Spot Starts

Whelp this season continues to get worse.  Definitely the least enjoyable season I have ever watched my son play, but part of that, well actually the whole thing is coaching.  He got to start 2 games in a row due to suspension and he was told that he would be in the starting lineup depending on situation, but...  It seems coach has found someone else to start and he is back on the bench.  It's cool that he got the start, but we lost both games, on the road.  That may play a small part in it, one game an opposing player scored 50 points, and E guarded him for about 21 of those points, but they were pretty much all jumpers, most off the dribble and sometimes he had 2 or 3 hands in his face.  He certainly deserved the 50 (well actually 49 because one of the officials called a 2 a 3).  The second game we lost by 40, and I called it 12 minutes into the contest, sadly.

The other team ran and ran like crazy and we never got back.  Now to me that is game plan, you have to know how a team wants to play going in, and try and take away what they want to do and we didn't.  So we lost.  By 40.  This was actually the OVAC first round and we ended up as the 3rd seed, which was a little surprising, but Sophie was upset because now we have to have a concession stand on Friday.  I mean it's like we didn't realize there was more work on the line for Sophie, come on boys you could have played harder.

Anyway so now we are playing at home against the Team that E got his first start against (see earlier post).  This time however, he won't start.  Not because he hasn't played well or done his job, but well I don't know why.  Last time we were missing the tall kid, this time our point guard is out, but we won last time and if you were going to give him the start then, wouldn't it make sense to start him now?  Honestly this season is so hard to figure out, but I knew he wouldn't start.  And it isn't like him starting the last 2 games is the difference, the other kid who would start also started the last two games due to suspensions.  I'm guessing we lose by 5, E says it will be over double digits.

Update: we lost by 6, but were down 12-1 after 1.

Back to the Bench

Welp that lasted all of two starts.  Now one of the boys who was done for the season may not be done and as much as I want my son to start, I don't want to sound like someone down playing another person's motivation or ability to play or the risk, but... If the answer to what you have done to yourself is to have something surgically repaired, putting it off for the glories of high school basketball may not be worth it.  Now there is something to be said for gutting it out and I could understand if we were undefeated and had a shot at all the championships and stuff, but we are 9-7 right now, can't win the buckeye 8, probably won't make the OVAC top 4, and in all likelihood unless something drastic with the coaching philosophy changes we are probably headed for an early exit in the sectionals.  So unless you were playing for a scholarship or maybe a school record, which I don't think either are on the line, it's probably best to pack it in and call it a career.  Now would I tell my own son this. abosolutely.  There is basically nothing to be gained and a life full of potential pain or limited range of motion in one arm on the line.  You only get to do this life one time, and you only have the body you were born with so you need to take care of it.  That is my advise, just kind of unfortunate what has happened and how it might play out.  E has also had an ear infection and missed the last game so he might have gotten bumped from the lineup anyway.  Hopefully he can still play and contribute.

Update:  Well the boy with the injured arm is done, but not without the coach asking him to stay.  Insert eye roll.  So E missed one game due to an ear an infection and the coach held him out the entire first quarter even though we were losing 12-6 at one point.  Must have been concerned for his well being even though the boy with the shoulder problems missed 2 straight games, and came right back into the starting lineup and played probably about 25 minutes.  Oh and the one kid who missed a week and a half with ham string issues came right back to the starting lineup and played damn near every minute of two back-to-back losses of 30+ and 20+.  Honestly I have no clue what this guy watches during games and his main assistant is about a joke.  Oh the game we were behind, when E came in we went on a 7-2 run and got the lead, now he didn't score, but tell me that he didn't make a difference.

Defensive Basketball Tips

So I saw a video on line and while I agree with some of the concepts there are other that I think are wrong.  Defense for basketball is one of the hardest things to get right, but oh what a difference it can make if you understand defense.  For one it is difficult to practice, everyone can dribble and shoot on their own but no one works on defense by themselves.  A lot of times we give credit to people for being "good" defenders when they are simply very active and maybe even fast, but don't necessarily use correct or good technique.  Plus how often do you hear when watching a game that a player is a fantastic positional defender?  Not exactly the flashyist comment is it?  So let's start with the very basics.

BASICS

See the ball - never turn your back to the basketball especially on defense.  good offensive players will take advantage.
Try to keep your back to the basket.
Stay between your person and the basket.
Bend your knees and keep your butt down, hands out when in a stance.
Slide your feet - basically don't cross your feet or a good offensive player will go right by you.

So that is what I try to get my elementary kids to do to start with.   If you master these concepts you at least aren't a space cadet on the defensive end.  So then how do you become a "good" defender?

MODERATE

Talk - always communicate with other players about where the offense is and any screens.
Ball - you - man - This concept keeps you in a position where one - you see the ball and the person you are guarding, and two - you are in a position to defend a pass to your person.
Know personnel - this is a little higher level concept, but if you are guarding a shooter you need to be close to that person if they are away from the basket.  If someone is not a great shooter you don't have to guard them that closely away from the basket.  This will also determine if you need to try and get over screens (good shooter) or can go under a screen (bad shooter).
When trying to block a shot be the second person off the floor.  If you don't do this you will constantly be falling for fakes and be out of position.

HIGHER LEVEL STUFF BUT REALLY SHOULDN'T BE

When guarding a right handed player you should challenge a shot with your left hand.  This is a concept that is lost on players or never taught to them, but makes sooooo much sense.  If you try to block a shot with the right hand on a right handed player, your entire body has to rotate or slide over to where you are no longer if front of the player.  If they faked the ball and you bit on the fake they will be able to go left with very little resistance because you are horribly out of position.  This is why left handed players have an advantage because their instinct is to block the shot with their strong hand and it happens to line up with right handed players, so they are able to stay in front of the offensive player the entire time without getting badly out of position.  Sometimes it is hard to tell if a left handed player is good at defense, because they have a natural advantage.
Never try to steal the ball from a good ball handler when the ball is in their hands.  They are too good at dribbling and by waving your hands your feet will stop moving or you will get off balance and they will expose you.  Be patient against a good ball handle and be content to make them work hard or travel the furthest path to the basket.  "You reach, I teach" is a favorite motto of good ball handlers.
Keep your hands at ball level.  If a player is dribbling you don't have to worry about blocking a shot so your hands shouldn't be up in the air.  You should be worried about them passing the ball, though.  If they are dribbling hands should be out, palms up.  If they have the ball in a triple threat, hands should be out to the side preferably with the hand to guard the shot forward towards the ball handler.  If they raise the ball to shoot or pass, the defenders hands should go up.  If they have already used their dribble, you can move in extremely close so that passing angles are taken away, just don't get beat on a back door or give and go, you still have to stay on balance and in front of the offensive player.
When there is a lot of distance between you and a ball handler you should flatten out.  If you have a shooting hand forward (and by extension a foot forward) a good offensive player will attack the front foot to get you to open your hips.  So if you don't give them a direction they have to pick a direction and you can easily slide over and take a charge if they drive at you.  Ideally by being flat (both feet the same distance from the ball handler) the ball handler will stop their forward progress and you can assume a more natural defensive stance.  If they are still coming at you while flat they will have to take a much wider path in order to make it around you without charging.  At that point you should have help or be able to easily drop back to pick them up. Always start to their strong hand and if you can, keep the ball centered on your body from a position stand point.  This is where quicker defenders have an advantage.
When guarding the ball prior to a dribble keep the foot forward that matches up with their shooting hand.  So for a right handed shooter you want your left foot towards the shooter, but outside of their stance or at least outside the ball.  The reason for this is, if they still try to drive right, they have to go around your foot which will give you a chance to drop your hips and still be in front of them on a drive.  Ideally they will be forced to go left, but if they pull up for a shot you will be directly on their shooting hand.  The key thing here is to not switch which foot is forward with out the ball handler committing to dribbling in that direction on a hard drive.  If they are just sliding right or left you want to slide with them but still in a position to challenge the shooting hand.  Why move your right foot forward to keep someone from going left if they shoot right handed?  They will be able to shoot right over top of you because you aren't in a position to block or challenge the shot effectively.