Demar and Amir back at it, with the Drew League. Good thing? Bad thing?

Just saw on Facebook that Demar and Amir are back in LA playing with the Drew League.

I know some people felt this to be ultimately detrimental to Demars development, but I'm not sure I agree.

I felt when he came back after the Lockout, his Confidence shooting and dribbling the ball was at an All-time high, and it showed with some VERY good games to start the season.

I think seeing those 3's go in, even if they are against Lesser Talent (defense) works wonders for a kids confidence on the court.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgSAKKjXgTY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJfaggEosJo&feature=youtu.be

The Drew League is fine for putting up shots, and getting some cardio, but it didn't help DeMar to focus on his weaknesses.

i turned the second video off after about a minute, pretty bush league stuff. i get the california guys like playing together and whatever but using the drew league as your offseason work is stupid.

get in the weight room, Demar

thank god he somehow made the select team. those guy will hopefully whip him into shape.

These Drew League games are about as competitive and realistic as the NBA all star game. Nice exhibition for the fans, chance to play with your friends, but not exactly prime developmental activity.

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ceez wrote:

thank god he somehow made the select team. those guy will hopefully whip him into shape.

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Best shape of his life, brah. He'll also learn what it takes to really be a winner, see how hard these guys work.... getting sleepy.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

The drew league will do nothing in bettering yourself as a player. False sense of confidence and development of bad habits is all that will come from this.

Didn't he say that he wasn't gonna do the Drew league thing sometime this year? that he was gonna work on his defense and shooting... so much for that..

yeah I watched that...I think I could put up 20pts in the drew league. Its all ISO I don't think Amir even touched the ball...and no defense...short of cardio I don't see how this is helpful

Hit the weight room and work on your skills. Plenty of scrim time with the Select team vs. Olympians.

I am disappointed.

However, I would assume that the Drew League isn't exactly the most grueling of schedules. Maybe DeMar actually is working on skills, as well as hitting the weights hard in addition to participating in this poor man's AND1 tour.

Ultimately this is DeMar's "vacation" time right now. So if he wants to enjoy his time off by playing with his friends, I don't think its a big deal. I just hope that once the summer progresses he changes gears and starts hitting the weight room and starts honing his skills. I'm sure Casey will be all over this as he finally gets a time to work with him this off season as compared to last year.

Wake up, eat, drills, eat, weights, eat, drills, eat, sleep....... Repeat until Select Camp where he'll get tons of scrimmage time. Hate seeing him develop bad habits in pick up games like this. The kids confidence is fine IMO it's his body and skill set that needs some fine tuning. Big summer for Demar ahead

Its fine with me. He can try out some things he doesnt do in the nba and improve on them. Of course it isn't the same level of difficulty but its still beneficial. Atleast he wont be rusty when summer camp comes

Here's hoping it's just a fun thing on his schedule and it doesnt deter him from doing the serious stuff on his game (because he isnt going to get it in the Drew I dont think). I am sure the Raptors trainer (I forget his name) has given him some instructions. There are plenty of NBAers who line up with topline off season personal coaches/trainers to do whatever is on the lacking side. He could join someone and it may mean a little bit of an expense on his side but.....

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Nilanka wrote:

However, I would assume that the Drew League isn't exactly the most grueling of schedules. Maybe DeMar actually is working on skills, as well as hitting the weights hard in addition to participating in this poor man's AND1 tour.

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planetmars wrote:

Ultimately this is DeMar's "vacation" time right now. So if he wants to enjoy his time off by playing with his friends, I don't think its a big deal. I just hope that once the summer progresses he changes gears and starts hitting the weight room and starts honing his skills. I'm sure Casey will be all over this as he finally gets a time to work with him this off season as compared to last year.

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These two posts actually sum up my thinking perfectly. Thanks guys! haha

I would think that it is a given that these pick up style games are not the only avenue Demar would choose to improve his game. With him now being able to be in contact with the team and take orders from the team, and with the USA Select team coming up, I'm sure he's just looking to have some fun.

And seeing as he can't really indulge in some of the 'fun' that normal 23 year olds do, I say I'm totally fine with him playing these games and entertaining his friends and family from the LA area.

Most of our players right now aren't even working out right now. Now DeMar will be training with team USA and during summer league he'll be part of a mini training camp with the coaches and his teammates. It's not the end of the world that he's playing in the drew league for some reps. Even in the video he isn't even looking to try.

Some of these posts remind me of the story of Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan in 1990. The story goes, if I recall correctly, that they got bounced by the Pistons (again). MJ and Pippen finally had enough of getting bounced around by the "Bad Boys" that the next day after the loss they were in the Bulls practice facility lifting weights. Of course we know what happened from 1991 onwards.

Now do I expect the Raptors to start winning championships because DeMar hits the weight room? Absolutely!

*Joking*

Of course not. But the season has been over for over a month and I hope he got to work on the things that need work. Jordan and Pippen didn't need to work on their skills, they needed to get stronger i.e. they recognized their weaknesses and attacked them.

I hope DeMar realizes his weaknesses and attacks them with the same passion as organized pick up ball.

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planetmars wrote:

Ultimately this is DeMar's "vacation" time right now. So if he wants to enjoy his time off by playing with his friends, I don't think its a big deal. I just hope that once the summer progresses he changes gears and starts hitting the weight room and starts honing his skills. I'm sure Casey will be all over this as he finally gets a time to work with him this off season as compared to last year.

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I agree with this too. This IS vacation time for players. A lot of guys take a month or two full off from any kind of hard physical activity. I don't think Drew league is anything special, but I don't think he'll be playing in some crap league like this all summer, and I don't think he'll develop terrible habits or anything that will hinder his development. That's like saying playing for fun is a bad habit, but these guys horse around all the time at practice, and that's how they fell in love with the game. Remember, not only is it his vacation time, but also probably the coaches. While they might be helping to prepare for the draft, I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't done much between the end of the season and probably tomorrow night's lottery. Light work planning summer programs for the players or something. I think playing in this league just shows that he really is a basketball guy. Think whatever you want about his talent, potential, etc., but this kid just loves playing ball and there's nothing he'd rather be doing. Also do we know he's not hitting the weight room just because he's playing there?

On the flip side, I hope this is also just his idea of having some fun before getting to real summer work. He will be with the select team and that mini camp, and then I hope that him and a bunch of other guys go back to Toronto. I don't think they can be coached as a team (I'm fuzzy on what coaches can do), but I think just being there having the staff work with them if/when they can, using good facilities incl. weight room, and just working on some team sets, even things like zone D, if they have enough guys.