My Shoes, My Game, My Brand

GUEST BLOG

by Larry Hunt

These are all headlines [this past week] in various sports outlets – yahoo, etc.

What do they all have in common?

“Eric Bledsoe's crossover makes Clippers' Jared Cunningham jog off the court, toward the stands”

“Kyrie Irving goes between the legs for sweet assist to Kevin Love”

“Erik Lamela scores absurd rabona goal in Europa League match, invalidates all arguments against him”

“CP3's Sick Fake and Score”

All these headlines glorify an individual; all these headlines sensationalize a professional athlete doing something that is actually not uncommon at all. Why then the headlines?

Maybe words like marketing, branding, and self-centeredness come to mind – or something else that reflects the trend to accentuate self. Many elite players today are more enraptured with themselves and their brand than they are sacrificing individual glory for team success. For them it’s all about fame and fortune, all the while feigning humility and the “us” mentality.

Our players need to guard themselves from these “faux [role] models” who consistently prove over time that it’s really all about “me” rather than “us.” A saturation of this worldly, proud persona, especially through social media channels and online news outlets, will quickly skew a player’s perception toward emulating this behavior on the court. Our Bruins’ games should never be “performances”; rather, games should always be contests that require total team effort.

As a side note - there is room for creative, selfless play. Creativity properly used enhances the action required to deceive the opponent. The basketball court is one place in life where deception is allowed! But let’s not be unnatural or ostentatious in our creativity; the day that “playing to the crowd” supersedes “playing for my team” is the day that we regress to mediocrity at best.

Just some random thoughts . . . thanks for reading!

- Coach Larry Hunt, Assistant Men's Basketball Coach