Having knowledge of what our opponent was going to do so we can prepare with repetition on how we will run our sets in games. EX: the GNB game (they were ranked #8 in the State at the time) we executed that game plan perfectly both offense and defense. The way we practiced was how we played the game…… We were always more prepared than the other team.
I think the way we practiced…ALWAYS HARD…. Made us have that same mentality in games, very important!
To be honest, everything we did in practice had a direct correlation to our games, we had no wasted time.
Use this great rule for your team that I picked up from Alan Stein:
Do not allow players to bend over and put their hands on their knees when they’re tired. If so, discipline with some conditioning.
Have you ever tried this when you’re tired? It’s tough, and it’s supposed to be. This little intangible will help tremendously in building your team’s mental toughness.
Not to mention, it messes with the opposing team’s psyche if you never look like you’re tired.
I’m a big believer in developing “synergy” within your teams in order to over achieve in season. One of the things we are doing this year at UW Stout is working on developing a “team covenant”–a set of ideas that each member of our squad agrees to do that will help us establish norms and positive attitudes.
Below is a list of “I CAN COMMIT” statements that we will be reviewing with our team.
For the rest of the article written by Larry Ronglien of UW Stout Men’s Basketball, visit Developing a Team Covenant.
If you’ve been reading articles at Breakthrough Basketball for any length of time, you probably have heard us say that athletes at the youth level, and at least through the junior varsity level, need to stay involved in multiple sports to become better athletes.
Do you focus on the front, middle, or back of the rim?
Response:
My teaching methods are a bit “out of the box” (non-traditional) and not everyone takes to it. I will answer you questions the best that i can, relating to the methods that have been successful more me but I don’t know if they are the answers you are looking for.
I do not teach target. I believe that shooting is a kinesthetic skill, not a visual one. I believe you shoot by feel, not by sight. I often teach players to shoot with their eyes closed. I want them to concentrate on form and feel, not whether it goes in or not. Given enough repetitions, they learn to adjust their feel for distance. I can routinely make 80% from the foul line with my eyes closed. That is based on that the monstrous amount of repetitions I have had in my life. I don’t expect young players to do that but it serves as a good illustration. Pro players routinely shoot for a higher percentage than I do. The direction of flight is determined by your follow through. Just follow through straight at the rim. To be more traditional, why not aim for the hole? Isn’t that where you want the ball to go?
Question 2:
Where is the guide hand placed exactly? Do the fingers and the thumb point up in the air or to the rim when holding the ball/releasing?
Response:
When I teach shooting early in the process, I teach it 1 handed with no guide hand. Once we add the guide hand, I usually stress comfort. As long as the ball is steady and and your guide hand doesn’t interfere with the ball and shooting mechanism, you can place it however it is comfortable for you, as long as it is the same every time.
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While watching game 4 of the Bulls-Celtics series, Jeff Van Gundy stated that Derrick Rose needed to handle the switches on ball screens more like Steve Nash.
Towards the beginning of the game, the Celtics were switching on ball screens leaving a bigger, slower post player guarding Rose. Rose was settling for the jump shot or he would try to attack when he was already too close to the hoop to take advantage of his quickness.
When Steve Nash gets a big player switched onto him, he takes a couple of dribbles backwards.
This does a few things:
Lures the bigger player out further away from the hoop.
Allows the offensive player to gain momentum while dribbling towards the player which makes it easier to blow by the defender or change directions if needed.
Gives teammates an extra second to space the floor properly. This spreads the defense out which gives the player with the ball more room to penetrate.
After you draw out the defender, how should you attack the defender?
If the defensive player drops into the lane, you can use the mid-range jump shot.
If the defensive player stays parallel and does not move, you can explode straight past them.
If the defense comes up and puts a foot forward, you can fake an explosion move or inside-out move, then cross the defender over.
If the help defense collapses, you can kick the ball out to an open teammate.
In the 4th quarter of the Bulls-Celtics game, I noticed Rose started to draw out the defender with a couple of dribbles backwards like Van Gundy had mentioned earlier in the broadcast. I don’t know if he figured it out himself or a coach told him to do it, but it sure contributed to his 12 point explosion in the 4th quarter that helped the Bulls come from behind and eventually squeak out the victory in double overtime.
Here are the 8 secrets to success mentioned in the video:
Passion
Hard Work
Get Good
Focus
Push Yourself
Serve Others Value
Ideas
Persist
Is it a coincidence that passion is listed first? I don’t think so and I think almost everybody would agree that being passionate about something is probably the first step in being successful. If you’re passionate about something, it’s a lot easier to work hard, get good, focus, push yourself, serve others value, come up with ideas, and persist through the “CRAP”.
If this holds true, why do so many coaches and parents push their kids into organized sports, make them practice, and act like drill sergeants? I don’t know about you, but this treatment would most likely cause me to resent the sport rather than love it.
Do you think MJ would have loved basketball if his dad was yelling at him every day to get on the court and practice?
Let the kids develop their passion and help guide them to succeed.
When a parent loves doing something and makes that same activity enjoyable for the child, the child will be more likely to pick up that same passion. Is it a coincidence that my dad and brother were coaches before me? I don’t think so.
Have you ever watched a Duke game and noticed what happens if there is a Duke player on the ground after a dead ball?
Every single Duke player on the floor runs to the player on the ground and helps him up. I’m certain that Coach K engrains this into his players from day 1 and it’s important that you do too.
How does this help your team?
1. It builds the team unity.
2. Intimidates the other team, especially if they do not represent the same team unity. Not many people like to feel like it is 5 versus 1 or 5 versus 2. If they do, they’ll never accomplish much in a team sport like basketball.
Put yourself in the player’s shoes. If you get knocked down, what feels better? To have 4 teammates sprinting over to help you up or seeing your teammates just looking at you and you have to get yourself up. I would think knowing that your teammates have your back no matter what would be the better feeling. This feeling naturally boosts confidence as well.
When your team helps each other out like this, it natrually builds that togetherness that you want. This unity leads to the extra pass being made, teammates setting better screens for each other, and players playing harder for each other.
It’s the little things that separate the great teams from everyone else.
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