The dieting before is my own prefrence because the way i see it, getting fit is all about your routine, you get your routines out one at a time, when your eating well and healthy your naturally more motivated to hit the gym/do some exsercise u feel me? iv never played basketball proply before apart from a mess-around..i dont even know the rules all i know is how to slam dunk lol looks good though! if your doing intense training id say make sure you have a recovery week off every 3-4 weeks others may recommend a couple of days every 2 weeks it really depends on your body resistance bro.