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The Basketball Podcast: EP351 with Sam Jones on Mindset, Coaching Adaptability and Embracing Growth
In this week’s basketball coaching conversation, NIKE Academy Director Sam Jones joins The Basketball Podcast to share insights on mindset, coaching adaptability and embracing growth.
Jones has served as the Nike Camp Director and is presently engaged in various initiatives aimed at the development of coaches and players in support of the EYBL
Before joining Nike, Jones served as an assistant coach at Colorado State for two seasons. He also spent two seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the role of player development coordinator. Prior to these positions, he was part of the coaching staff for the Cleveland Charge in the NBA G-League for three seasons from 2016 to 2019, concluding his tenure there as the associate head coach.
Jones started his coaching career in The Netherlands, working with Den Bosch Eiffel Towers for three years as an assistant coach before taking over as head coach of Den Bosch SPM Shoeters (club changed names). With SPM Shoeters, he led his team to the Dutch Basketball League and NBB Cup crowns in 2014-15 and Dutch Basketball Supercup title in 2015-16. He also spent his final three years in the Netherlands as the associate head coach with the Dutch Men’s National Team.
Prior to coaching, Jones played 10 seasons in Europe, including playing in the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Spain and Cyprus. During his time playing, he won two titles with Den Bosch Eiffel Towers and appeared in multiple All-Star games.
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Sam Jones Quotes:
“The work starts before the visit. I do a deep dive into their film . . I get some film from their current teams to help pinpoint some places where they need to continue to develop and get better . . I do a video breakdown analysis of the things he [the player] needs to work on individually and also in, in a team setting. I’ll give him an NBA comparison and I’ll pull some clips from an NBA player that I think that they should model their game after.”
“We introduce them and into film study . . You have to be a student of the game . . Number one, study your opponent so you’ll be ready for the game. Study yourself so you can see what things you need to improve on. But also study someone that . . you want to emulate your game after, so you can have a North Star while you’re training, somewhere you want to get to.”
“What we’re doing on the court are things that they can work on. We take some things from the film and try to make that translate to the court. Whether that’s individual stuff or team concepts.”
“I spent 16 years in Europe. They do it [training] differently . . It’s very individualistic here in the United States and it is very team-oriented over there and in Europe. One is not better than the other. I think we need both, we need an individual skill [set] and we also need the team concept and we need to combine both as much as possible.”
“We’re playing basketball. We love it, it’s our passion. We take it very seriously. But, at the same time, there has to be some kind of balance where we’re resting our mind as well as our bodies.”
“Every team needs something different from every player. You’re not going to be on the same team from middle school to high school to college to pro . . you’re going to have different teams, you’re going to have different coaches, you’re going to have different roles. And you’ve got to be willing to be adaptable. You have to be willing to adapt and adjust.”
“I think it’s really important for coaches to always say, ‘Finish before you start.’ This is a life lesson. Finish planning your day before you start your day. Finish planning your week before you start your week. Finish planning your month before you start the month. Finish planning a year before you start the year.”
Sam Jones Breakdown:
Sam Jones Selected Links from the Podcast:
Sam Jones
Jason Kidd
LeBron James
Kendrick Perkins
Quinn Cook
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