm going to try and be a high IQ PG who can create for others. Any tips welcomed. I believe by doing so, I'll increase my chances of getting on good teams and also become a better player. I'm really looking to Chris Paul but with no flopping and better defence. That's all I want at the moment.

I've found that I've been trying to improve too many things at once, so if I can focus on one/two things at a time, I'm hoping they'll improve at a faster rate.

I'm also looking for a team to join, mainly social leagues. I've had a couple offers, but trying to find somewhere I can fit in, even a better team and come off the bench.

I'll be back here next week for an update, Laters :D

Just passing through Love the idea though.

So did you end up dropping to 75kg and did it help with your jumpers knee at all I only have Jumpers knee in one leg. I am thinking of dropping weight to see if it will help since I am 99KG. How long do you stretch for?

[QUOTE=EricGordon23]Just passing through Love the idea though.

So did you end up dropping to 75kg and did it help with your jumpers knee at all I only have Jumpers knee in one leg. I am thinking of dropping weight to see if it will help since I am 99KG. How long do you stretch for?[/QUOTE]

Hey :cheers:

I started with jumpers knee in one knee, didn't think anything of it, but then it started in the other knee too as I found while I was playing I was favouring my injured side.

As for weight loss, nah, not yet, working towards it, Just started a daily skipping routine. Only doing 10 minutes a day, but if you've ever skipped, it's pretty hard core. Also cutting out fast foods... that I love so much ha-ha.
Currently I weigh in at about 85kg.

After skipping, my knees to feel a lot better though, and as for stretching, I don't do it half as much as I should. I've heard wall sits are very good too but have yet to try them. Got to get my daily squat routine going again after taking the last couple days off as it hurt my knees a lot.
Trying to get a daily stretching routine going too, mainly just stretch out the hamstrings, quads and calves for 30 seconds each, 2-3 reps probably twice a day.

Ok, was going to take the week off, but one of my mates approached me about playing some pick up 4 vs. 4 half court at some nice new courts at a place called Cedar College.
With my love of the game, I couldn't say no ha-ha. At least it's only half court. Apparently it's pretty intense, I know pretty good guys that will be there.
Including this one guy who won back to back MVP of the local Philippino league which is a tough competition.

It'll be good to run with a bunch of new people, my aim is just to come out and never give up, try and focus on good passing and smart decisions.

Let's see what happens.

[QUOTE=Ai2death]Ok, was going to take the week off, but one of my mates approached me about playing some pick up 4 vs. 4 half court at some nice new courts at a place called Cedar College.
With my love of the game, I couldn't say no ha-ha. At least it's only half court. Apparently it's pretty intense, I know pretty good guys that will be there.
Including this one guy who won back to back MVP of the local Philippino league which is a tough competition.

It'll be good to run with a bunch of new people, my aim is just to come out and never give up, try and focus on good passing and smart decisions.

Let's see what happens.[/QUOTE]

philippino league.... tough competition? :roll: :roll:

[QUOTE=Underballer]philippino league.... tough competition? :roll: :roll:[/QUOTE]

you'd be surprised, it's not the toughest comp around but it's up there, dudes play dirty as too.

Plus, I'm talking from my level of play, haven't been playing that long and also not tall. Not like some of you college guys or what ever.

imma sophomore in highschool and last week i got cut from the team. my coach didn't tell me what i needed to work on, but i kinda now what i do. ball handling (especially left hand) and defense. I got defense just half the time i lazy which i shouldn't be so if anyone has any good dribbling drills to get my left handles crazy good, holla at ya boy.

today i just played at the ymca for the first time since getting cut. we ran a couple full court games (not the brightest competition) but i shot bad but made layups and passed really good. hopefully my passing today wasn't a fluke :lol . people were calling me rubio :oldlol:

BTW, good thread op. i like the idea. ISH Fam!! :cheers:

[QUOTE=Ai2death]you'd be surprised, it's not the toughest comp around but it's up there, dudes play dirty as too.

Plus, I'm talking from my level of play, haven't been playing that long and also not tall. Not like some of you college guys or what ever.[/QUOTE]

ah, lol i see. btw, do you guys go to play pick up games solo, and join leagues too by yourself? i go to play solo, and it already sucks sometimes. i'm really hesitant to join a league by myself because theres been many times i've played pickup where people seem to intentionally not pass the ball to me since i'm a random.

[QUOTE=L3B120N J4M35]imma sophomore in highschool and last week i got cut from the team. my coach didn't tell me what i needed to work on, but i kinda now what i do. ball handling (especially left hand) and defense. I got defense just half the time i lazy which i shouldn't be so if anyone has any good dribbling drills to get my left handles crazy good, holla at ya boy.

today i just played at the ymca for the first time since getting cut. we ran a couple full court games (not the brightest competition) but i shot bad but made layups and passed really good. hopefully my passing today wasn't a fluke :lol . people were calling me rubio :oldlol:

BTW, good thread op. i like the idea. ISH Fam!! :cheers:[/QUOTE]

I found that I am improved my dribbling skill the quickest by just walking every where bouncing a basketball, people look at ya a bit weird but meh.
I used to walk to the shops after work every night, bout a 20 minute walk, and yeah just use to always the the ball, using either hand, between my legs, spin what ever.

[QUOTE=Underballer]ah, lol i see. btw, do you guys go to play pick up games solo, and join leagues too by yourself? i go to play solo, and it already sucks sometimes. i'm really hesitant to join a league by myself because theres been many times i've played pickup where people seem to intentionally not pass the ball to me since i'm a random.[/QUOTE]

I normally play pick up, first time I went, I went with a couple of friends, and yeah, now everyone pretty much knows everyone.

I've never joined a pick up game solo as such, I imagine it'd be pretty daunting. I think that's where it would be best to try and prove your worth with screen and hustle and earn the respect.

[QUOTE=Underballer]philippino league.... tough competition? :roll: :roll:[/QUOTE]


2nd best team in asia.

[QUOTE=Lebron23]2nd best team in asia.[/QUOTE]

This filo dude I know, I swear was born with a ball in his hand, we call him The Professor. He puts it through his legs, and yours while taking it to the rack.



Was going to play ball tonight, but I can feel my knees are sore just standing up, double thinking if I should rest.
Going to do some reps of body weight squats and stretch them out later today and see if the pain goes away.

Was watching Michael Jordan tips on YouTube last night, just gives me ideas of stuff I want to focus on, also aim at getting my handle faster.
Played a small 20 minutes of pick up with the bro yesterday against some of the local guys at the court. Pretty good sesh practiced working out of the post.

I could be a pretty good post player for my size I think, I have a solid turn around J, up & under and good pass/shot fakes. Just trying to get a spin move down and I think I'll have a decent repertoire of moves. Always room for more though :cheers:

See how it goes for later, till then :rockon:

[QUOTE=Ai2death]This filo dude I know, I swear was born with a ball in his hand, we call him The Professor. He puts it through his legs, and yours while taking it to the rack.



Was going to play ball tonight, but I can feel my knees are sore just standing up, double thinking if I should rest.
Going to do some reps of body weight squats and stretch them out later today and see if the pain goes away.

Was watching Michael Jordan tips on YouTube last night, just gives me ideas of stuff I want to focus on, also aim at getting my handle faster.
Played a small 20 minutes of pick up with the bro yesterday against some of the local guys at the court. Pretty good sesh practiced working out of the post.

I could be a pretty good post player for my size I think, I have a solid turn around J, up & under and good pass/shot fakes. Just trying to get a spin move down and I think I'll have a decent repertoire of moves. Always room for more though :cheers:

See how it goes for later, till then :rockon:[/QUOTE]


nice. I'll rep you later.

[QUOTE=Underballer]philippino league.... tough competition? :roll: :roll:[/QUOTE]

Dude, I've played many Philo''s and thought if they were a foot taller they could be a sg in the NBA. Such good speed and strength combo.

Took most of last week off, played social mixed bball last night which is mainly good for a laugh.
We've been playing in the mixed league for the last 3 or so years, and we versed the only other team who have been there as long. Kinda like a rivalry game.

We started out slow, I was making excellent passes as I planned to focus on that, but my team mates just couldn't convert. Rough first half and shots weren't dropping. Finished the first half down by 12. I had 2 pts, couple of assist, 1 block and a steal. 0 turn overs.

In the second half, I came out more aggressive, looking to score. Had a nice up and under and 1, and a euro step. Our big man started hitting his mid range J, I couldn't get my shot to hit, I somehow sprained my wrist a few days before and couldn't get comfortable shooting, hence why I drove almost every time.

We finished up winning by 10. Fun game though. My knees are aching today, but started up my squat and stretch routine again, just pushed through the pain. They feel better for it. Going to do it twice a day and see how it goes.

Next looking to play Wednesday night.

Also, starting up our men's social team again after Christmas. Need an idea for new uniforms, any good suggestions are welcomed.

Until next time, laters :cheers:

[QUOTE=L3B120N J4M35]imma sophomore in highschool and last week i got cut from the team. my coach didn't tell me what i needed to work on, but i kinda now what i do. ball handling (especially left hand) and defense. I got defense just half the time i lazy which i shouldn't be so if anyone has any good dribbling drills to get my left handles crazy good, holla at ya boy.

today i just played at the ymca for the first time since getting cut. we ran a couple full court games (not the brightest competition) but i shot bad but made layups and passed really good. hopefully my passing today wasn't a fluke :lol . people were calling me rubio :oldlol:

BTW, good thread op. i like the idea. ISH Fam!! :cheers:[/QUOTE]

Better Basketball has a ball handling video with like 150 different dribbling drills. You can buy it/download it/most of it may already be on youtube. I do 30 of them everyday and in 3 weeks it has vastly improved my ball handling. I can only imagine what it will be like after 6 months. It not only improves your handles, but also your passing because you hands are so much stronger and Rubio esk passes with one hand start becoming accurate. Like with anything, it takes a lot of reps, and a mindset that has really worked for me is to basically make the basketball an extension of myself or like my child. I would defend myself or my child from someone trying to take it with my life, and I try to apply the same attitude towards the basketball. It sounds kind of ridiculous, but making yourself one with the basketball is like a spiritual experience... like an artist with his paintbrush, or musician with his instrument. Also a main emphasis while dribbling is keeping the core strong. If people know they can body you up and throw you off, they will. If you remain strong however, when they body you up it feels like they are hitting a solid wall and they can't physically impose themselves. When you do the drills you should feel your core working hard.

i went out and did my thing

/diary

Last nights game was sooo frustrating, refs were making bad calls. I had 3 clean charges, yeah my feet weren't set as I was shuffling sideways, but they were the ones where the guy was going right every time and just dropped his shoulder every time.

I've gotten into this bad habit of arguing with the ref, I really want to focus on stopping that, but when you're in the moment, it's hard.

We won the game overall though. Just a social league. Last time we played that team we won as well, best part is that they are all trash talkers, I love playing against trash talkers, I play my best games. It's like, when someone talks trash, it challengers me, get's me in the zone, anyone else like this?

So yeah, game was pretty close, half way through the second half, their centre was just talking mad shit to me. In my head I was just think, 'this is going to be fun.'

First moment between us was in the open court, he was trying to stop me at the half way, I crossed him and he just resorts to clotheslining me. Just glanced off, he stays saying stuff, so I was just like 'you won't get it off me man, you won't.'

He just kept talking crap as the game went on, I just laughed, but then I had the icing on the cake. I received the ball up top. Iso'd the guy d'ing me up top, threw a sham god dribble at him, got passed him, as I drive in first bounce, the centre talking shit steps up. I picked the ball up, euro'd to my right first, pass faked to my right, he bit so hard. I stepped left him, completely going the wrong way. Finger roll and it's good. He was speechless. I just jogged past him as he collected the ball, I just said, 'you like that aye.' I jog back up the court and his was fuming. A few seconds later the game was over.

Would've sounded like such a douche, but to me it was cool hahaha :roll:

On a finishing note, knees are feeling better. Skip and squats tonight.

Until next time, laters :rockon:

did you join a team solo? if yes, how well are you playing with your team?

[QUOTE=Underballer]did you join a team solo? if yes, how well are you playing with your team?[/QUOTE]

Nah, This team is just all friends.
We're starting my old team back up that we disbanded 6 months ago to recover from injuries, so that's starting next year.
Social league comp. We've been in that league awhile, won the finals 3 times.

I was looking for a new team to fit in with, but yeah, this one came up first. I play point for it, so it will be good to develop more.

ah, nice. i have nobody to join a team with, and i'm thinking about joining a league solo. the thought of it is pretty nerve racking though, since i don't know how my teammates may be

[QUOTE=Underballer]ah, nice. i have nobody to join a team with, and i'm thinking about joining a league solo. the thought of it is pretty nerve racking though, since i don't know how my teammates may be[/QUOTE]

I thought about that for a bit, I think if the thirst to play is enough, you just have to bite the bullet.

I didn't do it purely cause I knew the team I would end up on, I would've ended up on a team with a bunch of international students, not that I have anything against them, but to play basketball with, they show no respect and all thought they were Kobe, but far from it.

I don't enjoy running up and down the court all game without getting a couple touches :facepalm

Post some pictures. I'll post some pictures after we play.

^ ?

My knees have felt a lot more stable while playing lately, but unfortunately it hasn't converted into playing better. I have a feeling in time it will, but been in a slump as of late.

Played Friday night but started cramping in the lower stomach about half way through the second. Couldn't really do anything after that. Also made a crucial TO in the last couple minutes to put us down by 6. I though I saw one of our guys cutting into the middle but it was of theirs... Passed it straight to him :facepalm

Then played Saturday night, pick up games to 11 for 3 hours. Played the first couple good, I was on fire, but then couldn't hit anything. Last game of the night, I struggled to even get the ball which was frustrating. I was making excellent passes, but my team mates couldn't finish them.

One of our guys went shot jacking, when his hot, it's ok, but he was ice cold.
Meanwhile, I had the best defender on me, so I was making him work, but no one gave me the extra pass. And then on defence, I was guarding their best player, who was on fire that day too, as well as playing good help D.
Just a frustrating night, doing everything well off the ball, but getting no where.

Sometimes wonder if I should just quit basketball.. Go back to playing Astro Turf Hockey. I was a Div. 1 and also State Champion at Hockey.
Oh well, they say it get's toughest right before you get better. So hopefully soon I'll be due for a boost in skill :lol

Till next time, :rockon:

how can u be state champion if australia only has provinces

[QUOTE=Underballer]how can u be state champion if australia only has provinces[/QUOTE]

:facepalm Suppose you believe we actually ride Kangaroos from "province to province" too?

[QUOTE=Swaggin916]Better Basketball has a ball handling video with like 150 different dribbling drills. You can buy it/download it/most of it may already be on youtube. I do 30 of them everyday and in 3 weeks it has vastly improved my ball handling. I can only imagine what it will be like after 6 months. It not only improves your handles, but also your passing because you hands are so much stronger and Rubio esk passes with one hand start becoming accurate. Like with anything, it takes a lot of reps, and a mindset that has really worked for me is to basically make the basketball an extension of myself or like my child. I would defend myself or my child from someone trying to take it with my life, and I try to apply the same attitude towards the basketball. It sounds kind of ridiculous, but making yourself one with the basketball is like a spiritual experience... like an artist with his paintbrush, or musician with his instrument. Also a main emphasis while dribbling is keeping the core strong. If people know they can body you up and throw you off, they will. If you remain strong however, when they body you up it feels like they are hitting a solid wall and they can't physically impose themselves. When you do the drills you should feel your core working hard.[/QUOTE]

just seen this. thanks bro. i download them :D. look to start using it pretty soon. will update with results later on.


going to the ymca in a couple hours. will update this when i get back..

cheers :cheers:

yo ai2death, what skipping and squat routines are ya undertaking? got knee issues myself and wanna put together a plan to squat thrust them the f outta here.

[QUOTE=mugiwara]yo ai2death, what skipping and squat routines are ya undertaking? got knee issues myself and wanna put together a plan to squat thrust them the f outta here.[/QUOTE]

I'm doing about 10-20 Minutes of skipping a day, Doesn't really help the knees, but it's a great warm up and great cardio. I also through in some dribbling drills and weights before/after. As for the squats, I try to do 100 body weight squats a day in reps of 20. I lower myself slowly ass to grass, then explode up onto my tip toes, trying not to jump though, cause that feels like it stresses my knees more than what I'm trying to accomplish.

I've also bought some heat packs and ice packs. About 30 minutes before any games I strap the heat packs to my knees, go to the game and unstrap them just before taking the court. Than after the game, I go home have a cool-cold shower then strap the ice packs to my knees. It doesn't seem like much, but it takes away almost all the pain I use to feel the next day.

The hardest part of all this is staying committed to doing it, I know I can get away with out doing it, but I'll be in a lot of pain. The way I look at it is, It hurts more not to play. So I just try and stay motivated.

I've let the squats slip as of late. And last night I could be bothered doing anything, so I just played AC4 lol. Still feel a bit guilty so I'll hit it for twice as long tonight.

But I have thrown in some wall sits, coupled with lifting weights at the same time. Basically have your legs at right angles and your back against a wall, put a basketball between your knees to hold. Then with about 10-12kg in each hand lift the weights above you.

I should also remember to through some planking into my daily workout.

Sweet dude, pretty much what I've been doing already. Im recovering from ACL injury and have gone away for a month to a small coastal town, bottom of Aus. Im here just getting fit doing beach runs, a similar squat and skip thing and working on my game at the rand new courts they have installed. Working hard to drop the surgery weight and regain my explosiveness and most importantly confidence. Last night i got my hands on a bike and there is a decent coastal trail here so I'm gonna smash that in the morning and jog in the evening.

:cheers: to the love of the game

[QUOTE=mugiwara]Sweet dude, pretty much what I've been doing already. Im recovering from ACL injury and have gone away for a month to a small coastal town, bottom of Aus. Im here just getting fit doing beach runs, a similar squat and skip thing and working on my game at the rand new courts they have installed. Working hard to drop the surgery weight and regain my explosiveness and most importantly confidence. Last night i got my hands on a bike and there is a decent coastal trail here so I'm gonna smash that in the morning and jog in the evening.

:cheers: to the love of the game[/QUOTE]

May I ask where to in Aus?

Im from Adelaide, weak basketball here to be honest. In the city its mostly Asian dudes who wanna ball, they play the right way which is good but they call fouls too much and its often easy to dominate just by turning up the intensity. Obviously there are ballers about though, I've played with a bunch of great asian dudes too, found a group with a few dunkers. Most of the young dudes who play at clubs here end up switching to footy when they turn 18 for whatever reason which sucks, i swear all the white guys i ever play with are older ex ABA dudes who are strong, dirty players, knock down shooters and super friendly haha

[QUOTE=mugiwara]Im from Adelaide, weak basketball here to be honest. In the city its mostly Asian dudes who wanna ball, they play the right way which is good but they call fouls too much and its often easy to dominate just by turning up the intensity. Obviously there are ballers about though, I've played with a bunch of great asian dudes too, found a group with a few dunkers. Most of the young dudes who play at clubs here end up switching to footy when they turn 18 for whatever reason which sucks, i swear all the white guys i ever play with are older ex ABA dudes who are strong, dirty players, knock down shooters and super friendly haha[/QUOTE]

lol small world, I'm from Adelaide too but it sounds like you're skill level is far beyond mine. I wouldn't necessarily say the basketball is weak here, just not as common as other places. Probably due to the love AFL.

[QUOTE=Ai2death]lol small world, I'm from Adelaide too but it sounds like you're skill level is far beyond mine. I wouldn't necessarily say the basketball is weak here, just not as common as other places. Probably due to the love AFL.[/QUOTE]


Oh snap! haha nah man, I'm nothing special. Trying to get back into form while I'm down here, the locals play here Thursday nights so I'm gonna see if i can jump in a game. Ill hit you up when I'm back and we can ball, we probably already have played together before knowing adelaide.

[QUOTE=mugiwara]Oh snap! haha nah man, I'm nothing special. Trying to get back into form while I'm down here, the locals play here Thursday nights so I'm gonna see if i can jump in a game. Ill hit you up when I'm back and we can ball, we probably already have played together before knowing adelaide.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, Everyone knows everyone lol. You from North or South?

Back on topic.

Kinda disappointed in myself this week, took Wednesday off ball cause just couldn't be bothered, than my misses getting me to do stuff the last few days so I didn't get my workouts in. Just feeling fat. Everyday trying to cut out sugar/energy drink & fast food, It's hard to do at work as a mechanic, peer pressure for beers and such too.

Oh well heads up to the future. Going to Kuala Lumpur next week for a week, so it will be interesting to see what get's done there. Hopefully our hotel has a gym. Anyone been to KL?

Waiting for a call back to see if there is some pick up on tonight at the local courts. If not, I run a session on Saturday, just make sure I come out aggressive and push the pace.

Anyone here have any experiences of using pre-workout for basketball?

On Monday, i went to the ymca with my brother and cousins to play. Usually we play full court (on the side baskets), but this time we played half court 3v3's. I started to hit probably like 10 threes of 3 games. I was in the zone aha. It was an amazing feeling, but i cooled off after that. Then we played 4v4 full court when things cleared up and i did alright. hit another three tho :rockon:

yesterday, went to a different ymca and played full court and completely sucked. couldn't make a layup or three. Still won that game, but in the second game it was 11-11, up to 12 winning by 2. i got a screen and hit a long three pointer to win the game. (feelin' like Lillard) and did the same thing when we played half court 3v3. can't hit a shot until the game's on the line :pimp:

going back up there today. will update!!

Cheers :cheers: