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I arrived in Las Vegas last night to do some training and competing with many of the NBA hopefuls.  The pre-draft is going on so it’s a very important time for many players and especially guys like me who are in need of re-creating a reputation and getting my name back out there.  I would love to say that my trip started off well.  However, I would be lying-big time.  After my flight delayed because they overbooked, we arrived around 1115pm Las Vegas time.  Which means it was more like 215am eastern time.  Anybody who has ever had a flight into Vegas knows if you have to catch a cab it is a big ordeal.  There is a line as long as the Back to the Future ride at Universal Studios.  Meanwhile, it was absolutely freezing outside and not what I expected at all from the desert. If it was even 40 degrees last night I would be shocked.   Anyways, I got into my cab and he took me to the place where I am staying. We were having a hard time finding the building so I told him to drop me off about a block from where I was going.  My spot had a lockbox on the handle and I had all the codes, contacts, etc in my cell phone to make it easy.  Here is where it gets interesting- as i exited the taxi cab the phone must have slipped out of my pocket and I didn’t realize.  I walked a block with my bags before realizing.  At that point, I dropped my bags in the middle of the road and I sprinted!!!! trying to catch the cab.  Those of you who know me, know that I am pretty quick.  I wasn’t quick enough and the cab disappeared.  I ran so far that it took me a good 15 minutes walking to get back to my bags- thank god nobody took them.  As I sat in the middle of the road, my head dropped thinking about what i would do next with no phone, no phone numbers, no way to get into the place.  I had no idea where I was or what was around me.  I remembered that I saved the apartment documents on my computer which I brought.  I sat there and attempted to access it on my computer and my computer froze!!! I turned it off and tried again and it froze again right before it died!!!!  All i could do was sit there for about 20 minutes thinking about how cold it was and how bad it would if I had to sleep outside.  I began walking around looking for an outlet to plug my computer into.  After an hour of walking,  I found one on the side of a maintenance warehouse.  I finally got to my documents and got the codes i needed and I realized i had no idea where I was, so it took me another hour and a half to find my way back to where my place was.  Remember I am dragging my bags around with me so the shoulders definitely got a workout.  Those of you wondering why I didnt ask somebody for help- I must have been in the only part of the city of Las Vegas that actually slept!!!! who would have thought. It was so ridiculous.  I know that was a long story but to all of you out there who have every piece of information you need in your phone and do not have it backed up anywhere- Please Change your Ways or you will end up with a story like this.  I finally got into bed around 6 am eastern time. 

Now that I got that story off my chest everyone can imagine how tough it has been to get a hold of the people that I need to.  Including my clients back home that are counting on me to call them to let them know their training schedule for the week.  The training has grown quite a bit and all the players involved are improving dramatically.  While I am here in Vegas my brother, Jason, will be taking over the training.  He is responsible for a lot of my progression as a player and i know he will do a great job with these players too.  Although it is tough to leave in the middle of developing these kids, I also have to make sure I put myself in position to succeed throughout the summer.  I will be here in Vegas for several weeks and will be updating often.  I am sure everybody will recognize several of the names I will  mention throughout the week so stay tuned.  Let’s hope the bad luck is out of the way now. ha!  Oh, typically when I am traveling, I take a jog upon arrival to acclimate to the environment– after my fullout 300 yard sprint chasing the cab, I probably do not need to worry about that.  I will just be stretching and hydrating today in prep for 9am training tomorrow.   Any questions, comments, etc are always welcome.

I got back from Florida yesterday and I am really happy with the trip.  For one, it got up to 80 degrees down there and I was taking full advantage of it.  I sneaked in about an hour at the pool just so i could tell everybody who has been freezing in Atl that I got to the pool.  haha. In reality, there was not much time for that on this trip.  I was extremely busy from the moment I got there.  I got to Florida around 2 pm and went directly to the gym to talk with Dan and get an idea of how the week was going to go.  We talked and caught up for a bit and then I immediately went to talk to the athletic trainers and physical therapists.  They gave me several tips on things I need to do for maintenance on my legs throughout a season and grueling week of practice and games.  Basically, this past week was a simulation of what a week would be like in a season.  So, we worked out on the court twice a day beginning each session  with exercises in the training room including Active Release Therapy ( manual release/separation of muscles), Trigger Point release (same thing except using a Rich Man’s foam roll, Power Plate (in order to wake up the nervous system) and lastly I did some work on my hip rotators trying to get them firing and stronger.  After doing all these things I felt good to go on the court and perform.  All week I felt good and I got better as a basketball player so I am very happy with that.  My trainers felt that I was not missing a step, I was in great shape, and that my movements were remarkable.  After I have had such a tough time in the last year these things were encouraging to hear.  The workouts focused on several things including movement, finishing, defense, conditioning etc.  however, the main emphasis for me was getting in the paint and finding my options on the court.  Those that have seen me play in the past know that I tend to be a scoring guard, but in the European game they are not as fond to this type of point guard so it will be important for me to improve in other areas moving forward to ensure that I am on the court in crunch-time.  Also, considering my size and stature it should give me some longevity when thinking about my basketball career.  These are all things that I talked about and worked on with the therapists, coaches, and strength trainers this week ensuring that I take care of my body to the best of my ability while improving as a basketball player and getting ready for any opportunity that may arise.

I made sure that I used this past week for everything it was worth and so it made it very busy, exhausting,  but ultimately very productive.  Here is what a typical day looked like:

7 am : Wake up

8-8:45 am : Breakfast (with specific details per my goals)

9:15-1025 am : Physical Therapy/Wkout Prep

10:30-11:45 am : Workout on Court

11:45-1220 pm: Recovery (Ice, supplement, and nutrients)

12:45-1:25pm : Lunch (specific)

1:35-3:30pm: Film (pg specific)

4:15-5pm: Strength

5pm-5:30pm: Wkout Prep in Training Room

5:30-645pm: Wkout on Court

8pm: Dinner

Clearly, it was a very busy week for me.  Some players hate when things get so repetitious.  I do not get bothered by it, but in fact, I enjoy it because i know I am getting better and closer to achieving any goals I am reaching for.  I always tell young kids that routine is boring, but it’s routine that separates you from the crowd.

Now that I am ready, I will wait for my opportunity.  Me and my Routine !

As always comments and questions are welcome.

**Thanks to those who I see following via the guest book!!!! I appreciate it.

Hi everybody!! What a long time it has been since I have updated this thing huh? Well, after a long 14 months its time to get back on it.  There is so much to catch up on but I am going to break it down and make it easy.  Reliving the past year isn’t the most enjoyable haha.  So, last update I gave I explained my condition of tendonosis and included some links for everybody to familiarize themselves with it.  Also, I got to a point where I was doing a few things on the court but from the videos I am sure everybody could see that it just wasn’t Killa B.  Shortly after that, my body stopped cooperating again with the same condition and from there it has been a roller coaster ride.  In January 2010 (1 year ago) I decided to go down to the Andrews Institute and Athletes Performance in Pensacola, Florida and start some rehab and therapy to try and give it a shot to play in April.  Well, after 3 weeks of seeing absolute regression – the decision was made to have a quad tendon debridement.  This is a surgery where they make longitudinal incisions along the quad tendon to promote inflammation and ultimately healing the degenerative tendon.   This surgery was the last option considering the results are less than 90% which means your taking a chance.  The surgery took place in February 2010 and I spent the remainder of the time on Pensacola Beach doing therapy and trying to heal.  Probably the most frustrating time I have had in my career.  However, I was living on the beach so it’s hard to convince people that it was a very difficult time! ha.  After therapy from February until September I got to a point where I felt like I needed something more and that I was ready to hit the court.  Although, I was far from pain free and I was lacking a ton of strength.  I moved back to Kennesaw at that point.

When I got home first thing was get an apartment and get a schedule that would allow me to get in the gym at least once a day.  After coordinating with my old high school coach I was able to get in the gym every morning at 630am after I did a complete warm-up on the track.  Now 630am was great up until about late October when it started getting in the freezing temperatures and I was on the track in the dark waiting for the gym to be open!! Got to do what you got to do.  My brother worked me out every morning for a couple months and while all this was going on I went ahead and added a weight routine and my brother and I also took on the North Cobb 6th grade Metro team.  Things got a little bit better when we started coaching because it took my mind off the pressure of getting back in a rush and we had some of the greatest kids we could have hoped for.  Continuing to workout in the mornings and coach in the evenings I also began giving individual instruction and personal training for anybody who was interested.  1 hour sessions where I attempt to help players build their fundamentals from the ground up in order to better their overall basketball development and achieve any personal goals they may have for themselves.  So, this ramped up pretty quickly and I started getting busier and busier.

After completing an 18 week weight program my leg started feeling like i had some pop in it again and my workouts started getting to where I could push past the limits and get better.  I began to use the mornings to work players out individually, lift weights in the afternoon, coach in the evenings, and workout on the court at night.  (Thanks Phillip and Coach G for all the help you have given me!!) Our 6th grade team definitely overachieved and although we lost in the first round of the playoffs, I couldn’t have been more proud of them.  They all got so much better and I feel like they all learned at least one thing about basketball and one thing about life that they can carry with them throughout their school and basketball careers.  I thoroughly enjoyed that experience and I am glad that did it.  I’ll be excited to see how those young men progress this off season.

After all of the above it pretty much brings me to present day although I left out tears, fists, depression, anger, etc.  haha….  I think the main point I want to get across is that you cannot cave in just because things get tough and you cannot see the end of the road. Sometimes you have to find another route in order to get you to your ultimate destination.  If we take a short-cut -there is a chance we get lost.  Other times you have to turn around and take a longer road because the main road was shut down.  Make sense?? Read again, and any situation may be applied.

I have gotten to a point where I am ready to make a move and earn a spot on any team that wants to give me a chance.  I will be going down to Bradenton, Fl tomorrow to get some workouts with my guy Dan Barto and get his professional word and opinion on where my game is.  I feel pretty confident and I am hoping to catch somebody’s eye down there and get somewhere relatively soon.  I will be updating while I am down there so definitely check back as the struggle to get to the top continues!!! I am working on posting a video that will kind of highlight the last year and show me at different stages of therapy and should be helpful to everybody trying to understand what it takes to get back from surgery.  All those wondering if I still have hops – Yes i do.

** I know there is a lot of new members to BryanSmithson.com so please sign the GUEST BOOK and also feel free to comment on any posts and Bryan will respond ASAP!!****

fundamental move below:

Hesitation – guards

Due to some technical difficulties, my old blog was lost.  So I will begin again with my updates, and hope you will join me too.  Please be patient with this page, as it may change a few times before all the “bugs” are worked out.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!