That Basketball Life

The second principle to sound defense is also very similar to our first principle.  It's similar in that it doesn't require unique athleticism, or an excellent basketball IQ.  Just like team work everyone should be prepared to talk to teammates on the basketball court.  Without communication it is impossible to defend.  As a defender you have a responsibility to keep an eye on your man and the ball.  This is a very difficult task so to add keeping track of possible screens, and switches is nearly impossible.  A good defense relies on all five players on the floor talking to each other.

In it's simplest form, basketball is about making shots while keeping the other team from doing the same.  Many coaches spend a lot of time in practice teaching skills related to the offensive side of the game but don't spend the same amount of time on the defensive side.  Think about it.  In basketball you not only need to score but you also need to find a way to keep the other team from scoring.  That statement tells us that defense is just as important as offense and as such it would be wise to make sure you spend as much time in practice on your defensive principles as you do on your offensive ones. Now that we have established how much time we should spend practicing defense let's move into the details.  What is a good defensive philosophy?

When you are coaching a team sport your most important job is not the x's and o's but rather to convince your team to play for each other and to talk to each other.  Many times this can be difficult, after all there is nothing that feels better than scoring a basket on your own.  There are a few things that you as a coach can do from the beginning of practice to make sure that your players share your vision that the team is more important than any one player and to encourage that they communicate with each other on the floor.

In it's simplest form, basketball is about making shots while keeping the other team from doing the same.  Many coaches spend a lot of time in practice teaching skills related to the offensive side of the game but don't spend the same amount of time on the defensive side.  Think about it.  In basketball you not only need to score but you also need to find a way to keep the other team from scoring.  That statement tells us that defense is just as important as offense and as such it would be wise to make sure you spend as much time in practice on your defensive principles as you do on your offensive ones.

Nice article on agents and the NBA.

Interesting article on the NBA and how the length of the season can be the reason there are more injuries in the game.  The interesting part lies in the fact that some people quoted within the article claim that kids playing too many games in their youth nowadays could be a cause for the injuries.

Ball handling is such a huge part of the game of basketball.  With a good ability to handle the ball a basketball player can get almost anywhere on the floor and create his own shots.  Without it a player can be a liability on the offensive end of the floor. What can you do to improve your ball handling?  I will describe a basic workout that you can use to slowly improve your dribbling skills.  I will also show how you can build on it.

Basketball is a game of great individual achievement.  It is one of those team sports where one great player can truly make a difference.  Regardless of how true the above statement is nobody is good enough to win a championship by themselves.  Even star players need to trust their teammates in order for the team to succeed.  It doesn't matter how good a player can be its tough to guard all 5 opponents on defense.  It's even tougher to beat all 5 defenders on the offensive end of the floor if they know that one player will refuse to use his teammates.  The point I'm trying to make is that even if you have an exceptional player playing for you, the best thing you can do is to teach the squad how to play as a team.  This is the only way a team can be successful.