Quote of the Week...from Kevin Durant

I learned how to pass when I was real young. That's one thing I always knew how to do was find the open man.                                            ---Kevin Durant.

Actually, I have two quotes from one of the greatest basketball players of our time, Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant...who last night dominated the opening championship series game against Cleveland with his 38 points and deft ball handling, passing, rebounding, and defense.  Let me focus on the above quote for now: passing in basketball has been an underrated skill as I experienced the sport, but it is crucial to employ it in order for an offense to penetrate the defense around the basket.  When I used to watch my son...and later, my daughter, play as kids in local basketball leagues, the coaches were all very good at teaching their young players how to play defense.  But offense? It was often near-impossible to score...I remember one game that went 2-0.  The reasons are fourfold: one, children don't as yet possess the arm strength to effectively throw the ball hard and fast enough to a teammate without someone on defense catching on and intercepting it.  Two, in order for an offense to be consistently effective, all five players need to be in on passing and positioning themselves...usually in these "little" leagues there are maybe two or three who are strong players and the rest tag along, mostly ineffective.  Three, effective passing in basketball involves a well-drilled appreciation of the sport's dynamism: you pass where your teammate will be, not necessarily where he or she is right now. And four, there is a tendency...more in youth sports...for those more aggressive (and admittedly often very talented) players to hog the ball and completely forego passing, instead just bulling their way through the defense and to the basket.  The problem with all this is the false notion that to pass the ball to another is a tacit admission that they are somehow better players than oneself and can handle the ball better...when in fact it's the opposite that is probably true.  Kudos to Durant for recognizing at a very early age that there is more to basketball than fancy dribbling...any coach's son can be trained to do that...

And now for Kevin Durant's second quote: When people are used to you doing something, they want you to stay in that lane.  This statement of his carries a much broader life meaning than just basketball, and I couldn't agree with it more.  People tend to feel uncomfortable being around another who is undergoing major changes in his or her life and would prefer the old...even less mature and more selfish...version that they are used to dealing with.  What was that line in the Judy Collins song Both Sides Now?  Oh yeah, "But now old friends are acting strange, they shake their heads, they say I've changed. But something's lost but something's gained in living every day."  Growth is a very crucial aspect of a healthy life, and it is manifested in change that will cause resistance and opposition on the part of others, even if that change is for the better...