# Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletter Developing basketball athleticism, playmaking, and shooting. Page: Feed: --- ## [Player Evaluations and Selections](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/player-evaluations-and-selections) _2026-08-17 · Brian McCormick_ Selecting players based on potential for future success, not to reward past performances. ## [Future-Proofing Players with Game States](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/future-proofing-players-with-game) _2026-08-10 · Brian McCormick_ Using the phases of the game to guide skill development and lineup utilization. ## [Instagram Drills and Ball Control](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/instagram-drills-and-ball-control) _2026-08-03 · Brian McCormick_ The importance of the next dribble and eliminating the hesitation compensation when developing better dribbling technique. ## [Subjective Appreciation of Coaches](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/subjective-appreciation-of-coaches) _2026-07-27 · Brian McCormick_ My personal opinions of coaches suggest nothing about the coach's acumen, but reflects my personal preferences about basketball and coaching. ## [Discussing Complexity in Soccer and Football](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/discussing-complexity-in-soccer-and) _2026-07-20 · Brian McCormick_ Differentiating complicated and complex between sports and positions to gain a better understanding of sports. ## [Moving Beyond Specialist Decision-Makers](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/moving-beyond-specialist-decision) _2026-07-13 · Brian McCormick_ Embracing risk-tolerant environments to develop generalists in a game of specialists. ## [Biological vs Chronological Age and Fairness](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/biological-vs-chronological-age-and) _2026-07-06 · Brian McCormick_ Why is a birthdate used as a fair measure of athlete categorization as opposed to maturation when combatting increasing sports dropout rates? ## [Differentiating Difficulty and Complexity](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/differentiating-difficulty-and-complexity) _2026-06-29 · Brian McCormick_ Can Gentile's Taxonomy improve our understanding of two-ball dribbling drills? ## [Encouraging Children without Instructions](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/encouraging-children-without-instructions) _2026-06-22 · Brian McCormick_ Children need play, and opportunities to learn through trial and error, not overly complicated technical instructions. ## [Solving Problems with Drill Design](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/drills-solve-problems) _2026-06-15 · Brian McCormick_ A good drill aligns the activity with the purpose. ## [Stream Torrents & IPTV Instantly (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/hVGe8OhC88p3) _2026-06-15 · **Sponsored**_ Search magnet links and stream movies, music, books, and live TV in-browser ## [Angel Reese, Habits, and Shooting Practice](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/angel-reese-habits-and-shooting-practice) _2026-06-08 · Brian McCormick_ What is correct when discussing skill execution? Are there absolutes? ## [Disproving the Science around Specialization](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/disproving-the-science-around-specialization) _2026-06-01 · Brian McCormick_ Science is subjective, not proof, as conclusions can fit different narratives around data. ## [Small-Sided Games to Improve Shooting](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/small-sided-games-to-improve-shooting) _2026-05-25 · Brian McCormick_ Effectiveness, not efficiency, is the goal when developing shooters. ## [Purposeful Practice Design](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/purposeful-practice-design) _2026-05-18 · Brian McCormick_ Does the drill solve the problem? Does the drill create other problems? ## [Kevin Durant and NBA Draft Combine Tests](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/kevin-durant-and-nba-draft-combine) _2026-05-14 · Brian McCormick_ KD became one of the NBA's best players despite testing as one of its worst athletes. ## [Playful Practice or Practicing like a Pro](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/playful-practice-or-practicing-like) _2026-05-11 · Brian McCormick_ Should children practice like professionals or should pros practice more like children? ## [Brute Force Development](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/brute-force-development) _2026-05-04 · Brian McCormick_ Thinking beyond simple drills to improve skill development in basketball. ## [On Being a Generalist](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/on-being-a-generalist) _2026-04-30 · Brian McCormick_ One of the last great generalist professions is being overrun by specialists. ## [Differentiating Emotional and Physical Maturity](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/differentiating-emotional-and-physical) _2026-04-27 · Brian McCormick_ Every player develops at different rates and everyone's characteristics develop asynchronously. Development is a marathon, not a sprint. ## [Realtime AI Arbitrage Terminal (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/k14s2CgGEFRX) _2026-04-27 · **Sponsored**_ Realtime auto-trading across exchanges with scored setups, backtesting, and risk controls. ## [The Repeat Hop](https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/the-repeat-hop) _2026-04-20 · Brian McCormick_ Simple exercise for evaluation and identification of talent and injuries.