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Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Basketball: Your Basketball Influences Are Endless Possibility



We are knowledge workers (says the guy who shows Beverly Hillbillies video). 

 Our basketball vision evolves over a lifetime. Coaching, practice and play, camps, clinics, reading, and film study navigate the basketball waters. Learning across disciplines also permeates our basketball ethos (character), logos (logic), and pathos (emotion). 


Scorsese discusses how camera angles, lighting, character introduction, and other factors affected his career. He discusses Brando's appearance in Zapata as especially powerful.

 As we appreciate the expanse of basketball, we understand the breadth of our ignorance. 

Ron Jaworski wrote a book about seven football games that changed the game. Is there anything similar in basketball? Moreover, what shapes our overarching vision?

Coaching. I should have seen this coming. Our first group has stopped the opposition on their first few possessions; opponents have a BOB. 

I've seen the Cavs run something similar for Kevin Love. Of course, Love doesn't bank it in from the top. What could we do differently? A lot, 1) Pressure the ball to make the pass tougher or 2) bring a guard behind the screen. No way to fight through. 

 Practice and Play. We were not ready for a trapping 1-3-1 zone against a physical team with size. Because we haven't played zone (except initial defense on BOBs), our zone offense is erratic. So, we're now practicing zone amidst three hours of weekly practice. 

Protect the blocks and elbows. Contain penetration. Consider trapping the wings/corners if we have the personnel to do so. 

 x3 in so-called "cheat" position prepared to bother wing before the "bump down" to the low position. 

x2 protects the near-side elbow and x5 has the near-side block.

 x4 must be a strong defensive rebounder. 

 And every minute we "spend" on practicing zone defense/offense steals from the "investment" of individual skill development (especially shooting). Cognitive dissonance beats us every day. 

When we move the ball quickly, quality shots follow. Notice how the zone defense aggressively loads to the ball. 

Camps. Time and money families can invest in camps is intensely personal. Camps are expensive. Coaching from different perspectives adds to a player's development. 

Search the Internet and find superior coaching from elite camps. Free! 

 Clinics. It's the same deal with clinics. The Internet shares an array of global knowledge. Find topics to broaden our horizons. 
"Can they do it with their left hand, their right hand, with contact, and make a decision?" - Kirby Schepp

 Reading. It's personal. Is basketball important to our players? There are costs for knowledge workers...paying attention and investing time. There are many great basketball books, educators, and basketball sites. When people provide great content, they should recoup their time with fees. But there's plenty of great free stuff. 

 Film study. I learn by watching our team on film. "Experience is the best teacher, but sometimes the tuition is high." 

 During a 90 second span early in the game, we went from leading 6-5 to down 12-6. A lost angle on a drive turned into a three-point play, and a pair of turnovers against the press, combined with one player losing her assignment dug us a hole. In retrospect, it wasn't superior opposition during that spell, just poor execution. Bad habits (throwing long against pressure) over a short period hurt us. 

 But our players are stressed by academic competition, other activities, and pressures of early adolescence. If I have a choice between having them love basketball and love learning and each other, I can live with the latter. 

 Lagniappe: "Great offense is multiple actions." These include spacing, passing, cutting, and screening. Chris Oliver illustrates this perfectly. 
Players kept disappearing from practice last night. Everybody can't need to use the bathroom, right? 


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