"Basketball is a game of mistakes." - Bob Knight
We got invited to play on the road today against one of the top teams in the state, a tall and pretty talented (I imagine) group. We need to fail better.
Before games, most teams have layup lines. We don't.
Player 1 passes to the wing, sprints to ball screen. Player 4 must score on 2 dribbles or less, pass to the rolling 1, or make an elbow jumpshot. After the pass is made, the same action begins on the other side - screen, drive, pass, or shot. At this point, I ask them to drive or pass to the roller, simulating game action. Layup lines, as commonly practiced do not. We must insist on failing better.
"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?" - Robert Browning
A few times a game, I see one of our players drive baseline and either pass to the corner, pitch the ball out, or turn it over. "Score the basketball." Every practice we practice reverse layups from the corner or the opposite elbow, asking players to use either the dominant or non-dominant hand, and one or two-footed finishes. Usually, it's an oxymoron - pretty ugly. But we need to fail better.
As coaches, we demand that players leave their comfort zone...and fail unconventionally.
Failing better means getting separation and missing a perimeter shot, instead of getting it blocked absent separation. Failing better means missing a floater for the same reason. Failing better means getting beaten off the dribble because you accepted the challenge to pressure the ball. Quality shots fail better. An errant pass forward fails better than eschewing a transition opportunity.
Failing better happens when we are "warm and demanding." Maybe the casual observer can't distinguish between failing better and failing conventionally. But failing better outstrips the tortoise defeating the hare.
Our mission means getting our teams to fail better.