Practice and Love

I remember when I was a young boy running up to the local Hefner Dairy store with my buddies to get candy or packs of baseball cards. I remember rounding the corner of that old square white building and preparing to go in, when a slick looking, bright silver trans am pulled, it had shiny rims and t-tops and was immaculately clean.
The door swung open and my jaw dropped to the floor, I was only in about the fourth or fifth grade and the young man who got out towered over me. I was in awe. Jason Good the local high school basketball star, stood in front of me. He was tall and slender and had a confident control about his demeanor. I remembered going to the local Elida Fieldhouse home of the Bulldogs with friends and watching him play. He would excite the crowd and dazzle them with his array of long 3 point bombs and silky smooth drives to the basket. He was only about 6'3, but to me he was a giant. Occasionally he would even get in the lane and throw down a thunderous slam dunk. The crowd would go beserk.
Here in front of me stood the Jason Good. "What's up fellas?" he said as went through the glass door. I can remember the clanging of the bell on the door that day, I even remember the bottle of Squirt he pulled from the cooler. I was in love, no, not with Jason Good but the way he played basketball. It almost seemed to make him superhuman.
As he was walking out my friend Trevor, who was slobbering on himself as well, mustered up the courage to speak."J,J,..Jason, how'd you get so good at basketball?" The all-conference off-guard and our hero looked at us dead in the eyes and our world seemed to stop. "Practice, boys, lots of practice." he answered and climbed in his car and sped away.
That thought and that day probably would be considered just like any other day, but for this Northwestern Ohio boy from Gomer, Ohio it was one of the best days of my life. The words practice echoed through the halls of my life from that day forward. In basketball or anything else in life if you want to get better, to be the best you have to PRACTICE!
Practice is not only about mastering a skill, but mastering yourself. There will be many hurdles along the way to becoming the player you want to be, but always remember if you keep working and keep your eyes on your goals, you will succeed. Coaches may not recognize your work, others may be jealous of your work, but worry about only one thing...Making your opponent pay for all that hard work. When you are on the floor, play with passion and with a love for the game. I ve played my entire life at different levels remembering the way the game I love made me feel that day...Don't ever lose your love for the game!Let your love for it drive your improvement and love the game back. How? you ask...by Practice

Lady Maroon Poll

13 out of 20 people polled in the recent blog poll How many games will the Lady Maroons win? answered that they thought the Lady Maroons would win 25 games, which would tie the Clinton High School Lady Maroons all time record for wins.

NBA Power Rankings

San Antonio is 9-1 in their last 10 and occupy the top spot. Oklahoma City are 7-3 in their last 10 and playing well and although a loss to the mysterious Lakers yesterday, they are still to be considered an almost 1a.
The Clippers without Chris Paul fall to 3 , but surely will continue to stay in the hunt. The Champs stay steady at 4, as do Memphis and the Knicks.With Amare accepting his role on the Knicks, they could be dangerous. Denver moves up two spots after going8-2 in their last 10. Chicago surges all the way up to 8 after a 7-3 last 10 games. They continue to play well despite the absence of Rose and with his return are sure to be a top 10 stalwart. Brooklyn has lost two in a row and falls to 9 and Indiana, after slipping behind the Bulls, fall to 10.

Interdepenence

Depend on one another.

Teamwork is about interdependence.

This complicated word simply means that someone’s actions directly impact another’s, people depend on one another to produce effective work, and bad things happen if they don’t work together. When personal interests override the team’s, the results can be horrible. The best teams understand that the best way for each individual to succeed personally is by being a team player.

1.       The most successful teams are the ones that have the best team chemistry.

2.      Each player must be motivated individually but with the same emphasis and goals in mind: team improvement through individual improvement.

REMEMBER: Sharing credit is a powerful force, and it makes the person on the receiving end eager to help again.  

New NBA power rankings

New NBA Power rankings-(See left column) Oklahoma City claims the top spot,winners of 4 in a row. Brooklyn winners of 7 in a row, jumps in at 7, after previously being unranked. Denver moves up one spot from 10 to 9 after winning 6 in a row. Boston, winners of 6 in a row, join Chicago, just outside the top 10.

Early Offense with Frank Martin

South Carolina Coach Frank Martin spoke on early offense at A Nike Championship Coaches Clinic I attended in Wisconsin. He was great to listen to and very intense, yet funny. I would love to play for him.

Here are 20 points he left us with on early offense, otherwise known as secondary break.

1.       You can’t be a running team sometimes. Coach Martin stressed the importance of running as a style of play. He felt that in order to be an effective up tempo offense you must commit your practices and philosophy to being a running squad.

2.       Martin stressed that his players must be in tremendous shape. Obviously to run for an entire game, your players must be well conditioned.

3.       Martin emphasized that successful early offense teams don’t let the defense set. He used the term “Pressure offense”.

4.       Martin told us that a “broken floor” equals a numbers situation. In other words with the defense broken down and unable to get set as in point 3, the offense as the attacking team, has a distinct advantage.

5.       Your first pass to a wing makes the defense defend. Martin showed us that getting the ball to one of your wings gets the ball into a threatening offensive position and causes the defense to adjust.

6.       Get your first opportunity off of the pass up the sideline. The defense must get back and find the ball. This passes extends the floor pushes the tempo.

7.       Coach Martin mentioned some advice to each type of player on the offensive end. There are points, wings (ball side or opposite), rim runners and trailers. He spoke on the point first, he was not exhaustive in his thoughts on each position, and he just highlighted some keys for each position. Generally a post initiates early offense with an outlet pass up the sideline. Martin likes his point guard to catch the inbounds pass between the foul line and hash mark. As far as the defense will allow.

8.       “Wings should never look back, they should box out and run like heck.” Martin said. Coach Martin also added that wings should pull up or make a play. They should check down through shot, drive, and post entry. Martin illustrated the importance of wings improving the post entry angle. The opposite wing should look for back cut, lift, drive, shoot or, post entry. They should learn to square their shoulders and present a target off of any back cut.

9.       He addressed the bigs as well. Martin’s philosophy dictates that the big that gets it becomes trailer and the big that doesn’t becomes the filler.

10.   Martin teaches that if the trail is jammed, post must make back cut out to drag defender away.

11.   Rip, this makes the defender sit then you can pass over the top.

12.   3 seconds does not start until the ball crosses half court, post starts at rim. Coach Martin then wants his bigs to work for position.

13.   If post filler is denied, look for trailer.

14.   Martin directs his trailer to stop at the top to complete a triangle for post entry.

15.   Early offense causes “crossmatching” or bad matches for the defense, getting speedy players on bigs, and smaller guards trying to defend bigs.

16.   Frank Martin feels it is better to get someone stepping into a shot in transition than 63 passes in a set for a fade away.

17.   Corner players stay there until top is ready to play with them. Martin wants his corner players to lift the defense and make them play corner to baseline.

18.   Coach Martin teaches his kids to make it hard for the defense to understand help.

19.   Coach Martin wants his players to be in constant “attack mode”.

20.   Martin wants the right shot, in the right spot, by the right guy.

Effective Post Play part 3

Effective Post Play part 3

The Greek legend of the Sword of Damocles is the story a man in the court of King Dionysius II of Syracuse, who exclaimed to the the king that he was truly fortunate because of his wealth and power. The king offered to switch places with Damocles, and Damocles obliged but King Dionysis hung a sword over his head hanging by one single horse- hair as Damocles sat on the throne. It drove Damocles nuts. He begged leave. The point of this story is that there can never be anything happy for the person over whom some fear always looms.

Being a successful post player means you are always a successful threat in around the basket area. A good player forces opponents and coaches to adjust and change their defensive strategy. Sometimes just the presence of a solid low block player can cause havoc and drive coaches nuts. When coaches often adjust to the events taking place in the lane, this often frees their perimeter players and shooters up to score.

Effective Post Play part 2

Effective Post Play part 2

Part of being an effective post player, as we approached in our previous post, was to have a solid fundamental base, this ties into my next thought of keeping it simple. Effective post players tend to have a simple, fundamental base to their game. Please keep in mind that everyone must score in the post at some point, whether you are a center, forward, or a guard. The post area is the money area and the basket area is the most often attacked part of a basketball floor.

So, let’s digress a second back into some solid simple ways to improve your post play. An effective post player must, as we have previously discussed, use both hands and feet well. They must hold their seals or use their backside to position and hold off defenders from getting good defensive position. Good post players also learn how to trick defenders with good footwork and pin them into positions that they cannot recover.

Simple and effective post play is greatly enhanced by a solid mid- range (10-15 feet) game. Good post players are able to get into the contested areas and knock down shots within the mid-range. It is often said that this is the most neglected but most important part of a young player’s game. Many coaches refer to it as a “lost art”.

Simple and effective post play requires you to be tough-minded or mentally tough. Playing in the post is tough and physical and good post players love the contact and do not get easily knocked off of their “A” game when the play gets overly physical or when they are the subject of cheap shots or “trash talk.” Solid post players realize they make their living in a “war zone” yet rise to the challenge.

Effective Post Play Series

Effective Post Play Part One

Today I am beginning a series on Effective Post Play. Post play or play in the area around the basket, also known as the low block, paint, or the lane. When writing on post play it must be realized that it is a very extensive topic. Coaches all over the world have discussed and debated this subject since Dr. James Naismith invented our great game in 1891. I will attempt through this blog entry to begin a several part series on one of the most important aspects in the game of basketball.

First I will begin by discussing the Primary Work Area
The primary work area for post players is
 -In the lane
 -Either side of the basket
The lane is a 12 by 16 foot area around the basket. It extends from the free throw line to directly under the basket. It is often called the paint because it is often painted a different color as the rest of the basketball floor.
So, as we begin to dicuss the art of post play, let's continue with some basic fundamentals.

Be Strong
 -Squared  up
 -Effectively use your body

Use Fakes
 -Body low, Ball High
 -Be convincing

Draw Fouls
 -Don't shy from contact
 -Attack the rim

Use Hands and Feet Effectively
 -Always shoot with non contact arm
 -Strong grip on basketball
- Use both pivots(mix it up)
 -Know a variet of post moves and counters (will discuss later)

As well as what i would call these "crucial" fundamentals, it must be understood that communication between a post and his teammates is just as vital. To me there are two V's of Communication.
1. Visually- (Hands, stance)
 - Do you look open?
 - Is there an optimum passing lane to get you the basketball?
2. Verbally
 -Call for the ball
 -Let your teammates know during dead balls that you may be open.