Kobe Revealed To A Group Of Teens His Biggest Secret To Being Unstoppable. And It's Genius.

Mike,

I completely get what you're saying...

Don presents a "different" way of doing things. We'll make no argument there. :)

I wish it were easier to explain how what he explained in that video snippet above relates to everything else regarding team basketball and "reading the defense".

I think the biggest thing is terminology. Don says he doesn't want you "reading the defense".

That is his way of simplifying things for players. But when you watch the DVDs, you still might say they are "reading" things. I guess it depends on how you look at things. It's just semantics, I guess.

But the big thing is he always simplifies by using base moves and counters. This shortens the learning curve and accelerates development that you said is a "is a long, tedious process but is necessary if you want players to be intelligent players rather that being robots."

I know it's kinda scary when you hear a coach saying something like that. It's different.

I thought the same thing.

There is nothing wrong with the way coaches teach players to read all these situations.

Don just has a different way of doing things that for me personally has helped me develop players and teams faster.

As an example, he still has players react to screens based on how the defense plays you...
- curl if defender trails
- fade if defender shoots the gap
- pop out if defense sticks behind the screen

But he teaches this with a "base" move attack mentality. For me, it has made it MUCH easier and faster for me to teach my teams to use screens and "read" screens. Although, Don might say you're not reading the screen (semantics).

This is just one of dozens examples.

I think if you saw more in context you would at least think it's a very interesting way to do things. You might not want to change and may want to continue doing things the way you have for the last 35 years, but I feel confident you would be very tempted to consider his simplified approach.

Don's methods work. But so do your methods.

There are lots of ways to go about things.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I would probably think the same thing if I were in your shoes and just saw that video clip in this context.

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Some reservation might seem appropriate due to the fact that Kobe is (or at least used to be) an unbelievable athlete. Where Kobe needs an inch, another player might feel they need a foot, so to speak. For Kobe, it's enough to have a couple of moves; for some other guys it might not be, as a quicker and more athletic defender is very well capable of denying both the initial move and the counter. You have to overplay Kobe but you don't have to overplay even a very good shooter if you're able to contest his shot any time from a standard defensive position.
Not to chip away, of course, at the main idea that better do three things well than ten things badly. But with footwork... to me, it's rather ten of fifteen, in terms of specific moves, than three or five. The number of options (i.e., basic moves and their combinations) is far from limitless but you have to be good at what there is. Unless you are dominant in what you do, which is not the case with most players.
Take Tony Parker as an example. He stands out too, as he is extremely quick, still he certainly lacks Kobe's supremacy. What makes him so effective? The variety of moves. Not 100 moves, not even 20, maybe, but definitely more than 4 or 5. The teardrop and ability to finish with both hands in traffic being main weapons but also a number of pivots, fakes and other creative moves in the paint. Plus a decent mid-range jumper.
And take most backup centers as a counterexample. They do have those 1-2 moves and 1-2 counters, some basic pivots, baby hooks and so on. They're quite good at it. But they're not Shaq, they cannot overpower (Parker cannot overpower too, obviously). So they have to settle for a couple of points a game (unlike him). You can see guys like this on all levels. They're trained yet ineffective. Why? Because they're not inventive enough. Sometimes it is called talent but I doubt it. Athleticism has to do with talent, a feel for the game has to do with talent, some special shooting touch has to do with talent. Being able to put the ball in the basket from within a couple of feet is a question of practice rather than talent, in my opinion.
And yes, you'll have to spend more time in a gym to teach yourself more moves, that's for sure. :)

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Stepan,

Valid point. Few humans have Kobe’s athletic ability!

But what he teaches is still valid to the rest of us normal humans and here’s why…

There’s a key point that could be easily overlooked in the video and the article:

During the video, Kobe says “To be unstoppable, you have to first be predictable. If you’re unpredictable, you don’t even know what the heck you’re going to do!!“

That is a really important point to this concept that is perhaps missed.

If you have 6 moves… how do you decide which one to use on the court?

This leads to indecision and analysis paralysis. This is one of the biggest things I see holding players back on the court at the youth and high school level.

I do not know Tony Parker or any NBA players personally. I don’t know what goes through his mind.

But what I have gathered from coaches that do work with pro players (small guards and big posts) and by watching the game, it seems that many of them have a “base move” and a “counter” move.

This allows them to make quicker decisions on the court and thus be quicker on the court. Maybe Tony Parker has a base move he looks for? Maybe he doesn’t. I have no idea.

I just know that this philosophy works incredibly well when it comes to developing players (of all levels and abilities) and making them more effective.

And another key point. Steer your moves toward things you do well. This is not to say you shouldn’t work on other moves and expand your game when you practice. But when it comes to your decision making process, keep it simple and steer towards things you do well.

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Let me throw something in here....... something I firmly believe in. As you are teaching the game, use the KISS method. The more you give kids to do, the more they have to think.... the more they htink, the slower their feet become.

Take all that indecision out of their game and they will become quicker and better players. JMO

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For a coach to pass on the message to players that "I don't want you to read your defence" (as Don said in the video clip) is very difficult for me to take. As a coach for more than 35 years at the youth, high school, NAIA, NCAA, and Olympic level all of my teaching of offensive play is based on "reading the defence".

I believe reading your defence and the positioning and movement of off-ball defenders must be taught as kids are learning to play. As an example in 1 on 1 play, when a defender is closing out on an offensive player the offensive must "read" the position of the defender - is the defender too high? too low? too far off? too tight? - so that the offensive player "reads" the direction to attack. If what you do best is drive right, and you drive right against a defender playing you to drive right, you will likely charge or travel.

From a team perspective, we must not only teach our players to read their defender but also read the other defenders. As a simple example, if your offence is has a double low post, the ball is at the wing and your ball side is being fronted, the weak-side low post should "read" the front, flash to the high post, and hopefully, receive a pass from the wing (who has read the front and anticipates the flash) for a high-low pass.

I will respectfully disagree with Don in the post as well. The post player must "read your defence" because defence is a "team thing" and the post must see if a double team is coming, if a cutter is open going to the basket, as examples. However, even if the post player is going to make a move immediately upon receiving a pass is will be based on the position of the defender. If the post receives a pass on the baseline side and "reads" or feels the defender on the high side he/she could immediately go to a drop step or spin move before off ball defenders can react. But if the post player's strength is going to the middle and he/she starts to the middle the advantage is lost and by the time he/she reacts by coming back to the baseline a double team could be there.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had possibly the most unstoppable weapon in the history of the game with his right hand sky-hook. But Kareem did not automatically go his sky-hook, he read the position of his defender and if his defender sat on his right shoulder he started to the left towards the basket. If the defender reacted and took away the drive left he came back to his sky-hook.

Jeff, in reaction to your comment, "this leads to indecision and analysis paralysis." I believe the indecision comes because players have not been taught what do to based on how they are being played. Using the closeout as an example, if the defender closes out slow and is off "shoot" (if you have the skill), if the defender closes out to high drive baseline, etc. But players must be taught to "read" the closeout not simply do what they do best.

I will agree that we shouldn't teach kids 10 dribble moves or 6 live-ball moves or 6 post moves and expect them to master them all and then be able to use them in the right situation at the right time.

If you want to develop intelligent players they must see the positioning and movement of the defenders. It should be taught from 1 on 1 play to 5 on 5 play. It is a long, tedious process but is necessary if you want players to be intelligent players rather that being robots.

It scares me that coaches would take the statement "I don't want your to read your defence" literally and apply this across the board in their teaching.

.

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Good conversation here!

I'm surprised more people haven't pointed out what you said, Mike.

They are definitely valid points and considerations.

Don will even admit that is the way he taught for 15 to 20 years at the college level. He taught to "read the defense." I'm assuming he taught very similar to what you mentioned. Actually, when explaining this to me before, he used one of your exact same post principle.

However, he changed his tune when he took a year off of coaching. And studied what some of the great players say and how they processed the game.

For example, Elgin Baylor said the most important part of his game was not what the defense was doing but Attacking Immediately. He didn't believe in reading the defense.

Hakeem Olajuwon, who I consider one of the best post players of all time in regards to footwork, made this comment when working with Dwight Howard about attacking immediately with a go-to move...

"Dwight has always been athletic and aggressive and he still is. But when I watch him, what I see are opportunities that he is missing. When he gets the ball, he seems to be taking his time to decide what move to make, where he should go.

There should not be a delay for Dwight. He must be able to make a faster recognition of the situations and react immediately with a go-to move. You must move right away before the defense has a chance to set up. You must be the one making the first move so that you can force the defender to always be the one reacting."

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1858361-hakeem-olajuwon-is-not-happy-with-dwight-howards-performance-in-the-post

And I'm also worried since we have such a background in the teaching and understanding of the system, that we don't articulate things as well as we should.

Thanks again!

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Nice discussion, enjoyed reading comments.
Concerning analysis paralysis... I'm all of a sudden a bit of a chess aficionado and recently I came across a very interesting thought by one grandmaster. What he suggested was whereas people tend to consider chess a game of thinking, in fact it is a game of vision. You don't think, you just see the board, the opportunities. Or not, if you're not trained enough. And nothing can be done about it now and here, think or no think. And I thought, it's so true for basketball too. Apart from the fact it is minutes or even hours in chess and fractions of a second in basketball, you either see the opportunities or you don't. If you don't see and don't react, it's maybe not because you have too many moves in your arsenal and you're hesitant as to which you should use, you're just not taught to play with your eyes off the ball. Simple as that. With two moves honed to perfection you'll be about just as helpless if you can't see it's time to use them. That's why you're paralyzed. You don't see and try to compensate by thinking.
You can say: ok, you don't see, you just do automatically what you can and taught to. Whenever you get the ball in this spot of the floor, you pivot left, sweep through and go for a dunk. Another option: just toss the ball back to the nearest guy who's open. Don't consider anything else. Well... It might be a good strategy at a pro level where you have to respect your role on a team and where you're paid to stay within it. Not sure though it is the best way to teach young players or beginners.
It is true that almost any good player has a couple of favorite moves they're sticking with. But these moves have crystallized naturally, in the process of exploring various options. You have to learn many things to understand what is best for you. And you won't understand it at once, only after you have mastered many other things that you might later find less useful. And still they're there for you, anytime you need them. Come on, Kobe can ride on those 4 moves because, in fact, he can do anything else on the floor! He might be using those 4 moves 90% of the time but should he find himself in a situation where they're not an option — what, he wouldn't know what to do with the ball? Of course not. He'll use moves number 5, 6, 7 and so on, he knows them all, and all of them are ok.
And again: the core idea that you have to play off your strengths stands like a rock in my view. Choose them, use them, perfect them. But don't say "it's all I need" unless you're Shaquille O'Neal and can dunk it home anytime you like.

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Good stuff guys really helpful..
My old coach used to articulate this point by saying ACTION REACTION to the game wherever you are on the court defence or offence. The quicker you react to the action the better you will become. You need to train your mind to be loose and relaxed pre game and practise so you can see the game see the shot move pass cut whatever it maybe. Don''t let your mind stick or panic or the ball won''t move quick enough or you may not make the best move with the ball on offence or on defence you will miss a slide a rotation help side deflection rebound etc. if the ball moves quick enough with extra passes when necessary and all players are on the move and relaxed mentally the righti moves and shots will happen, both go to and counter
.. I know I''ve gone slightly off track but hopefully this adds to discussion..

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Joe Haefner says: 3/23/2015 at 7:08:28 PM Appreciate the input, Graham! Like     login   register

It''''s "Defense" Mike, spelled: d-e-f-e-n-S-e. After 35 years of basketball you should know that.

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The snippet could be misleading, or taken out of context, but it is what it says. And I coach my guys the exact opposite. My snippet would be, "take what the defense gives you", both individually and the team.

It should be an instant decision after the ball handler reads what the defense is doing. What happens if that low post player draws a double team? Should he read that or just go into his best move, directly into the opponents double team? Should he read the defense and look for a teammate cutting, as someone should be open on that low block double?

Even on a simple stop and pop, what is your defender doing? How is he closing out? Left, right? Hands up? Straight into you? Going to blow by you. going to fast? You take the best option with that read. If your best move there is a quick jumper, do you shoot it into a fast close out with arms up? A contested shot? Or would you be better served not elevating and swinging the ball back out?

I stick with read and react. Take what the defense gives you. It's very similar to a quarterback read. Progression. Read the defense, take the best option.

What I really do not agree with at all is saying the defender has already won by making you read him and going to another option, maybe not your best, he has already won and does not have to defend you. Kobe is not saying that either. He is saying if that defender adjusts to you making a couple of shots and closes out faster you read that and force him to foul you on the shot..

Great discussion, maybe my methods are dated, it just works for my teams.

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It seems obvious that you make an offensive move based on your chances of being successful. If a defender pushes up on you then you must drive by him. If he slacks off and gives penty of space then you pull up and shoot a jumper. Your decision has to be based on more than what you like. If you like to drive and a team is in a zone, I think your chances to drive are reduced. Most right handed people have a preference for using it, thus the strategy of forcing players to their off(left) hand. I think this is pretty basic. In a scrambled court situation, you may hav more options, and then you can choose your strength, but you have got to know what is going on with the other 9 players on the court otherwise you will be studying the situation from the pine

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