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
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