Weekly Word: Back to Basics
In just about everything we do, we crawl before we walk; we walk before we run; etc. And yes, in most things we do, there’s a tendency to want to skip ahead to the “fun stuff” (the end result), without…
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Continue ReadingIn just about everything we do, we crawl before we walk; we walk before we run; etc. And yes, in most things we do, there’s a tendency to want to skip ahead to the “fun stuff” (the end result), without mastering the skills of the trade first. We want to just jump in the car and drive, not take a driver’s education course. We want to just graduate and be done with high school to move on to our future, not sit in class every day, studying, taking tests, etc. However, with regards to those analogies specifically, we must complete driver’s education to be eligible for a license. We must get a high school diploma to move on to college (or something else). But in sports, it’s different. Kids develop at different rates, either because of talent or practice time, but the end result is different for everyone as well. There isn’t a checklist, and there isn’t a certificate telling you that you’ve moved on to the next step. Instead success, enjoyment, disappointment, age, or injury are a few things that can be attributed to the “next step” in athletics.
But lets go back to wanting to skip ahead to the “fun stuff” as it relates to basketball. I would like to begin with a quick story. Years ago when I coached grassroots teams, I didn’t have quite the appreciation for continually teaching the basic skills and fundamentals that I do now. Some of it was my youth and inexperience, and some of it was a lack of practice time because our teams were comprised of kids from all over the state and it was hard to get them together regularly. Sure, we spent a portion of practice on “skills & drills”, but it was a smaller portion than what would have probably been ideal because we needed to put in other team things (offense, defense, etc.) in order to compete in all of the tournaments. With that said, I had a player with the simplest of flaws, and back then I couldn’t see it. He was tall, long, and athletic for his position. He usually finished at the rim with a dunk or he would pull-up short with a floater of some sort. Anyway, he heads off to college and plays for a great Head Coach. The day of their first practice I called him to see how it went. His comment was simply, “man, they made me spend the first hour of practice alone at a basket working on layups…layups man.” He was noticeably frustrated. So of course I asked him why, and his footwork was poor when it came to simple layups, and he wasn’t using his non-dominant hand when it was appropriate. He acknowledged it, so he was growing as a player. I had rarely seen him attempt normal layups, only dunks and floaters, but at the collegiate level with the size and speed of the game changing, it was vital that he learn proper technique. He was tall and talented at a young age, so people overlooked something this simple that he couldn’t do, because they were wowed by what he could do.
Because of this story, and many things I see on a nightly basis watching games at the high school and even collegiate level, I wanted to point out things that are lackluster in today’s game. Below is a look at different areas of the game that need a lot more work and attention. They aren’t all “fun” to work on, nor are the necessarily fun to teach / coach, but they are very necessary to succeed consistently and then have additional success when you advance to the next level. Something I was told years ago that has always stuck with me is: “It takes 300-500 repetitions to teach something brand new. It takes 3000-5000 repetitions of doing something the same way every time to change an old habit into a new one.”
Ball-Handling (efficiency) – I have two pet peeves here. First is the player who spends eight seconds to get to the 10-second line, making 17 dribble moves when one would do. Oftentimes that same player turns it over in the backcourt because of too much dribbling. Make one move, get the defender on your hip, and go by them. The second pet peeve is the player who in the half-court insists on making multiple dribble-moves to get the defender off-balance, sometimes dropping them, sometimes getting a reaction from the crowd, only to be in the same exact spot once the defender regains their balance, because they don’t know how to go by and finish the move with a score. Whatever happened to making a single dribble-move, or maybe a move and a counter, to get the defender off-balance, then attacking their hip straight-line to the rim and using the free throw line as a weapon? If you want to score more points, work to get to the free throw line more often by making a single quick move and attacking an off-balance defender.
Ball-Handling (general) – I see waaay too many kids today who are so reliant on their dominant hand, and it’s seemingly getting worse. Everything is to one side or the other. I see dribbling one direction, with maybe a single dribble or two with the non-dominant hand, then immediately back to the dominant hand. Passing has become atrocious, with most passes on the non-dominant side coming from across the body with the dominant hand instead, exposing the ball much more to the defense. If you want to be great, how much time are you committing to stationary ball handling emphasizing the non-dominant hand, movement ball-handling (not dribble-moves but full-speed like in transition or on attack), and passing drills with your non-dominant hand, with medicine balls, and working different types of passes at different locations on the floor? There are different types of posts passes, but a wing entry pass is also different from a post pass, is different from a skip pass, etc., etc., etc. You must drill them all to be good at them all. This doesn’t take a whole lot of thought, only effort.
Shooting – There is a difference in volume shooters and great shooters. Everyone is quick to message us on social media when a kid scores 30 points. But did they get that 30 points on 11-29 shooting, or did they get that 30 points on 11-17 shooting. There is a big difference. There are a lot of mediocre shooters out there who put up enough shots to get their points, but there are only a handful of efficient shooters who understand what a great shot is, what a rhythm shot is, the difference between a clean and a dirty catch, and how to move without the ball to improve your angle or relieve defensive pressure. (If you are uncertain of what any of those things mean, I’d ask someone pretty quickly.) At the same time, how many of you who want to be great are spending 10, 20, even 30 minutes on simple form-shooting each time you work out? Are you really doing it with focus, or are you just doing it quickly to get it done, or just jumping on The Gun and trying to get up x-number of shots in an hour? I get it, form-shooting is painfully boring at times, but if you want to be a GREAT shooter, it is an absolute necessity. Also, are you working on different types of shots? Do you need a rhythm dribble every time you shoot in order to make it, or can you cut off of a down-screen and catch-and-shoot at the same rate? Can you shoot off of a ball screen? How is your footwork when you come off of a screen? …when you beat a defender off the bounce? …when you catch and turn into a shot from a tough angle? These things will not improve without practice, and you can’t be a one-dimensional shooter who can only make one type of shot…you must be versatile.
Finishing – Back to my original story about the player working on layups in college…are you able to finish correctly on a simple layup, with proper footwork and using the proper hand in each situation? I see so many situations where a kid impresses people with a 1-on-0 transition dunk, or a shifty move through the lane to a floater. Then that same kid attacks a set defense and gets their shot blocked or gets two free throws instead of an and-1 situation, all because they used their dominant hand in a situation where they should have used their non-dominant hand, or they jumped off of the wrong foot, exposing the ball more to the defender to give them an angle to block it. There needs to be more of an emphasis in the offseason on finishing with basic footwork and fundamentals. Then work on finishing with basic stuff through contact next. Then maybe work on some dead-pivot stuff where you’ve exhausted your dribble and are “stuck” by the basket…work on shot-fakes and counter moves, maybe develop a half-hook, even if you’re a guard, and figure out a way to use basic stuff to give yourself an advantage. Whatever happened to good old Mikan drills? They are great for posts AND perimeter players. Mikan drills, reverse Mikan drills, advanced Mikan drills, etc., can likely all be found for FREE online somewhere.
FINAL THOUGHT
Listen, I’m sure you’re doing a lot of these things with your school teams, but are they consistently done several times a week? What are you doing with your time when you’re in the gym 10 minutes early for practice waiting on it to officially start? What are you doing in the offseason on your own time? I’m not saying to drop your personal trainer, or anything like that, but what good are all of the advanced items they are teaching you when you either still turn it over, or you don’t go anywhere, or you don’t know how to finish? What good are getting 30 shots up a game if you can’t make 15-20 of them? How great does an open transition dunk look, when the next possession against a set defense you get your shot blocked? At the end of the day, how much time and energy are you putting into working on the basic drills and fundamentals when you aren’t at school? Trust me, college coaches know how much time the first time they see you take the floor against someone else good during the live periods.