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Saturday, June 29, 2024

Basketball: Playing Possessions

I'm no basketball savant, but I have taught "possessions and possession" for years.

Consider this volleyball analogy, score points on serves, blocks, and attacks and deny points on opponent serves, blocks, and attacks. Serves and attacks are your offensive possessions and successful blocks are much like live-ball turnovers, high points/possession. 

A volleyball "offensive rebound" might be a great dig or covering an opponent's block by "keeping the ball up" affording another chance to attack. 

Poor communication or disorganization in volleyball is analogous to bad transition defense. 

Players must know "where our points arise" and where opponents want to score. 

A coach's offensive philosophy might be to run Princeton offense in half-court sets and take open threes. That's a failing strategy when players lack the skill to execute urgent cutting and passing and are noncompetitive in perimeter shooting. It's the equivalent of trying to walk through fire wearing gasoline-soaked pants. "We can't run what we can't run." 

Lagniappe. Whatever it takes. 

Lagniappe 2. I teach "stops make runs."  

Lagniappe 3. Study and copy elite action.  

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