Pick & Roll Defense

A "Must Master" Part of Your Defense 

With the Pick & Roll being such an important part of all offenses in today's game, it has become imperative to have a consistent and simple defensive plan so your team can go into every game knowing there's a great chance to consistently stop the opponent's Pick & Rolls.

The system has to be sound in the five basic parts of the defense:

1. the player guarding the ball and how he adjusts his position to be the aggressor
2. the player guarding the pick setter so that he is always in the proper position to re-route the ball
3. the communication system
4. the protection behind the two players in the Pick & Roll -- so critical to the success or failure
5. the rotations out of the Pick & Roll action -- but how to keep from having to rotate so that like sizes stay on like sizes

I have seen teams try to employ 5 and 6 different coverages, often resulting in their being average in all of them.  Most detrimental is being tentative because there's no consistency.  

I want to introduce you to the system that most all championship calibre NBA teams employ.  It's the most detailed Pick & Roll Defensive DVD out there, and the beauty is that all levels will find it useful, from high school up to the highest level NBA teams.  It is based on soundness, simplicity and success.

BOOK QUOTE

"Pratice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better"

BY: by Doug Lemov, Erica Woolway, and Katie Yezzi

"The enemies of practice are pride and fear and self-satisfaction. To practice requires humility. It forces us to admit that we don’t know everything. It forces us to submit to feedback from people who can teach us."

What Separates "The Best" from "The Rest"

Observations from Training Camp

One of my favorite books is Training Camp by Jon Gordon.  Whenever I speak to groups -- whether basketball or corporate -- I tell them this is a "must read" for players and coaches, and from young grads to corporate leaders.

I'm writing this late at night after two days in Istanbul, Turkey, with our Boston Celtics team at Training Camp for the upcoming NBA season.  The NBA has a great program that sends different teams to compete against pro teams from other countries.  It's not only about competition, but also about sharing of the game with kids over here. (another of the many NBA initiatives that's not always known by the public but is such an important part of what the NBA believes in.)

Since we're in the midst of training camp, I thought it would be appropriate to share a passage from Jon's book:

"Because if you want it you’ll be willing to pay the price and invest the time, energy, sweat, and dedication that greatness requires. People think it’s all about talent. But talent isn’t enough anymore. Everyone here has talent. It’s about infusing talent with heart, soul, spirit, and passion. It’s about doing the things that make the best of the best better than everyone else. And these things have nothing to do with talent."

Principles of Leadership

To help you be, know, and do, follow these eleven principles of leadership (U.S. Army, 1983). The later chapters in this Leadership guide expand on these principles and provide tools for implementing them:

1. Know yourself and seek self-improvement - In order to know yourself, you have to understand your be, know, and do, attributes. Seeking self-improvement means continually strengthening your attributes. This can be accomplished through self-study, formal classes, reflection, and interacting with others.
2. Be technically proficient - As a leader, you must know your job and have a solid familiarity with your employees' tasks.
3. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions - Search for ways to guide your organization to new heights. And when things go wrong, they always do sooner or later — do not blame others. Analyze the situation, take corrective action, and move on to the next challenge.
4. Make sound and timely decisions - Use good problem solving, decision making, and planning tools.
5. Set the example - Be a good role model for your employees. They must not only hear what they are expected to do, but also see. We must become the change we want to see - Mahatma Gandhi
6. Know your people and look out for their well-being - Know human nature and the importance of sincerely caring for your workers.
7. Keep your workers informed - Know how to communicate with not only them, but also seniors and other key people.
8. Develop a sense of responsibility in your workers - Help to develop good character traits that will help them carry out their professional responsibilities.
9. Ensure that tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished - Communication is the key to this responsibility.
10. Train as a team - Although many so called leaders call their organization, department, section, etc. a team; they are not really teams...they are just a group of people doing their jobs.
11. Use the full capabilities of your organization - By developing a team spirit, you will be able to employ your organization, department, section, etc. to its fullest capabilities.

Article Link: Concepts of Leadership

Coach K: Leading With the Heart

“During the season, your team should be led with exuberance and excitement. You should live the journey. You should live it right. You should live it together. You should live it shared. You should try to make one another better. You should get on one another if somebody’s not doing their part. You should hug one another when they are. You should be disappointed in a loss and exhilarated in a win. It’s all about the journey.”

X&O NOTEBOOK UPDATES

Tates Locke: Williamsburg Visit

Thanks to Coach Tates Locke for coming up to see us 

and workout some Raiders and City High players.