My son's a HS player. I want to understand the game better beyond being a typical knowledgeable spectator. I want to get a better understanding of offenses, defenses, strategy. I figure I can check out some coaching books/videos, but I'm looking for any leads/suggestions folks here might offer. And, no, I can't help coach his team or anything like that; no time. But I want to understand things better.
I would eat sleep and breathe basketball. This is the perfect time of year to become a "student of the game." I suggest trying to watch as much basketball as you can, especially paying attention to the analysts. (I know, a lot of them are annoying, but you can once in a while get some good information.)
Pay attention to the offense's spacing, and how the defense reacts when not playing man to man, and how the offense attacks the zone.
Another thing, if you're so inclined, is to go to the rec center or somewhere with a basketball court nearby, and play. I learn the most from playing, and if you can recognize things you see on television on the court, you're doing pretty good.
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I took a coaching basketball class at the local university. On the media print the head coach was supposed to teach the class, but the assistant coach wound up teaching it. It was the best basketball knowledge move I ever made. By the end I felt I could coach at the high school level. the guy brought in videos of the game they were going to play that week and actually broke them down for us. I think he was killing two birds with one stone, but hey it worked great. We watched videos of everything from the layola marymount, unlv, unc days etc. it was great. He definately brought up my knowledge and I got an A.
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Chris,
In line with Ninja's suggestions about zone defense, a really quick thing to pick up may be to try to determine what types of defenses you see. A zone is really easy to notice from the bleachers or TV. Obviously, the defensive players aren't chasing their man around, they're covering a zone.
A 2-3 is the most common zone. In a 2-3, 2 players guard the perimeter (generally above the 3-pt line), while the other 3 players guard along the baseline. That's what Syracuse is famous for running. Watch them this week in the Big East Tournament on ESPN/ESPN2 for a good example of zone defense. In contrast, watch Lousville, in the Conference USA Tournament to see some full court press and the type of reaction it causes in the offense. You can get schedules for games on ESPN.com.
I also suggest you go play, or at least watch people play.
This is a great time of year to learn, because there will literally be games on every night for the next month between conference tournaments, the NIT, the NCAA Tourney, and the NBA. Ninja and von hayes seem pretty knowledgeable. Feel free to ask specific questions as they come up. We'd be more than glad to help.
I love BBall, and wish that this time of year came more often.
Watched all of the Big 12 tournament games today, plus some Big East games. More Big 12 tomorrow, plus the state high school basketball tournament is right next door with the top team in the country and my alma mater in the Final Four. But the fun truly begins on Sunday at 5.
I hope we helped you out Chris, and keep asking. If there's one thing I could do, it would be to talk sports and sports strategies all day.
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Quoth David Banner: "Like a pimp"
It's not a beer belly. It's a gas tank for a sax machine.
Ninjabookey,
You sound like the man I need to get with on my NCAA tournament bracket. I've been in the pool for 20 years at work and never one a dime. Check in Sunday night and let's talk.
Good advice all, guys. My son, Robb, has been watching NCAA as much as he can. I'll try to catch as much as I can with him from here on out. I do watch some extra local league games on occassion, and Robb is starting on an AAU team this week, so I'll still be watching games, but different teams and coaches (I'm not sure his HS team is particularly well coached, but I can't say for sure; maybe I'm just ignorant). However, when I coached soccer, I knew practically nothing about the game and strategies, but I was able to get my team to win (and have fun doing it). So, I think I can figure out aspects of the game to some degree in a "seat of the pants" fashion. I just want to be able to really understand the best I can, and articulate it as well, since a lot of the aspect of the games surely have names to it them and are already identified and known.
Maybe auditing a class at the U would be possible, too.
Here's to my Alma Maters (Providence Friars and St. Louis Bilikens!!) and Robb's perennial favorite (Duke)!!
How tall is your son, what position does he play and how good is he? He could land a college scholarship if he plays his cards correctly. AAU teams are the easiest way to get noticed.
Hey Chris, don't know if you're even monitoring this thread anymore, but here's a suggestion for next year: join a public fantasy basketball/college bb league! You will gain an amazing knowledge of stats and players, which really helps in getting involved in the game.
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