Thursday, February 1, 2024

Basketball: Defense Requires Skill

Some regard defense as an afterthought. Defense requires reading the game, anticipation, effort, conditioning, toughness. Excellent defenders take risks, fake, and sacrifice their body. They end possessions by getting stops, steals, deflections, and taking charges. 

Determination is necessary but insufficient to be a strong defender. As a coach, I told teams that the best defender would start. That didn't mean much when my best defender was a future McDonald's All-American nominee. 

Teams can't win with defense alone. But defense can keep a team in a game when offense struggles.

Lagniappe.