Chapter 3
Paul Emery: Calculated Development
“One second, I’ll be with you shortly,” Coach Greedy said as we entered his room. “I think I am close to solving the Collatz Problem.” We were silent, not knowing how to respond.
At first glance, you wouldn’t think Coach Greedy to be the type who would write equations on the board: He is clean shaven with a neat haircut, in a casual suit and blue button-down shirt, pants, and trainers. “You see, Paul Emery’s development is a result of a carefully prepared training regimen. When we got him in the season 41 draft, he knew this will be a very good partnership.” We then gave Coach Greedy a box of Hagoromo chalk. “Ah, thank you! What a splendid gift, and it comes in the original packaging!” Greedy said with a big smile. “This is quite rare now, especially after the company closed in 2015.”
The Numbers
“My fascination with numbers is quite evident. I created an algorithm that can predict a player’s development and shared this with the rest of the Pilipinas managers. Now, a lot of teams are referring to that formula to determine how good their players are going to be.” We sat there, stunned. “I also have something up my sleeve, but I need to check on the calculations and test this first before I present my findings.”
Player Training
“I had to use Design Thinking when we thought of how Paul will be trained - Begin with the end in mind. Some Operations Research was involved as well: How do you maximize the skills of someone who is slated to have MVP potential? It was an interesting experiment, considering his height (6’5”),” Coach Greedy said with a laugh. “I wanted to make sure he is a serviceable player for my team, and at the same time have the opportunity to be part of the National Team.”
When asked what were the challenges in developing Paul, Greedy said, “It is really difficult to compete when you’re fielding a young player in crucial games, especially if we are developing him for another position. There were also moments when I had to decide if developing a new draftee or prospect from the transfer list would be the more feasible approach in maximizing my chances of making it to the PPL,”
Representing Team Pilipinas
“I am really happy for Paul to represent the Seniors team. I can see all the efforts I put in training him are now bearing fruit. At his age, I am now planning to train his successor. I am looking forward to develop a better version of Paul so I can better contribute to the country.”
Training Advice
“My advice is to set a target for the trainee and stay committed to training that player. There were times before where, admittedly, I had no training plan in place – just throw all darts to the board, and hope a lot of them stick,” Greedy said with a shrug. “Don’t get me wrong, I made a lot of mistakes. I underutilized one of my players once, and I ended up not maximizing his potential. It was a frustrating experience. Also, it helps if you get to talk to the U21 and NT coaches to get their input. That would give you an idea what your player is lacking, and what you need to develop.”
When asked to comment on sports pundits comparing Paul Emery to Chris Paul, Greedy said, “Well, they are both named Paul, but Emery is 5 inches taller!”