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Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Basketball: Fast Five Ways to Improve Offensively Today

"This is the great challenge: to maintain passion for the everyday routine and the endlessly repeated act, to derive deep gratification from the mundane...cooking is not about convenience and it's not about shortcuts." - Chef Thomas Keller, introduction to The French Laundry Cookbook

Take nothing for granted. Be explicit in expectations. Battles are lost when troops misunderstand Commander's Intent. "The key to successful Commander’s/CEO Intent is trained, confident, and engaged military personnel/employees." 

 You want to be a better offensive player. It's not rocket science; I know because my wife IS a rocket scientist. Improve your mental approach, technique, and effort. Understand what coaches want - good decisions, mistake-free play, teamwork. 

 1. Take better shots. Every player should know what makes a good shot for herself and for her teammates. Good players have accountable shot selection. "Just because you can doesn't mean you should." - Brian Scalabrine

 2. Cut hard. Be hard to guard. Change direction and change pace. And off the ball, remember "the screener is the second cutter." 

 3. "Set up your cut." This is one of Jay Bilas' thirty-one Toughness mandates. "The toughest players make hard cuts, and set up their cuts. Basketball is about deception. Take your defender one way, and then plant the foot opposite of the direction you want to go and cut hard." 

 4. Wait for screens. Don Meyer taught players to say, "wait, wait, wait." And while you're waiting, plan your read...curl, back cut, or bump (flare), understanding the defender defines your next action. 

 5. Holster the dribble. Drive to score, draw two and pass, get a better passing angle. Forget showcase dribbling and east-west dribbling. 

 Focus and attention to detail define success. 

 Lagniappe: Chris Oliver @BBallImmersion shares great education every day on Twitter. 
Lagniappe 2: Double down with another Oliver gem. 

The versatile Flex offense shows off a SLOB. 

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