I get all sorts of opinions on this issue and have for years.  I’m a strong believer in the college game because of the way the game is played and called.  The NBA has it’s own rules and policies and politics that are involved.  Not that the college game doesn’t have it’s politics because it clearly clearly does, but I understand those better than i do the NBA.

Here’s my reasons and feel free to let me know yours:

NBA CONS:  I hate the way the game is called.  Too much pushing and shoving and traveling.  I can’t watch Jason Terry play a game anymore for the Mavs because he gets the ball and holds it over his head and is practically doing the moonwalk without dribbling and never gets called for it.  Karl Malone used to travel like crazy by taking a step back without dribbling.  Click the link to see what I’m talking about: Lebron traveling

I understand that these are the best athletes in the world and I understand some things being different.

COLLEGE PROS: Can’t beat the Final 4 or March Madness. The NBA playoffs don’t touch March Madness. March Madness has something special that every other sport would love to copy but can’t. College football could if they had a playoff but they don’t. The chance that these small schools get to play the big schools is great and each year we have upsets that make college basketball special and worth watching. Kids watch those games and realize that their is a spot for them playing basketball and that they don’t have to be 6*10 with ball handling skills to play college ball. I love what it exemplifies.

My last NBA Con is Stephon Marbury. He’s getting paid 21 million this season for nothing when people like me would pay money just to step on the court with Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant and Lebron. It is a disgrace to the game that we all love. I’m not against someone getting paid to play because I know how hard they’ve all worked to get there, but to take 21 million and refuse to play is a joke and makes me sick. Be a man, swallow your pride and play ball like you did when you were younger or when you were at Georgia Tech and the game meant something to you. Instead it’s come to this and that’s the reason that the College game is still head and shoulders above the NBA.

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How can anyone who follows pro basketball or the Utah Jazz be actually surprised about Carlos Boozer and his decision to become a free agent after the season?  This is the same player that signed with Cleveland or made a deal with Cleveland only to get out of the contract somehow and sign with the Jazz. 

My comparison…a cheating spouse.  Seriously, if I cheat on my wife with another woman and marry the other woman then would she be surprised to find me cheating on her after a period of time?  I hope not.  Boozer is the cheating spouse and he’s going to leave soon.  Nobody should be surprised to see him go. 

The Jazz will miss Boozer despite the excellent play of Paul Millsap lately.  Boozer, when playing, is a great team guy and is a gifted offensvie player and rebounder.  He couldn’t defend against my mother, but that is another story.  If the Jazz want to contend in the Western Conference they need Boozer to stay but he won’t instead he’ll leave the franchise a little better off than when he got there.  Deron Williams and Paul MIllsap will just have to step it up a little bit more.

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College recruiting is very different than what it used to be. 

Illinois just received a commitment from a player who is due to be there for the incoming class of 2011.  That’s the way things are going nowadays.  A good player will always end up somewhere and deservedly so but the kids that show the most potential are getting offered earlier and earlier than ever.  The game has changed.

The AAU scene has caused a great deal of this as players are seen and watched now more than ever.  The kids play against better players from all over the country and the summer now means much more than the high school season when before that was reversed.  Players now try to position themselves to get on the right team with the right AAU coach and it is crazy.

The kid that Illinois received a commitment from is named Tracey Abrams and by all publications is a top 50 talent for the class of 2011. Abrams is a point guard with incredible athletic skills and he had already received scholarship offers from 4 other big time programs.  I would’ve loved that feeling.  I would’ve loved knowing where I was going to college as a sophomore in high school.  Abrams isn’t even having that great of a high school season but he lit people up over the summer.  For his AAU team he has the ball in his hands but his high school team he doesn’t as much. 

Colleges now have to get in on kids earlier and take the risk because that’s the way it is going.  Players are evaluated and then gone after and it isn’t going away.  I even saw a list of the top 6th graders in the country and that’s ridiculous. 

Either way, I get messages from kids asking me how they can get recruited now that they are a senior and I want to say it is almost too late because D1 programs try to have as many kids commited as they can for the years ahead.  If you are a high school senior looking to play college basketball then it is up to you to be seen and to research and find out what schools need a player like you.  Be realistic and optomistic at the same time in knowing that if you can play, you can play and schools will see that.  Be realistic in realizing that North Carolina might now be for you but North Carolina A & T might.

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As players get older and the level of competition increases the ability to get off or create your own shot becomes much more important. We get asked all the time if we have ideas on how players can work on that or if there are any products that can help them. We have plenty of products out there that can assist or teach a player some moves but none better than the Better Basketball 7 Series. It will break everything down for you in great detail and is worth every penny.

However, let’s cover some ideas of moves that can be worked on to create or get your own shot. First, you need to have the ability to be able to get past your defender. If you can’t get past your defender in a one on one setting then that is a whole different story. If you are able to get past your defender in a one on one setting then a few simple things will give you the ability to get your own shot.

1st- Understand spacing. Understand that you need to create a distance between you and the defender. If you are standing straight up and not in a shooting position then you will get crowded by the defender. If that happens don’t be afraid to create space by getting into a basketball position by protecting the ball, getting your knees bent and making yourself a threat to drive past the defense.

2nd- Don’t be afraid of your jump shot. If you aren’t going to shoot the ball then nobody will even guard you and this post is useless. If you aren’t a great shooter then work at it until you have confidence. I played against a guy where when he got the ball i would literally turn around because he wasn’t going to do anything but pass the ball. It made it very easy for all of us.

3rd - Learn the ability to shoot off the dribble. Imagine if you’ve driven past your player a couple times and they feel you are about to do it again. You take one or two hard dribbles and immediately go up into a jump shot. This isn’t easy to learn and takes practice but the defender is often on their heels when you are going up for the shot. How many times have you seen Kobe have his guy leaning backwards when he is shooting? This is how he does it and it is done by players of all sizes and ages and is a key to getting your own shot.

4th - Learn the step back. This is done by creating space between you and the defender and was mastered by Larry Bird. He would take a hard dribble toward the basket while pushing back with his front foot to create space and give him the ability to get his shot off. Great move that must be practiced with each hand in order to be a threat from both sides of the court.

5th - Learn to be able to jump stop when driving into the key or when picking up your dribble. I say this a million times but players just don’t do it enough. When you drive past your defender be prepared to jump stop for the quick shot. Too many young players will drive past the 1st level of defense only to get to the 2nd level where the bigs are. If you can learn to get past the defense and jump stop for a short shot you’ll be much better off and you’ll draw the 2nd level towards you opening up all kinds of lanes for your teammates. JUMP STOP.

That’s all I have for today but please email me with questions and don’t be afraid to give me some opinions.

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I’ve been emailed recently about confidence in young players and how a coach can build that up. My first thoughts always go back to my roots growing up and being coached by a different array of personalities. I found the best way to work with young kids is to find the way that best motivates that kid. Here’s an example:

I’m the type of player that thrives on negative feedback or being told that I’m not good enough at something. I take that as a challenge to be better. If a coach is telling me something that I need to work on then I’m going to do whatever I can to get better at it. They can call me names, call my mom names and whatever and I’ll try to prove them wrong.

Other players thrive under positive situations and need to be told constantly all the things they are doing right. Players like this absolutely shrink when they are hammered over and over about negative things. These players tend to quit and 10 years later say lines like “I would’ve played in high school but the coach hated me”. The coach doesn’t hate people, the coach just didn’t know that this player didn’t respond to negative feedback.

I counsel all coaches to take the time to interview each kid and find out what motivates them and how they like to be talked to and then have an open team discussion about it so the team knows that some kids want to be pushed by negatives and others with positives and that you aren’t showing favorites.

As a player that needs confidence building, this will only come from practice and being successful. If you are deficient at something then get better at it. Simply watching and wishing doesn’t make anyone a better player.

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I think we would all agree that Stephon Marbury is a talented player and is an amazing athlete. I think we would all agree that Stephon is an exciting player that could thrive in New York’s system. I think we might not agree that Steph not playing is the best thing for New York right now.

Marbury is due 21 million dollars this season and is getting paid to currently be an inactive member of the team. The last few games the Knicks have only played 7 people while Stephon sits quietly on the bench. Chris Duhon is thriving as the Knicks point guard now and the team is showing actual signs of life. Nate Robinson was having a breakout season before he was injured. David Lee is a better pro player than a college player and finally getting the chance to show it so why mess that up just to put Marbury in the game?

What I mean is, and I’ve mentioned it before, is that Stephon kills team chemistry and always has. He isn’t a team guy at all and is only out there for himself and the money. It isn’t even all his fault because that’s what the league has shown him. He chased the money when he left Minnesota and now all those choices are coming back to bite him. He might sit out this season and make his 21 million but it will be the last big contract that he has in his career.

I applaud his efforts as an individual outside of basketball in trying to bring low cost shoes/clothing to those who need and want them so for that I’m happy for him. Outside of that, he’s a player that D’Antoni needs to keep right on the bench, the end of it.

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I love discussing defensive strategies with coaches because each coach has such varying and strong opinions on the matter. I’m a believer that coaches believe in strategies and styles and then try to find players that fit those styles. It isn’t easy to do where recruiting isn’t involved. What I mean is that Jim Boeheim is going to run a 2-3 zone because it works for him. He goes after kids who are able to play good zone defense. He wants athletic wings with long arms who can get out and contest shots while still being able to get in and rebound the ball. He wants quick guards who can react to passes quickly and stop dribble penetration out front.

High school coaches typically don’t hand pick kids so this makes it tougher. Coaches have to react and use what is given them and that isn’t always easy. I played for some very good high school coaches and college coaches for that matter so i got to learn a lot of defensive philosophies in the process. Here are a few of my zone favorites:

2-3 Zone: Great zone where rebounding is a teams primary weakness. If you have a team with some height but not a lot of quickness then this zone isn’t bad at all. Smaller teams use their quickness in a man to man in an attempt to spread the floor to make it easier to drive against bigger players. It also makes it easier to rebound. The 2-3 is simple in it’s concept and the easiest to teach of the zones because most offenses have sets that match the 2-3 zone so it is the closest to a matchup zone out there.

3-2 zone: I actually like the 3-2 with a long athletic player out front. He makes it tough to reverse the ball and keeps the ball to one side. You are susceptible in the corners and if the offense has some athletic wings they can find some gaps in the zone, but the zone works because it extends the offense out further away and actually makes it tougher on shooters.

1-3-1 zone: This zone is proving to be very successful for Michigan this season as they’ve upset UCLA and DUKE so far. Michigan does it by putting their most athletic big man on the baseline where he can cover a lot of ground and they rely on having a point defender that has to be aggressive and push the offense to a side. A 1-3-1 is good when all the pieces work together but can be beat on the baseline and the blocks. In both games that Michigan upset Duke and UCLA they really made it difficult on them by getting on them for each shot and making each penetration difficult.

thoughts?

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A common question that comes up at least once a week is whether or not a coach should call timeout when his team has the ball and the game is on the line. Should the coach just let them play or should he call timeout to run a set play? Two scenarios:

Wisconsin vs Virginia Tech: Wisconsin gets the ball late with the game tied and Travon Hughes doesn’t call timeout. He comes down and hits a banker with .9 seconds left and gives the Badgers the win. Coach Bo Ryan is praised for letting his kids just play at the end of the game. Wisconsin blew a 9 point lead with one minute to go but Bo Ryan had nothing to do with that, only that he let his team play and Hughes hit a bank shot with less than a second. Nice job Bo.

Illinois vs Clemson: I’m an Illini fan and was standing up screaming at the tv during this game. Illinois got the ball when Clemson missed the front end of a 1-1 and had a full 10 seconds to do something with the ball. Illinois didn’t call timeout and point guard Demetri McCamey wasted precious seconds loafing up the court. To make a long story short, the ILLINI didn’t even get a shot up at the basket. It was horrible. I threw the remote down and was yelling “why didn’t Bruce call timeout?” I still don’t understand what happened. If I’m the coach and I see my point guard loafing up the floor with less than 10 seconds left in the game I’m going to call timeout and set a play, either for the tie or the win. Instead, nothing happened and McCamey got handcuffed and couldn’t force the shot up so he passed to the teams worst shooter in hopes he could do something but he didn’t even attempt it.

What should a coach do? I think it depends on the player and the situation. Undoubtedly Bruce Weber had a play called when Clemson was shooting the 1-1 and undoubtedly McCamey didn’t run the play. The situation called for a timeout to be called once McCamey deviated from the script and they had time to call it but didn’t. In the Wisconsin game Hughes is a great playmaker so I understand coach Ryan’s choice to let him go but I wouldn’t have questioned it if he had called timeout regardless if they won or lost.

Coaching is about feelings and instincts and every coach has to go by his gut when these things come up. If your gut is wrong more than right then you had better start looking for a new profession.

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I was watching some wonderful college basketball the other night and witnessed some different variations of post defense that I thought was worth pointing out. When watching Illinois vs Tulsa I was able to see a potential first round big man for Tulsa go against several different variations of post defense and some that frankly I hadn’t seen much before.

Illinois features a 7′1 big man named Mike Tisdale who is wire thin but a good athlete. Tulsa features a more polished post man around the same size who was bound to give Illinois trouble. I fully expected the ILLINI to front Jordan and try to keep him from getting the ball. After all, the team would have to throw it over the taller Tisdale to get it to him and Illinois did this a little throughout the game. As it turned out though Illinois played behind several times but did two things perfectly:

1. They pushed Jordan away from the block and into an uncomfortable position. He would catch the ball and try to repost lower to get better position and was successful on some occasions but when that happened precious time went off the shot clock.
2. Illinois was always ready to help in the middle. They would not allow a baseline post pass to Jordan where help would be tough to give so they allowed him to catch the ball always with the middle open where Illinois could quickly double team and force a trap.

I was very impressed with the scheme that Bruce Weber and the Illini put on and was happy they came out of there with a win. What I’m saying is that the key is to really play to your teams strength and know who you are up against. If you have a taller player on the inside then it isn’t a bad idea to try to keep him in front of the offense. If you have a stronger player it isn’t a bad idea to try fronting also or try to push the offense a bit away from the basket. The key to remember is to see what works best for your players and what they are comfortable doing and know the strengths of the team you are playing.

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