Anticipation

Brady plays his first high school basketball game on Tuesday. If you’re reading this on Sunday or Monday you still have time to join Ruth and me in  Coopersville, Michigan for the 4:00 p.m. tipoff. We’re flying up to see him play.  We’ll also get to see his second game on Thursday and Eva’s middle school swim meet.  We’re looking forward to everything.

I’m not one to brag, but I believe everyone will agree that Brady’s basketball skills can be attributed in large part to me.  While it’s true that his dad has played basketball all his life, and his Uncle Mike put him through his paces with a series of one on one tournaments over several years, I was the first one to work with the boy.  As soon as he could sit up, we started playing ball.

Our first drills consisted of rolling the ball back and forth across our bedroom floor.  I chose the bedroom because of its soft carpeting.   We quickly transitioned to passing drills.  Brady sat on the bed, threw the ball off,  and I made its retrieval.  We did this for hours on end, and our hard work is starting to pay off.

His dad and Uncle Mike started working more with him when he began to walk.  Their skills were more suited to the aspects of the game that involved actual movement: running, jumping, dribbling, passing, shooting, switching hands, etc. His dad worked with him on refining his skill set, and his uncle focused on the physicality of the game.  Anything involving diving for errant balls on the floor is all on me.  That’s my area of expertise.

He’ll be a starting guard for Hamilton’s freshman team.  He has played for several years and loves it.  He’s a lefty which makes guarding him a challenge for most opposing players.  He’s a gifted all around athlete like his dad, but I believe that his best sport is basketball.

The Detroit Piston’s “Bad Boys” were the darlings of basketball when his dad, David, was beginning his high school  basketball career.  David played the game like Bill Laimbeer while I wished he would have taken the Joe Dumars approach.  Joe just did his job and didn’t do a lot of talking.  He let his game speak for him.  I’m hopeful that Brady follows in Joe’s footsteps, but I know “boys will be boys”.

Brady has taken part in several basketball camps over the years.  While he didn’t get the one on one attention that I provided in his formative year, he has impressed several coaches and players with his skills.  In the summer of 2018 Brady attended a camp hosted by the University of Michigan.  He took two of Michigan’s  players, Isaiah Livers (left) and Jordan Poole (right), under his wings.

After working with Brady for a few days, Poole considered his future and ultimately decided to leave school the following spring. He declared himself eligible for the NBA draft and  was drafted in the 28th spot by the Golden State Warriors.  He’s not getting a lot of playing time in his first year, but he is making over $2,000,000.   I expect that if you asked, Poole would attribute part of his success to Brady, and by extension, me.

Like Brady, Isaiah Livers has stayed in school.  He remains an extremely valuable part of Michigan’s basketball team.  Someday Livers will  follow Poole to the NBA.  Who knows, if Poole and Livers can make their NBA careers work, perhaps Brady will team up again with them.

Brady’s first step is Tuesday.  I’m looking forward to the game with great anticipation.  I have just one request of him as he prepares for the game.

Read your basketball camp shirt just prior to tip-off.