Jimmy V

This is Jimmy V week on ESPN. ESPN uses it to raise money for the Jimmy V Foundation. Created by Jim Valvano to develop cancer research.

If you have never seen Jimmy V's speech then you truly need to watch it right now. It is one of the greatest speeches in history. Here is Jimmy V's speech

True wisdom and enthusiasm from a guy that had no energy or strength because cancer had worn him down. He knew he was dying soon and he delivered a great speech.

When people say to me how do you get through life or each day, it's the same thing. To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. Number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special.

Great stuff!

Playing With Poise

Playing with poise is an underrated facet of the game. The ability to play under control with a clear head allows the player to perform to the best of their ability. If a player gets rattled by another play or just the situation itself then the player's performance will more than likely drop dramatically. Thinking about failure is a surefire way to fail. The champions think about winning, about hitting the game winner, about stopping their man from hitting the final shot...positive things.

I firmly believe in telling yourself you will make the free-throw instead of saying I can't miss this free-throw. The littlest things matter in crunch time. Being positive, focusing on the moment, and doing all the small things right lead to a good outcome.

Some people are born with poise. They don't get rattled under pressure. They know to slow down in crucial times, they don't speed up. I think it can be taught in many ways though. Teaching to block out distractions, block out thoughts of failure or even success in some cases. One can force themselves to relax by deep breathes and focusing on the task at hand. Do rights right and good things will happen, sometimes the rest is out of your hands anyway.

Slow down under pressure!

Defensive Communication

All good coaches stress defensive communication. But how many outline what the players should be saying to each other. Most kids just know "ball" and "help" then are lost on what else they should be saying. Here are a few examples of what the defense should be saying to each other...

Shooter- One that is very important in while playing a zone to make sure people know they need to get out on a particular player.

Skip- Let everyone know there was a skip pass since that involves drastic defensive movement.

Cutter- Probably more important while playing zone than m2m but you can still let teammates know of cutters while playing m2m.

Over/Under- Telling your teammate how you want to get around a screen.

Obviously, there are a lot more but that is a start to get more talking during defense. Some players don't want to ask what they should be saying because they assume they should know and will get looked down upon for asking.

Feast Week

Feast week is here and I could not be more excited. ESPN has a full slate of games from 3pm to midnight on Monday so plan accordingly and set your dvr's. Maui will be a great tournament as always. Indiana almost wastes their trip to Maui this year since they do not have a realistic chance at winning the tournament. The rest of the field is mighty strong though.

There are also good match-ups in the CBE Classic tomorrow. I believe it is the semi finals of that tournament. Syracuse and Kansas are both in action. I have not been able to see either of those teams play yet so I look forward to seeing what Kansas has added to their team.

This week is also the start of the regular season for Indiana high school basketball. I'm hoping to see most of my AAU players play this season while also seeing the top talent around the state. The talent in the state is as good as ever. The sophomore class (2011) could be a great one, but things can change when you are talking about potential. Many coaches have been fired because of their players' great potential that was never realized.

I love basketball season!

Changing Pace/Direction

When teaching dribble moves it is common to detail many different change of direction moves. They might include crossovers, spin dribbles, behind the back dribble in the package of moves. Coaches often under teach the art of changing pace at the younger levels.

Changing pace can often be more effective against a pressure defense than change of direction. How many presses and traps rely on the defense to "turn" the offensive player? Take a run-n-jump press for instance. The press relies on the offense to turn or at least change direction drastically. If a player can change his speed well though, the defense has no chance to trap because he will always be seeing the whole floor.

How about on a fast break...let's say it is one on one in the open floor. A good hesitation dribble around the free throw line or three point line will get the defense to start closing the gap so the player cannot shoot. At that time, the player accelerates and can get his hips passed a quicker player.

One of Bobby Knight's favorite sayings about basketball is "mental is to physical that 4 is to 1." I believe the same can be said about change of pace to change of direction. I would say change of pace is two or three times as important as change of direction moves. Yet, how many coaches work on change pace or really emphasize it?

Arizona's Fouling Mistakes

If you have not seen or heard about Arizona's ridiculously bad late game mistakes from Tuesday night you can watch the clip here.

If you make that mistake once in your life or see it once in your life you should learn the importance of time and score immediately. For it to happen twice in the same game by the same team in the final minute of a game is just absurd. It will make a coach's head explode. I guess it shows the importance of communication even with things you assume players know. Assuming players know something will always get a coach in hot water.

I can imagine the Arizona coach didn't want to dwell on the mistake in the huddle when they were designing their final shot but you probably must say if there is a turnover or missed shot just get back on defense and make them hit a tough shot. That way you don't dwell on the huge mistake, but also remind the other players that you don't need to foul.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

By the way this is one of the areas of coaching I have tried to improve the most and I think I have made leaps and bounds but still need even more improvement. Coaching is just like playing...you are either getting better at it or getting worse. I don't believe you can stay the same. It might be a tiny fraction for better or worse but there is change.

Fast Breaks

I was able to watch a lot of games with ESPN's marathon of games to kickoff the season and the way teams have been running the floor in the early part of the year was trying me nuts. About 90% of the fast breaks I have seen have been poorly executed by the offense. They either don't get wide enough and allow one guy to guard two people or they don't pass the ball on time. Meaning, they get down too far and then decide to pass it which usually leads to a turnover and a non-finish by the guy receiving the ball. Have teams quit running 3-man weave drills? I don't think so. Have teams quit doing fast break drills? I don't believe so. I guess it is just early season mistakes because they want to score so badly that they actually keep themself from scoring.

Kevin Eastman, who is an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics, had a good article on his blog about spacing. He talks about why you need spacing and what spacing the floor actually means. Some players know they are supposed to space the floor, but they are never taught why they need to so they don't realize how important it is. I believe players learn quicker if they know why they are supposed to do something. If they ask why it forces the coach to know why. If the coach doesn't remember why than he should probably re-think his point.