TechSideline.com Men's Basketball Message Board
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Subject: The reason we keep losing the close ones ! Is there a common thread ?
Posted by: Wythe_Hokie on Wed Dec 3 2008 9:44:36 AM
Message:
For coach SG I beleive the common thread is in the reflected image of a
mirror. If you want to assess blame then go no further than the coach.
When I saw Thorns running around out there the last 6 seconds of the
Wisc. game it became evident to me that he hadn't been coached on what
to do. He wasn't sure if he should have been guarding the ball or if he
should have been dropping back into a defensive posture at the top of the
key.
In football you have the 2 minute drill. A good team should be able to move
the ball the length of the field and score without time outs.
In basketball you have the 2-4-6 second drill. In 2 seconds a pass can be
made the length of the court and caught and a shot gotten off in plenty of
time. You want to cut off the full court pass and leave just enough time get
the ball to half court where the opponent can take a few dribbles and shoot a
very long three point shot. Better yet cut off the half court pass and it leaves
the opponent with an even more difficult shot. Teams will run picks and
screens around the half court area to free up a shot maker. You have to
know how to defend against the picks and screens.
With 4 seconds a team can inbounds safely to a guard have him dribble up
court and still get off a three point shot. I've seen it done where a player can
dribble full court for a layup with 4 seconds but it takes a speedy guard.
More than likely you will be looking at a pull up jump shot from the top of the
key or further out.
Now lets look at what Wisc did with 6 seconds. They made a very safe entry
pass, dribbled to the foul line and shooting over a center and forward made
the game winner with 6/10 of a sec remaining. So where did we make the
first mistake. I believe we took the shot too early. Thorns dribbled up court
very quickly, too quickly. He delays 2 or 3 seconds, we score with 2 or 3
seconds on the clock instead of 6 and we go to overtime. ( I know all this is
easier said than done ). But that wasn't the critical mistake.
By not picking up the ball and even delaying 1 or 2 seconds we give Wisc
the time to advance the ball all the way into the paint. Whats the shortest
route between two points, a straight line. We allowed the dribbler to go
straight to the top of the key, penetrate the lane and get off a foul shot
basically. The easiest shot on the court. The shooter takes one more dribble
and shoots a lay up into double coverage and the clock expires: so the
shooter took the easiest shot he could have taken given the amount of time
on the clock. OR should I say, we allowed, the shooter to take the easiest
shot he could have taken given the amount of time on the clock.
If we pick up the full court dribbler, and pressure him down the sideline,
anywhere but the top of the key, we have a much better chance of them not
scoring. From the top of the key, the dribbler has the option of passing to
either side, and has vision of the whole floor. If we pressure to the tech
bench side of the floor the dribbler has the whole tech bench screaming in
his ear, and he has a longer more difficult shot. If he dribbles to the other
side of the court the clock expires.
Another thing I noticed. Thorns was very unsure if he should have been
pressuring the ball. We had the guards picking up the ball in the backcourt
and the big guys already retreating to defend the basket. I think this is why
Thorns also retreated to the other end not guarding his man.
Replay the tape , have the big men guarding the front court between the half
court line and the foul line, have the #1 and #2 guards putting pressure on
the dribbler, delaying the time to bring the ball into the front court and you
have the shooter taking the three point shot outside the circle over a 6'10"
guy instead of a 5'10" guy inside the foul line.
You may not agree with my analysis but you have to admit we have
no "clear strategy" in these tight game deciding situations. It's something
that has to be coached and as in the game Monday, we were out of
timeouts, the players were not sure what to do, and it showed.
My basic point. It's a lot simpler than football 2 minute drill. The coaches
need to set the players down and say. Look. Here is what we do if its tied up
or we are ahead 1 or 2 or 3 points, the other team has the ball, and there is
2-4-6-8 seconds on the clock.
Wythe_Hokie
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