Vlade Divac ruined it for the rest of us. So did Manu Ginobli. Andy Varejao. And last but not least, the biggest culprit in the history of basketball: The Duke Blue Devils. All of these players, as well as many of their contemporaries have changed the game through incessant flopping and trying to take charges that are not there. All the flops and pseudo-charges have added up over the years fractionally. Bit by bit. And as a result, coaches, players, and referees have all been hypnotized. The block/charge/no call decision is a big part of high school and college games. It's a game changer, almost every night no matter if you're in a high school gym in Texas or a Big East game in the Garden.
We don't have time to have a philosophical debate. I would imagine there is strong support on both sides. Either way, you just have to plan for some bad block/charge calls and hope for calls in your favor. The fact is that high school referees are not professionals. Nor are college refs. The block/charge/no call is a very hard area to officiate. There is a big human element. And some nights you are gonna have refs that "get it" and are consistent. Other nights (most nights) you are going to have morons with no clue who are stealing money from both teams.
I want to talk about the importance of driving the ball and attacking low with our head up. Bending our knees, not our backs, and driving the ball low with good leverage will not only make you a better driver but will help you avoid charges.
When we attack our man, we want to try to be low enough to where our shoulders are at our defender's hip level. Shoulders to hips. That's important when we beat the guy defending us on the perimeter, but I think it's just as important to still be as low as we can as we enter the paint. All players have a tendency to stand up a little once we get past the initial danger. I think the red flags go off when the offensive player hits the defensive players upper body. Anything higher than the belt buckle. That's when bad refs go on autopilot and call bad charges.
But if offensive players make contact with defenders on their legs and hips, I think it's more likely a no call or a block. The fact that it looks different, that it doesn't look like the obvious charge call is an advantage to the offensive player. And it's different for the floppers. They've trained themselves to go down like they were shot when they get chest contact. It's confusing for them if the contact is on the legs.
Drive the ball shoulders to hips with your head up. We are strongest when we bend our knees and dig in low. Don't stand up once we beat our initial defender. Stay low on our driving line and keep our head up as other players come to help. Explode up into our finish only when we get to our best angle for a solid finish.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
A Quick Word on Jimmer
In a marquee college game that wasn't on TV anywhere in the midwest, Jimmer Fredette lit the gym on fire, as BYU handed San Diego State its first loss. With Danny Ainge, Daryl Morey and over 20 NBA scouts in attendance, he dropped 43 on 14-24 shooting, with 5 treys. In the extended highlights that I saw, it was an unbelievable atmosphere and an even more unbelievable individual effort by Jimmer. For a lot of players, it's really hard to play at home when the stakes are high and there are eyeballs on you. Well, Jimmer didn't seem to notice. He was comfortable right from the tip. He put the team on his back and just dominated a pretty good defensive team in San Diego State.
With Jimmer fever spreading, conversations move to whether or not Jimmer can score and excel in the NBA. Bottom line: there's a long way to go until the guys in charge have to figure that out. The good news: in the meantime, I think we are going to get to see more of him. I think that ESPN and other networks will look to pick up a few BYU games down this home stretch in the season. That's good for all of us because none of us have seen enough of him to have a good feel on his game night to night. I can't wait to see if they can ride this confidence wave and make an impact in the NCAA tournament.
But since you come to my blog for a take, I'll offer a few bullet points.
I think he's a first round pick. I like him in that 18-25 range. It's potentially a deep draft but lot depends on who decides to come out and who decides to stay. With a lockout looming, who knows what the thought process will be.
When I watch him and then try to visualize him in an NBA game, I can see him really doing some damage making plays off a high ball screen. He can really shoot it off the dribble. And he doesn't need a ton of room. He can make contested 3s. Million dollar question is whether he will have the patience and savvy to really make the pick and roll his weapon. Is he going to be able to make the creative decisions necessary to be dangerous turning the corner? Because at BYU he hasn't really done that. They just kind of give him space and time to break his defender down. They also take him off the ball and bring him off screens to catch and shoot. But to simplify, I think he has a lot of Mark Price and JJ Barea in him.
On a negative note, in the highlights last night he was breaking his guys down with long, wide, high crossovers. That's an "absolutely not" for me. And although his deadly crosses bring the Mormons in Provo to their feet, those aren't an option in the NBA. Can you imagine him trying to break down Tyreke Evans with that garbage? Or any wing player with a long wing span (which is everyone)?
Jimmer has shown that he can be very creative when he gets into the lane. He has shown a variety of finishes, ranging from creative to really awesome. All below the rim. Unfortunately, the NBA is where really creative below the rim finishes go to die. He is going to have to simplify his takes to the rim and really use his body. And learn to sit down in that intermediate key area and lace short jumpers. His strength and his ability to change direction with strength and stop and pullup is one of his great attributes.
Defensively, there is a laundry list of issues. There's not enough time. Put it this way: is there any guard in the league you can name off the top of your head that he can guard? He has rebounding issues as well. Those two points alone are enough to take a pass on him, despite his awesome ability to get buckets.
Jimmer is a show. He's a great talent. I want to see more of him. A lot more. Time will tell whether he has a place in the NBA. But for now, let's hope BYU embraces the moment and makes a deep run in the NCAA tourney.
Happy Thursday.
With Jimmer fever spreading, conversations move to whether or not Jimmer can score and excel in the NBA. Bottom line: there's a long way to go until the guys in charge have to figure that out. The good news: in the meantime, I think we are going to get to see more of him. I think that ESPN and other networks will look to pick up a few BYU games down this home stretch in the season. That's good for all of us because none of us have seen enough of him to have a good feel on his game night to night. I can't wait to see if they can ride this confidence wave and make an impact in the NCAA tournament.
But since you come to my blog for a take, I'll offer a few bullet points.
I think he's a first round pick. I like him in that 18-25 range. It's potentially a deep draft but lot depends on who decides to come out and who decides to stay. With a lockout looming, who knows what the thought process will be.
When I watch him and then try to visualize him in an NBA game, I can see him really doing some damage making plays off a high ball screen. He can really shoot it off the dribble. And he doesn't need a ton of room. He can make contested 3s. Million dollar question is whether he will have the patience and savvy to really make the pick and roll his weapon. Is he going to be able to make the creative decisions necessary to be dangerous turning the corner? Because at BYU he hasn't really done that. They just kind of give him space and time to break his defender down. They also take him off the ball and bring him off screens to catch and shoot. But to simplify, I think he has a lot of Mark Price and JJ Barea in him.
On a negative note, in the highlights last night he was breaking his guys down with long, wide, high crossovers. That's an "absolutely not" for me. And although his deadly crosses bring the Mormons in Provo to their feet, those aren't an option in the NBA. Can you imagine him trying to break down Tyreke Evans with that garbage? Or any wing player with a long wing span (which is everyone)?
Jimmer has shown that he can be very creative when he gets into the lane. He has shown a variety of finishes, ranging from creative to really awesome. All below the rim. Unfortunately, the NBA is where really creative below the rim finishes go to die. He is going to have to simplify his takes to the rim and really use his body. And learn to sit down in that intermediate key area and lace short jumpers. His strength and his ability to change direction with strength and stop and pullup is one of his great attributes.
Defensively, there is a laundry list of issues. There's not enough time. Put it this way: is there any guard in the league you can name off the top of your head that he can guard? He has rebounding issues as well. Those two points alone are enough to take a pass on him, despite his awesome ability to get buckets.
Jimmer is a show. He's a great talent. I want to see more of him. A lot more. Time will tell whether he has a place in the NBA. But for now, let's hope BYU embraces the moment and makes a deep run in the NCAA tourney.
Happy Thursday.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
DRIBBLE DRIVE NATION
It's no secret that the game of hoops has moved to a dribble drive, spread it out and attack the basket focus over the last few seasons. Vance Wahlberg and John Calipari's DVDs on the DDM offense are well circulated, and more and more people are falling in love with the philosophy each season.
When too many people buy into a hot stock, a bubble is created. I believe the same has begun to happen for the dribble drive motion offense. Too many teams, who do not have the skill level or the kind of players capable of excelling in a dribble drive focused offense are trying to ride this wave and keep up with the joneses.
There is a great opportunity for smart coaches to get back to working hard on a traditional motion offense in the half court. Focus on things like:
Cutting really, really hard to high percentage scoring areas
Constant motion on the perimeter
Moving with a purpose
Screening angles
Moving the ball side to side quickly
Reading and using screens on the perimeter
Cross screening with your post players
Back screening
Just to name a few.
There is a buying opportunity for these basketball principles in every market: grade school, high school, college.
Dribble drive motion: using great spacing to murder teams off the dribble isn't going away. But neither are the teams and players that do the fundamental things great.
When too many people buy into a hot stock, a bubble is created. I believe the same has begun to happen for the dribble drive motion offense. Too many teams, who do not have the skill level or the kind of players capable of excelling in a dribble drive focused offense are trying to ride this wave and keep up with the joneses.
There is a great opportunity for smart coaches to get back to working hard on a traditional motion offense in the half court. Focus on things like:
Cutting really, really hard to high percentage scoring areas
Constant motion on the perimeter
Moving with a purpose
Screening angles
Moving the ball side to side quickly
Reading and using screens on the perimeter
Cross screening with your post players
Back screening
Just to name a few.
There is a buying opportunity for these basketball principles in every market: grade school, high school, college.
Dribble drive motion: using great spacing to murder teams off the dribble isn't going away. But neither are the teams and players that do the fundamental things great.
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