MORE COACHING INFORMATION from LET'S TALK DEFENSE by Herb Brown (McGraw-Hill Publishers). * Defensive Keys to Victory: (1) Out-rebound your opponents, and limit their second-shot opportunities. BOX OUT! (2) Stop easy transition baskets and maintain defensive balance. (3) Stop fast-break opportunities by rebounding offensively. (4) Pressure the ball to get deflections and cause turnovers. (5) Generate great pressure on the ball when the dribble is used. (6) Take away what your opponents do best and force them to explore other options. (7) Try to eliminate and stop dribble penetration. (8) Contest all shots by keeping a hand up to distract the shooter. (9) Make a quick transition from offense to defense. (10) Keep the ball in front of you at all times. (11) Make the rules work to your team's advantage. (12) Develop trust in your teammates. (13) Extend your defense and try to pressure and deny all entry passes. (14) We want our players to always be level with the ball and not trail the play. (15) Create havoc by moving yor hands and feet to harass and force the opposition to adjust. * As coaches we need to remember that players do not always learn, assimilate, and retain information in the same manner.....some players learn by watching, some by visualizing, others when you demonstrate, and still others only by actually practicing through constant drills and repetition. * It's a good idea to be cautious when diagramming plays during time-outs; simply using X's and O's may not be clear enough. You may have to diagram plays using numbers by position or even by using a player's initials to make sure each player understands his assignment. * Larry Brown wants to empower his assistants, not compartmentalize them. He prefers constant communication to encourage freedom of expression in meetings and on the practice floor. * Most outstanding coaches value trust and loyalty. They also believe in delegating responsibility. They know it's important for everyone to understand the team's philosophy and the importance of accountability....a head coach's authority is made clearer when his players realize that he values his assistant's input and contributions. * We spend a great deal of time building our defense. We begin by playing one on one, then two on two, three on three, and four on four on both the half- and full court. At the start we do not permit switching but insist that our players fight through screens by talking and helping one another. * We make our drills as competitive as possible. Many times we will place a limit on the number of dribbles a player or group may use to advance the ball; at other times we permit the players to freelance and play on their own. * We try to utilize the shot and game clocks in our drills. This enables our players to practice in a more realistic environment, which helps them become more aware of the time, score, and situation. * When we trap or double-team the ball the two defenders are called trappers. The next two defensive players nearest the ball act as interceptors...the defender farthest from the ball guards the goal and the weakside backboard. We call him the high or low goaltender. * In practice, we like to play up and down until one team scores. We start at one basket from either a half-court or out-of-bounds against a full court or half court defense. * We like to run plays from out of bounds and from different spots on the sideline and baseline. * We play a two-minute game and simulate end-of-game or end-of-quarter situations with one team ahead or behind in the score, and we stress getting stops by different defensive means. * Do you want the defend the low post from behind, front, or three-quarter? We think you must be consistent and demand that your players understand that you always want to defend the post based on the position of the ball. * Drill on how to front the post and how to defend the flash post on ball reversal....post defenders will be more apt to front the post if they know their teammates will pressure the passer and that the weak-side defenders will be watching their backs. * When teaching post defense it is useful to divide the half-court into quarters. This will enable you to demonstrate to your players how to defend the post by having them understand that the location of the ball and the position of the player on the post dictate whether they should front, three-quarter, or lock in and play one half a man to prevent the spin lob. * We feel it's important to emphasize to your players that fronting the post requires effort as well as determination. * If we play behind the post man we want our players to use their legs and the palm of oue hand to try and route the offensive player off the post, as far from the basket as possible. When we do front we want to sit on the offensive player's legs denying him a good comfortable position as well as the ability to jump to receive a lob pass. * The foundation of great defense is made up of footwork, balance, determination, conditioning, and practice. * Play all big men on the perimeter as though the dribble was used. (Ed. Note: Few big man drive, but do make mistakes when they are pressured.) Help us to add subscribers. We would appreciate your forwarding this newsletter to your email friends. POINT GUARD SKILLS The following skills summarize those skills needed to play the point guard position successfully. These are a lot to learn but they give a guide to both the player and coach on what skills will be needed for the position. It can be made into a checklist with a 1-5 rating of each skill that a coach can use in teaching the position skills and communication with his/her point guards. OFFENSE: Good Court vision Smart Decision Making Entry passing ability Good Penetration Ability Strong Leadership Voice SHOOTING: Lay-up in traffic Medium Range Jump Shooting (Catch-shoot and off dribble) (Ability to pull up off hard penetration for quick jumper) 3 Point shooting PASSING: Perimeter passing Feeding the Post Passing after penetration Passing on Fast Break DRIBBLING: Various dribble moves (right and left hand, types, technique) Ability to play fast but not be in a hurry SCREENING: (ability to set and receive screens, downscreen, rear screen, or flare screen) FAST BREAK: Footwork for Receiving outlet pass Downcourt speed with the ball Dribble penetration Downcourt vision/recognition Dribble penetration ability Ability to use the long rebound Handling Traps Knowing when to rebound offensively Time and Score Recognition Tempo dictation DEFENSE: Downcourt and midcourt defensive ability Lateral foot speed Stop ball penetration Ability to defend screens Defensive closeout ability 2 on 1 and 3 on 2 defensive knowledge/ability Ability to Draw the charge Post double team technique/ability Defensive rebounding ability Source: Glenn Wilkes, Point Guard Skills STRATEGY & COACHING TIPS: * "It's not what you tell your players that counts. It's what they hear."--Red Auerbach * "The thing that Dana (Altman of Creighton) is tremendous at is identifying areas where kids are talented, where they can be successful and then finding a way to use them…Most coaches get obsessed where kids come up short. You spend so much time trying to take care of their deficiencies that you lose sight of your players' talents"….Bruce Rasmussen AD, Creighton) * "It's easy to find great players. What's hard is getting people to play as a team.".. ..Chuck Daly * "There's far more over-coaching than under-coaching."….John Wooden (Ask yourself, are you guilty of over- coaching?) * " Telling a guy that he stinks doesn't make him a better player if you don't tell him why he stinks and what he needs to do to become a better player."...Lenny Wilkins * "It's hard to be in today's pressure-filled world of sports and trust one another. It's easier to blame. It's easier to give excuses. But the truth is, the game is better when you trust one another. When you lose, you lose together, and when you win, you celebrate together....George Karl * ALWAYS BLOCK OUT? NO. The majority of players will do a better job rebounding when they use blockout techniques. However, many of the quicker and better jumpers will not rebound as well when they concentrate on blocking out. They tend to fail to jump for the ball. For these select players, it is better to move in front of their offensive opponent, then "go get the ball." This was John Wooden's philosophy on his way to 10 NCAA championships. *My way of trying to motivate my players is to tell them how good they can be; to build them up, instead of tearing them down."...Lou Carnesecca * MAKE YOUR PRACTICES COMPETITIVE: Evaluate your practice plans and determine how you can make most of your drill work competitive. Players have a tendency to work harder and to enjoy practice more when they are competing. As often as possible, make practices competitive. Games are played to be won and lost, so the more competition you can have in practice, the more used to competition your players will be. * CORRECTING A PLAYER: How do you criticize a player who hustles to get a ball going out of bounds and loses it--when it would have been your ball had he left it alone.