TREY SLATE / PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
The Art of
Basketball.
The elements of mastery.
Rooted in fundamentals. Refined through understanding.
Expressed through instinct.
Group training · Seventh grade & up
Preston Hollow, Dallas, Texas
01 / THE PHILOSOPHY
Learn the form.
Understand the game.
Find your expression.
Basketball is a craft you can study—and an art you learn to embody.
The Art of Basketball is the philosophy at the heart of Trey Slate’s teaching and his book of the same name. It follows a progression from grounded movement, through technical understanding, to the freedom to play as yourself.
Like a martial artist, a player begins with deliberate practice. Over time, what is practiced becomes natural. The aim is to develop skill so deeply that it is there when you need it.
EARTH / ROOT YOURSELF
Foundation
Before the move, there is the way you move.
Balance. Footwork. Precision in movement. These are the roots of a player’s game. Learn to feel where your weight is, move with purpose, and arrive in a position to act.
The foundation is also internal: awareness of the floor, the defender, and yourself. Presence gives every movement its direction. Return to these essentials at every level.
Find your balance. Place your feet. Be here.
FIRE / REFINE YOUR CRAFT
Technical stage
Know why it works. Recognize when it will.
A technique becomes useful when you understand the situation it answers. Learn to read and exploit defensive coverages, see the openings they create, and choose an attack that fits the moment.
Each defender presents a different problem. Notice their position, timing, and tendencies. Adapt your attack to the person in front of you, rather than asking the same move to solve every possession.
Read the coverage. Understand the response. Adapt.
WATER / TRUST YOURSELF
The Artist
Let what you have learned become who you are.
With deeply absorbed practice, technique becomes intuition. You no longer need to consciously assemble every movement. You recognize, respond, and create—trusting the abilities you have developed.
Like water, your game can respond to what is in front of you without losing its nature. As in martial arts, the teaching becomes flesh and blood. Your body understands what your mind once had to explain. The Artist is free to play from instinct, fully present in the game.
Absorb the technique. Trust the work. Play freely.
02 / MEET TREY SLATE
The work begins
with belief.
Buddy Hield’s full-time
player development coach.
Before Trey taught players to trust their work, he had to trust his own.
Playing for the University of Oklahoma men’s basketball team was Trey’s childhood dream. With no scholarship offers, he pursued a role as a team manager so the coaches could see his work ethic. He kept showing up, eventually earning a walk-on roster spot and the opportunity to live that dream as a Division I player.
That devotion to the game led naturally into training. Today, he works full-time in player development with Buddy Hield, bringing the same commitment to the daily work of getting better.
OTHER TRAINING EXPERIENCE
His other training experience includes sessions with Jimmy Butler, Deandre Ayton, VJ Edgecombe, Trae Young, Blake Griffin, and many other Division I and professional athletes.
03 / BEYOND THE COURT
Give yourself
fully to the game.
For Trey, The Art of Basketball is a way to pursue something with your whole heart.
Discipline means returning to the work. Presence means giving this moment your attention. Devotion means allowing the game to teach you, even when the path is uncertain.
The idea of being like water first drew Trey toward elemental thinking: water adapts to its surroundings simply by being what it is. In the game, that means releasing the need to force a move, staying present, and allowing your preparation to flow naturally into your response.
His own path began without an offer or a clear opening. That experience shapes what he brings to players: belief in the pursuit, respect for the daily practice, and a commitment to helping them discover what they can express.
04 / TRAIN WITH UNDERSTANDING
Build a game
that becomes
your own.
The purpose of training is to carry what you learn into the game.
Trey’s approach connects the movement to the decision. Develop balance and precise footwork. Understand what the defense is giving you. Learn to adjust, and build the trust to act.
The work keeps returning to the same question: can you recognize what the moment asks of you—and respond with your own game?
Return to the elements of mastery05 / TRAINING WITH TREY
A shared standard.
Your own expression.
Group basketball training
Seventh grade and up
Private gym · Preston Hollow
Dallas, Texas
A purposeful environment for young athletes to learn, be challenged, and grow in confidence.
Designed for junior high and high school athletes, group training brings discipline and constructive shared energy to the work. Players practice with care, support one another’s effort, and develop habits they can carry into their team practices.
Trey brings experience from Division I practices, NBA workouts and practices, and professional national-team sessions. He sees a responsibility to pass on those standards with clear teaching, patience, and a willingness to help players stretch beyond what feels familiar.
Care in the details.
Balance, precise footwork, and purposeful movement. Build a foundation through attentive, disciplined practice.
Connect skill to the game.
Learn why a skill matters, when and how to use it, and how to read what the defense gives you.
Find trust in your game.
Try, adjust, and learn in a supportive, challenging setting. Grow comfortable trusting your preparation and instincts.
06 / CONTACT TREY
Bring your curiosity.
Begin the work.
Interested in training in Dallas?
Athletes and parents can get in touch to ask about group training, discuss a player’s goals, and learn about current availability.
Email TreySlateTrey@gmail.com