Customer Reviews

MAGIC JOHNSON PRESENTS: The Fundamentals of Basketball; Comprehensive

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For years Earvin "Magic" Johnson has been dedicated to educating on the importance of the fundamentals of basketball, going as far back to the year 1989 when he released the wonderful book "Magic's Touch" with Roy S. Johnson. In "Magic Johnson's Comprehensive Fundamentals," Magic's enthusiasm and charisma come through during both of the instructional DVDs. One example is evident in the segment about cone dribbling. As Magic executes the exercise he demonstrates a humility and sense of humor that humanizes the presentation in a way that few other instructional DVD's do. The DVDs included in the set cover fundamental drills on shooting, ball handling, defense, post play and passing. The drills included in all of the above areas are necessary for any player to master.

In addition, the workout booklet included with the DVD is worth much more than the price of the DVDs. The workout includes drills on shooting, ball handling, cone drills, passing, and most importantly, condidtioning. Magic himself used to do wind sprints before playing all day and credits much of his success to the extra effort he put in before he practiced five on five. Furthermore, if any player follows the five out of seven day work out religiously they will see tremendous advances in their skills and abilities. My eleven year old son is proof of that as he has taken all of his abilities to a higher level and has become a much better player in just the last few months.

Many other DVD's on the market are excellent as well. Better Basketball, Coach K, Five Star, and Gannon Baker are the absolute pinnacle of basketball instruction. However, Magic Fundamentals is an entirely different product because it covers all of the basic and vital points a young player must practice and master in one set of two DVDs.

The honest truth that few young players want to hear is becoming a great player takes a superhuman time and effort committment. Many past and present college and pro players have told stories of playing 8-10 hours a day during the summer and 2-4 hours a day during the school year. If young players are willing to put in the work, they must incorporate these DVDs in their workouts to reach their full potential.

This video was excellent. Showing the fundamentals of basketball but also stressing the mental preparation for the game of basketball. The instructions were easy to understand kept my 13 year old son's interest. I highly recommend this video to the beginner and intermediate player.

After being benched for most of the entire season, I picked up this video with 2 months left of the year. I practice 3 hours a day after school. I did the drills over and over again. I went from the 12th man to starting lineup. In the final tournament, my cofidence is so high that I eventually got all the trust from my coach. I wound up with 37 points in the final game and won first place in Alberta. I was named MVP and my coach couldn't be happier watching my growth. Thanks Magic.

We bought the Magic DVD not knowing whether or not our 9 year old son would watch it. Turns out, he watches 5 times a week and practices his new moves on the driveway all the time. Two things really make this DVD different from the rest of the basketball instructional tapes - the recognizable players from yesterday (Magic, Kareem, Kenny Smith) and today's stars (Rip Hamilton, Amare Stoudamire, Carmelo Anthony) and the quality of the production. It is really movie quality which we found kept our son's attention. Because of the amount of information on the DVD, some of it is more advanced and probably better for a junior high or high school player, but there is also plenty for the beginner to get better. We would highly recommend this DVD for kids, parents, and coaches.

I agree with the previous reviewers comments regarding the effectiveness of this DVD in motivating young players to work on their game. From a coaches perspective, however, the DVD seems to be more about Magic and his friends than it is about basketball fundamentals. Way too much chatter and way too few drills to justify the purchase price. There are much better fundamentals videos on the market. The "star factor" for young players earns the DVD three stars.

This is a great DVD. It has really helped me in my shooting. After watching it, I scored 14 points in my first ball game. I was on the B-team, and after my caoch saw what I had learned, I am now on the A team!!
I am going to get my coach to show it to the team. I think this can really help.
It is really cool because it has a bunch of NBA players, and past NBA players.

straightforward and complete fundamentals of basketball that are presented in a format that is easy to deploy and teach.

The DVD was worth the cost because it got my 10 year old to pay attention to defense. The lessons are pretty simple which is ok for younger players but could use more substance for older players.

Opened this DVD and saw there was a small crack in one DVD running from the center ring out toward the edge of the DVD; that disc obviously did not work. The other disc continually froze up and would not play, skip, fast-forward, etc. Additionally, the scene select option would not work. The only way the disc would play at all was to start at the beginning. Then, after a couple minutes of play, the disc began to freeze up and became unplayable. Since I opened the product it cannot be returned. A complete waste of money.

Magic has definitely put together some of today's finest and past players to instruct young men and women on how the game is suppose to be played. Without the fundamentals and mechanics of the game, you can't and never will be an affective basketball player at any level on the court. This is definitely a good dvd for beginners as well as veterans of the game in terms of stuff being reiterated about the fundamentals. At times we too can get away from what we once learned. I definitely recommend this dvd.