Thursday, July 21, 2022

Why Our Half Court Offense Failed

Don't traffic in excuses. Examine the facts of why our half court (girls middle school) succeeded or failed over two decades. Nobody has enough talent, enough practice time, enough individual skill time, enough minutes. Nobody. 

Why did possessions fail? As Brad Stevens told my wife (the rocket scientist), "Basketball is not rocket science." Use the principle of inversion, "Invert, always invert." Do the opposite of what didn't work. 

Retreat to sport organization (via Dr. Fergus Connolly).

  1. Initial positioning  
  2. Player circulation
  3. Ball circulation 
  4. 'The scoring moment' 
Examined by the possession or bulk, the answers are similar. As a coach, I was never able to impart enough knowledge, skill, and will to the group. I own that. Maybe you can do better by sharing with your players. 

Spacing. Impact of poor spacing: 

  • Worse driving and passing lanes
  • Less space for defenses to cover
  • Fumbles, deflections, and turnovers
  • Higher degree of contestedness of shots
  • Simplifies closeouts and facilitates double teams

Standing. Because movement kills defenses, standing revives defenses. In the NBA, cutting creates high points/possession. Standing isn't an option. 

Sticking. The other part of circulation is ball movement. Ball movement depends on cutting, passing, and choice. Ballstickers don't make teammates better. Think about the Spurs "0.5 second rule" pertaining to ball movement. Young players struggle with quick decisions and efficient execution, but ball movement has to be a goal.  

Separating. Better athletes create separation with quickness and all players can improve separation with pivoting, cutting, screening, and "basketball moves." When we talk about moves, that includes fakes, jab series, rip, negative step, and the variety of dribble separation moves. Players self-sabotage through driving and passing into traffic. Win in space (see Lagniappe).

Selection (decisions on passing, shooting). We control our attitude, effort, and choices. Poor effort is a choice. Not passing is a choice. Poor quality shots and "shot turnovers" are choices. Reinforce better choices with analytics, shot charts, and video. 

Skill. Even doing the right things won't work without skill. "We can't run what we can't run." Like conditioning, no shortcut exists. 

Eventually, become your own coach, motivator, judge and jury. 

Many alternatives exist to basketball... other sports, other domains (drama, music, art), study, and free time. But if you have a passion for basketball, "Many are called and few are chosen." 

Takeaways - causes for offensive failure
  • Spacing
  • Standing
  • Sticking
  • Separation
  • Selection
  • Skill
Lagniappe. Study great players. Yes, he has size and finishing skill.


Note his patience, fluidity, changes of direction and pace, and patience. 


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