The Section 103 Postgame Report.

Both posts are spot on... I argue with our players all the time about this. They equate better athleticism with being more skilled.

 

If you are saying skilled in the sense of being able to dribble the ball to death without really doing anything with it, I'd agree. You talk to just about any coach who has coached overseas and in the U.S. and they'll tell you our guys can dribble better but we are the worst passing country in the world.

 

defense has eroded to nothing but athleticism as well. UT's passing for the past decade has been atrocious and getting worse. We actually don't have anyone who can feed a post. Hell, for that matter we don't have anyone who can post up, make a move and hit a turnaround jumper, so it might not matter. We literally have no player on the team who can make an 8 footer. We aren't the only ones.

 

You talk to just about any coach who has spent time overseas, Fran Fraschilla, Bob Donewald Jr, Pete Philo and they'll tell you how bad the U.S. is in terms of passing and overall offensive skill.

Bob Hurley at St Anthony's number one valued skill is passing. Another problem Hurley has is the AAU circuit where kids play games but don't spend time improving their skill. And on top of that many skill trainers use crazy ballhandling drills that don't translate to games... footwork is terrible as well.

 

Most players look to jack a three or put their head down and drive the ball; a lot of that has to do with a lot teams adopting dribble drive aspects of "three or the key" in terms of what shot they want. People feel the mid range game is dead but a big cause of that is terrible footwork and people not teaching players how to stop.

I hooked up with a guy at Bob Hurley's camp this summer who coached D1 for 7 years and then started his own company that focuses on footwork and stopping/pivoting on both feet... does a great job teaching things just about nobody focuses on anymore.

 

I've watched very little of UT this year so they might be trying to do this I don't know. I don't get why UT or more teams don't teach guards with length and athletic posts to post up and when they catch the ball reverse pivot on the foot closest to baseline. Now you are faced up like you said 8 ft from the basket and can rip for baseline drive, jab and crossover step for middle or jab to create space for a jumper 8 ft from the basket... gives so many options for an athletic post or long guard if they aren't comfortable with their back to the basket.

 

Good stuff, JZ

 

that would require some semblance of skill and maybe even the ability to pump fake, which also requires credibility, which requires someone believe that you have a prayer of making an actual shot, which requires....

nevermind.

Honestly, offense is no longer about moves and taking advantage of how the defense is playing your tendencies, particularly in the paint. Zones would be incredibly effective now because the zone killer in the middle of the lane is gone. Coaches are deathly afraid of the 3 so they spread out our man at all costs, which should make that area deadly, but passing into it and executing from it don't happen.

 

I've been working on it with my son and working on form shooting. I'm regularly trying to watch games and show him examples, but the jump stop doesn't exist and rhythm shooting is gone. How in the hell does Darius Thompson do that thing he calls a FT with a father as a collegiate coach?

My son's league is full of kids who have no business pulling the 3 out there heaving it up in warmups and doing the same crap on their regular jumpers, so nobody can shoot. Coaches ignore them so the habits continue. My son hates it when I drag his ass back to 15 feet and in so he'll shoot the ball properly. He wouldn't get into triple threat to begin his pump fake, dribble, jump stop and shoot sequence the other night because it wasn't what the other kids do or their coaches have them working on, so we just packed up and went inside. I told him the next time he decides that he or his coach in the travel league he's in know best about learning to play basketball that he should sell his gear and play lax.

 

That's awesome! Guys plays too upright and their hips are up too high so they can't stop and then they have no explosion to elevate on their jump shot.

First thing almost all of my HS guys do when they get the ball is put it over their head. Almost every kid I've ever coached coming into high school has very poor fundamentals. Most players, even the really good ones don't shoot a lay up correctly. They swing the ball back and forth instead keeping it on the outside of their body.

 

Bravo. The former coach in me approves.

 

Welcome to Jr. League Basketball hell, it is root to this problem.

I help coach a 3rd and 4th grade girls team (which includes my 3rd grade daughter) and it is unbelievable how far things have fallen in 15 years. I coached another girls (same age) team back in the late 90's and the difference is hard to describe. The first issue I see across the board in JR. league is coaches that are trying to coach teams instead of teaching them. Most of them are focusing on running plays and trying to coach their teams to wins. Our approach is, if you can't dribble, pass, shoot and defend, you can't play! My coaching ability (or lack thereof) is not gonna cover that up that deficiency. My daughter (taking after her mother) is not very athletic and not nearly strong enough to properly shoot a basketball on a 10 foot goal. Instead of teaching her to throw the ball (giving her a better chance to even get it there), I have stuck with a proper technique that I was taught growing up and have explained to her that she has to get stronger, which takes some hard work and naturally time. When that happens she will not be fighting off bad habits to be able to shoot the ball well. Some of my parents are obviously "teaching" little Sally to sling it up there by any means possible so they can have a chance to score. Most don't realize their actions are hindering their kids future because that habit will now have to be broken.


Fundamentals at this age have gone the way of the dodo in most cases and that is the foundation for what you see in Middle School, High School, College, and the Professional level.

 

That's funny!

We have a play vs a 1-3-1 and a 2-3 where we are in a 1-4 high set. When you hit the one post at the elbow opposite post dives to front of the rim and wing players slide to corner. Opposite skip to corner is always open (and sometimes post diving) for a three.

One of our guys catches it and never faces up, keeping his back to the basket. I ask him what the heck he's doing and he says my AAU coach told me never to face up to the rim when I get the ball in the high post...

 

I am not a big fan of parents coaching their own kids and the only reason I helped out is because I know the coach and he asked me to help because of the amount players he ended up having.

 

holy mother of stupid. Never square up? Don Meyer would die. Hell, I used to work at being in the air to catch a pass and teaching my feet to automatically square up at the reception of the ball. That's Don Meyer stuff. Triple threat, squared up, 6o degree shot trajectory, v cut, yadda yadda yadda, none exists any more.

 

That's why I don't coach my kids' teams, but the lack of coaching is annoying as hell.

 

Thats great..

 

Yep. I told my wife I knew enough good coaches (for that age) that I could find somebody to do it and feel confident it was being done properly. His circumstance is the only reason I broke my own rule.

I typically keep a distance from my kid and allow him to instruct her while I spend my time with other players. It seems to be working pretty well right now.

 

I don't have your problem the guy coaching the team has been coaching girls and boys Jr. League teams for 20 years. He's the guy everybody is trying to get to coach their team. I have coached other teams in the past with him including AAU so I know what he brings.

 

I have found that girls are typically easier to teach and coach than boys. They seem to not be as dependent on their athletic ability but technique and understanding of the game.