Tryout camp

Sorry it has been awhile but I have been busy preparing for the RGV Vipers/Houston Rockets tryout camp this weekend. We will have 60-70 players from all over the country coming into McAllen, Texas to try and get an invite to the Vipers training camp Nov. 6th. We have been sending out info to agents and players and coordinating the logistics of having a quality tryout camp. We want to make sure that everyone coming to the camp gets a fair look by all the coaches. We will have drills that cover ball handling, shooting, passing and all aspects of offense as well as drills to see what kind defenders these players are. We will also give them a "beep" test to gauge their conditioning level. In this test players sprint 20 meters and back using a timer that beeps at the halfway mark and when they finish. It starts at 11 seconds and gets faster and faster. Sounds like fun but it is a killer. We will have them play 4 on 4 half court basketball to see who has a good basketball IQ. There is nowhere to hide in 4 on 4 basketball. We will have some controlled scrimmaging, as well as games with refs Sunday morning.

I have run many of these tryout camps over the years and it always amazes me the wide variety of players that show up. You will see a 6'9" player who went to a major college and plays overseas making good money on the same court as a former high school back up point guard who is a bartender at Hooters at night and plays at the local YMCA on weekends. When we say "open" tryout- we mean it! The cool part is everyone has a different story and for one weekend they are all playing on the same court. Basketball is truly a great game!

After this weekend is over and things quiet down a little, I will give you my predictions on the upcoming NBA season. NBA training camps are going on all over the country and every team is undefeated with visions of championships in their heads. But really. How many teams have a legit chance at winning the ring of all rings (that binds them all)? Sorry a flashback to the Lord of the Rings. Can the Lakers repeat? Are the Celtics too old? Can Lebron and Wade survive with only one basketball? Who would you want to take the last shot to win a game on that team.........Bosh? More to come, soon.