“Is My Opinion Going to Help Anything? Plus More High School Girls' Basketball Short Educational Clips

"Stay in our lane." The mental model for this is Circle of Competence. Actions within a large CC likely outperform those within a smaller one.

"Circle of Competence is simple: Each of us, through experience or study, has built up useful knowledge on certain areas of the world. Some areas are understood by most of us, while some areas require a lot more specialty to evaluate."

As head coaches, we're expected to have a breadth of knowledge about basketball. We might hire assistants who complement our knowledge with player development, recruiting, or specialized knowledge. 

As an Internal Medicine physician, I know how to diagnose appendicitis, but don't operate. I identify symptoms of pregnancy, but don't manage it or deliver babies. 

In The Undoing Project, Michael Lewis discussed Nobel Laureate in Physics, Murray Gell-Mann pontificating about everything at a dinner party. Danny Kahneman explained how his partner Amos Tversky responded to Gell-Mann. "There isn't anybody on the planet who is as smart as you think you are." That's where we go if we stray far from our Circle. 

Better decision-making requires more than specialized knowledge. It also demands some concept of probability and the role of skill and luck in outcomes. 

A glance at the figure explains why cultivating skill matters and why basketball is more like chess than investing or gambling and hockey announcers refer to "puck luck." 

A reporter asked Naomi Osaka her opinion about Australia's ban on Novak Djokovic. She answered, "Is my opinion going to help anything?" Sometimes we advance our cause by refusing to engage controversy. We're allowed an opinion but not obligated to share it. 

Summary:

• Stay in our lane.
• Expand our Circle of Competence with experience and study. 
• Surround ourselves with people who complement our skills. 
• Understand the role of skill and luck in outcomes. 
• Refusing to engage controversy can be our best choice. 

Lagniappe: More video breakdown from recent high school girls' basketball. 

Video is the truth machine. Study intent and execution and look for areas to revise. 

Here are a handful of clips from the Bishop Fenwick - Beverly game first quarter. 

1. Old fashioned "stop and pop" a.k.a. pull-up jumper. Simple works. 

2. "Great offense is multiple actions." PnR defense and reads are essential to player development. Beverly looks to trap and Fenwick gets the SHORT ROLL. After a good entry, former player, Cecilia (#32) attacks off the catch and finishes with the glass. 

3. Develop versatile finishes. Tight defenses are vulnerable to screens and back cuts. Fenwick gets the back cut and a reverse layup. 

4. Doubling in the post is followed by a cut to the corner for a long three. It's not an error as much as a choice. The cost of the double was a difficult closeout. With an elite post defender, taking away the corner 3 is a viable alternative. 

5. "Movement kills defense." Kirby Schepp found that paint touches with ball reversal resulted in a dramatic increase in points per possession. Here's an example. 

6. Missed opportunities are lessons. Off of a rebound Cecilia (32) advances the ball but doesn't see the cutter or decides the defender is too close. She'll learn from the clip. 

7. "Sometimes you can see a lot by just looking," said Yogi Berra. This is well-designed. BOB 1-4 low with an unusual give and go.