Dear Coach,

l recently heard that Red Auerbach once said: U can't teach height. So what was the back ground when he said that? Did he mean height is a advantage in basket court or he thought small players can't dominant the game? l am curious because he used Bob Cousy and Bill ( two small players) himself, and had a great result.There are a lot of great small players in NBA history too.

Thanks a lot

I think he meant, "If I can get a 7' 4" guy, I'll work with him on the things I can teach him". I don't think he was slamming smaller players. He was willing to gamble a bit on a taller guy that might not have all the technical skills in place right out of the gate.

Good example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AURnnpiGOxs

This guy is obviously is no ballerina when it comes to coordination, but 7'5"?!? Hard to pass that one up.

Are you kidding me?? I'm not sure about what age level you are talking about, but if itss Vasrity HS balll and above... I will also take the BIG GUY. NOW, add the small quick point guard and some outside shooters... and you have the whole ball of wax.

Its nice to have a "complete" team.... let me ask you this.. IF you were going to build a team, who would you build it around,, not withstanding Michael Jordon in his prime...... A big guy who can rebouind or a point guard?

Here are my top 5 players... in this order JMO

1- Big man who can rebound and score inside
2- Point guard
3- Shut down defender
4/5 Shooters

Thanks for both of u! l love your detailed answers. l think those medias misunderstood what Auerbach meant.l saw a lot of articles criticized some smaller player's abilities,claimed that they played bad because of their height, then use Auerbach's statement as a proof. I think they are stupid. Anyway, thanks again!

Not sure about the stupid part but I've had some smaller players that did a great job... its all about heart and you cant measure heart!!

When you say smaller players it reminds me of one game when the refs came up to me and asked me if my BIG guys were warming up in the back gym. LOL :-)

lol, interesting story. Just curious, how did u protect the paint? By using full court defense?

While most of my players were small, we usually had one 6'2 / 6'3 kid.... There were times that we played 6'6 to 6' 9 so, we had to give a lot of help . That meant a lot of pressure on the ball and help side from the back. Not easy, but itcan be done..... now, if they have sevearl big kids, you are in a ton of trouble.

If you press, they can just throw over you. My philosophy was simple, "Pick your own poison" TRY and stop the studs and let a weaker player try to beat us.

We ran an open post offense and tried to get their bigs away from the basket, make them play D towards half court... they usually don't like to do that.

Wow, it's kind of hard to stop some guys who are 5 or 6 inches taller than you. So your players make a lot of jump shots right? And how do you measure a PG? What makes a good one different? Thanks

What do I want from a point guard? Someone who can handle the ball well, both hands without turning it over.. Sees the floor and can get the offense going. Can distribute the ball to out best shooters while keeping eveyrone out of trouble.... kind of like a coach on the floor.

Want the while ball of wax? Can shoot the 3 ball, hsa a good mid range game, can take the ball to the hole and finish, OF dump it to a big man or kick it out to another 3 p oint shooter. Has ice water in his veins from the free throw line.

I might have missed something but I think thats a good start. lol Did I have some that couldn't do all that? Of course. I had some that were just smart and got the offense going... couldn't shoot a lick. But they were leaders and ran the team on the floor.

Pick what you want from above but they better be a TEAM player.

I totally agree what u said. It is rare that a player can do all of that. l know a PG who can do a lot, however he is not good at shooting three.(yet) I think a good point guard should be really calm, they need to know what is going on on the court. Control the rhythm is important too.