Studies seem mostly golf-related. One super interesting and seemingly consistent finding is increased left hemispheric brain activity, relative to right, in athletes with the yips. It's believed to represent increased analytic thought that causes disruption when present during a task that is typically completed on "autopilot."
Commonly referred to as, "You're overthinking it". Just play the game
Yeah, that's pretty much it. It'll be super interesting to see how it plays out for him. Not a huge baseball fan, but in reading about some of the former pitchers & fielders listed above, some ended up 'recovering' while others were forced to retire.
It's a little weird. I can understand how it works in baseball, when you pretty much stand on a mound and wind up for as long as you want. In basketball, though, it seems you often have a split second to decide, so you more or less have to play a lot by instinct and muscle memory (so no real time for a mental "freeze").
If I were a Philly fan, I'd be worried about that little bit about the crowd and the flashlights. He went to a small school. Is the scene too big for him now?
Very well could be. I know he played well in international competition, but maybe he is rattled by the big stage.
Slightly off-topic.. as kids, my brother and I made a habit of writing letters to mediocre or worse NBA players. It was both exciting and humorous -- we could reasonably hope they'd reply, and they could reasonably assume we were serious. My big score was a Hawks bumper sticker autographed by Alan Henderson; my brother outdid me with an autographed picture from Bryant 'Big Country' Reeves.
All that said, this may be a small window of time in which to communicate with a super talented ball player and seemingly interesting/quirky dude. If the door is left even slightly ajar, I may offer these links and intervention assistance free of charge. While a restraining order seems likely, Alan and Bryant have proven that miracles do happen...