Moving to Milwaukee a little over a year ago has opened several doors for me to begin working with professional players. It started when I was working out Dominic James and Chris Grimm in May of 2009. Most recently, I spent the spring working with Brian James – who is now an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers – preparing players for the NBA draft. Throughout May we worked with Lazar Hayward (Marquette) and Jerry Smith (Louisville), teaching the fundamentals of the NBA game – ball screen angles, playing off penetration and common NBA actions – along with their ball handling and footwork. Current NBA player, Steve Novak, was also there at several of the workouts. The most enjoyable thing about working with these guys is not their skill, not their athleticism, but their overall attitude towards the game. Here are some of the common characteristics that stick out to me.
- Eager to learn: Every time I saw Jerry Smith he was asking me for more ball handling drills. If you told him something he wanted to make sure that he understood and got it right. You can’t get learn if you don’t listen and if you don’t learn you cannot improve. A genuine desire to always be learning is a huge ingredient to success. It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.
- Work Ethic and Intensity: Even in the simplest warm up drills every guy give tremendous effort and pay attention to detail. We’d start out almost every workout with stationary ball handling or Mikan drills and the guys were sweating right away. Jerry Smith goes harder than any guy I’ve ever worked out.
- Competitiveness: With Lazar Hayward Coach James almost always ended the workouts with some competitive shooting drills. Steve Novak and Lazar Hayward went at it every time. They both wanted to win every single drill, and believe it or not, Lazar actually beat Steve in some of them!
- Leadership and Encouragement: The first time I worked out with Novak he was always talking, always encouraging Lazar in all the drills. Talking is contagious. Soon after, all the guys were pushing each other when they got a little winded and praising each other if they made a great move or got hot in a shooting drill.
Another time I was working out Joah Tucker, who played for UW-Milwaukee under Bruce Pearl and now in Europe. There was an extremely talented high school player there, who just doesn’t “get it yet” – he doesn’t have the sense of urgency and attention to detail. Joah was talking to him about his footwork when we were doing a ball screen series and also encouraged him to pick up his speed in a drill. Yes, it is great to get positive reinforcement from your coaches, but it is equally encouraging to get from your peers. Next time you are working out try it and see what happens.
What’s funny is that the only thing I ever ask for from a middle school or high school player is that they listen and work their tail off. This is exactly what all of these guys do.
“Mike Lee has worked with me on many basketball instructional projects. Whether it has been in a team setting, small group work or with individuals, Mike is at the top of my list that I personally want to work with or recommend to others. His teaching methods are “State of the Art”, and he gets student-athletes to improve their fundamental skills, while having fun doing it. His ball handling is the BEST I’ve seen. He helped me get Lazar Hayward of Marquette U ready for the draft, which resulted in a 1st round selection.”
Brian James
Assistant Basketball Coach
Philadelphia 76ers Basketball Club
