Motor

Motors make cars run and motors make teams win. A motor in terms of basketball is a player's effort and hustle. If a player has a good motor he is always fighting for rebounds, crushing the boards at every opportunity. It means he is always hustling back in transition defense and not jogging back behind the action. Teams need five players with great motors on the floor to win big games.

Ultra competitive players are basically born with a good motor in them because they don't want to lose so they naturally outwork their opponents. Sometimes players don't have a good perception of themselves and thinking they are outworking guys when they aren't even close. Tyler Hansbrough has the ultimate motor. He is the definition of a guy with a great motor. Hansbrough never gives up on a play until the whistle blows.

One thing that happens a lot in AAU is that younger players watch the older, elite players play during down time stretches. Most of the time the top 25 players in the nation do not play very hard because they can get away with it. So the younger, less talented player says to himself "well player x doesn't play hard all the time and he is going to Ohio State..." and they don't believe they have to play hard to make it to the next level. The problem is a lot of times colleges do not recruit guys because they do not play hard enough. Mediocre talent can't lack hustle and they can't be a problem off the court i.e. grades. I've talked to many college coaches who have told me they like a guy's talent, but they don't think he has the motor to play at their level. That is a shame for the player!

McDonald's Game

The McDonald's All-American game is about to start. It is a little strange to have zero all-americans going to The Big Ten. I know the ACC and Big East are the hot conferences right now, but you would think a couple would chose the Big Ten. I think the game has dropped off a little bit recently due to a few factors. I think now it is based more off of potential and in the past decades it was based off of accomplishments first and then potential if they have some recommendations.

Another thing is there are no players from Indiana in the game this year. Mason Plumlee did make it and he technically lives in Indiana but spent his high school career at prep school in North Carolina. So, he really does not count. I think Derek Elston would have made a run at it if not for his knee injury last summer. I'm guessing the selections are based off of summer play more than high school seasons for good reason and he missed all last summer.

Next year, I would hope DeShaun Thomas and Dominique Ferguson make it from Indiana. I think both should be locks unless they get injured or do something stupid off the court. The 2010 class in Indiana is definitely better than this year's class and 2011 should potentially be better than both of them. 2012 class is also looking strong early in their high school careers. There is hope for the Big Ten and state of Indiana in the near future.

Coaching Changes

April means two things in college basketball. One is the Final Four and the other is coaching changes. Some get fired and others look for better opportunities in the coaching business. This spring is no different. John Calipari is heading to Kentucky which will start a domino effect in the business. Memphis now needs a coach which will probably be a coach from another school and the trend continues down the line.

VCU's Head Coach Anthony Grant took the Alabama job. VCU hired a Florida assistant as they had done when they hired Grant. Billy Donovan has a good coaching tree and VCU has made some great hires recently with Grant and Jeff Capel, who left for Oklahoma.

I'm hoping all the changes trickle down to the JuCo level. Maybe one of the new head coaches will take a JuCo coach with him. There is always hope! :)

Spiece Select 2011 Preview

Here is a little bit of a roster break down for Spiece Select 2011 (16&U). I haven't seen a few of the players play too much yet, but I have a general idea for them.

Zac VanDeWater-6'5 SG who can guard three positions. Great shooter and very good quick for his size. High majors have been watching him.

Tony Springmann-6'8 PF when you think Springmann think Luke Harangody. I believe Springmann is a better mid-range shooter at this point in their development. His best quality might be his motor as he rarely gets out worked on the floor.

Kendall Griffin-6'5 SG Strong shooting guard who shoots the ball very well. Good defender and took his game to the next level when he started rebounding hard. High majors are on Griffin's trail.

Torrey Nibbs-6'1 PG Great athlete that is still developing into a true PG. He is quick and strong which have attracted all the college coaches.

Eric Harris-6'2 PG Long, athletic point guard that plays at the powerhouse Lawrence North. He is very good off the dribble.

Dwight Cliff-6'5 SF Powerful wing who can shoot the outside shot. Still developing into a true perimeter player vs. the good players. Lots of potential.

Jordan Hahn-5'10 PG A smart point guard from New Castle...what a surprise. He is a true point guard that always wants to do what is best for the team. Sometimes he needs to look to shoot more.

Tyler Greathouse-6'8 PF Tyler will develop into a 3 on the next level. He can shoot the ball like a guard. Huge potential.

Colin Bowles-6'7 SF Developing into a big time player. Still very raw but plays under a great coach at Franklin Central so my money would be on the high major side.

Robbie Dickinson-6'3 PF Great kid who is also a football player. Developing outside shot so he can play on the perimeter more.

Matt Howard-6'5 PF Somehow didn't play much for his high school team. He has a good and still developing outside shot basically automatic from the mid-range. Should be a college player just a matter of what level right now.

Solid team. I will have lots of updates from tournaments this year with some break downs of other teams.

Final Four

The Final Four is set. UCONN, UNC, Michigan State, and Villanova. A pretty unlikely foursome. Most probably had UCONN and UNC as they have been at the top of the rankings all year, but Nova and MSU really sneaked up on me. I really did not watch Nova much this year for some reason. I believe they were on tv a decent amount since ESPN covers The Big East like no other. Michigan State has been improving every game basically since the start of the year due to youth but most injuries. Tom Izzo is a great coach and I really hope he doesn't make the move to Kentucky.

I did not get to watch the Sunday games because we had aau practice. We had a double session since some people have a far ride. It would be pointless to drive down for a 2 hour practice and drive for 5 hours. We are ranked 8th in the nation by some website. Obviously that has about zero credibility. I would say we could be in the conversation for the top 25 though. Looks like they just took the end of the year rankings last year and put them up for this year.

Past Predictions

Everyone makes predictions on television but they are rarely held accountable for their predictions. People forget that so and so picked Georgetown to win the national title this year. They forget so and so said Notre Dame will make the final four. So, I decided to look back on some of my predictions I made in November.

Michigan State..."Michigan State will win the Big Ten Conference regular season..."

It looks like I nailed this one. Here is another thing I said about MSU..."I expect Michigan State to be in the top 10 range nationally all year. They might not be a top 5 team, but somewhere right outside of that."

Their #2 seed would put them just outside of the top 5. Looks like I got that one.

Wisconsin

"Wisconsin will be solid this year of course. I would predict they will be in the 15-20 range in the national polls all year."

Here I was a little bit off as they were basically just outside of the top 25 most of the year after they went on a 4 game losing streak. But I was pretty close.

Those are a just a couple. I didn't do a full breakdown of all the Big Ten teams. I said Michigan would get some wins that they weren't expected to get due to their 1-3-1...you can ask Duke and UCLA about that. I picked Manny Harris for my Big Ten player of the year. I still think he is the best player in the league.

Feel free to look through and see if you can find any predictions I was way off on...good luck haha

Cutting

Cutting to get open against tough defense is a fundamental of offense. Every player must be able to get open by himself. Some of the keys to getting open to receive the ball one on one are changing your pace. That means you burst or explode into your cut. A second key is change of direction. Most players will try to change direction as their only option and they will start "dancing" to get open which leads to nothing or worse a turnover. To change direction correctly you must make full cuts to the basket. Yet another option is to use angles and your body in a way that is similar to posting up but then releasing to the perimeter to catch the basketball.

To get open using a screen it takes basically the same concepts. Jodie Meeks is the best in college basketball away from the ball. He sets up his cuts while changing his pace and really exploding off the screen. Players like Reggie Miller and Richard Hamilton in the NBA have made livings off being the best at using screens. You do not need to be a great athlete to get open against a great defender. It is about being smart, reading the defender, and using all your weapons to get open.