The Point Guard's Responsibilities
By Paul Tayyar, eteamz.com

Point Guard is arguably the most difficult of the five positions to play on the floor. He is responsible for getting his team into its offense, making sure all of the players are aware of their roles on the floor, and, above all, creating scoring opportunities for both the players around him, and himself—in that order.


One of the most difficult responsibilities of playing point guard is his need to have his mind moving in several directions at once. He has to recognize and respond to the type of defense that the opposition is playing (i.e. zone, man-to-man, etc.), and make sure his players are in the correct spots in order to start the offense or the play. He has to initiate the offense while having to worry about taking care of the ball, oftentimes against tremendous defensive pressure from his opponent.

Also, he is the only player within the offensive structure that has to juggle his responsibilities, both as a passer and as a scorer. It is, to varying extents, the other four players jobs on the floor to create scoring opportunities for themselves. The point guard must make sure that his attempts to score are not coming at the expense of his teammates. In other words, he has to score without disrupting the flow of the offense or “freezing” out his teammates. Therefore, he is faced with juggling the ultimate paradox: reaction vs. thought.


He must constantly think about what is best for the team in the given situation—i.e. the score, the quarter, the time remaining, which players are on the floor, etc.—controlling his natural reactions to the events around him. He can never do just one or the other. If he thinks and does not react, then he is nothing more than a robot running his team through their offense. If he reacts and does not think, he is a mindless drifter who has no idea what is going on around him.

However, the point guard can also be the most satisfying of the five positions, given that he is able to most fully exert his will upon that of the team; he is in control. By the very nature of the demands of his position, the ball is in his hands more often than it is not, and he can therefore act as an integral part of his team’s success.


Much like a quarterback in football, he must be the most aware of all elements of the game. Because of that, he also stands to gain substantial glory if his team succeeds.

http://www.ihoops.com/practice-time/ball-handling/5-crossover-dribbling-techniques.htm

Think I said something like this to you before Ben....

Pleasure in Life

[b]The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.[/b]

- Walter Bagehot

I always loved a good challenge, people telling me that I couldn't do something, my team couldn't beat a team.... THAT just made me work all that much harder!

Hi guys,

We won our tournament this weekend.
Playing 3 games in one day and winning them all.
I think I had 2 points and 5 assists in the 1st and 3rd game and 0 points and 4 assists in the 2nd game.

Congratulations Ben!

You had a good weekend then.... winning all three and getting a lot of assists.
How's the D coming along? Are you more of a half court team or do you get up and down the floor quickly?

Do you think you will be the starting point guard for the 8th grade team this year?

I always liked this quote - " It's not the size of the dog in the fight, its the size of the fight in the dog."

I am anticipating being the starting point guard for school this year, but I'm definitely have to work for it.
I'm still working on my shot and I'd like to score more points this year.

I know that you have a good work ethic.... so hang in there and keep after it. The thing to do is to be the hardest working guy on the floor, that way the coach has to play you.

You have a great shot right now, you have to find a way to get it.... off of screens, taking the ball to the basket and pull up jumpers - and threes as your coach allows you to shoot them..... heck, if they start dropping he wont tell you not to shoot them.

As for taking the ball to the basket, I watched a freshman who was pretty short for varsity ball take it to the basket a lot last year..... he would take it into the defenders body.... try to draw fouls and still make the shot. Don't get me wrong, he was on the floor a lot and missed plenty... but he got better every game.
I don't know how your refs are but every level you move up, they will get better too.

By the way, that high school coach that was working with you this summer... what did he have to say about your shot and your game? What level does he coach at?

The highschool coach is the junior varsity girls coach.
He has a lot of experience and also helps coach a highschool AAU team.

For what he had to say I actually really don't remember is was a long time ago.

OK, I'm sure he helped you.... every coach you work with will give you a little something different about the game.

We did a lot of running, ball-handling and got a lot of shots up with a rebounder pass machine.
I definitely think the ball-handling helped me a lot.

IF you are going to be a point guard that is one skill that is a necessity.... that and being hard nosed....I don't think I ever had a tall point guard but they all played defense like it was the last possession. Here is a thought that can help you get more assists -

* Teach players that, if all their teammates are overplayed, PENETRATE,
then someone will be open.


I remember one of my players telling me what the other team said about our defense.... " What is it with you guys and your 32 minute goal line defense! "
Thats the attitude you should bring to your game.

"You play the way you practice."