This opened the league to athletes of all races.  Cooper, Red Aeurbach, Bob Cousy and Ed McCauley all made their debuts November 1, 1950.   That same season  the Trotter’s, Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton became  the first black player to sign a contract and Earl Lloyd became the first Black player to play in an NBA game (October 31, 1950 with the Washington Capitols).  By the following season, black players made up 3 % of the NBA population.

Throughout the 50′s , 60′s, 70′s and even  the 1980′s, White (American) players dominated rosters  throughout the League.  In fact, during the 50′s and for the better part of the 60′s, there was an unspoken rule that limited the number of blacks to a team. Even in the college game the number of white players has dropped considerably. From the 1920s until 1947, few Black players were allowed in major college programs. One notable exception was Jackie Robinson, a multi-sport star (1939–1941) at UCLA just before World War II.  My question is… where did all the white players go?

I believe the Dream Team I (“Dream Team… American Nightmare”) skewed the American basketball model.  Everyone wanted to be like Mike and Magic, but only in a highlight sort of way. As I mentioned in the article the “world” learned the nuts and bolts of how to play the game the right way from our stars.  Our kids learned to be and-1 players.  No longer was it about being good but now it was about looking good.  Know-how lost its position in the basketball world to  do-how- at least in the minds of our kids.

Could  Dr. Naismith fathom the above-the-rim acrobatics or street-ball creativity of the modern player? This era of the physical freak has morphed the game of basketball beyond physical recognition. It is becoming more and more difficult to compete on today’s athletic plane.  Culturally blacks- as a whole, have an advantage over whites athletically strictly based on our “embochure” or  how we attach and walk  on earth.  See “Foot Mechanics is Quite a feat” and “Every Step You Take“.   Whites or any other group who attach in this way also tend to be athletic. Conversely, Blacks  with poor structure also suffer athletically.  So its more about culture than about color.

In addition  to our athletic prowess, our cultural sense of rhythm  or “soul”, seems to give us an advantage in dancing  and other types of physical creativity. It’s not surprising that blacks fill the majority of the rosters spots in the NBA .  The American basketball model caters to our subcultural advantages.  However, the NBA is not all black.  There’s Dirk, Nash, Turkgulu, Drajic, Ginobli, Pau and a host of  other players  from outside the US.  Why do these players and their fellow countrymen  fair so well against our “Superfreaks”, especially during world play? Are they just superior to american whites? It’s an obvious answer… right? It comes down to Know-how vs. Do-how.  It’s not that our Do-how artists are without Know-how, I just think the default settings for overall “clean” play aren’t quite as consistent. With the temptation to operate inside of physical gifts, sometimes possessions just seem to get away.

The remedy for all concerned is “Virtual Play.”

Virtual Play is the martial arts of basketball. It is the fundamentals, centered on economy and strategy of movement. With Virtual Play you do not have to be the best athlete to be the best player. The only physical requirement is to be an average athlete – if that. With superior technique, you can control physical confrontations without dependency on raw force or speed. Virtual Play allows you to manipulate time and space to manage objects beyond your “normal” physical capacity… It is precision of technique and focused vision that allows you to slow the game speed down to make processing the action easier. Precision or “clean” technique eliminates unnecessary movements and other time-costs from your play. Focused vision (which provides early awareness of the immediate circumstance) speeds up anticipation and decision-making skills. This type of time efficiency allows you to operate ahead of the action without having to move fast physically. — The Virtual Game of Basketball”

Unfortunately, thus far, Do-how artists are not too receptive to this information.  From my experiences, many don’t seem to find it relevant to their success or failure in the game.  Most of the players I train “virtually” are white.  It’s not race or economics per se.  Anyone that knows me understands I am willing to train anyone and certain kids for free.  If they have a certain talent base and passion, I would never let lack of finance ruin our”romance.”  I love pushing people forward… period!  Virtual play is for everybody. However,  over the next several years, I predict virtual play will usher in the return of the white american player  to the highest levels of the sport.   At the same time the marginal black players will fall off the landscape.

Eventually, Do-howers will embrace virtual play and the results will be staggering.  Imagine if LeBron James was virtual.  What if Rondo was a ” machine” shooter? Kobe’s pretty damn virtual, but what if he was highly virtual.   I’m a Seattle guy so I can’t help but wonder if Jamal Crawford or Martell Webster were as virtual as  Brandon Roy or Lil’ Nate even…  Damn! B TW: Boston was a Godsend for him- he’ll continue to grow.

With  virtual play as the law of the land, the NBA will become and forever remain a melting pot.  However, one of these days some superfreak (athlete) is going to be supervirtual as well and we’ll forget about Michael Jordan. Hmmmmn…. Imagine.

Many times in basketball it is about being quick or even quicker.  At other times slurring movements is the answer.  It all depends on the rhythm of the circumstance.  Learning to make plays inside the flow of the game or rhythm of the circumstance is a key ingredient for being an effective player and more importantly, an effective team player. Staying on beat gives you a higher sense of purpose than just the concerns of self. Some players finish plays, yet in a manner that is detrimental to team chemistry.

Some skilled players never quite find the rhythm and fail to make themselves a viable part of the mix. Others- albeit not many, seamlessly get in where they fit in or fit in when they get in-whichever the case may be. However it’s said or is, these rhythm guys seem to stay open, come up with timely loose balls, rebounds and habitually find themselves in position to make critical plays for their team.  They operate slightly ahead of the frames (movement) of play and have a commanding presence on the floor. Sounds like the conductor or a Chauncey Billups kinda dude. BTW:His trade out of Motown years ago was definitely off-beat.

Understanding the rhythm of the affair is part of KYE or knowing your environment. KYE is integral to KYC -knowing your capacity  and operating inside your strengths. It’s equally important to  KYL -know your limits and work to neutralize them.  Last but not least, KYE is vital to KYP-knowing your personnel and how to function effectively together in the moment.

So whether you play  trombone or point guard; whether it’s the “battle of the bands” or the big game, if you don’t stay in tune to the rhythm of the affair you’ll probably get beat.

If you’ve got skills (and believe in yourself), mastering this art gives you a legitimate chance to go to work in any environment. Let’s face it. If you don’t show what you can do, know one knows what you can do.  As I spoke of in the last post (“I know You Know You But… “), most players are typically “aware “of what they can do themselves.

“I find that all players are generally interested in scoring themselves. Some are selfish, but most are just confident in their own ability to score and are not maliciously dominating the ball. An effective and team-healthy way to increase touches is to stay obviously open. If you are constantly open to make a play and your teammates consistently miss you with passes, then that should be a matter for the coach to resolve.”

- The Virtual Game of Basketball

The goal should always be to get as many quality touches as possible.  A quality touch is not just receiving the ball. It’s receiving the ball with an opportunity  (time or space from the defender)  to make productive plays- without forcing the action. This is starkly different from just receiving the ball (however) and trying to make something work.  That’s one-on-one basketball which generally compromises team play, regardless of whether you make a play or not.

Get yourself obviously open and aggressively look to make plays every touch- if posible.  Just don’t forget the “Ode.“

Ode to an offensive weapon

If you’ve got a shot- make it.

If you’ve got a drive- take it.

If you’ve got a pass- relay it