Interesting thoughts about being IN THE ZONE, by Jaime Wheal, first 5 minutes is buildup, but really worth your time:
The Genome of Flow - How to get into THE ZONE
Enjoy
Friday, October 17, 2014
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Offense
Ok, let's start to talk about offense. I have spent a considerable amount of space on the blog talking defense, teamwork, and communication, so I guess it's only fair to make some mention of the other side of the floor.
First things first.......RUN.
The first offense should always be a result of...you guessed it...defense.
Good defense produces turnovers and rebounds, and therefore opportunities to score early, in transition, before the defense can get set. So lets start with some basics about the break.
* you need the ball before you can go, it's better to rebound it than take it out of the net
* you run faster without the ball than with it, so if you get it, look up the floor, pass it, and run
* there are more options if the ball gets to the middle of the floor, than if it stays on one side
* the less dribbles the better
* go to the basket strong
* three's in transition are usually good looks, with good opportunity for put-backs
* if you are shooting a three in transition, make sure it is in rhythm
* if the defender is in the lane in front of you, jump-stop
* if the defender is not in the lane in front of you, take it to the basket hard
* talk on the floor, if you're open call "ball", if you're the trailer, call "trailer"
* after you score, don't celebrate, put your head down and get back on defense
* reward your bigs with touches when they run
* keep your spacing
* the guy who rebounded and made the outlet pass, is often the best option on the secondary break
Offense in the half court set is a matter of movement, communication, spacing, timing, and trust. Offense is the product of practice, individually, and together. Hope is not a plan. Here are some basic principles:
* movement on offense should be constant and purposeful, if you are standing around, you will probably find yourself sitting next to your coach before too long
* when you cut to the basket, ball, or open space, cut hard, and look for the ball
* when you get the ball, establish your pivot foot, and look to get to triple threat
* if you can take your man to the basket, do it, if you are open, and in rhythm, shoot it, if your teammate is open, get him the ball
* when you pass the ball, get it to your teammate where (it needs to be), when (it needs to get there), and how (it needs to be delivered)
* force the defense to react to what you do, know how they react, and create opportunities
* if you draw a 2nd defender, than someone is open, find him
* over dribbling is counter-productive to offense, and boring
* set screens, hard-legal screens
* after you set a hard-legal screen, open to the ball, and either roll or pop to space
* reverse the ball - swinging the ball from side to side, exposes weak defenders, especially vs. a zone
* look to get inside touches - this collapses the defense and creates good looks, especially for the weak side offensive players, it also keeps your bigs happy and working hard
* attack the offensive glass, put-backs should never involve a dribble
* never make an underhanded pass
* no finger rolls
A scared offensive player is the easiest to defend. He looks to get rid of the ball as soon as he touches it, and hides within the movement of the offense. He shies away from contact, and is worried about missing or having his shot blocked. Offensive confidence comes from hard work in the gym, at practice and on your own.
A selfish offensive player is the next easiest player to defend, because they are one-dimensional. This is not the same as a scorer, who can create and make shots within the system. The selfish player is the one who is thinking of himself every time they touch or don't touch the ball. The guy who stands at the three point line with his hand up, and has decided to jack it up even before it comes to him. The guy who pouts on the third trip down the floor if he hasn't taken a shot in the last two trips. You can get in this guy's head a hundred different ways, and a good defender will always own him.
The shooter/ballhandler is an important part of the team. The shooter is capable of making open shots, and carrying a team when they get hot. The ballhandler can break down a defense, and get the ball to his shooters and scorers, and can get to the basket, or create his own shot.
The scorer/rebounder/screener is tough to defend, they have ability, and know what they are capable of. The scorer can shoot or go to the basket, the rebounder always has to be accounted for, and the screener gets other guys open, often causing mismatches and scoring opportunities. A team with a scorer, rebounder, screener, and shooter can be very successful if everyone knows their ability and potential, and plays to it.
The playmaker is the toughest guy to defend. Confident and purposeful, this is the rare player, who sees the game in slow motion, seems one step ahead, and makes great decisions. They know how they score, and how their teammates score, and can beat a defense in a variety of ways. One or two playmakers can make the difference in a team, guys rally around them, and want to be on the floor with them.
Every player should constantly be working on all parts of his game. Figuring out strengths and weaknesses, building on strengths, and turning weaknesses into skills, and be open to honest evaluation. Be honest with yourself as well, and take pride in doing whatever you can to contribute, and pay attention to the impact you have on the guys you play with.
Ball don't lie.
First things first.......RUN.
The first offense should always be a result of...you guessed it...defense.
Good defense produces turnovers and rebounds, and therefore opportunities to score early, in transition, before the defense can get set. So lets start with some basics about the break.
* you need the ball before you can go, it's better to rebound it than take it out of the net
* you run faster without the ball than with it, so if you get it, look up the floor, pass it, and run
* there are more options if the ball gets to the middle of the floor, than if it stays on one side
* the less dribbles the better
* go to the basket strong
* three's in transition are usually good looks, with good opportunity for put-backs
* if you are shooting a three in transition, make sure it is in rhythm
* if the defender is in the lane in front of you, jump-stop
* if the defender is not in the lane in front of you, take it to the basket hard
* talk on the floor, if you're open call "ball", if you're the trailer, call "trailer"
* after you score, don't celebrate, put your head down and get back on defense
* reward your bigs with touches when they run
* keep your spacing
* the guy who rebounded and made the outlet pass, is often the best option on the secondary break
Offense in the half court set is a matter of movement, communication, spacing, timing, and trust. Offense is the product of practice, individually, and together. Hope is not a plan. Here are some basic principles:
* movement on offense should be constant and purposeful, if you are standing around, you will probably find yourself sitting next to your coach before too long
* when you cut to the basket, ball, or open space, cut hard, and look for the ball
* when you get the ball, establish your pivot foot, and look to get to triple threat
* if you can take your man to the basket, do it, if you are open, and in rhythm, shoot it, if your teammate is open, get him the ball
* when you pass the ball, get it to your teammate where (it needs to be), when (it needs to get there), and how (it needs to be delivered)
* force the defense to react to what you do, know how they react, and create opportunities
* if you draw a 2nd defender, than someone is open, find him
* over dribbling is counter-productive to offense, and boring
* set screens, hard-legal screens
* after you set a hard-legal screen, open to the ball, and either roll or pop to space
* reverse the ball - swinging the ball from side to side, exposes weak defenders, especially vs. a zone
* look to get inside touches - this collapses the defense and creates good looks, especially for the weak side offensive players, it also keeps your bigs happy and working hard
* attack the offensive glass, put-backs should never involve a dribble
* never make an underhanded pass
* no finger rolls
A scared offensive player is the easiest to defend. He looks to get rid of the ball as soon as he touches it, and hides within the movement of the offense. He shies away from contact, and is worried about missing or having his shot blocked. Offensive confidence comes from hard work in the gym, at practice and on your own.
A selfish offensive player is the next easiest player to defend, because they are one-dimensional. This is not the same as a scorer, who can create and make shots within the system. The selfish player is the one who is thinking of himself every time they touch or don't touch the ball. The guy who stands at the three point line with his hand up, and has decided to jack it up even before it comes to him. The guy who pouts on the third trip down the floor if he hasn't taken a shot in the last two trips. You can get in this guy's head a hundred different ways, and a good defender will always own him.
The shooter/ballhandler is an important part of the team. The shooter is capable of making open shots, and carrying a team when they get hot. The ballhandler can break down a defense, and get the ball to his shooters and scorers, and can get to the basket, or create his own shot.
The scorer/rebounder/screener is tough to defend, they have ability, and know what they are capable of. The scorer can shoot or go to the basket, the rebounder always has to be accounted for, and the screener gets other guys open, often causing mismatches and scoring opportunities. A team with a scorer, rebounder, screener, and shooter can be very successful if everyone knows their ability and potential, and plays to it.
The playmaker is the toughest guy to defend. Confident and purposeful, this is the rare player, who sees the game in slow motion, seems one step ahead, and makes great decisions. They know how they score, and how their teammates score, and can beat a defense in a variety of ways. One or two playmakers can make the difference in a team, guys rally around them, and want to be on the floor with them.
Every player should constantly be working on all parts of his game. Figuring out strengths and weaknesses, building on strengths, and turning weaknesses into skills, and be open to honest evaluation. Be honest with yourself as well, and take pride in doing whatever you can to contribute, and pay attention to the impact you have on the guys you play with.
Ball don't lie.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Pre-Season Workouts and Tryouts
Some thoughts about the next 8 weeks.
As the mornings get colder, and the leaves start to turn, inevitably the thoughts of ballplayers turn to the next season, so filled with promise, and so unblemished. A time to make a jump from the level you played at last year, a time to show how much you've grown, a time for promises and commitments, and dreams of glory.
It is also a time for rumors, running rampant around the school, about who is a starter, who is on JV, and how many guys will make it, and who will get cut and why.
Let me clear the air on some of it. First, if you did not hear it from your coach, it is just not true. If you have heard that coach is only keeping 9 varsity guys, or football players are out if they make the playoffs, or the point guard spot is locked up, and you didn't hear it directly from coach, forget it and move on.
Second, a quick word on pre-season workouts (captain's practices), I think it's great that guys want to get work in before the season officially begins, stay in shape or get in shape, break out some drills that we might see in practice, so that it's not new on the first day. Honestly though, I would rather have seen you play soccer or football. The trust and sense of teamwork you get from playing together is the hardest thing to build in basketball because of the abbreviated schedule in the first 10 days before playing the first game (plus soccer is great for defensive angles, and footwork). If you are going to do pre-season workouts, see the suggested ideas below.
Third, no decisions have been made about who belongs where. Returning players have the advantage/disadvantage of the coach knowing their strengths and weaknesses, but that does not guarantee them a spot. If a returning player finished last season struggling to make mid-range jumpers, or consistently picking up reach fouls because of lazy feet, and comes back the next season with the same trends, he makes it obvious that he has not worked on the weaknesses in his game. Each team is together for only one season, some graduate, others move, new people move in, and freshman come onto the scene.
This season will play itself out in it's own individual way, and you can either hang around and wait for what happens, or you can commit to being present every second of every practice and shift, and make it something special, that will stay with you for the rest of your life.
This all being said, there are about 8 weeks until the first 6 am practice/tryout begins. If you are not playing a fall sport, and hoping to make the team, here are some suggestions for your workouts.
First off, they need to be happening every day, and you don't need 25 guys, or the gym for this. Excuses will not win you a division title, get you to the state playoffs, or help you be the only team in RI that gets to win the last game of the season. Your preseason should be dedicated to three areas.
Conditioning: the most important part of preparing for the season is to make sure you are physically able to perform at your best over the next 5-6 months. You should be dedicating 60-90 minutes, 7 days a week to conditioning. Strength training is a part of it, lifting weights can benefit you if you are doing it correctly. Bench presses, lat pull downs, squats, calf raises, shoulder presses, tricep extensions, bicep curls, and crunches can be a valuable part of your plan. Make sure you have a partner, that you are performing the exercises correctly, and that you are using appropriate weights (you should be challenged to complete 3 sets of 15 for each exercise). Weights, are not essential however. You can get more often times just by using your body weight to improve strength. Sets of push-ups, pull-ups (probably the best core exercise you can do), dips, step-ups, partner carries, lunges, explosive jumps, and abdominal series, can leave you just as exhausted, build natural-useful strength, and teach you a lot about your body as well. Endurance training is the other part, you cannot play a 32 minute game without training for about 3200 minutes. Endurance training includes speed work, and distance work, and as such, you should be combining a speed sprint workout, with longer (5-mile, hills, laps around the track) runs.
Skill work: Two things take priority in skill work - does it directly correlate to what skills you will use on the court? and is it competitive? Standing around shooting threes while someone else rebounds does not make you a better shooter. While shooting 100 straight free throws might help you improve your percentage, when is the last time anyone shot them like that in a game? Instead, work on moving without the ball, and get passes from angles you might expect in a game. Shoot free throws in pairs when you are tired. Work on shooting off the dribble, and in the post with someone guarding you. Rather than working on shaking someone off the dribble at the top of the key, learn to go just as hard with your weak hand as with your dominant hand. Teach yourself to find a body when a shot goes up, over and over so many times that it becomes automatic. Ladder shooting is a great way to train your eyes and your legs the differences between 10-15-20 footers, drill these for makes, not attempts, and compete, with yourself, or someone who is a better shooter than you.
Pick up Games: Two priorities here as well, competition again, and team building. In order for your games to help you get better, you must have competitive teams, and competitive match-ups. There is a famous story about the 1992 Dream Team's scrimmages, and now finally, there is video to go along with it: Magic v Michael Dream Team. Your games should be about something, to the point where guys are getting angry and taking losses (even single possession losses) personal. If you have 11 guys, and there is a clear drop off in the level of competition after the first 7, play 3 v 3, with the best 6, and let the other guys figure it out, rather than playing 5 on 5, with a couple guys on each team who clearly don't belong. Play defense. Nothing builds team unity like digging in and getting stops, together. Communicate, point, talk, get eye contact, argue about how where to move and when, anything to build understanding on the court. My suggestion, keep the games short, around 7 points, everything is one point, unless you are losing, and have the games end on defensive stops. Play like this all the time, because it is much more likely you will need to get a stop to keep a lead, then score at the end of a game to take the lead. Whatever you do, make sure you have to work really hard, as a group, and respect your opponent at the same time.
As the mornings get colder, and the leaves start to turn, inevitably the thoughts of ballplayers turn to the next season, so filled with promise, and so unblemished. A time to make a jump from the level you played at last year, a time to show how much you've grown, a time for promises and commitments, and dreams of glory.
It is also a time for rumors, running rampant around the school, about who is a starter, who is on JV, and how many guys will make it, and who will get cut and why.
Let me clear the air on some of it. First, if you did not hear it from your coach, it is just not true. If you have heard that coach is only keeping 9 varsity guys, or football players are out if they make the playoffs, or the point guard spot is locked up, and you didn't hear it directly from coach, forget it and move on.
Second, a quick word on pre-season workouts (captain's practices), I think it's great that guys want to get work in before the season officially begins, stay in shape or get in shape, break out some drills that we might see in practice, so that it's not new on the first day. Honestly though, I would rather have seen you play soccer or football. The trust and sense of teamwork you get from playing together is the hardest thing to build in basketball because of the abbreviated schedule in the first 10 days before playing the first game (plus soccer is great for defensive angles, and footwork). If you are going to do pre-season workouts, see the suggested ideas below.
Third, no decisions have been made about who belongs where. Returning players have the advantage/disadvantage of the coach knowing their strengths and weaknesses, but that does not guarantee them a spot. If a returning player finished last season struggling to make mid-range jumpers, or consistently picking up reach fouls because of lazy feet, and comes back the next season with the same trends, he makes it obvious that he has not worked on the weaknesses in his game. Each team is together for only one season, some graduate, others move, new people move in, and freshman come onto the scene.
This season will play itself out in it's own individual way, and you can either hang around and wait for what happens, or you can commit to being present every second of every practice and shift, and make it something special, that will stay with you for the rest of your life.
This all being said, there are about 8 weeks until the first 6 am practice/tryout begins. If you are not playing a fall sport, and hoping to make the team, here are some suggestions for your workouts.
First off, they need to be happening every day, and you don't need 25 guys, or the gym for this. Excuses will not win you a division title, get you to the state playoffs, or help you be the only team in RI that gets to win the last game of the season. Your preseason should be dedicated to three areas.
Conditioning: the most important part of preparing for the season is to make sure you are physically able to perform at your best over the next 5-6 months. You should be dedicating 60-90 minutes, 7 days a week to conditioning. Strength training is a part of it, lifting weights can benefit you if you are doing it correctly. Bench presses, lat pull downs, squats, calf raises, shoulder presses, tricep extensions, bicep curls, and crunches can be a valuable part of your plan. Make sure you have a partner, that you are performing the exercises correctly, and that you are using appropriate weights (you should be challenged to complete 3 sets of 15 for each exercise). Weights, are not essential however. You can get more often times just by using your body weight to improve strength. Sets of push-ups, pull-ups (probably the best core exercise you can do), dips, step-ups, partner carries, lunges, explosive jumps, and abdominal series, can leave you just as exhausted, build natural-useful strength, and teach you a lot about your body as well. Endurance training is the other part, you cannot play a 32 minute game without training for about 3200 minutes. Endurance training includes speed work, and distance work, and as such, you should be combining a speed sprint workout, with longer (5-mile, hills, laps around the track) runs.
Skill work: Two things take priority in skill work - does it directly correlate to what skills you will use on the court? and is it competitive? Standing around shooting threes while someone else rebounds does not make you a better shooter. While shooting 100 straight free throws might help you improve your percentage, when is the last time anyone shot them like that in a game? Instead, work on moving without the ball, and get passes from angles you might expect in a game. Shoot free throws in pairs when you are tired. Work on shooting off the dribble, and in the post with someone guarding you. Rather than working on shaking someone off the dribble at the top of the key, learn to go just as hard with your weak hand as with your dominant hand. Teach yourself to find a body when a shot goes up, over and over so many times that it becomes automatic. Ladder shooting is a great way to train your eyes and your legs the differences between 10-15-20 footers, drill these for makes, not attempts, and compete, with yourself, or someone who is a better shooter than you.
Pick up Games: Two priorities here as well, competition again, and team building. In order for your games to help you get better, you must have competitive teams, and competitive match-ups. There is a famous story about the 1992 Dream Team's scrimmages, and now finally, there is video to go along with it: Magic v Michael Dream Team. Your games should be about something, to the point where guys are getting angry and taking losses (even single possession losses) personal. If you have 11 guys, and there is a clear drop off in the level of competition after the first 7, play 3 v 3, with the best 6, and let the other guys figure it out, rather than playing 5 on 5, with a couple guys on each team who clearly don't belong. Play defense. Nothing builds team unity like digging in and getting stops, together. Communicate, point, talk, get eye contact, argue about how where to move and when, anything to build understanding on the court. My suggestion, keep the games short, around 7 points, everything is one point, unless you are losing, and have the games end on defensive stops. Play like this all the time, because it is much more likely you will need to get a stop to keep a lead, then score at the end of a game to take the lead. Whatever you do, make sure you have to work really hard, as a group, and respect your opponent at the same time.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Pressure Defense
Pressure Defense is a mindset, it is about heart, toughness, intelligence, and grit.
I want guys playing for me that love to play defense. I want defenders who take every component of every possession as a personal and team challenge. I want players who don't wait to react to what the offense is doing, but force the offense to react to what they do. Players who relentlessly make their opponent uncomfortable every inch of the floor, end up owning their guy, forcing him to just give up, more and more as the game goes on.
When you have a team of guys like that, a constant wave of one defender after another, and the other team realizes it, you can see it in their eyes. That look of defeat, when guys get touches and are immediately looking to get rid of the ball, when possession after possession sees the shot clock winding down, bad shots turn into fast breaks, coaches start calling timeouts to settle their teams down, and 5 defenders seem like 8.
Pressure defense is not reaching for steals, it is not gambling in passing lanes, it is not hedging to get a highlight block. It is relishing when your guy gets the ball. It is forcing him to his weak hand, making him pick up his dribble in panic and throw the ball away. It is baiting him and taking a charge when he drops the shoulder. It is riding the cutter so physically, that he ends up 10 feet from where he intended to cut. It is trapping hard from the blind side after fighting over a screen, and ripping the ball-handler before he even knows your coming. Pressure defenses do not give layups, dribble penetration, or uncontested looks. Wave after wave of rotations, traps, and physical play, no matter what the offense is trying to do, the defense forces anxiety.
check out this 3 minute clip of VCU, playing pressure D:
I want guys playing for me that love to play defense. I want defenders who take every component of every possession as a personal and team challenge. I want players who don't wait to react to what the offense is doing, but force the offense to react to what they do. Players who relentlessly make their opponent uncomfortable every inch of the floor, end up owning their guy, forcing him to just give up, more and more as the game goes on.
When you have a team of guys like that, a constant wave of one defender after another, and the other team realizes it, you can see it in their eyes. That look of defeat, when guys get touches and are immediately looking to get rid of the ball, when possession after possession sees the shot clock winding down, bad shots turn into fast breaks, coaches start calling timeouts to settle their teams down, and 5 defenders seem like 8.
Pressure defense is not reaching for steals, it is not gambling in passing lanes, it is not hedging to get a highlight block. It is relishing when your guy gets the ball. It is forcing him to his weak hand, making him pick up his dribble in panic and throw the ball away. It is baiting him and taking a charge when he drops the shoulder. It is riding the cutter so physically, that he ends up 10 feet from where he intended to cut. It is trapping hard from the blind side after fighting over a screen, and ripping the ball-handler before he even knows your coming. Pressure defenses do not give layups, dribble penetration, or uncontested looks. Wave after wave of rotations, traps, and physical play, no matter what the offense is trying to do, the defense forces anxiety.
check out this 3 minute clip of VCU, playing pressure D:
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Bonus Blog on "the dip"
I love this video, and as always, I love the connection to Coach Wooden, notice though, the release is still high.
check it out:
The Shooting Dip
check it out:
The Shooting Dip
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
2 for 1
Two messages in one blog tonight
Communication and Positions 1-5 on the Floor
Coach Kevin Sutton, assistant at Georgetown identifies a list of characteristics that make up great defensive play on successful teams. Two of those are as follows:
*They play defense with their voice, their eyes, their brains, their chest and their feet
*They are constantly communicating throughout the entire possession. They are active listeners as well
here is a link to the full article: Coach Kevin Sutton - Georgetown Basketball
Communication is critical to a team's success, and Coach Sutton points out, it is talking and listening constantly. Everyone has seen the games where the coach is yelling to his players for 32 minutes, moving up and down the bench, calling out rotations, and players indiscriminately. I wonder how much any player can get from that type of noise. By the time it is out of the coaches mouth, it's too late. I want my players reading plays, talking to each other, and knowing how to play together.
This requires practice, common vocabulary, and commitment to an idea that the team is bigger than the individual. You are not going to communicate very well in the back of the defense if you are worried about the fact that you were open on a read-cut at the other end, and the point-guard missed you. You are also not communicating with your teammates if running down the floor on offense you have already decided you will score no matter what because you haven't had a touch in 3 trips. The plays that have already happened are over, all there is, is the play in front of you, and you need to be 100% focused on all of it.
Everyone defends the ball, that means jumping with the pass, calling out ball when you are guarding the player with it, calling screens as they are being set, and calling out help when you rotate to pick up the ball-handler who has the guard on his hip. When 5 guys call "shot" on the release, it is a verbal signal to get a seal on your guy, and end the defensive possession with a rebound. Communication is about trust, and letting go, and it can only be built over reps and time. If you're not talking, you are not defending, it says one of two things, you are tired, or you are selfish. Both of which can find you spending plenty of time sitting next to your coach at critical moments, rather than talking to your teammates on the floor.
Positions 1-5 on the floor
I am constantly talking to players who are overly concerned about what spot they will play when they check into a game. "Coach I can play the 3" is a phrase that I have heard enough to last me a lifetime. If I am sending you into the game, play. Three basic decisions go into your responsibilities when you check in.
1- Can you guard your defensive assignment
2- Can you guard your defensive assignment
3- Can you make a play on offense in the system we are running
Rather than be concerned which number is assigned to you, be concerned with winning your shift, in whatever way you can, at both ends of the floor. This might be taking a charge, rotating low from the top on the weak side to give the hard foul and prevent a layup, setting a screen, or reversing the ball. Become a basketball player, and there will be a spot for you on the floor, regardless of your size or number, playmakers find minutes. The easiest way to know if you have won your shift, is to check the score when you went in, and then again when you come out. Beyond that, look at your individual stops on D, and successes on offense. Stops measured by if your team got the ball without the other team scoring, successful offense being if your team scored. If you help on a ball-handler and force him to pick up his dribble, and turn the ball over, you have done your job, if you set a screen that opened a lane for a teammate, you have done your job, take pride in that.
If I had the choice between a 6-6 center (5), a 6-4 power forward (4), a 6-3 small forward (3), a 6-0 shooting guard (2), and a 5-7 point guard (1), or five basketball players between 5-7 and 5-10, I would choose the five basketball players every time. If you are smaller than the player you are guarding, be quicker, have great position, take charges, box out, pull him away from the basket at the offensive end, and take it into his chest to draw fouls. If you are bigger than the opponent, use your size to deflect passes, body-up, rotate and block shots, or get put-backs without a dribble.
Part of the reason everyone wants to be on the perimeter, is that they feel that is their only opportunity to get touches on the ball. I think that this is because the art of ball movement has largely declined in recent years. From the pros to the playgrounds, having "handles" is what gets you on Sportscenter. More and more I have seen guys put the ball down over and over, between the legs, behind the back, stop and go, shake and bake, only to end up in exactly the same position they started in, telling everyone that will listen that they are "collecting ankles." All this while the other four guys stand around waiting. Move the ball, move yourself. Simple offensive philosophy, go to the open spots on the floor, and be ready when the ball comes to you. If you are open, score the basketball, if one of your teammates is more open than you, get him the ball, simple offensive philosophy. Stop your man, and be ready to help on the ball at all times, simple defensive philosophy. I have seen guards 5-8, take their man into the post, and score over and over. I have also seen 6-7 guys who can rain threes off a screen on a catch-and-shoot. Don't tell me you are a 3, go out and make plays, help your team, and everything will be fine.
Communication and Positions 1-5 on the Floor
Coach Kevin Sutton, assistant at Georgetown identifies a list of characteristics that make up great defensive play on successful teams. Two of those are as follows:
*They play defense with their voice, their eyes, their brains, their chest and their feet
*They are constantly communicating throughout the entire possession. They are active listeners as well
here is a link to the full article: Coach Kevin Sutton - Georgetown Basketball
Communication is critical to a team's success, and Coach Sutton points out, it is talking and listening constantly. Everyone has seen the games where the coach is yelling to his players for 32 minutes, moving up and down the bench, calling out rotations, and players indiscriminately. I wonder how much any player can get from that type of noise. By the time it is out of the coaches mouth, it's too late. I want my players reading plays, talking to each other, and knowing how to play together.
This requires practice, common vocabulary, and commitment to an idea that the team is bigger than the individual. You are not going to communicate very well in the back of the defense if you are worried about the fact that you were open on a read-cut at the other end, and the point-guard missed you. You are also not communicating with your teammates if running down the floor on offense you have already decided you will score no matter what because you haven't had a touch in 3 trips. The plays that have already happened are over, all there is, is the play in front of you, and you need to be 100% focused on all of it.
Everyone defends the ball, that means jumping with the pass, calling out ball when you are guarding the player with it, calling screens as they are being set, and calling out help when you rotate to pick up the ball-handler who has the guard on his hip. When 5 guys call "shot" on the release, it is a verbal signal to get a seal on your guy, and end the defensive possession with a rebound. Communication is about trust, and letting go, and it can only be built over reps and time. If you're not talking, you are not defending, it says one of two things, you are tired, or you are selfish. Both of which can find you spending plenty of time sitting next to your coach at critical moments, rather than talking to your teammates on the floor.
Positions 1-5 on the floor
I am constantly talking to players who are overly concerned about what spot they will play when they check into a game. "Coach I can play the 3" is a phrase that I have heard enough to last me a lifetime. If I am sending you into the game, play. Three basic decisions go into your responsibilities when you check in.
1- Can you guard your defensive assignment
2- Can you guard your defensive assignment
3- Can you make a play on offense in the system we are running
Rather than be concerned which number is assigned to you, be concerned with winning your shift, in whatever way you can, at both ends of the floor. This might be taking a charge, rotating low from the top on the weak side to give the hard foul and prevent a layup, setting a screen, or reversing the ball. Become a basketball player, and there will be a spot for you on the floor, regardless of your size or number, playmakers find minutes. The easiest way to know if you have won your shift, is to check the score when you went in, and then again when you come out. Beyond that, look at your individual stops on D, and successes on offense. Stops measured by if your team got the ball without the other team scoring, successful offense being if your team scored. If you help on a ball-handler and force him to pick up his dribble, and turn the ball over, you have done your job, if you set a screen that opened a lane for a teammate, you have done your job, take pride in that.
If I had the choice between a 6-6 center (5), a 6-4 power forward (4), a 6-3 small forward (3), a 6-0 shooting guard (2), and a 5-7 point guard (1), or five basketball players between 5-7 and 5-10, I would choose the five basketball players every time. If you are smaller than the player you are guarding, be quicker, have great position, take charges, box out, pull him away from the basket at the offensive end, and take it into his chest to draw fouls. If you are bigger than the opponent, use your size to deflect passes, body-up, rotate and block shots, or get put-backs without a dribble.
Part of the reason everyone wants to be on the perimeter, is that they feel that is their only opportunity to get touches on the ball. I think that this is because the art of ball movement has largely declined in recent years. From the pros to the playgrounds, having "handles" is what gets you on Sportscenter. More and more I have seen guys put the ball down over and over, between the legs, behind the back, stop and go, shake and bake, only to end up in exactly the same position they started in, telling everyone that will listen that they are "collecting ankles." All this while the other four guys stand around waiting. Move the ball, move yourself. Simple offensive philosophy, go to the open spots on the floor, and be ready when the ball comes to you. If you are open, score the basketball, if one of your teammates is more open than you, get him the ball, simple offensive philosophy. Stop your man, and be ready to help on the ball at all times, simple defensive philosophy. I have seen guards 5-8, take their man into the post, and score over and over. I have also seen 6-7 guys who can rain threes off a screen on a catch-and-shoot. Don't tell me you are a 3, go out and make plays, help your team, and everything will be fine.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
What You Practice...
What you practice every day, becomes what you do, and who you are. So what are you practicing? I would like to think I practice having real and meaningful conversations with the people around me, and trying to do something everyday that benefits someone else. And I would like to think that most days I do a pretty good job at that. But I also practice being angry in the car, and having no tolerance for the drivers around me. I practice staying up way to late, thus making me tired the next day, and in general, that contributes to me not having the sustainable energy I need to accomplish all the things I wish I could.
When it comes to basketball, what are you practicing?
Do you find yourself saying things like: "I am going to lock you up on D"
or "I am about to yam on you, you can't stop me" "coach I'm a shooter now" or my favorite " ball is life." I hear these kind of statements all the time, in gym class, on the playground, or in the hallway at school. I see them tweeted and tatted, doodled on notebooks, and graffitti'd on desks and lockers all the time.
My question is, when you say "I am going to lock you up on D" and then play, are you giving up layups? Do you understand how to move your feet and use your strength to force your opponent into a place he wants to stay away from? Are you willing to take a charge or give the hard/clean foul, and yet still commit to closing out on the jumper? Or do you reach for the cheap steal, hedge the lane for a highlight block, give up the and-one, or forget to box-out and get caught looking up as the shooter goes around you for the put-back?
Do you love to take a running start after practice, or when the coach blows the whistle for a drink, and backrim one-foot, two dribble dunk attempts from the right wing in a row over and over before catching one? Or, did you put in 90 minutes a day, on your own, training hard at times when no one else is awake yet, and catch your first dunk in scrimmages, cutting to the basket with two defenders around you, off two feet, with two hands, and just get back in line for the next set. Has everyone heard about the putback slam you got on the 9-1/2 foot rim bent down in the front in summer league? Or did you drop step bang in the second half of your first league game because you were pissed that the guy you were guarding in the first half hit a lucky step back and was talking junk about it?
What about when you announce to the gym that "coach I'm a shooter now" then proceed to miss your next 4 threes, short, right, long, then left, before finally getting a line-drive to bounce front rim, back rim, backboard, and through? If you are a shooter, you know, and everyone else around you knows, and it doesn't matter if you've just run a hundred gassers, done a whole morning worth of push-ups and defensive slides, or a longer, quicker, stronger guy is guarding you, the next one is always going in. You don't need to say anything, just sprint back and point to the guy who got you the ball.
Is #ballislife your go-to catchphrase? Did you just stand in line for 26 hours to drop $249 on the pumpkin-wheat foamposites? Did you roll into the first day of try-outs with attitude glasses, huge crystal studs in each ear, headbands, wristbands, oversized jumpman shorts, a kyrie jersey turnt backwards, pumkin foams untied, beats on your neck, double elite socks, three necklaces, and an I love boobies bracelet? Then miss your first two left-handed layups? Or do you sell out on every sprint, chasedown, shell-drill-rotation, and defensive slide, then still have enough left to quietly dominate the one-on-one, to five-on-five games at the end of practice? All because you did twice as many sets every day stretching back to the end of last season.
With about 6 weeks remaining until HS tryouts, there is still time to change the things you practice, that become who you are. If some of the things in this blog make you uncomfortable, good. It's a signal to make what you say the same as what you do. If you are interested in reading more, here's an article I just finished reading that set me off on this rant.
Kobe works harder than Jordan did.
Be sure to follow the link at the bottom of the Jackson interview to read the full article on Kobe, and read all three pages of that.
Also check out these two Jeter items:
Jeter's Gatorade Commercial
Jeter sportsman of the year
The commercial speaks for itself, but pay close attention to what Billy Beane says about Jeter in the article, I think this is exactly how a champion thinks.
Kobe does not practice shooting jump shots, he practices making jump shots.
Jeter does not practice baseball, he practices intelligence, effort, and humility.
What do you practice?
-Coach Crookes
When it comes to basketball, what are you practicing?
Do you find yourself saying things like: "I am going to lock you up on D"
or "I am about to yam on you, you can't stop me" "coach I'm a shooter now" or my favorite " ball is life." I hear these kind of statements all the time, in gym class, on the playground, or in the hallway at school. I see them tweeted and tatted, doodled on notebooks, and graffitti'd on desks and lockers all the time.
My question is, when you say "I am going to lock you up on D" and then play, are you giving up layups? Do you understand how to move your feet and use your strength to force your opponent into a place he wants to stay away from? Are you willing to take a charge or give the hard/clean foul, and yet still commit to closing out on the jumper? Or do you reach for the cheap steal, hedge the lane for a highlight block, give up the and-one, or forget to box-out and get caught looking up as the shooter goes around you for the put-back?
Do you love to take a running start after practice, or when the coach blows the whistle for a drink, and backrim one-foot, two dribble dunk attempts from the right wing in a row over and over before catching one? Or, did you put in 90 minutes a day, on your own, training hard at times when no one else is awake yet, and catch your first dunk in scrimmages, cutting to the basket with two defenders around you, off two feet, with two hands, and just get back in line for the next set. Has everyone heard about the putback slam you got on the 9-1/2 foot rim bent down in the front in summer league? Or did you drop step bang in the second half of your first league game because you were pissed that the guy you were guarding in the first half hit a lucky step back and was talking junk about it?
What about when you announce to the gym that "coach I'm a shooter now" then proceed to miss your next 4 threes, short, right, long, then left, before finally getting a line-drive to bounce front rim, back rim, backboard, and through? If you are a shooter, you know, and everyone else around you knows, and it doesn't matter if you've just run a hundred gassers, done a whole morning worth of push-ups and defensive slides, or a longer, quicker, stronger guy is guarding you, the next one is always going in. You don't need to say anything, just sprint back and point to the guy who got you the ball.
Is #ballislife your go-to catchphrase? Did you just stand in line for 26 hours to drop $249 on the pumpkin-wheat foamposites? Did you roll into the first day of try-outs with attitude glasses, huge crystal studs in each ear, headbands, wristbands, oversized jumpman shorts, a kyrie jersey turnt backwards, pumkin foams untied, beats on your neck, double elite socks, three necklaces, and an I love boobies bracelet? Then miss your first two left-handed layups? Or do you sell out on every sprint, chasedown, shell-drill-rotation, and defensive slide, then still have enough left to quietly dominate the one-on-one, to five-on-five games at the end of practice? All because you did twice as many sets every day stretching back to the end of last season.
With about 6 weeks remaining until HS tryouts, there is still time to change the things you practice, that become who you are. If some of the things in this blog make you uncomfortable, good. It's a signal to make what you say the same as what you do. If you are interested in reading more, here's an article I just finished reading that set me off on this rant.
Kobe works harder than Jordan did.
Be sure to follow the link at the bottom of the Jackson interview to read the full article on Kobe, and read all three pages of that.
Also check out these two Jeter items:
Jeter's Gatorade Commercial
Jeter sportsman of the year
The commercial speaks for itself, but pay close attention to what Billy Beane says about Jeter in the article, I think this is exactly how a champion thinks.
Kobe does not practice shooting jump shots, he practices making jump shots.
Jeter does not practice baseball, he practices intelligence, effort, and humility.
What do you practice?
-Coach Crookes
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