That Basketball Life

On the night that Kobe is having his number retired let's honor him with a video that I found on You Tube.  This video shows his skill in breaking down a defender 1 on 1.  

We're going to be spending a bit of time over the next few weeks talking about how players can improve their 1v1 game. Some who know me might ask why would I spend time on a topic like this considering my philosophy on the game is so team orientated? My answer to that question is simple. The most basic part of the game is being able to break down the player covering you. It is such an important element to the game because if you have players on your team who can successfully break down their player, you automatically have the odd man situations which are at the heart of our offensive philosophy. Think about it this way. Our offensive philosophy is about putting pressure on the defense. We try to do this through penetration. This penetration will happen either by dribble entry or pass entry to the post. Dribble entry can happen through ball screens, dribble handoffs, or through dribble penetration. Ball screens and dribble handoffs require 2 of our players to be involved while dribb...

A follow up on the post from last week on beating your players one on one.  This video emphasizes how important it is to attack the front leg of a defender and explains why it is important and the most effective way to beat a player who is covering you.  

Here at TBL we have spent a lot of time talking about how to help players improve. What we haven't spent a lot of time doing is talking about selecting coaches to help run your program. If you are the program director of an organization there is not a more important job than the selection of the coaches who are going to run your teams. You need to keep in mind that these people are going to be the faces of your program. They are going to be on the front lines interacting with players and parents so it is important that you spend time making sure you pick the right people. What are some of the things you need to consider when it comes to coaches: Make sure coaches understand the time commitment. Coaching teams will require a 3-4 day a week commitment for the entirety of the session. Barring sickness or unforseen family commitments coaches need to be prepared to be available. No excuses. Don't assume that you can teach prospective coaches how to coach with a clinic. This mean...

In it's simplest form, basketball success on the offensive end is about breaking down the defense.  The basic building block of that strategy is the ability to beat the man who is covering you.  Once you're able to beat that man then you begin the process of determining whether you're ability to read a defenses reactions is faster than the defensive rotation.  As an offensive player you need to stay one or two steps ahead of the defense.  You need to anticipate what the defense is going to do once you set the dominoes falling when you beat your man.  The key to get the whole process started is beating the man that is covering you. There are some qualities that you need to keep in mind when you are trying to beat the man covering you: Be aggressive with your moves.  Do not sit there spending too much time dribbling in front of the man covering you.  He will time your dribble and beat you.  Rather be aggressive.  Make a strong move quickly. Feel comfortable with fakes, ...

In the old days, when a kid began playing basketball he would get assigned a position. Many times what position he played depended on his size, quickness, and his ability to shoot. If you were tall, chances are you played inside. If you were short and quick, chances are you played on the perimeter. What coaches would then proceed to do would be to have the post players exclusively learn post moves and then perimeter players exclusively learn outside moves. What this practice actually did was limit the players development. Lets face it kids grow at different intervals. Tommy might be a tall fourth grader who levels out by the time he is in eighth. The problem lies with the fact that Tommy has been taught post moves all his life and is not prepared to play outside against other perimeter players because his coaches didn't think it was necessary to play Tommy anywhere but on the blocks. At the youth levels, it is so important to keep the kids well rounded. Do not separate your team...

I'm a firm believer in the lessons that athletics in general and basketball specifically can teach kids. It's more than just putting a ball in the basket. There are many parallels between the hard work and focus required to improve as a ball player and to be successful in school and life. I believe that a good coach should always emphasize working hard to improve. I also believe that he should take it a step further and explain to his kids how hard work is a good habit and it should be a part of every aspect of life. He should emphasize that hard work should be used when doing homework, when doing chores, or when doing anything important. An uncle of mine once said that the only thing every man has and he should value is his good name. This uncle emphasized that you need to do everything in your power to keep your good name. Laziness is not a trait that keeps a good name. Hard work and good habits are. Teach the lesson of how valuing hard work is important to your team. It...