The Impossibility of Perfectionism

The idea of “perfect” is often found in the vocabulary of athletes and coaches alike. “Perfect execution”. ”Perfect practice.” “Perfect shot”. While the concept of striving for perfection pushes players to achieve their ultimate best performance, problems occur when an athlete’s mental toughness is limited by “perfectionism” which leaves absolutely no room for failure of any kind.
The mental game of basketball requires a player to effectively encounter failure or any negative situation, then regroup, and refocus with a positive mindset and strong basketball confidence. The player that struggles with perfectionism constantly feels a sense of failure because they are unable to perform perfectly, thus crushing their basketball confidence and overall mental toughness.
Sports psychology for basketball advises players to establish goals as a means to strengthen focus and improve their mental game. These goals should always fit the player’s ability and allow for growth at their particular level.
Perfectionism allows for no growth, because there is nothing better than perfect, yet it is also clearly unattainable. Even the best professional athletes miss shots, commit fouls, and travel with the ball. Mistakes are part of the game of basketball, but the mentally tough athlete succeeds when they view mistakes as a means toward growth and not as a sign of weakness and failure.
Here are some signs a player may be dealing with perfectionism, and as a result a weakened basketball confidence.

• A sense of never being good enough. These players feel anxious when talking about their abilities and performance.

•  Never able to experience success. These players always minimize any success or goals they reached by focusing on negative situations. An example is the player who scored their personal best, but focuses on a missed free throw.

•  The game is no longer fun to play. Certainly practices are difficult, but mentally tough athletes enjoy the game. They enjoy getting better. Athletes suffering with a perfectionist mentality find no joy because each and every minute they play is simply an opportunity for failure.

• Constant frustration. When a perfectionist misses a shot it carries great levity, and it is easy to see in their body language that it crushes their confidence. Any mistake is accentuated to great proportions in their mindset, and as a result their focus remains negative with worry and anger.

• Nerves. Most perfectionist athletes get very nervous in game situations, because they are faced with situations to fail. Since they know perfect is an illusion, the only thing they can experience is failure to meet it.

The first step to overcoming a perfectionist mentality is to analyze thoughts and determine your focus. Ask the question, “Are my goals realistic and attainable?” If they are not, then it is time to reset some goals. Recruit the assistance of a trusted individual to create your goals, and determine if they fit your abilities. Surround yourself with individuals who strengthen your basketball confidence with encouragement, and not destroy it with perfectionist ideals.
Finally, analyze your thoughts and mental focus during practice and game situations to determine if you are strengthening mental toughness or creating a negative mindset when faced with adversity.

7 Pillars of Teamwork

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Teams with talented players have an (obvious) advantage, but they are not guaranteed success.Talent is not enough by itself to win a championship.Basketball is a team game. Thus teamwork is an essential ingredient to success.Players must put the team first.A great player can win any game. A great team can win every game.If you have talent, you need teamwork to maximize it.If you are short on talent, you need teamwork to overachieve.

 7 Pillars of Teamwork:
 Lead your teammates. Coaches cannot be the only leaders on the team. Leadership must come from the players, on and off the court, at every practice and every game.
Elevate your teammates: If you aren’t making your teammates better; you are making them worse. Players need to raise the level of their teammates through their enthusiasm, encouragement and through working hard by example.
Respect your teammates: You don’t have to be BFF’s with every teammate. But you do have to respect every teammate. The starting point guard needs to respect the last player on the bench (and vice versa). Respect them as a person; respect their role.
Trust your teammates: You have to trust that your teammates know, accept and embrace their role. You have to have full confidence that they will be in position on ‘help defense’ and trust they’ll make the shot when you give them the extra pass.
Discipline your teammates: Players need to police each other on and off the court. Coaches can’t be everywhere. Coaches can’t see everything. Players need to ‘fix’ poor behavior internally.
Back your teammates: A team is a family. Would you let someone pick on your little brother at the park? I hope not. If your teammate ever gets in a bind, on or off the court, they need to know you have their back.
Challenge your teammates: Competition amongst teammates is invaluable. If you are the ‘back-up’ point guard, you should challenge for that starting position every single day. Not challenging your teammates during practice is selfish. Competition should bring out the best in everyone.

The tallest pro basketball player on Earth is in the NBA D-League

Paul Sturgess is 7'8!

The golden age of extremely tall pro basketball players seems to be over. Like, extremely tall even among the NBA's extremely tall population. In the '90s, several of the tallest people on the planet played in the NBA, and in some cases (Manute Bol, Gheorghe Muresan, Shawn Bradley) rather successfully, but since Yao Ming's retirement, that's no longer true. The NBA's tallest player is Hasheem Thabeet, who stands at a downright shrimpy 7'3. That change could be a combination of several factors — post-Yao realizations that human legs can only propel so much size, the evolution of the game, or even just a dearth of truly gigantic young men.

Anyway, what I mean to get at here is that we've got one. He's not in the NBA and probably won't be, but he's close by. Paul Sturgess — the Guinness-confirmed tallest pro basketball player on Earth — is in the NBA D-League playing for the Texas Legends. Sturgess is 26 years old, hails from England, and stands 7 feet, 7.26 inches tall, but it's customary to round up to 7'8.

Some more things to know about him:

• Sturgess was drafted by the Springfield Armor in 2013, but acquired by the Legends in a trade soon thereafter . He's playing only spot minutes and averaging 0.6 points per game in Texas.
• Sturgess is the second-tallest living Englishman, standing just fractions of an inch below former basketball player Neil Fingleton.

Top 5 Richest Clubs in Kenya

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A lot has been said about how Kenyan basketball and motivation need to go hand In hand. Most people ask what kind of motivation it is they are talking about. Is it in terms of assets, trophies and the ratio of liability to accomplishments in a basketball season?
Shouldn’t our basketball be like the most watched NBA? Or local football where money, wealth and club richness is a thing to boast about? Well fact is, we are not there yet, but regardless we still have teams that can definitely stand out as the more financially stabled, in terms of how much they spend on players, and logistics to run the team. Surprisingly some teams spend to the tunes of millions in a single season and their basketball prowess is something to brag on in the local basketball scene.
Lets be realistic the club in Kenya that splashes the most amount of money on players and coaching stuff and equipment will be the richest.
Here is the list of 5 richest basketball clubs in Kenya.
*figures are estimates but close to the real numbers

1.STRATHMORE UNIVERSITY

All of you might disagree with me on this but I will insist Blades & Swords are the richest basketball clubs in the country. Reasons are:-
·Scholarships: Strathmore is the 5^th most expensive university in Kenya and for the institution to have 4 basketball teams (2 ladies & 2 men) and offer them scholarships is something simply amazing! Boils down to actual taking care of your assets (players) who in turn deliver. We cannot merely equate this in exact monetary figures, but from a lay mans point of view, cost of educating the kids for a single year clocks to about 36million for Basketballers alone.
·The coaching staff for Strathmore basketball teams need not be talked a lot about, all I can say is they earn a 5 figure salary, and trust me, its more than 49,000kshs.
·Strathmore OWNS their own basketball training facilities and that’s hard to come by because in Kenya, Nairobi especially it is so expensive to own land.
So with this few facts, Strathmore owns the top spot in the richest clubs In Kenya.

2.KPA

Have you heard of a team that ferries players to and from another county so that they attend a league game? Well KPA does that. This is expensive and for the financial manager of a basketball team to do that, it probably has to have deeper than most pockets.
The coast based team has its own gym, hence in terms of assets, they are well equipped, and their fan base is the most vocal currently in the premier league.
Their staff are moderately taken care of and the players get to pocket a cool 5000kshs and above on away matches, not forgetting that the sleep in a 3 star hotel in the CBD

2.COOPERATIVE BANK SPARTANS

Talk about hard cash, the tangible thousands paid for your skill then coop should be the richest in Kenya. The only reason Strathmore is #1 is because I will not equate education to money and the fact that the 36+ million is not hard cash given to the basketballers.
Regardless the Spartans take second spot for various reasons
· Coach wages: the coach is well paid for his services and its money we can call a salary tax free.
· Player allowances: Spartans are the highest paid players in Kenyan basketball. Money that goes to their account (oh yeah, once you get drafted to Coop, you are opened for an account). The bank spends roughly 50,000kshs a week on player allowances, given that a month has four weeks, you do the math. Its safe to say these Men are well taken care of, as the bank boasts of its financial prowess on the streets.
· Travelling expenses: people love to travel, and go on basketball trips and tournaments. Who wouldn’t wanna travel in comfort and reach my destination and sleep in 4 star hotels. The best part would be if I do all this while doing what I love. Coop does that. Reliable sources informs us that traveling locally say to Mombasa, coop splashes a minimum of 254,000kshs in player accommodation and dinner for two days. Again you be the judge of the Spartan lifestyle.
· Training venue: all if not most of you have been to nyayo. That’s where cooperative bank trains. And payment is done to sport stadium management. According to their books, coop pays the gym from February to December. Four days a week… totals up to 156,000kshs.
Now with the few listed facts, its clear that the bank stands out as a financial powerhouse in basketball, because the players and coaching staff are more than well taken care of, thus handing the SPARTANS position 2 in the richest clubs in Kenya.

4.EQUITY BANK

Well the addition of this team on this list will for sure have tongues wagging since nobody knows what it is made up of.
The reason I have them here is not because they are banks, no way! That would just be bad journalism. But mainly due to the fact that the management has gone out of their way to offer some players employment. At the end of the day this translates to player growth so unlike the #1 and #2 slots, this team focuses on the player future. Gun to my head id say this holds a lot of value.
So I wont audit their books, maybe because I don’t have an inside man there, but all I know is there are jobs offered to players, and the coaching staff is well compensated for his hard work training the men at Railway club ( which is paid at a rate of 3000ksh a week.

5.ULINZI

Its not rocket science to know that this is technically a government owned team.
It is very safe to assume that the GoK provides for our army buddies. The government of course has money so Ulinzi makes a technical appearance on this list. I mean, if we don’t include our government team, then we are doomed!

KUSA – USIU Dominate Finals

 USIU Flames Too Hot For Swords

USIU Flames are the Nairobi Conference KUSA Ladies champions after they beat Strathmore Swords 39-19.USIU dominated in all the quarters but the last which they won by half a point (11-4,5-1,5-13,10-9)Star point guard Cynthia Irankunda had 8 points for USIU while Manuela Biel managed 7 points for Blades.

 

USIU Tigers Crowned Champions

Alex Ramazani scored 7 points in the first period and added 5 points in the second to lead USIU Tigers to a comfortable 63-40 win over Technical University of Kenya and be crowned Nairobi Conference Kusa champions.USIU were in control going into the break with a 38-15 lead and TUK never recovered.Alex Ramazani was in fine form only to be benched because of foul trouble in the second period led his team with 14 points while Kevin Kigotho had 11 points.A hard fighting Hope Roberts managed a game high 16 points for TUK.

Oryx Overcome Dynamites

Kenyatta University Oryx rallied from behind to beat a stubborn Dynamites 38-24 in order to become third .Oryx regrouped in the third quarter with a 9-2 run that saw them take the lead going into the fourth period. Oryx saved the best for last when they won the fourth 11-4,Rachael Wandago scored 12 points for the winners while Charity Wanjohi had 8 points for Dynamites.

 

Strathmore Blades Rally To Beat Terror

After a shocking defeat to Technical University of Kenya,Strathmore had to bring their A game against Terrorists to claim third place.Blades lead the first quarter 16-9 but struggled through out the second after Terror took the lead,Pascal Nabwana tied the game at 22-22 going in to the half time break.The third quarter was close Terror wining it 14-13 but Blades never gave up and stepped up in the fourth to win the game 50-44.Pascal Nabwana had 10 points and Luide Kakembo 8 points for Strathmore,Hillary Kubai had 11 points and Zach Gisemba 8 points for Terror.

Doreen “Yellow” Nyagah Is Going Places

She’s a Business Administration student at the United States International University (USIU) and is fast rising to be one of the best female players in the Kenyan Basketball League. Now all she needs is a championship, and maybe some more playing time on the court.

An alumna of the famous Buru Buru Girls High School,she joined USIU in the year 2012 and was highly motivated to join one of the best institutions of higher learning in the country not only academically but also in the area of sports through the advise of her parents.

“Yellow” as she is commonly referred to by her friends, is not only a versatile player on the court but is also flamboyant off it,especially with her ability to change the game whenever she comes off the bench. You may not fail to notice her on the court because she will either strike you with her light complexion, fancy coloured shoes and/or socks, her exquisiteness while driving to the hoop or even her lovely follow through especially when throwing it from downtown.

At 5’6” she has all that it takes to be the next star in the women basketball scene only if she continues working hard and remains as disciplined and focused as she always is. This is more so because she can play as a shooting guard or a small forward.She was part of the 2013 team that finished 2nd in the league and took part in the African Club Championships in Meknes,Morocco.

Premier League Dinamic Duos

 

To understand dynamic duos, you have to understand the symbiotic relationship between two athletes. One is the yin to the other's yang. To mention one without the other would be unpardonable. Whether they play together or against each other, each of our top 5 is a twosome of unspeakable dominance and beyond reproach when their greatness is measured against other mere mortals.

The list isn’t computed based on championship numbers. No, it is just done by pundits who love the game and observe keenly what goes around on court

VICTOR BOSIRE & KEVIN KIGS (USIU TIGERS)

Arrogance and skill combined into the two headed attacking and defense machine at Tigers’ disposal. Bosire with his corky signs after a made basket, and Kevin with his trash talking of the opponents on low post come in number 5 of the list of the best duo in KBF. A day without both of them in play would lead to serious stepping up by the rest of the Thika road based boys.

BEN OLUOCH & FRANKLINE DELANO (AVIATION)

A duo possessing experience, tactical genius, and unmatched chemistry Ben “stazz” and Delano are the core to Aviation’s overall movement. The two have played together from Postbank, to Posta, and now are back again for the second year in Aviation. Though they have zero KBF championship titles between them, Ben’s unmatched passing ability combined with Franklin’s basket hungry nature Aviation have a strong twosome any supporter would adore.

GRIFFIN LIGARE & ALEU DHOL (THUNDER)

Griffin’s no-look pass off the fast break right after a crazy ankle breaker to Aleu for a dunk captures the pure essence of teamwork. Ligare’s discipline stands out on and off court, and his commitment makes him make other average players look like superhuman. Aleu’s dominance in the paint is simply overwhelming and his footwork is awesome and he becomes unstoppable when marked by bigger opponents who are slower.
Having to mark this two players on court at once is a nightmare!! Remember they had a 6 game unbeaten streak which was due to this dynamic duo.

HILDA LUVANDWA &EMMA NYAKWEBA (USIU FLAMES)

If you double- or triple-team Emma on the low post, Hilda will definitely make you pay for it. If you leave Emma open,more often than not, Hilda will make a no look pass, and Nyakweba will make you look like a fool. Ask around, these two have played together since high school, and the countless achievements between them is proof enough that they can more than co exist on court and hell Yeah, they got game.

JOSEPH KHAEMBA & JAMES MWANGI (COOP)

With a a catchy alias(double Jay),the two come in with explosiveness combined with tricky ball handling; aerial ability and the freedom to roam in the counter attack which allow them to become the greatest attacking duo in the league. The current league MVP, averages 18pts per game and his sidekick has 15pts, boosting Coop and lead them to their second championship (together) and fourth in a row. We hope to see them continuing this incredible run of form, as KBF awaits the magic these two will be able to produce in coming future.