Pointing the Finger

There is a classic saying that goes like this..."When you point a finger at someone, three are pointing back at you." Of course that means you should examine yourself closely and objectively before you chose to blame or point a finger at someone else.

Terrell Owens is the ultimate finger pointer. It is never his fault. He led the league in dropped passes a couple years ago, but that wasn't his fault. He has played with great QB's but yet they are never doing their job good enough. How many times has he taken responsibility for anything? I would guess never. He does no wrong in his own eyes.

Pointing fingers at each other will tear a team apart faster than anything else. Players have to be responsible for doing their job. It is up to the player to put a focused effort on display every time they take the field or court. No one can make you try your hardest. It is up to the individual to know what his best effort is and not to let himself or the team down.

The world loves to blame other people. It seems like taking the blame is the worst thing in the world to some people. Things rarely get done if people are blaming others. Things go much better when people will step up and admit mistakes they have made. Things get fixed that way and then the next time when someone else messes up they remember when you took responsibility for the last mistake and more often then not they will follow your lead.

Quit blaming others...if you are going to place blame then place it on yourself!

Cuttino Mobley Retires

Cuttino Mobley's career has been forced to end due to a heart condition that was found during his physical which happened because of a recent trade. Here is the story from ESPN.

As a coach, one of the worst things that you can imagine is a player collapsing on the court. Although most coaches are required to know CPR or have an athletic trainer on duty it is still a situation that no coach ever wants to be put in.

One of my classmates collapsed during a track practice my freshmen year. Our athletic trainer responded quickly but was in the school and not on the track since we only had 1 athletic trainer for the whole athletic department. He was revived on the track and then taken to the hospital where he eventually died. I believe he had the same heart condition as Mobley, Reggie Lewis, and Hank Gathers. His condition went undiagnosed until it was too late.

I bet Cuttino never thought being trading would save his life. Looking back that might have been exactly what happened. Life brings surprises when you least expect them.

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?