HoopHandbook - Dre Baldwin - Bog

Conditioning and mentality together make up 90% of the game of basketball. Yet very few players spend any serious time on either unless forced to do so. This is also why 99% of basketball players will never be professional at the game. At the early season practices of practically every team I ever played on, the coach would always announce what was the #1 way anyone could guarantee themselves a spot on the team: Defense. Warming up is your way of getting the body prepared to go all-out. Just as you would warm up a rubber band pulled out of the freezer before trying to stretch it too far, tight, cold muscles are more prone to pulls, strains, and tears - all of which you don't want. If you know anything about basketball -- and I'll assume you do since you have this Handbook -- you know that no player can score all the points all the time. Maybe you don't even want to score the most on your teams. For every one player shooting, there are four other players doing something else. The more facts of the game in which you can establish yourself a s a contributor, the more ways you can impact a game, the longer you will be a valuable, sought-after basketball player.