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Friday, December 27, 2024

Basketball - Don't Be "The Last Rat"

Einstein is falsely credited with saying, "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." 

Don't be the last rat to leave a sinking ship. Either get out early or solve problems. 

"The loyal opposition" excels at finding problems not solutions. Effective treatment without a diagnosis is hard, but not all conditions have treatment. 

Sometimes, although many problems exist, attention to one has overarching benefit. Improvement means starting on something. Bad transition defense kills teams. Bad transition defense means lots of easy hoops allowed. Two critical parts of transition defense are 1) rapid conversion (identification) and 2) effort. Set a standard, such as "no more than three transition hoops per game." 

Limit transition scoring with:

  • Commitment to limiting transition
  • Limit live ball turnovers
  • Shot selection 
  • Spacing to include floor balance
  • Offensive rebounding 
  • Protecting the basket, slowing ball advancement, shaping up
  • High effort with high engagement
Examine these:
  • Are you sending two or three to offensive rebound?
  • Are you denying the outlet pass?
  • Getting back and protecting the basket? 
  • Stopping the ball? 
  • Delaying offense from attacking in the half court? 
  • Don't "buddy run," beat your man back. 
  • Beat your man to half court.
  • Talk. "I've got ball" or "I've got basket." 
Bonus quote, "if you want to be elite in this league, you have to be elite at the rim." - Brian Scalabrine

Lagniappe (reposted). Years ago on a hot Sunday evening, I taught Cecilia reverse layups. She struggled but came back the next Sunday and made them. And last night, she made her teacher proud with these two of her 23 points. Now she's the leading scorer and rebounder for American University as a freshman. 

Lagniappe 2. Find a way to believe in yourself.  


Lagniappe 3. Fall in love with the mental side of the game. 
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