UN-LOCKED OUT

It’s possible to think, feel and live outside of an NBA Lockout that on the surface appears to limit what a player can do to prepare for the upcoming season. Darren Collison is a prime example. It’s like he’s the NBA version of the NFL’s Larry Fitzgerald who trains vigorously as if all is right and on schedule. Just as education can never be taken from a man’s mind, the heart and will to prepare cannot be stifled unless you allow a “Lockout” to become a justification for complacency. How easy it would be to say that a stalemate of business proportion necessitates a cessation in commitment to one’s craft. That would be like saying that because of a hurricane, a flood or a fire that guts your home arena you have a right to assume working can wait. But the truth is, it can’t. Working can never wait because potential is a mystery and character can always stand refining.

A lockout is a test of resolve, an affront to your sense of adaptability. Will you be enterprising when the top-notch facilities or your favorite physical therapist is unavailable? Will you find the resources, the competition, the time in the day away from the distractions, etc. to propel you forward so that when it’s time to be ready you won’t have to get ready? A professional like Collison stays sharp because he’s grateful, competitive and UN-LOCKED out in his spirit. Basketball to him includes his camp he runs in August and his livelihood. It’s bigger than revenue sharing if anything can eclipse money. Perhaps the key is to avoid over consumption with the threat of a pay cut. It’s the pure motivation that keeps a man or woman un-locked out when the owners and players aren’t seeing eye-to-eye. It’s remembering that if given the choice of playing professional basketball or teaching English for the same amount of money that you would still take basketball. For as long as the dream job is available to NBA standout Darren Collison who started 79 games this past season and helped the Indiana Pacers to the playoffs, you invest in it. You do this by investing in others and yourself, by redeeming the time as they say at NBC Camps and understanding the value of 86,400 seconds in your day. There is no lockout for a person who lives on purpose. Just ask Kobe who recently underwent knee surgery…again to ensure he’s prepared. Follow Greg Oden around, a guy who’s poised to take another stab at launching an injury ridden career. And let’s not forget the man/myth that is Blake Griffin. In Blake’s mind, he was cheated his rookie year by his knee and won’t be outdone simply because there might be less games this season. Do you have what it takes to be un-locked out?