Becoming a "Sniper"

This "kid" demonstrates what can be accomplished when natural born talent is combined with hard work and a commitment to mastering the details of one's craft. See the full article which originally appeared in USA Today here: Inside the Mind of a Sniper

When I first met Kyle during the summer of 1995, he was an incoming freshman at Pella (IA) High School. He was tall, lanky, and obviously talented. As the brand new head coach, there was a decision to be made about where to place him in our program. We had a nice group of returning varsity players which did not have any obvious shortcomings, plus he needed to be seasoned a bit more both physically and emotionally. As a result, we kept him on the 9th grade team rather than rushing him up to varsity.

When we made him a part of the varsity team during his sophomore year, we still had plenty of talented, older, more experienced players. Despite this, that year he became our leading scorer and rebounder. It was pretty obvious we had an extremely talented high school player on our hands, but absolutely nobody could have foreseen him as a professional player. Here is a quick story to illustrate. At that time, the Iowa Basketball Coaches Association sponsored a statewide all-star team of sorts. I accompanied Kyle to the tryouts held at the Lied Recreation Athletic Center at Iowa State. There were approximately one hundred sophomores going through drills and scrimmaging. If Kyle wasn't #100, he was close to it. Again, nobody saw a long, successful career in the NBA as even a remote possibility.

So what happened? Why did such an improbable outcome actually occur? From my vantage point as his high school coach, this is what I observed:

His parents never let basketball get too big. While basketball was important, it did not supersede faith, family, or school work. Never ever did he walk around the halls of Pella High like some Big Man on Campus.

He played other sports, namely baseball and tennis.

He excelled in a school activity outside of sports (student newspaper).

Our high school team was always more important than AAU.

He bought into what us coaches were emphasizing: attitude, effort, toughness, defense first, being a good teammate, doing what was necessary for the team to be successful. On this note it must be emphasized that his parents were conspicuously supportive, even though I am sure there were many times they disagreed with our decisions.

He was the hardest worker in practice, even though he didn't need to prove himself as a starter.

He lived a healthy lifestyle.

He kept the recruiting period brief and the process sane. It never became an ego-gratifying three ring circus. I don't recall if there was a signing ceremony, but if there was one it must have been small and understated.

He picked a university which was a great fit both academically and athletically. Coach Dana Altman's system allowed Kyle to grow as a player and Creighton University helped to developed him as a person.

In every city he has played (Pella, Omaha, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Atlanta, and Cleveland) he has made a difference aside from basketball. Very few people have a more giving heart.

This reflection is not to imply that there is a simple formula for becoming a high achiever. Certainly a combination of genetics and luck plays a role in any person's rise to the top of any field of endeavor. It seems, however, that some good decisions were made which greatly increased the odds of a positive outcome.

Much has changed the twenty some years since these events started to play out. In fact if one took the narrative described above and reversed the storyline at each point, that would be the norm of the typical prospect. Maybe it is impossible to return to a simpler, purer approach to the game of basketball.

But it would be fun to try.