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Thursday, July 6, 2023

Basketball: Stairway to Heaven 


"And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll
And she's buying the stairway to heaven." - Led Zeppelin
"Don't skip steps." - Gregg Popovich
Ask what areas help us develop superior players? Before investing in a program and/or coach, ask about their methods and track record. If they're not transparent, think again. 

1. Skill. Master layups and free throws. The former come with the highest degree of 'contestedness' and the latter with none. Practice finishing at the rim with physical defense. 1 vs 1 vs 1 with everything 'live' keeps it real. 

Attack the basket against defense. Box drills and wing attack off the catch raise skills for 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s. 

2. Write your plan. What's your shooting plan? Build release quickness, form consistency, range, and 'diversity'. Modern basketball demands making threes off the catch. Add side dribble threes and some off the dribble. Few young players should even think about step back threes. 

3. Habit forming. Pick, stick to, and check your schedule. Make it easier by keeping your workout gear ready. Ideally, drag a teammate toward elite status with you. 

4. Track progress. Add constraints like time or minimum percentage made to "pass the test" of an element. Games like "Beat the Pro" require you to make nine before missing four to win. That adds pressure. Go for your personal best. 

5. Monitor gains with video. Better players stand out on video. Become 'radiant'. 

Additional ideas.

Program diversity - use a holistic approach. Skill without athleticism won't play. You have to be able to get your shot off. 
  • Skill building
  • Strategy (game understanding)
  • Physicality (see below)
  • Psychology
Strength and conditioning - devote time to becoming a stronger, more explosive athlete. That will demand weight training, plyometrics, and mobility training. Youtube has many resources. Be aware that intense heat puts you at risk for heat injury. Don't go there or put your athletes at risk.

Video study. Learn how to study basketball. Watching and 'seeing' aren't identical. Develop "coach's eyes." 
  • What's the 'big picture' strategy? 
  • How does the team use spacing, player and ball movement, and develop a 'scoring moment'? 
  • How good is the ball containment? 
  • How does the team play 'off the ball'? 
  • What are they working to 'take away'? 
  • How do the best offensive and defensive players create and limit separation? 
  • What principles does the team use in their basic offense? 
  • How do they operate in special situations (e.g. ATO, BOB, and SLOB)? 
  • How much do they generate 'hard-to-defend' actions - urgent cutting, pick-and-roll, slips and screen rejection, long closeouts, DHOs, complex screening - double, stagger, sequential, Spain, ram, etc. 

Use training resources like the video above to help video study. 
'Separate and finish' skills using the Wooden EDIR5 method. Explain, demonstrate, imitate, repeat x 5 or 50! Posts like this show key separating actions. 
Incorporate defense. There's no 'layup line' during games. Whether you like box drills, Villanova-type wing development, small-sided-games, include defense. 
Bonus step. CONSTRAINTs. It's your world. Force players to score on layups, perimeter shots, with the opposite hand, in the paint, whatever. Use advantage-disadvantage, time constraints, big on small, small on big, or whatever situations you prefer. 
Think about your plan. Don't just do what your coach did. 
Lagniappe. "Movement kills defense."






 

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