Dirk's Shooting Coach & US Basketball Fundamentals

[Dr. Cheese]

Mentor molded Dirk physically and mentally

This guy makes no some valid criticisms of how basketball s taught here. The criticisims will be even more valid if Dirk wins on Sunday.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Regardless of the outcome of the finals, this is a very interesting article, and the story of the Geschwinder/Nowitzki relationship is a great one. I love that he uses music as an analogy, and jazz and an example of teamwork. In music, mechanics are very important, and I often use sports/throwing a ball analogies as examples of the kinds of body motions that allow double bass players to play the instrument using the large muscle groups of the torso rather than the smaller groups in the forearm.

There are a lot of interesting books and studies out lately about how the brain works in the learning process (The Talent Code, Talent Is Overrated, etc.), and many of these use both music and sports as prime examples of how the brain builds insulated neural pathways which enable people to execute their skill sets at a consistently high level. I suspect that great shooters who haven't had mentors like Dirk's have discovered the physics of their craft intuitively by observing what kind of shots/arc/motions/follow-throughs etc. seem to go in at the highest rate and then practiced those excessively. I think of some of the great jump shooters and their form - Ray Allen, Bird, Kobe's jumper and follow through, Rick Barry's weird free throws - and it's no surprise to hear how these guys were always the ones who practiced very methodically. Good stuff.

[seventhson]

great article. thanks for posting.

[Dirk Diggler]

What, there's another Dirk in this world???? LOL
I thought I was the only one.

Wish I could collect a tiny percent of his paycheck and the same percentage of his ball skills.

Dirk

[aborgman]

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

Mentor molded Dirk physically and mentally

This guy makes no some valid criticisms of how basketball s taught here. The criticisims will be even more valid if Dirk wins on Sunday.

This is generally valid criticism of how ALL sports are taught here in the USA.

There is a much stronger emphasis on competition over just drilling - and I don't think that comes from just the coaching side, I think it's part of our culture.

[MonetBass]

Excellent article. And one I can relate to.

In high school and college, I played intermural basketball. I couldn't shoot worth a darn. Why? Because my shots were flat. No arc. Then a friend, who was a trainer for the university basketball team, taught me the proper technique: Use a high arc and aim for the high point in that arc between you and the basket. Guess what? That's physics. And my shot percentage went way up.

All kids learning basketball (or any sport) should focus on the mechanics of the game, and get muscle memory by practicing these mechanics over and over and over. Sound familiar? Yep, my string bass teacher used the same method to improve my bowing and fingering/shifting techniques. Physics are involved in that, too.

[Kawai-chang]

Good article. My personal take is that a beautiful consistent jump shot doesn't make posters, or highlight film, or (sadly, IMHO, the most important reason for today's players) a chance to scream/chest pound/preen that a dunk does.

[FilterFunk]

There's nothing more fundamental than good defense. I'd like to see Dirk's defensive fundamentals improve. Great defense is what separates guys like Russell, Jordan and Bryant from the rest.

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by FilterFunk

There's nothing more fundamental than good defense. I'd like to see Dirk's defensive fundamentals improve. Great defense is what separates guys like Russell, Jordan and Bryant from the rest.

He has improved! In the past Nowitzki didn't even try on defense.