"Basketball is a game of cutting and passing."
"Basketball is a game of advantage."
"Basketball is a game of mistakes."
"Basketball is a game meant to be played fast."
"Basketball is a game of time and space."
"Basketball is a game of creating and preventing separation."
Today, examine teaching points from Steph Curry's MasterClass on basketball, specifically the first chapter on creating separation. Defenders invariably present opportunity. Curry shares reading their FEET, HANDS, and NOSE.
Coaches teach "attack the front foot." Attacking the lead foot requires the defender to drop step instead of slide to stay between you and the basket. The defense's drop step is slower.
Curry advises seeing hands to know whether to rip/swim low or shoot. You've heard Mark Jackson, "hand down, man down" as players shoot over the defender. I teach players to keep the ball out of the defender's "strike zone" (hand zone) where steals are more likely.
Seeing the nose "lean" tells Curry where the defender's body will likely go. It's hard for the defender to go left if her nose is heading right.
Against a defender trying to force him right (right foot up), Curry demonstrates a jab step with a rip through (against low hands) that opens three real-time options...drive, side step shot, and step back.
He emphasizes the importance of protecting the ball at all times. Against tight defense, he counsels a center jab (into the defender's body) and retreat...which forces defensive reaction and can then open up the step back or drive. Be the aggressor.
Curry discusses his "pull dribble" to pull the defender sideways...this can evolve into a plyo step drive (inside foot trails), a step back, or against defensive overcommitment, a crossover into either driving or step back.
Coach Castellaw reviews the footwork for the pull dribble step back above.
Basketball is a game of SEPARATION. The mnemonic I learned young was there's A RAT in sepARATe. Be A RAT.
Lagniappe: Here's the Google Drive presentation that I shared with the girls at our breakup gathering last night. Find something you can