The original “Can You Hear Me Now?” advertisement was a Verizon Wireless campaign running from 2002 to 2011. The ad emphasized reliable calls even in challenging situations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPwPo-IAQ-E .
With an explosion of artificial intelligence or AI applications, listening, comprehending, and/or an absorption of information or content now seems absent. The Muse believes that the next personal super power and coveted soft skill will be listening. Being an active listener and absorber will be highly sought by employers. Can you hear me now?
Ideal hoops and all of the information on the game of basketball already exists. It is out there for consumption. Like geology, the past is the key to the present. Critical is reading it, watching it, understanding it, absorbing it, and incorporating it. Fully understanding the “why” behind the game is crucial. Many coaches and players cite watching tape or film. For clarity, they are watching video, i.e., electronic files in a video format that are being played on PCs, laptops, phones, or iPads. Videotape vanished in the 1990s. Super 8 millimeter film vanished during the early 1970s. Now its all electronic video files needing video software to decode, play, and watch on one’s selected operating system.
Furthermore, ideal hoops can be achieved by studying, watching, and listening, then intentionally applying the learned material. Sounds easy. How to get there? https://www.facebook.com/highdiveus/videos/state-farm-basketball-how-i-got-here-with-juju-watkins/669868208764030/ JuJu Watkins in her State Farm Insurance ad entitled “How I Got Here,” shines the light on the community that supported her toward superstardom. According to the ad, its the assists that you don’t see on the highlight reel that makes all the difference. It features her Mom and Dad – its presented appreciatively and quietly. It is thoughtful, powerful, and insightful. JuJu ends it with “Give it back and pass it on.” It is a quiet yet powerful ad.
More on the specificity of how. First, quiet one’s mind and become a student of the game. Aim for a Ph.D. in basketball, it will help along one’s hoop journey. And back to the super powers of listening, observing, comprehending, and absorbing the learned material. Its all there. Study the great teachers of the game. Not the cultural icons, but the instructors providing the basketball lessons of how and why. Shun coffee table books, biographies, and autobiographies.
For instance, seek out instructional publications. Several are named below.
Personally flawed, but a tremendous teacher was Bob Knight, Indiana University men’s coach from 1971 to 2000, who developed the DVDs, The Complete Guide to Man-to-Man Defense and The Complete Guide to Motion Offense (Championship Productions). Bob Knight also published his own instructional books, which are now out of print.
Hall of Famer, Morgan Wootten coached boys at DeMatha High School in Maryland from 1956 to 2002 and published Coaching Basketball Successfully.
John Wooden coached UCLA men in the 1960s and 1970s with multiple national championships and authored Practical Modern Basketball.
Geno Auriemma has coached the Connecticut women for the last 40-years with 12 national championships-more than anyone else. Geno has a DVD, The Complete Skill Development Program (Championship Productions).
Pete Carril, former Princeton men’s coach from 1967 to 1996, has a DVD-set entitled Princeton Offense (Championship Productions).
Former New York Knick coach from 1967 to 1982, Red Holzman and Leonard Lewin authored Holzman’s Basketball: Winning Strategy and Tactics.
Clair Bee, Hall of Fame college coach from 1928 to 1951 wrote, The Science of Coaching.
Lastly, former Stanford women’s coach and Hall of Famer, Tara VanDerveer authored, Getting Great by Mastering the Basics.
There’s plenty of original instructional material to chose from – in both written and video formats.
Part of the inspiration for the IdealHoops.com blog was an uninterrupted voice on basketball topics and sports observations. A typical inquiry to the Muse included my brief response, upon being interrupted, and subsequently listening to the interrupter for 4 to 5-minutes with an overly detailed take on a topic. The Muse felt squelched. A sounding board for others. Sometimes the explainer assumes that they possess more hoop knowledge than the Muse. They do not. They are not the final authority. The Muse buried her deeper basketball analysis to the masses. It stayed in her head. Now the genie is out of the bottle. Can you hear me now?
Everything about the game of basketball now is noisy. The deafening practice/warm-up music. The incessant prompts and chants for making N-O-I-S-E at games. Like a concert, the performers at some point need to quietly study the notes on a page to get the music and melody right. Got it down? Great! Now, go ahead and pump up the volume.
On the topic of noise, a friend shared an awkward moment at a college reunion. Engaged in a conversation with another classmate, both were yelling at each other to be heard. The surrounding noise was too loud. The setting prevented normal speaking tones. The classmate was also invading my friend’s personal space. Being soft-spoken herself, continuing the conversation would lead to a sore throat, strained vocal cords, and no voice for the rest of the weekend. She opted to walk away from the classmate, indicating that they were invading her personal space, and she could not keep over-modulating to be heard. The Muse empathized, also being soft-spoken with a voice that doesn’t project well. Can you hear me now?
More on noise. On the trip to the same college reunion, two young alums were standing in the aisle of a rail car catching up with each other. The Muse was also in the aisle standing in front of them. We were all packed in tightly. Their conversation was “MY COMPANY, MY JOB, MY, MY, MY, ME, ME, ME, I, I, I…” during the 10-minute train ride to campus. They were over-modulating and certainly a nuisance to nearby passengers.
Finally, future hoopsters will be well served by lifelong inquiry and a deep study and understanding of the game or one’s area of interest. Listen, watch, and absorb more. Its the next personal super power. Be quiet. Consume content. Be mindful. Process and apply. Play and work with precision, operate at a high level, and perform on a consistent basis. Can you hear me now?
Saturday Night Live’s The Loud Family from NBC. No copyright infringement is intended.