The Way of Basketball: Six Epistemic Archetypes in the Game
- Heikki Immonen
- 11.1.
- 5 min käytetty lukemiseen
Heikki Immonen
Through the metaphor of basketball, this piece explores personal development, identity, and knowledge.
1. The Never-Showed-Up
2. The Rising Star
3. The Planner
4. The Reader of the Game
5. The Game-Changer
6. The Janitor
FIRST ARCHETYPE: The Never-Showed-Up
Archetype
The Never-Showed-Up
Origin story
A Child’s natural sense of play and adventure was pushed back by overprotection, discouragement, and a ridiculing social environment.
Resulting in an identity who doesn’t like sports. Or a person who had the physical tools but only played against weaker opponents.
On the court
Avoids the court, and sports in general. This dislike masks fear of failure.
Self-image
Static. Personal attributes and skills are fixed. Likes and dislikes are mistaken for reality and seen as immutable.
Motto
“Better stay in your comfort zone.”
Definition of basketball
Basketball lies outside the comfort zone and should therefore be avoided.
Keys to success
Stay in your comfort zone. Avoid responsibility.
SECOND ARCHETYPE: The Rising Star
Archetype
The Rising Star.
Origin story
In school gym class, the kid tried a two-handed shot. After five misses that didn’t reach the rim, the coach encouraged him to drive with his legs. The eighth shot fell, then the twelfth. Next class, every throw carried more power.
On the court
Highly competitive, sometimes prideful. Loves 1-on-1. Hates losing. Dominates with speed, length, power, and/or skill. Tries to block everything.
Self-image
Evolving. On a trajectory of self-improvement. Attributes and skills improve with hard training. What was difficult yesterday can be easy tomorrow.
Motto
“You gotta love the grind.”
Definition of basketball
The best players have the best attributes. The better attributes you have, the more you win. There is clear yet evolving hierarchy among players. Those with superior talent rise to play at higher level.
Keys to success
Train hard. Develop yourself.
Maximize your potential. You must want to be the best.
THIRD ARCHETYPE: The Planner
Archetype
The Planner
Origin story
Competition began to outpace your personal talent. Forcing it stopped working. Opponents doubled and tripled. Some teams just had bigger players. Pump fakes made you fly by.
This forced a new way of seeing the game.
On the court
Determined and focused. Avoids mistakes. Sticks to personal high-percentage shots. Executes what is planned.
Self-image
Personal talent has its limits. To compensate you can acquire tactical knowledge and understanding. Talent and skills are like tools: to reach your goal, you need to know when and where to use them.
Motto
“You can’t bully everybody. You’ve got to outsmart them. Study the game”
Definition of basketball
Basketball is a game of cause and effect, a game of probabilities to be understood. Map it out and, you know where and when to succeed. Good game plan puts the best players to the best positions, and wins will follow.
Keys to success
Optimize yourself to stay relevant.
In offence, know your high-percentage shots and where your spots are. Don’t force it. Learn to put more spin to the ball to get better rebounds.
Practice getting to your spots from different scenarios. Coach can draw a screen play to get you free, and stick to the plan.
In defense, prevent opponents from getting to their spots. Study their moves and tendencies.
FOURTH ARCHETYPE: The Reader of the Game
Archetype
The Reader of the Game
Origin story
The opponent dominated through superior scouting. Taking away every strength.
The ball stopped moving in offence. While in defense we did not know whom to take out. No plan held.
On the court
Present. Composed. Explorative. Masters the small details.
Self-image
Agency with humility. Freedom to make choices, knowing personal knowledge is limited. Knowledge applies only in small pockets surrounded by sea of the unknown.
You don’t have to score for the team to win.
Motto
“Use what the game gives you”
Definition of basketball
Basketball is a complex system where interdependent players interact in unpredictable ways.
Large patterns emerge from simple local interactions.
Keys to success
Read the situation and respond. The team discovers new opportunities together.
Play the game from the understanding that you don’t know. Master the most basic and simplest multipurpose fundamentals, which allow you to adapt to the unforeseen. If you overthink you lose flow.
It is the team that wins. Help the ball to find the one with best chance to score.
FIFTH ARCHETYPE: The Game-Changer
Archetype
The Game-Changer
Origin story
Everything was done “the right way”. Still, the team could not get over the hump. There was a sense that something important was missing. That there was something obvious hiding in plain sight.
On the court
Many roles. Does what ever must be done. Can come from the bench. Does something that wakes up the team. Takes a technical when it is needed. Sometimes the jester, sometimes the drill sergeant.
Helps the team to adopt a new point of view. Sparks hope where there was none before.
Brings something new to the game.
Self-image
Identity is fluid. Doesn’t take thoughts about self seriously. Beginner’s mind. Trusts intuition.
Motto
“What you see defines who you are.”
Definition of basketball
The game lives in people’s minds, constrained by unconscious assumptions. Most actions persist because “that’s how it’s always been.”
When a pioneer does something new and creative, those assumptions become visible and the game evolves.
Keys to success
When the “me, me, me” silences to listen, creative insight can emerge.
The invention of the jump shot so your shot cannot be blocked; the light morning shootaround on game days; shooting from beyond the arc to stretch defenses.
When you pay attention, you can harness the fruits of computational irreducibility.
SIXTH ARCHETYPE: The Janitor
Archetype
The Janitor
Origin story
Championships came decisively for years. Result of winning at all costs. After the last title, against a young, inspired team, a feeling rose: “We should have lost”.
Basketball was let go. Life unfolded. Something was understood. A sense of purpose appeared.
On the court
Last to leave, first to arrive. Making sure everything is ready for both teams.
Helps the opposing team’s training staff find what they are missing.
Every Sunday afternoon, volunteers to run practice for local kids.
Self-image
When the ego is seen as a thought, competition becomes just a shared story.
We are defined by relationships: how you affect me, how I affect you, how we together affect others.
Sense of meaning and spaciousness guides each moment.
Motto
“Respect the Game.”
Definition of basketball
Basketball is a shared living dance unfolding through the relationships and actions of everybody: players, coaches, teams, training staff, families, support teams, reporters, managers, fans, volunteers, sponsors, townspeople, media and janitors.
Keys to success
In every relationship, become aware of the potential for peace and synergy.
Let gratitude, respect, and a sense of mystery rise freely.
