The 90-Day Game Plan to Transform Your Game

"I attribute much of my success in New York to my ability to understand and avoid unnecessary distractions."

- Derek Jeter

Reaching your goals isn't just about doing the right things...

It's about being able to avoid the countless traps and distractions that get thrown at you.

It's never been harder to make it as a basketball player.

Whether your goal is to make it the next level, earn a bigger role on your team, or earn accolades and recognition- this is the most competitive era of basketball (at every level).

Not only is it the most competitive it's ever been because of the sheer number of basketball players out there, but there's never been more access to high level training, information, and guidance.

But the problem with all that access is that sometimes it can get overwhelming.

I hear from so many players who feel like they're being pulled in a million different directions...

"Do this drill!"..."Don't do this drill!"..."This drill is the best!"..."This drill doesn't work!"..."Try this workout!"...blah blah blah...

With the amount of basketball training information out there, you can quite literally get pulled in a hundred different directions every single day.

So today, I decided that I want to simplify things for you as best I can.

I'm going to give you the ONLY 3 things that you need to be focusing on the next 90 days (now until the end of the summer).

No fluff, no hot takes, no "TRY THIS BALL HANDLING HACK" or anything like that.

Just 3 things that will absolutely transform your basketball career and help you reach your goals if they are your focus:

1. Get stronger

If you can't matchup physically, you cant play basketball at a high level. It's as simple as that.

If you aren't strong or athletic enough, you will be very limited on the court.

Just look at the world of college basketball today.

Coaches don't want to recruit high school players as much. They'd rather recruit a 20 or 21 year old who is more physically developed (and more mentally developed, which we'll get to in a second.)

You can't do anything about your height or your natural athleticism, but you can certainly get WAY stronger and WAY more athletic if you work at it.

If you have access to a trainer or strength coach, perfect- take that seriously and make it your number one priority.

If you don't have that, I'll make it super simple. Focus on getting stronger at the compound lifts.

For upper body: bench press, shoulder press, pull-ups, bent over rows

For lower body: squats, lunges, RDLs

Add a couple isolation lifts for upper and lower (bicep curls, hamstring curls, tricep pushdowns, lateral raises, etc.)

Lift upper body 2x per week and lower 2x per week. Once you have a good base of form, try to lift a little heavier or try to add another rep each week.

And then 2-3x per week, spend 10 minutes jumping as high as you can. Go touch something as high as you can, give yourself a 30-45 second break, and then go again.

Do the same thing with sprinting, about the length of a half court. Sprint as fast as you can, then take a minute break, and sprint again.

Follow that for the next 90 days and you'll get way stronger and more athletic.

2. Spend 80% of your on court training on shooting

Maybe this is a hot take...it shouldn't be.

For probably 90-95% of players, they should be spending 80% of their time focusing on their shooting.

Get really really good at making catch and shoot threes.

Boom...I could end it there. But I won't.

Get really good at making catch and shoot threes, 1-2 dribble pull-ups, and transition shots. If you can do that, you'll be valuable offensively.

A couple tips for working on your shooting:

1. There is no magic number. Quality of over quantity when it comes to shooting. Get as many high quality reps in as you can in 45-60 minutes. Spending 2-3 hours in the gym chasing a random number (like 500 shots or 1000 shots) is overkill at best and ruining your actual improvement at worst.

A good rule of thumb, generally for me, is that a great shooting workout has anywhere from 100-250 makes, depending on what we are doing. If you keep yourself in that range and go HARD on every shot, you'll get way better.

2. Challenge yourself. If you want to see improvement, you have to force your brain to adapt, and you do that through challenge. Give yourself challenging goals, like making X in a row, or making X out of X. Additionally, you can use constraints (fancy word for purposeful challenges) like having to shoot with your feet slightly off, having to shoot faster or from farther away, shooting after a bad pass, etc. to truly supercharge your improvement. Again, quality over quantity.

(And if you want a full program that gives you workouts that check both these boxes and will help you become an elite shooter, you're gonna want to check this out)

And then with the other 10-15% of the time you have left, spend it on ball handling or finishing.

But nothing is more important than shot making.

3. Get smarter and mentally tougher

The number one thing that separates the players that make it and the players that don't is basketball IQ, decision making, instincts, and mental toughness.

None of what we've talked about so far even matters if you don't have this.

Back to what I mentioned about college coaches choosing to recruit proven 20-21 years old instead of high school players, a HUGE reason is because those proven players will have a higher basketball IQ and the proven mental toughness to consistently perform, make it through workouts/practices and all the other challenges that come along with the game.

Those coaches know that those things matter so much more than just physical ability and skill.

So they give those players scholarships and playing time over the 4 or 5 star high school player who doesn't know the game well enough and hasn't proven their mental toughness yet.

The great thing is, when it comes to developing your basketball IQ, it's actually simpler and faster than developing any of the physical skills we've talked about.

Study the game

Watch a ton of basketball. I recommend watching college games and Euroleague, but the NBA is great to watch as well.

Study and learn the actions and concepts that the game is built on. Study decision making within these actions and concepts.

Watch how the best players maneuver different situations. And then mentally rehearse what you'd do.

Even spending 10-15 minutes a day doing this will set you apart from 99% of players out there who DON'T do this...

The best part is, developing an elite basketball IQ, becoming a great decision maker, and building mental toughness and unshakeable confidence is the most controllable thing in the game of basketball.

And it will get you on-court results the quickest:

• scoring will become second nature to you, no longer will you have to go out into games and HOPE you perform...you just will because you'll recognize opportunities and know exactly how to take advantage of them
• you'll attack every play with confidence and aggression
• you'll not only create more for yourself but for your teammates as well, making you a player that coaches have to have on the court (and that coaches at the next level will want to recruit)
• you'll know exactly how to train in order to become a high level player

Like I said, there's nothing more important than developing your basketball IQ and mental toughness.

And the best part is...there's a resource that will make this super simple and transformative for you...

I created Basketball IQ Academy as the only thing that you need in order to completely change who you are and your success on the court.

It's the only program out there that will not only teach you the details of the game, but will help you become an elite decision maker and confident playmaker on both ends of the floor.

On top of that, Basketball IQ Academy comes with two bonus programs:

• The Ultimate Mental Edge: Build confidence and perform under pressure

• Basketball EQ Academy: Develop the emotional control to lead and dominate in any situation

 It's everything you need to finally become the player who dominates in games and reaches the goals you have for yourself.

Click right here to check it out if you're serious about transforming your game in the next 90 days.

Like I said, the goal of today's email is to simplify things for you.

If you can avoid distractions and focus on the few areas that truly matter, you'll separate yourself and you won't even recognize who you are as a player.

Kill it the next 90 days.

- Ethan