Sitting in the last of a long row of folding metal chairs lining the sideline of the court I studied the footwork of Rudy Gay, Roger Mason and Jared Dudley as they went through their morning court workout with the founder of Impact Basketball, Joe Abunassar.

My eyes red and heavy from lack of sleep the night before did their best to paint mental canvases of the player’s execution on each drill.

In an empty gymnasium just off the Las Vegas strip, on a Wednesday morning in September, I was being shown exactly what the best do to get better and I couldn’t have been happier!

John Wall

Forty-five minutes into their workout in walked one of the most electrifying point guards in the NBA, John Wall.

The night before as I was shooting around on the court after the games, I dribbled up to John as he walked across the hardwood floor and playfully asked, “You wanna play some 1-on-1?”

With a slight smile he responded, “I’m too tired right now man.”

It made sense.  He had just dropped over 40 points in the game some 20 minutes earlier, hitting the hole like the roadrunner.

Now less than 12 hours later he was back in the gym ready to work on his game.

As he walked down to the court he took a seat in the chair directly next to me, kicked off his slides and began putting his shoes on.

We talked briefly about my journey to play Michael Jordan before Rudy, Roger and Jared came over to greet John, having just completed their workout.

Me, Roger, Jared, Rudy and Stephen Jackson

Because John had chosen to sit next to me out of all the empty chairs, I soon found myself next to Roger and Rudy, who had taken seats next to John before he proceeded to begin his workout.  Then Jared pulled up a seat at an angle on the other side of me and for the next 30 minutes or so I listened as they talked shoe contracts, music, and what players were leaving to play overseas.

Then in walked Stephen Jackson and as he was giving handshakes to the guys, because I was there with them he reached out to me and said, “What’s up man!”

Wearing my Jordan Six Rings shirt, Jackson noticed and said, “I have the white one, but I haven’t seen the black one.  I like that!”

It was all quite surreal to say the least.

I’m Trying To Get A Game of 1-on-1 vs. Michael Jordan

Over my three days at Impact Basketball’s facility I told Chauncey Billups, John Wall, Corey Brewer, Jermaine Taylor, Rudy Gay, Jared Dudley, OJ Mayo, Damon Jones, Kenyon Martin, Corey Maggette, Marreese Speights and Dahntay Jones about my journey to play MJ.

They all for the most part were very supportive wishing me luck on my quest.

While I wasn’t able to get anyone to agree to play me, I did get some encouraging feedback and at one point was shown a move by John Wall.  I’d describe it, but Mr. Jordan might be reading!  Oh, what the heck…it was his patented spin move!!!  How cool is that!?!?

On another occasion as I was shooting one evening, I did a little hesitation dribble towards Chauncey Billups, prompting him to say to me in an encouraging tone, “Oh, that’s what you’ve got for Jordan!”  I then ran right next to him on the court, launched a NBA 3 pointer over him, that swished, to which he said, “Nice shot!”

In all, to list every single interaction with a player would take much more than a single blog post and for some reason I’d like to just keep some of them for myself.  All I can is, it was an amazing experience for sure!

Impact Competitive League Action

In my time in Vegas I watched eight fairly intense games of NBA basketball.  I’ve never been closer to the action, including my days in TV, as I was last week.

With a couple hundred people there to watch daily, I could hear the trash talk, the shoes squeak and all that falls between the two.

It was awesome!

For the fans that did show up, they got an up close and personal look at a group of NBA guys that just love to play ball.  Stripped away was all the formality that has become today’s NBA.  Left was a group of highly skilled men that love the game and appreciate the fans, even interacting with them at times during the games.

I also saw numerous players sign autographs and stop to take pictures after the games.

Shooting In Front Of NBA Players

Thursday morning as Eric Bledsoe was working out on one end, the other half of the court was open, due to Coby Karl having completed his morning session.

Always equipped with my Jordans, I walked down and asked if they mind if I shoot on the other end until the next workout began.

After getting approval, I proceeded to get some shots in for the next hour and 15 minutes in front of the top trainers and players like Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo.

At first, to be honest, I was a bit nervous.  I had just watched Bledsoe make almost every shot he took and now I was shooting with an NBA ball, which is a bit different than what I routinely use, in front of a group of basketball’s best.

The adrenaline was sprinting through my body, but after a few minutes I found my rhythm, took a deep breath and was fine.  I honestly don’t know if they watched much of what I did, but I know they heard that net pop, haha!

What I Learned Watching NBA Guys Workout

They are so freaking good!  Like in all walks of life, some go harder than others, but the consistency is amazing!  The footwork, the elevation, the fluidity and ease at which they move, the conditioning, the explosiveness and their ability to make the majority of their shots was so inspiring!  They are so efficient on the basketball court!

There is such a gigantic difference between them and most everyone else that plays basketball and getting to see them workout further proved that and blew my mind.

They made me want to work even harder because I know now how great you can actually be at the game I love so much.

My Impact Family (Thank You!)

Last year I reached out to Impact Basketball and told them about my dream.  Matt Hiller who trained me some 11 months ago has been like a brother to me and I can’t say enough good things about him or Tom Carollo who hooked me up with VIP, all access passes to the Impact League event.  Great men, no doubt!

Impact Basketball truly is a class act organization and I’m so happy and thankful to have them on my side.

I’d like to thank Impact Basketball creator Joe Abunassar for his hospitality as well.  Very much appreciated!

I also want to thank every single person at Impact Basketball for having me and for their kindness.  Means the World to me!

More Impact Basketball In My Future

I’m actually looking to possibly make another trip to Vegas next month for some more hoops!  I simply can’t get enough!  There is talk of perhaps putting on another two week league in late October and that has me already wanting to book some airline tickets!

While those details are being worked out, I will without a doubt make my way back down to Sarasota to work with Matt and Tom very soon.

Life Is Amazing If You Allow It To Be!

I’ve been saying all of 2011 that “Life is Amazing If You Allow It To Be!”  This is just another example of that and for it I’m so thankful.

Never be afraid to go after your dreams!  Amazing, wonderful things are waiting for you, if you just take a long stride and believe!

me vs. MJ…the now cross country journey continues!  As always, thank you for following along!

Full Video Recap of Impact Basketball’s Competitive League Series

httpvh://youtu.be/ZneQFX2kZho

 **Check Back Thursday For…Me vs. Damon Jones (The Shootout That Almost Was)

In 2010 I went from hating running to enjoying it.  From sitting on my couch to running over 530 miles.  I ran two half marathons.  I ran during the week in the mornings or evenings for fun.   From last summer through my injury, on the last day of January, I ran every Saturday morning (8-10 miles) with friends.

I loved it.  Loved how strong I felt.  Loved being able to run 10 miles at a nice pace, while talking with friends about their week.

I would discuss running at work, with friends, with anyone that would listen and even here on mevsMJ.com.

The pop in my calf muscle ended all of that.

I ran my first 2.5 miles last week in the past four months!

The Dilemma

MY GOAL:  Play Michael Jordan 1-on-1.

TRUTH:  Running long distances DOES NOT help me prepare for my goal.

I first realized this when I attended Impact Basketball training in November.  In a short period of time Matt Hiller had me gasping for air as I stood at the free throw line.  I had never been so short of breath in my life.  At the time I was running 18-20 miles per week and was able to run 5 miles at a 7:23 pace.

The realization hit home again later that month when I handed to ball to the #79^th ranked high school player in America, Robert Brown and played him 1-on-1.  Fourteen points in to game one, as I went to pick up the ball, I felt like I was going to pass out.  I was exhausted.  He wasn’t.

Finally, during the rehab of my injury it really hit home.  Speaking with numerous trainers and players, no trainer suggested running long distances and no player, and I’m talking even a former NBA All-Star, ran long distances as a way to prepare for basketball.

It made sense.

Basketball is about a series of explosive movements, not a steady speed for miles, even if that speed is considered fast.

Back to Hooping!

I’ve been back to hooping for just over two months and right now my game is feeling great!

Sure I got my butt kicked again by Robert Brown and then by NBDL draftee Garfield Blair when I first came back from injury, but since then I’m on a roll!

Over the past two weeks, of my last 12 games of one-on-one vs. “regular people” I’m 11-1.  I’m not just winning the games, I’m dominating!  My last four opponents I’ve outscored 60-12 combined (games are to 15 points).

I’m now less than two weeks from my match-up with Andy Gebru (played this past season professionally in Brazil) and besides a couple of nagging injuries (groin/ankle) I couldn’t be in a better place!

I’m ready to test myself again against the best and see the hard work I’ve been putting in turn into a better showing!

To Run…or Not To Run?

Due to understanding what is going to benefit me most in my preparation for Michael Jordan, I just haven’t been running.

Instead, I’ve been doing mostly everything on a basketball court and playing as much 1-on-1 as possible.  It seems to be working.

Still, last Wednesday evening I slipped on the Nikes, headed to the trail and ran.  I didn’t run very far, just 2.5 miles as I stated earlier, and it definitely wasn’t as easy as it was the last time I had run, though I did manage a 7:35 pace.

I didn’t run for conditioning.  I ran because I kind of missed it.

For me at this point right now, the answer to whether I should run or not comes down to what this journey is all about:  Doing something I’m passionate about!

While I can tell you I won’t be running 20 miles a week anytime soon, I may slip in a 5 mile run here and a 10 mile run there.

I’ll do it on days because I miss it, or for the comradery and most importantly because it brings me a little joy.

After all, a little joy is all we are ever really in search of isn’t it.

me vs. MJ…the journey continues!

Thank you for following along!

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100 Facebook Fans/Likes!!! (Wahooooo!)

Special THANK YOU to my FIRST 100 mevsMJ.com Facebook Fans/Likes!! The 100 of you will always be the first!  Very special to me!  If you haven’t already LIKED the mevsMJ.com Facbook page, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? <—It’s a LINK!

I don’t like lifting heavy things.  Never have.

I suppose if you’ve ever seen me in person on in any picture that is pretty evident.

What I do like is GETTING BETTER!

At the time of my injury, I was in the best shape of my life.  I could run for days, I was trim (more so than usual) and felt I could play hoops at a fairly high level for a sustained period of time.  Fast forward two months and with no ability to do any activity whatsoever, well, the above physical fitness just didn’t stay the same.

My first few sessions of physical therapy had me gasping for air within minutes.  It bothered me.  To go from where I was to that was a bit discouraging, but the thankfulness inside of me just to be able to DO anything far surpassed any frustration felt.

Still, one of the goals I set forth when I began mevsMJ.com was to get in the best shape of my life.  I knew then that I needed to be at my PEAK when I played Michael Jordan one-on-one and now I’m looking to Tony Horton and P90X to help me get there.

Later today will be my tenth workout thus far with P90X and besides the Yoga (kinda boring to me…I know I need to expand my mind) it has been a lot of fun.  Fun of course if you consider being exhausted and soaked with sweat, enjoyable.  I just look at it as getting better.  The harder I work, the better I get.

Love The Support!

I got an email the other day from my good friend Matt Hiller, who trained me at Impact Basketball.  He told me to stop thinking of myself as the underdog in my one-on-one match-ups!  He told me to be confident!  He closed with YOU GOT THIS!!!

I’ve talked in the past about how important a great support system is.  I’ve wrote about how important it is to have people that will “call you out“.  Matt is so right!  (If you’re reading this, thanks bro!)

Mental and Physical Adjustment

So I’ve made an adjustment in my thinking and now an adjustment in my preparation with P90X.  As Horton always says, “Do your best and forget the rest!”

I’m doing just that!

Thanks for following along!

*Note: I hope to have a post detailing my experience with the best basketball shooter in the world, Dave Hopla, completed on Thursday.  The time with Mr. Hopla far exceeded my expectations!

It’s Wednesday night in Sarasota.  I’ve made it through the first five sessions of my Impact Basketball training.  The first three days have been so much more than I ever could have expected!  I’m loving it!

My Impact Basketball Workout Schedule

For the last two days and for the remainder of my time with Impact Basketball (through Saturday), I begin each day with a morning workout session at 8am that usually lasts until 11:30am or so.  The morning session has consisted of court work and circuit training.

Following the morning workout, I head back to the hotel, eat, take a shower and sleep.  Yes, I’m that tired.

I then come back for an evening workout that begins at 5pm and usually runs till 6:30 or 7pm.

At this point, ever muscle in my body, including muscles I didn’t even know existed…ACHES!  I am extremely fatigued physically, but my spirit and mind are strong!  I am having the best time and trying to soak up every bit of it!

A TRUE Basketball Education!

I came into this experience thinking I knew quite a lot about the game of basketball.  Matt Hiller, who has been gracious enough to train me this week, is BLOWING my mind with his knowledge.  He is showing me things I never even thought of on the court and with enough practice, if implemented in my game, will make a HUGE difference!  I mean HUGE!

I’d give more details, but MJ might be reading…haha.

Me and Akeme

On Tuesday morning, Matt let me know that he’d bring in Akeme Smart to workout with me for my Wednesday morning session.  That turned in to me doing some one-on-one drills against Akeme and I was beyond excited!  All day Tuesday, anytime I would see Akeme or he would see me, one of us would say “Tomorrow!” as a call out to our upcoming battle.

Akeme is 7 foot 3 inches and 19 years old.  He’s gifted with endless potential and has been at Impact Basketball for around two months, working on his game.  On top of being a great player, he seems to be a great young man.

The Match-up (Me and Akeme)

What I thought would be a short session with Akeme, turned into around an hour or more of shooting drills and one-on-one drills.  This was beyond cool for me!

The guys at Impact were kind enough to bring in the cameras and record the session!

To my surprise, when I came back for my night session, the video had been edited and was ready to go!

Without further ado…here is a taste of what I’ve been doing at Impact Basketball!!!

Impact Basketball Training:  Me and Akeme Smart (video):

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fd2rngCTOk

*Special thanks to Matt Hiller (Impact Basketball-Director of Player Development/My Trainer for the week) for setting this up and Akeme Smart for agreeing to workout with me.  Also, BIG thanks to Tom Carollo (Impact Basketball-GM/Academy Director) for shooting the video and doing such a great job editing this for me!! So thankful!!