Basketball IQ Is What’s Holding You Back (Not Your Skills)

Before I get into this, I want to talk about specifically who this video is for. This video is for players who put in a lot of work. You're in the gym, maybe you follow a program, but you're consistent with the workouts that you're doing. Maybe you look around and you see that you're working harder than most people who are around you. So in theory, you should be getting a lot better and you should be seeing great results in games. But for some reason, you're not. You look around, you're putting in all this work and it's not translating to success. I experience this as a player and I hear from players every single day who are in this exact situation. They're doing everything right. They approach the game the right way, they love the game, they love putting in the work, but yet they're not seeing the fruits of that labor. This is especially true when it comes to scoring more points because players think that if they improve their shooting, they improve their ball handling, they improve their finishing, then it's going to directly translate to them increasing their points per game, being able to score at a much higher level. And a lot of times it actually doesn't. And the reason for this is that most players who struggle with this don't have a skill problem and they don't even have a work problem. The problem is a lack of basketball iq. In this video, I'm going to break down the three reasons why lack of basketball IQ is stealing points from you. And then I'm going to tell you exactly how you can develop this so that you see your work pay off and you finally get those results and that success in real games. The number one reason why lack of basketball IQ is costing you points is because a lot of times when players don't understand the game, they're not actually training the right things. So you're in the gym consistently every single day, but a lot of things that you're probably working on might not really directly translate into games, and they might not really be helping you score more points. So it feels like you're doing a lot, but that work really isn't anything productive for you. It all goes Back to the 8020 principle. 80% of your results are coming from 20% of your inputs or 20% of your work. So if you don't have those numbers correct in terms of what you're focusing on, then a massive part of what's going to lead to your success in games, you're probably overlooking. Now we're going to get deeper into what some of these areas are so you can make sure that you're not overlooking them. But. But specifically we want to talk about what are the skills that are going to directly translate to you scoring more points and being more effective. Number one is shooting the ball. But this is a lot of times where players mess it up is because they'll say, well, I am shooting, I'm shooting 500 shots a day, I'm shooting a thousand shots a day. But you have to look at your shots and ask, are they actually translating to the situations you're going to see in games? Catch and shoot threes are by far the most important area when it comes to shooting. Being able to shoot off of spot ups, being able to shoot off of extra passes, off of pin downs, out of transition, out of different off ball actions like flare screens and stagger screens, being able to shoot out of dribble handoffs and ball screens, or someone who handles the ball, but then also being able to shoot through imperfections so you don't get a clean catch on the ball. Maybe when your feet aren't exactly perfect, maybe when it's a bad pass or there's a closeout coming to you, can you still make the shot anyway? That's what true in game shot making is about. And a lot of players are only working on shots that are coming from directly under the basket where there's no defender, nothing imperfect. And so you train in an environment that is set up for you to succeed. In reality, you need to expose yourself to more difficult situations. So like I said, shooting with a bad pass, shooting with your feet not completely perfect, shooting maybe a little quicker than normal because there's a closeout coming or it's the end of the clock, whatever, and then also doubling down on working on those situational shots, off driving kicks, extra passes, pin downs, all that sort of stuff. And for a lot of players, because they're not properly focused in this area, it's not translating to them having opportunities to succeed in games. A lot of times players are putting in work thinking that they're getting better, but they're really just like a hamster running on a wheel going nowhere. The second reason why a lack of basketball IQ is probably holding you back from scoring more points is because it's not just about the what, but it's about the when and the why. Spending a ton of time in the gym a lot of times teaches you the what. So what you're working on is shooting, finishing ball handling, but then you get into a game and it's not as simple as just being in an empty gym by yourself anymore. Now all of a sudden, if you don't understand the why behind what you're doing, if you don't understand the when behind what you're doing, you, you're going to struggle to actually be able to produce in those game situations. And this is where a lot of players get stuck is they have all these tools that they've worked on and they don't know how to apply them. So it's like having a toolbox with all the nicest tools in them. You have the best hammer, the best drill, the best saw, but you don't actually know when to use what or how to use what. So you end up driving when you shoot the ball, you end up shooting when you should drive the ball. Maybe you pass up and you miss open looks, or you miss opportunities to use your skills, or maybe you try to use a combo move and get into all these fancy dribble combos, when in reality a simple rip through on a drive would have been much more effective. Basketball IQ is the key that actually unlocks those skills in games. And without it, those skills stay locked away. And the third reason why a lack of basketball IQ is likely holding you back from a scoring of points is because of the 95 rule. Something that most players never think about is the fact that 95% of the game you're going to spend without the ball in your hands. But when you look at the way that players train, 95% of it is with the ball in their hands. They're working on all these dribble combos, all these fancy finishes, all these different types of shots. But if you don't know how to move, how to space, how to cut, how to read the defense without the basketball, then you're going to be ill prepared to be effective in 95% of the situations that you're going to be in. Which means that there's only a small amount of time where you could actually even be effective in a game. And that's where high IQ scores really differentiate themselves. They know where to be, they know how to move, to get open. They understand advantages, how to create them, how to recognize them, and then how to exploit them. Areas like cutting without the basketball and off ball screens are crucial areas that most players never learn about. And so they miss all these opportunities to actually make an impact in games. And if you're not learning this stuff, then your impact is always going to be limited. No matter how skilled you are, no matter how much work you put in. So let's talk about how you can actually build real basketball IQ so that you get into games and you finally unlock those skills that you've been working on. Number one is you have to start studying the game. There's a lot of ways you can do this, but I want to talk about the two most important ways that you can do this. Number one is pick a player who plays your position or has a similar play style to you and watch them. Watch a full game if you can. And don't watch the ball. Just watch them when they have the ball, when they don't have the ball and they're on defense. And then pick apart their decisions. Why did they decide to drive there? Why did they kick the ball right there? Why did they cut right there? By doing this, you're going to start to pick up on all the little nuance that goes into being an effective player. And you're also going to be able to look at some of those situations that you're also probably in and learn how to actually apply those skills and be effective and make an impact in those situations. The second piece of it is learning the actions and concepts that are involved in the game of basketball. The game of basketball is very simple when you break it down. It's a game of actions and concepts. So actions like ball screens, pin downs, other off ball screens like flare screens, stagger screens, and then actions like gerbil handoff is another really common one. So study those things. Go watch players who are in those situations a lot. I've got breakdowns on my channel of all those different actions. You can check those out to go more in depth into that. But then you also want to learn the different concepts that go into the game. So understanding spacing, understanding off ball cutting, understanding 0.5 decisions and advantages like numbers, advantages, size or athleticism Advantages, numbers, advantages, and then understanding dominoes and how that impacts how you need to play and the decisions you make with the ball. Most players will hear that and have no idea what I'm talking about. And that's why they struggle to actually make an impact in games. Now, if you commit to doing those things for even just 10 minutes a day, it's going to skyrocket your basketball IQ. And most players aren't doing this sort of stuff. So it's going to help you to clearly and quickly separate yourself from everybody else. Not just that, but you're also going to learn how to then apply your skills into games. So all the work that you're putting in is finally going to feel unlocked, you're finally going to feel like you can make an impact consistently because you actually understand how to play the game. Now, if you want to make this super simple and you want something that's going to help you supercharge your process, I created Basketball IQ Academy just for this. Basketball IQ Academy is the ultimate, ultimate system for learning how to have a high level basketball iq, how to make better decisions, how to read the game, learning all the actions and concepts that go into the game. And this is not in some sort of abstract way. This is in a way that's going to directly lead to you scoring more points, creating more for your teammates, playing with way more confidence and consistency, and just being a way more successful player in real games. It's by far the most important thing that I've ever created and it's helped so many players to see way more success in games. On top of that, we also have a full strength and athleticism program that's included as well as a full year round skills training program. And there's so many more bonuses involved as well. It's truly the ultimate way to develop your game as a player and it's going to give you every tool that you need to take things to the next level. So if you're interested in that, that's going to be the top link down below in the description. Hopefully this video has helped you to kind of shift your view on the game and what it actually takes to be successful. Appreciate you for watching. Talk soon. Peace.