My initial reaction is that we are still a little bit away from really worrying about this but I want to discuss what Lebron has done to free agency in general.

Players used to have their ‘rookie contracts’ and then sign their big money deal next that lasted 6-7 years depending on if you resigned with the same team or not. Lebron came along and negotiated a shorter term deal so he could be a free agent sooner and put himself in line for one or more big money deals. It was genius and followed by DWade, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul and Deron Williams. They’ve all put themselves in a spot to get a long term deal sooner which gives them a chance for another one later in their careers.

Do I believe Lebron will stay in Cleveland? No. I think he’s as good as gone. I think that he missed out really on being recruited in college and this will be his real chance to enjoy it. He’s gone. New York or New Jersey will have the best chance to get him and we’ll find out in a few short years. Cleveland better enjoy him while they can.

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I get asked by coaches from time to time about practice ideas and drills so I thought I’d blog on it to answer some of the coaches. The key to a good practice is to make sure it is organized and planned. Young players need to be engaged at all times in activities and if you leave to do their own thing you will have them playing tag or any other game in no time. I’ve documented a recent email response that I sent to a coach as an example. Again, the key is to set aside the drills for a specific amount of time and the scrimmage for a specific amount of time etc…

Stretch – 10 to 15 minutes

Full court 3 man weave for a layup (never let the ball hit the ground, if it does they start over)(15 minutes)
Split the groups so that when one group finishes the other group starts
If they miss the layup have them make the layup but not do a full weave again
Make sure they pass and go behind. You’ll be surprised how many kids can’t do this simple drill.

Shooting Drills – Split the players into even groups and send each group to a certain basket. If I remember right you have a bunch of hoops off to the side that kids use and those are perfect.
Have 10 spots set up on the floor that you want the kids to shoot from.
Start at spot 1.

Each group gets one ball and must take turns shooting.
The first team to make 5 shots yells out done and the losing teams have to run a lap.
Each group then rotates to the next basket in order and starts again.
When all 10 spots are done the drill is done and it is good because it is competitive and conditioning at the same time.
Have your assistants make sure they kids aren’t cheating or turning a 15 foot shot into a 5 foot shot just to win the drill.
Should take around 15-30 minutes depending how well they can shoot
MAKE SURE THEY ARE HUSTLING

Split the groups up:
Posts
Guards
POST DRILLS: Start with Mikan, simple drop steps on both sides and using both hands with no defense to gain confidence. Go into adding a soft defender who isn’t trying to block shots at this point, just standing there being a tree. Make sure the post isn’t allowed more than one dribble. If they practice using more than one dribble we all know it will get stolen by a smaller guy so don’t let them use more than dribble. You’ll want to show them how to establish position as well and getting as deep as possible without cutting off all their shooting angles.

Make the end of the post drills competitive and somehow rewarding the winner of the drills or punish the losers by running. The offense is allowed one dribble and trying to score while the post defender tries to stop him. If the shot is missed and rebounded by the defender they get a point. iF the offense scores he gets a point. If the offense gets an offensive rebound and scores then he gets 2 points. You want to really strive to get effort out of them and teach them never to take a situation or a play off.

GUARDS: The coach with the guards can do a number of things but at this age I would focus on ball handling and passing the ball. Most of these kids get enough practice shooting but they can’t dribble or aren’t taught how to pass correctly.
Drills: Guards simply pass the ball back and forth to each other (no bounce passes) and the ball is to be passed hard at one another. The key is to teach them how defenses make up ground on slower passes so the sooner the ball is retrieved by the person you pass to the quicker they can get to scoring the ball. Make sure they are stepping to pass and not standing flat footed. Make sure they are in a basketball position with their knees bent and reaching to catch the ball with their hands and not letting it get into their body. It sounds simple and it is but never let your point guard throw a soft pass
Ball handling: These can be as simple or tough as you feel is needed. I could fill in pages of ball handling for them to do, but the main thing isn’t to have them practice slow it’s to make them practice game speed in situations. The best practice would be to simply have each player take turns playing offense and defense to half court and then switching. The defense is soft at first and just getting the guard used to handling the ball with modest pressure. He can use whatever moves he wants to try to get to half court but the defense needs to be trained to turn the guard so he has to go the other direction and use his off hand. Then, like the post drills, make it competitive by rewarding strong defense and offense. If the player on offense gets to the other end without a loss of dribble or a steal given up then they get a point. If the defender steals the ball or causes a loss of dribble they get a point. Keep track of points and losers run.

I would spend 30 minutes with each group.

Team Defense
Defense should always be first because if the team can play defense then offense is easy. I don’t know what defense you want to run, but the best way to teach young kids schemes is to run a shell drill. The offense is on the floor with 3 players on the outside, one player at high post and one player at post. The defense then is assigned a man and taught how to work when the ball starts to get moved. I know you’ve done this before so I won’t have to tell you but the idea is to teach the kids to always be able to see their man, ball and the basket and to be able to help out at any time. The offense only passes the ball in this drill. I wouldn’t spend a ton of time on this but it should give them the basics of defense if they do it enough. I would recommend a half court controlled scrimmage setting to focus solely on the defense.

Team Offense
Run your sets without defense at all at first. Get them used to it. Then throw a soft defense out and do the same. Then let the defense get in there and do their thing by trying to stop them. Early in the season the offense should or could be run without defense for a couple practices. If the kids are going all out when they are in their groups of guards/posts then you’lll be getting plenty of 1-1 offensive work.

End with foul shots when they are tired

I hope this helps. This practice would be designed for middle school aged kids all the way up through low high school levels. For questions on drills don’t hesitate to email me.

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I have to keep covering this because I get asked so many questions about it. The jump stop is the most underrated move in the game of basketball and is taught at a young young age but never really mastered. Kids do lay up drills constantly where they just run at the hoop and jump off one foot and lay the ball up. Kids rarely do drills where they go at the basket and jump stop to get control and power in their layup and it needs to have greater focus in today’s game.

The only way to get better and comfortable at the jump stop is to practice it. We’re working on getting some film done for drills and putting them on the site for an example but for now you’ll have to search youtube for video on jump stops. Anyway, to get better at the jump stop let’s understand why the move should be used. First, you need to create space between you and the defender. Second, you need to gain control of your body and get the power in your legs.

A jump stop is done by dribbling, jumping and landing with both on the ground at the same time. I’m constantly asked about traveling on the jump stop and that happens you don’t land with both feet on the ground at the same time. I recommend that every game you talk to the ref before hand to get his/her interpretation on traveling with the jump stop because some don’t understand it as well as others.

To practice the jump stop simply take the ball, dribble it and jump in the air landing on both feet at the same time. Don’t worry about getting distance or space or anything, just get used to the move itself and that can be done standing in the same spot for 15 minutes. Once you feel comfortable, which is done when you have jump stopped comfortably after dribbling with each hand, then start to try to get some distance. Dribble, jump (off one foot) and land and do it over and over. This is going to feel funny at first but the key thing to remember is to make sure that you are landing with balance. If you find yourself falling forward or to a side then you are doing it wrong and you should go back to mastering the basic move of dribbling, jumping and landing.

When practicing the drill place a chair in the middle of the key. Take a ball and start at the foul line. Dribble directly at the chair and jump stop right in front of it as if the chair is the defender. Make sure you go straight up with your shot and knock it in. If you are falling forward and hitting the chair then you are doing the move wrong and need more practice.

Please feel free to email me on this or comment on the blog because I’m such a proponent of this move for players of all ages.

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I love doing this so early in the year because this can change in a second and probably will, but these 3 players are my biggest surprises thus far.

3. NENE- The guy is averaging nearly 15 points and 8 rebounds a game after being non existent since being drafted in 2002. It seems he’s been around forever and injured forever but this season it is coming together. He still doesn’t have any plays drawn for him and probably never will, but he is a big body that is more athletic than given credit for. NENE isn’t going to make anyone forget about Marcus Camby as a defensive player but he is making up for the loss. I expect an injury anytime now that will knock him out for a few weeks, but enjoy this while you can.

2. Devin Harris- I love this guy. He’s on my fantasy team and earlier in the year I predicted he’d be a breakout star this season. Harris is a scoring point guard who gets to the foul line a lot, where he excels. He lit up AI in their matchup this season putting up 38 point points on an injured ankle. Since he came back from the injury he has put up 29 points and 8 assists a game and though i don’t think he’ll keep that up he is going to put up solid solid numbers. Harris has always been an injury risk and I don’t think that will change anytime soon because he’s a frail looking guy, but he is getting every chance in New Jersey to do stuff he never did in Dallas.

1. Andris Biedrins- Biedrins has always been a good defender and a strong rebounder but he’s taking it to the next level now. Early on he is averaging 17 points and 14 rebounds a game while having games of 22, 19 and 18 on the glass. He’s never been a productive offensive player and I do suspect his points per game to go down when Monta Ellis comes back but he’s turning into one of the best defensive players and centers in the Western Conference. He’s always been a little foul prone on defense due to his aggressiveness and that won’t change but he’s stronger, smarter and quicker to the ball this season. I don’t expect his rebounding to go much more than a board a game.
nd injured forever but this season it is coming together. He still doesn’t have any plays drawn for him and probably never will, but he is a big body that is more athletic than given credit for. NENE isn’t going to make anyone forget about Marcus Camby as a defensive player but he is making up for the loss. I expect an injury anytime now that will knock him out for a few weeks, but enjoy this while you can.

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I love this…My wife won’t. 23 consecutive hours of basketball is a great thing and Espn is using it kickoff the season. It starts with Memphis playing and ends with North Carolina and Kentucky. Click the link below for details.

ESPN MARATHON

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I had to write on this. I have watched the dunk about 25 times now and I’m not amazed anymore that he took off that far away during a game. I’m not amazed that he is head high with the rim. I’m not even amazed that he could’ve made that dunk from an additional 3-5 feet away. I watch the dunk because what amazes me is the entire play. He gets the steal and literally takes one dribble from half court and dunks it. I would like everyone to try that the next time you go to the gym to play ball. Try for a one dribble finger roll and see what that is like. I used to do drills that involved 3 dribbles from foul line to foul line but Lebron takes one dribble from half court and dunks it easily with feet to spare. Here’s the video in case you missed it and it includes the entire play:

Lebron, steal…dribble…dunk

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4 out of 6 doesn’t sound like much unless you are a Knicks fan right now. The Knicks actuallly are playing better than .500 and looking good doing it. They don’t need Stephon Marbury to lose games for them and the smartest thing they’ve done is sit him down. They have athletes and they sure look like they are having fun playing for Coach D so far this year.

Led by Zach Randolph at 20 a game, the Knicks still feature 6 players averaging over double figures and are getting some great play from Wilson Chandler and Quentin Richardson. I didn’t know if I’d see Richardson be any good again in his career but here he is. The sleeper of the bunch is Nate Robinson who is going to get votes for 6th man of the year if he stays healthy. He is fast, athletic and can shoot the ball and is playing free again and man is he fun to watch. The only weak spot I really see is Duhon but he’s a pass first point guard that the team needs but so far his play has been subpar.

Remember fans that this is all without Eddy Curry and Stephon Marbury so far and I don’t see that changing any time soon. Both would be traded if any team actually wanted them and their ridiculous contracts.

The Knicks are playing well right now and having fun and you know that D’Antoni is happy to be proving that his system works away from Steve Nash right now. He took up a new challenge and is showing us all why he’s one of the best in the business.

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Chauncey Billups came into this league as a lottery selection out of the University of Colorado and then proceeded to fall flat on his face in Boston as a rookie. He was quickly shipped off to Toronto, Denver and Minnesota in subsequent years. He always had something special but could never quite put it together. Once he got to Detroit he was actually given the team and did something with it averaging nearly 18 points and 7 assists during his time there. He distinguished himself as a team first point guard who could and would take and hit the big shot when his team needed it. Billups is a great defender who is very strong and physical but not the greatest or most gifted passers. He takes care of the ball but as assists go he had more than 8 assists per game average only once in his career. People think that Denver is getting this brilliant point guard who takes care of the ball and really passes well and that guy is the one they traded in Andre Miller. Chauncey Billups is good and a much more refined offensive player than Andre Miller but they are comparable players because they are guards who can post up and are great finishers inside of 10 feet. Billups is a superior shooter compared to Miller but Miller is a better passing point guard. Here’s my point…we can expect the same Nuggets that had Andre Miller/Carmelo Anthony as we are going to get with Billups.

As for Iverson in Detroit, now this is something that I want to see. Detroit is notorious for being a methodical bunch but that will soon change. Iverson wouldn’t have been acquired if the PIstons were playing slow down hoops. Hamilton and Rasheed can run all day long and we are going to see a new up tempo version of the Pistons and Iverson will lead the way. Chauncey is a great player but Iverson is one of the 10 most talented players EVER. If he were 6*5-6*6 we would be arguing as to whether he was the most talented player of all time. The Pistons got someone who will bring excitement back to Motown and get the crowd back into things. I look forward to watching him play.

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I can’t believe I thought this team would be good even until Ginobili came back. What was i thinking? I know it is early and 3 games does not a season make but this is terrible. The Cavs just hammered the Mavericks the night before and made Dirk look average in doing it. The next night Jason Kidd and Dirk look like they turned back the clock about 5 years and just destroyed the Spurs. The game was over by halftime. Tim Duncan was average and Tony Parker was average but that’s all the Spurs are showing. Michael Finley is playing his age and looks like a spot starter at best right now and the depth is clearly lacking. Jason Terry scored nearly 30 for the Mavericks. I didn’t think Jason Terry could score 30 in a city league game against older, fat (soft, I meant soft) guys like myself.

What was I thinking? Who is picking up the slack left by Ginobili? Nobody. Not Finley, not Roger Mason, not Matt Bonner (doesn’t belong in the NBA), not Oberto, not anyone. They were done by mid 2nd quarter and only even showed a couple signs of life. Duncan and Parker can’t play the entire game but this team needs to get a win under their belt before the reality of a down season sets in. This team looks old and battered and that was an early season home game. Manu can’t get well fast enough but even then the Spurs are terrible and i can’t believe i’m the idiot who picked them to be a sleeper. I guess Popp can only work magic when he has talent, something this team simply doesn’t have enough of.

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Allen Iverson is a Piston and I’m a little perplexed by this deal. Though the deal hasn’t been confirmed yet by the league, the Pistons have traded Antonio McDyess and Chauncey Billups to the Nuggets for Allen Iverson.

The Nuggets are clearly looking for a better point guard than Anthony Carter and I don’t blame them. I’ve followed basketball for years and Carter is one of the dirtiest players in the game and has the ugliest jump shot in the league. I think the ball actually spins forward instead of backward when he releases it.

By getting Billups the Nuggets get a point guard who should be able to bring this team together and get better shots for Carmelo Anthony. Like it or not, Carmelo and AI just didn’t mesh well together as many thought and with the Nuggets getting rid of Marcus Camby and Iverson they are really trying to put some people together that will enable them to rebuild without sacrificing being a competitive team.

But why acquire a point guard that is roughly the same age as the player you traded and one that is just as arguably losing a step? This is the part I don’t get. Does Billups make the Nuggets better? I don’t think so and on the flip side, does AI make the Pistons better? I don’t think so. I see both teams getting the dynamic they think they are looking for and all the while not improving.

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