Launched in the very young bath in Madrid and arrived just as early in the NBA, Luka Donic is a wise observer to compare basketball in Europe and how it is practiced on the other side of the Atlantic.
In an exchange during the LeBron James and Steve Nash podcasts, Mind the gamethe Lakers leader was notably questioned about the differences between the old continent model and that in the United States in terms of players' training and development. Luka Doncic and LeBron James are categorical: the culture of training in Europe changes any fundamental question.
“” It's the same everywhere in Europe, we don't play as much in a week, we only have two games, sometimes only one, the rest, it's training Explains Luka Doncic. “” I love training, we had a lot of work on our technical qualities. For half an hour, up to 45 minutes, of fundamentals, just to warm up, then we played with exercises on many phases of play, not simply 5-confer-5, or 3-contained 3. »»
The IQ Basketball of young European players hailed by Steve Nash and LeBron James
For LeBron James, like Steve Nash, these workshops are helping to improve the “understanding of the game” and make Europeans different players, more ready for the very high current level. “” It is the biggest difference between the training of young people in Europe and America, the development of technical qualities, fundamentals is not expressed here »Analysis LeBron James.
“” It's simply 'playing, plays, plays'. And many young people do not develop their game, their fundamentals. There were certain moments in training where as Luka said, we worked on the situations of advantage, at 4-Conte-3, 3-Conre-2 … If I can have two defenders at the balloon, then we are in excess. Instead of reading the game like this, many children think that if there are two defenders in terms of the ball, they must find a way of overflowing their defender, or going in the middle of a take for two because I must be able to mark. »»
These two different approaches, due to a different vision of how to approach training, manifests itself once the young hopes arrived in the NBA, estimates LeBron James. “” To be a great player, be able to inspire your teammates, inspire yourself, your family and this game, you must be able to be on this wavelength »Image as to reading the game.« This is the difference that there is in the way they teach basketball in Europe and how we teach it here. It becomes a forgotten art here. »»
The requirement hampered by the starification of young players?
In addition to these two learning models, the three accomplices are the whole training system in the United States. Biberon with Real Madrid's requirement, Luka Doncic was certainly empowered, but not without having to comply with the collective mold to be able to shine. “” At 15, I had a coach who was really hard with me, but with everyone, from the first to the last player in the rotation. […] When you look at the Euroleague, or the national championships, it is the team that counts, collective work. »»
This is partly what explains the increasingly massive arrival of players trained outside the United States, where many questions have been raised in recent years on the quality of the training of young shoots. And which is not about to improve while Steve Nash points to the financial issues around high school players and NCAA, who risk pushing the coaches to bet everything on their main prospects, even if it means being more complacent, for fear of losing their jobs.
“” It is not to be of service to our children, we must let them be in difficulty and suffer, feel the pressure to become better, not the one that will disgust you from this sport The old double MVP advances.
“” I never got involved in the way my children were coached Lebron James continues. “” If a coach is there, that he coaches my son as he wishes. And I think you have to make him responsible for what he does, more than any other child I hope. This also builds character. Mother to mother your child and prevent their trainer or someone from being hard with him, change his team as soon as someone tells him something … You just have to train yourself, damn it. »»
“” It was essential in my career that my university coach was constantly on my back Steve Nash concludes, while Luka Doncic nods. “” My coach at 15 was shouted on me. We were at the half-time of a quarter-final or an eighth final, we led 30 points to the break and I was doing the idiot. He yelled at me, he made me cry. This coach partially made me change my way of seeing basketball. We haven't lost a match of the season. To really be a good player, you need someone like that, who tells you everything frankly. I love her for doing this for me. »»
