This week I've been in Maui working the Just Hoop Maui basketball camp alongside a good friend, Cody, who also played professionally overseas with me in the Philippines. Cody invited me to train with Boston Celtics starting guard Derrick White — an NBA Champion and Team USA Olympic gold medalist. We trained together, played golf, shared meals, and I got to observe how he approaches his craft up close. I've played professionally myself and have been around high-level basketball for a long time, but I'm always a student. And there were 5 things from this week that I really want our young players to learn. 1️⃣ ELITE PLAYERS ATTACK THEIR WEAKNESSES One of Derrick's specific focuses right now is becoming better with his left hand. And I mean SPECIFIC. We emphasized: 🏀 Dribbling left 🏀 Passing left 🏀 Driving left 🏀 Finishing around the basket left Even as an NBA Champion, he's still asking: "Where can I get better?" A lot of young players spend most of their workouts doing the things they're already comfortable doing. It feels good. You look good. You make shots. But transformation happens when you're willing to intentionally attack the areas where you're NOT comfortable. Don't hide your weaknesses in workouts. Expose them. Then develop them. 2️⃣ HOLD YOURSELF TO A STANDARD This might have impressed me the most. Derrick didn't simply complete drills. He had a standard for completing them. If he was supposed to make a certain number, execute something correctly or finish a drill a certain way, he wasn't quitting until he did it. And sometimes that meant doing it while TIRED. That's where the mental side comes in. Can you stay locked in after you've missed? Can you execute when your legs are tired? Can you maintain your standard when nobody would blame you for stopping? There's a difference between: "I finished the workout." and "I completed the workout to the standard." 3️⃣ PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS At the highest levels, everything matters. Footwork. Angles.