In a conversation with our team yesterday, I told them there are two KEY POINTS to playing: 1) make your OPPONENT UNCOMFORTABLE and 2) find a way to WEAR THEM DOWN.
Make your opponent uncomfortable.
The aggressor doesn't always win, but it feels better. The aggressor applies BALL PRESSURE. The aggressor COMMUNICATES, HELPS and RECOVERS. The tough player goes TO THE FLOOR first. She ATTACKS the offensive player. She TAKES A CHARGE.
The aggressor ANCIPATES and is QUICK to the offensive boards. She finds the BASKET CUTS and HEAD TURNERS.
Wear the opponent down.
You wear an opponent down by playing "your way" not "their way". If we had tall, physical girls, we'd play very differently. Before each game, I ask the girls, "how do we play?" They answer, "WE PLAY FAST." That's our DNA. Sometimes it's ugly and yes, it looks like hockey as there's a new rotation every 90-120 seconds. Every possession should reflect RELENTLESS play.
I'm going to ask my player on IR to track ball pressure today. If you're in the open court, we want you to be able to 'reach out and touch the ball'.
What is relentless? Here's an excerpt of a summary of Tim S. Grover's Relentless:
We're a long way from being close to achieving that identity. Whether as a team or an individual, if you want to be exceptional, you have to put forth exceptional effort every day.