These playoffs are going to be a mere formality for the Cavs and the Lakers as they make their way to the finals. The Cavs cruised to a 4 game sweep of the Pistons and the Lakers pounded the Jazz to a 4-1 series win there. I just can’t see other teams really stepping up and challenging either of them.

However, if I was going to pick a team to give one of these guys fits it would be the Nuggets causing the Lakers all sorts of problems. The Nuggets have size, depth and athletes and they have a great point guard as their leader. Chauncey Billups has literally changed this team into a contender and it showed last night more than ever. The Nuggets beat the Hornets by 58 points and it was that bad. The Nuggets will be able to run with LA and have the athletes to really cause problems. LA won’t sweep them but they’ll gut out the series win.

In the East, the Cavs are the class right now. With KG sitting for the Celtics they are missing that one piece of the puzzle that would get them past the Cavs. Instead KG is hurt and the east just isn’t going to put up much of a fight against Cleveland. The Cavs hold the best home and away record in the league and Lebron is hungry for his title. If the Cavs can win a title with this team it would be amazing because the Lakers have more overall talent and pieces. Even the Nuggets have more overall talent but the one thing they don’t have is Lebron and he might be enough.

I think the Lakers win it all in 6 games believe it or not.

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I love this move.

Jeremy Tyler is a high school senior to be and one of the top basketball players in the country. He’s decided to take his game overseas before coming back to play in the NBA and I LOVE IT. If the NBA is going to disallow these guys to play right out of high school then these kids are going to start to make this choice. Why wouldn’t Tyler want to take the money he can get now and improve his game at the same time? He’s going to go to Europe and be playing all day long getting better and he doesn’t have to focus on school. If we are honest then we have to realize that he wouldn’t be going to college to get an education anyway, he’d be going so he could kill some time before the draft. It’s not for everyone, but it is for Jeremy Tyler.

What are the cons? He risks losing some fans of course. He risks being a bust and he gives up his collegiate eligibility. He is now the poster child for good high school kids who want to get paid today and not wait. Isn’t this what they do in Europe already? Ricky Rubio has been playing professionally since he was 16 years old because that’s what he wants to do with his life and he’s blessed enough to do that. How is Jeremy Tyler any different? He’s a very good player who wants to get better and do that while getting paid instead of going to college to do that and I can’t find fault. At the best he goes to Europe and gets better and in 2 years is taken by an NBA team high in the draft. At worst, he bombs, gets paid and comes back with his tail between his legs being known as the big kid who didn’t want to play in college so he went overseas.

Kids will follow his example either way and I simply can’t find fault in wanting to be the first one to do this.

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Does the process work right now where players can declare, not hire an agent and come back for the next year of college? How does it effect teams, coaches and recruiting?

I’m a fan of the process that allows a player to declare for the draft and pull themselves back. I think it is great and saves players everywhere from making horrible choices that end their eligibility and puts them in the awkward spot of having to leave school to make a living. I could list hundreds of players that made the mistake and it cost them dearly. This way a player can test the waters one time and learn what takes place. I love it. Chase Budinger is a guy who tested the waters last year and learned the process and declared again this season. He can’t pull himself back and he’s ok with that and he’s educated.

On a side note, how does this rule effect coaches? I know the biggest effect is on recruiting and having to budget open scholarships and then having to fill those scholarships. Kids that are on the border of the first round are the toughest to project if they will leave or not so it puts coaches in a bind. Look at Tyreke Evans. I think he’s in the draft to stay but he wants to be a top 10 pick. What if he delays and delays until new coach Josh Pastner is in trouble recruiting wise. A kid might not want to come in and sit the bench behind Evans so he has to wait while all other schools just keep recruiting the player. It can hurt a program.

It can also help a program. Good players make a program more visible and kids want to go pro. Kids want to see which schools produce pro players. That’s why they line up for North Carolina right now. Roy Williams take pro talent to begin with and blends them well together and gets kids drafted. You can’t say enough about that. Good players play wherever they are.

I think the system is good the way it is and I love the way the NBA does the draft where the money is already set in stone. I think that is great for the league and the game. The NFL needs to follow suit next or they are going to be in trouble soon.

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As a youth growing up it was rare that I had a coach or coaches take the time to break us up into groups of guards/posts and work with us that way. Now, it is something that is seen a lot and I highly recommend it.

Each position needs some specific work and that is a great way to get some focused training to the post/guard spots.

We often get asked how much time should be spent doing position work per practice and the answer will vary depending on the age/skill of the players involved. If I’m coaching a younger team the difference between a guard/post is slim to be honest. You can almost treat them the same because they can be taught to develop the same skills. As you get to Junior High age kids you want to be more focused so take at least 20 minutes with each group in focused training. As you get to high school you would want to take that to 30 minutes a practice.

I’ll cover what to do during those sessions in later blogs this week.

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I’m asked a lot about defensive strategies and I thought that i could come up with a list of 5 things that I believe are the basis for all strong Man to Man defenses. These 5 things are really what all defensive principles should be based on.

1. Stop Dribble Penetration: Good defensive teams understand that you have to eliminate dribble penetration to be a good defense. When a ball handler gets into the key it causes all sorts of problems. Other players are forced to help and they get out of position. Control the ball handler.

2. Contest Passing Lanes: Don’t allow any easy pass anywhere unless it forces the other team further away from the basket. This is especially true when dealing with post players. Never allow a post pass to be made without making it very difficult on the passer. Force tough passes every chance possible.

3. Contest Every Shot: Shooters that aren’t guarded or contested have a much easier time and this is pretty obvious to all of us. Get a hand up or run at the player, anything really to show that the player doesn’t have all day to set up and shoot the ball. Never allow an easy shot.

4. Rebound: Play physical and go after the ball. Players aren’t taught rebounding like they used to be. Now it seems that each team has some designated rebounders. It should be a core of a good defensive team.

5.

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When I was growing up I was very much a ball hog and it still bothers me today. I wasn’t a very well rounded player but I could shoot and score the ball pretty easily. One of the things I was very good at was getting my man in foul trouble and getting to the foul line. As I got older and became a point guard my mentality as a player changed but the ability to get to the foul line never left me. Here’s a couple points that can be used immediately to get you to the line more often.

1. Be Multidimensional. If you are a one dimensional player it makes it that much easier to guard you. I could shoot so a man had to guard me close. When he guarded me close I could go by him.

2. Learn to initiate contact. Dwyane Wade is amazing at this. I know he is a pro but when he drives he actually creates the contact with the defensive player. He is able to see when the defender is out of position and take advantage of it. This isn’t saying to jump into a guy all the time. Good players understand positioning and if you are driving and have a player on your hip then he has to try to do something to get in a better spot. Once he makes an aggressive defensive move then go right into him and get the foul call. If you are driving on the defender, stop quickly and pump fake. Once he jumps in the air go right into him and get the foul call. One thing that smaller players are better at than bigger players is avoiding getting their shots blocked. You rarely see Chris Paul get blocked but you always see him at the line. When CP3 drives to the hoop he is great at jumping into the shot blockers chest to take away his momentum and create space for the shot. Scottie Reynolds did it in the Elite 8 to beat Pitt. He drove the length of the court and jumped right into the chest of the defense and it created space for himself to get the shot off. Could they have called a foul? Sure, but no ref is going to call that with 2 seconds left. You can learn a lot watching the little guys when they drive.

3. JUMP STOP: I’ve said this a thousand times but learn to jump stop when you drive to or around the basket. When you jump stop you gain control of your body and you are able to take the ball up strong. Players that take the ball up strong get the benefit when it comes to foul calls. If you drive to the hoop and jump off one leg and flip the ball at the basket you won’t get calls. If you drive, jump stop, collect yourself and go up strong you will get fouled and it will get called.

Try these and let me know how they work out for you.

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If you ask most high school level and below coaches about what they love and don’t love about coaching they will say they love the kids, but hate the part about dealing with parents. I’ve been around the game along time and had my share of run ins with parents and coaches. I’ve witnessed my own father go about some things pretty curiously even though i understand it was all done for my supposed good.

One of the main things I teach younger coaches is to always be completely upfront with the players and the coaches in what you expect from them. Tell them everything without anything being left out. Tell them your practice schedule, game schedule, dress requirements, behavioral requirements…etc. Everything. Parents like/need to know what is expected of them and their child.

2nd thing- Do everything you said you would do. Coaches want respect and the only way to get that is to practice what you preach. Good coaches put the team above everything else including winning and in the end the parents respect that.

How many times have we seen heard the following lines? “Coach let’s Billy act however he wants. I hustle but Billy doesn’t. I get to practice on time but Billy is late. Coach favors him.” We hear this daily in youth basketball. I tell parents to teach their kids not to be victims first of all but in some cases the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

It is inevitable that a conversation will take place with a parent about a situation that the parent has only heard one side to the story. Be honest, be direct and be sypathetic of the situation. Explain to them what is going on in your head and create a situation of trust, communication and no hostility. When those things are done everyone will walk away satisfied that the right things are happening.

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This couldn’t be more true after watching those two teams last night. There was never a second of doubt that Michigan ST was overmatched from the time the ball went up in the air. Michigan ST has some great players but NC brought waves of future NBA players at them and it was just too much.

It makes it tough for me to even wonder if Roy Williams is that great of a coach. He has to be though right? I mean, he pulls the strings on what players to play and when. I was watching and I believe that Lawson, Hansbrough, Ellington are sure fire 1st round picks. After that you have to wonder about Deon Thompson. Certainly in time Ed Davis will be a first round pick. This team is loaded.

I remember a few years back when Illinois was barely beaten in the final by NC. Those two teams were much more even with ILLINOIS featuring Deron Williams, Luther Head, Dee Brown and James Augustine. All those players were drafted. NC had Sean May, Rashad McCants, Raymond Felton and Marvin Williams. Clearly the overall talent edge went to Carolina that night as well.

Who is a pro for Michigan St? I actually think Suton will play in the pro’s and so will Kalin Lucas. Outside of that i don’t see much in terms of pro potential. I think Summers is very skilled but I don’t know about a pro. Carolina had much better players last night and it showed.

Tom Izzo is a great coach and Roy Williams is a great coach. I think the better slogan would be: “The better the players the better the coaches”

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During the NCAA tournament it is always important to keep your eyes open and learn how coaches teach their players. Some coaches teach defense differently than others. For example, some teams funnel the offense to the baseline while others always try to funnel the offense to the middle. Each has it’s reasons but it is always interesting to me nonetheless.

Big Ten teams get a lot of flack for being all about defense and ugly basketball and I see where the country is coming from on it sometimes. Then I watch Louisville get dismantled by Michigan St and i thought it was a thing of beauty. Michigan st matched their physicality and then some and played excellent man to man defense the entire game.

I’ve talked in the past about how defenders should use 1 arm up and 1 arm down while defending the ball handler. Most refs will allow the arm/forearm to be on the ballhandler as long as the arm doesn’t extend out. This can be used to slow down the offense and is a great strategy. What Michigan St was ‘chest’ the offense to get them to go where they wanted. When Louisville would drive Michigan st players would use their chest to get Louisville out of position or make the shots more difficult. It’s a strategy that can be used in addition to the forearm but is easier to hide.

You ever watched a game and see the offense go baseline but get chested by the defense only to knock them slowly off their path? Ever wondered why players stick their hands straight up but the offense still moves? It’s the chest. By sticking your chest into the offense while maintaining defensive position, you will be able to quietly control where the offensive player goes. The minute both hands go down and make contact with the players body, the ref will call a foul. One hand is ok, two hands off is even better. So don’t forget, chest to body.

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