The road is long. One regular theme is not overestimating young players' "professionalism" and game understanding.
1. "Be a punch first team." Excellence can't be a sometime approach. There's no on-off switch. When teams aren't ready to play, holes get dug that are hard to escape.
2. Win in space. Spacing isn't optional. The ball is magnetic, attracting all players, including offense. "Magnetism" compromises spacing. "." Traffic is bad for an offense and shrinking space is good defense.
3. Basketball at a glance
- What's the player and ball movement?
- What's the proximity of defenders to the ball? "Color on color..."
4. Attend to details. Coach Wooden didn't say, "Little things make big things happen" for no reason.
5. Cliches share truth.
- Space and time matter. On time and on target passing count.
- Get separation with change of pace and change of direction.
- Cut urgently. Lazy cutting doesn't get separation.
6. Turnovers kill time - a player's minutes and a coach's longevity. Live-ball turnovers translate to offensive high points per possession.
7. "Fouls negate hustle." Discipline determines destiny.
8. "Four ways to score." If you intend to be a scorer, execute a plan for scoring at all three levels (as appropriate to your size), getting o-boards, free throws, and transition scores.
9. "Win the 95." 95 percent of the time if you're not the point guard, you don't have the ball. Impact the game without the ball.
10.Impact winning. Your play speaks for itself.
Lagniappe (something extra).
Jay Bilas's Toughness ESPN article. Print and save.
Lagniappe 2. "Every day is player development day."