Articles & Resources

by Steve Scalzi

Dean Smith had a philosophy that a basketball program's
responsibility in the off-season is to the individual, and in season, every member's collective responsibility is to the team.  Clearly, working on one's body and skill set, or having a player-centered focus in the off-season, ultimately is an expression that helps the larger whole actualize it's potential when it matters most.  But, Dean Smith believed so deeply in his responsibility to the individual that he had a reputation for selflessly advising and aiding his players through the NBA Draft process.  Standing to benefit if an All-American were to return to school, Smith would instead send twenty-five first rounders to the NBA, five of which would be Rookie of the Year. 

This philosophy brings to mind the plethora of ways a player can improve himself through the off-season.  Much of what BSMPG
offers are cutting edge philosophies and dialogue to jump start a player's physical and mental maturation albeit through nutrition, treatment, or training both on and off the court.  In earlier articles we spoke about the need to train with the game in mind, and Art Horne spoke at length of The Talent Code and the lessons one can take away when engaging in deep and mindful practice.

Horne raises an interesting argument acknowledging the shortcomings of summer pick-up games on collegiate campuses.  As
college coaches must maintain a hands-off approach in the summer time, the quality of games can suffer, poor habits can be instilled, selfish play can rule the day, and a risk of injury always exists.  I, on the other hand, place high value on summer pick-up games recognizing, much like Dean Smith, the off-season is for the good of the player, in-season all is for the team.

In my initial article Training with the game in mind, I argued for a clear understanding of how a particular exercise in the weight
room relates to improving your overall game. In the case of summer pick-up, I see no difference.  There needs to a clear understanding of its actual value to the development of the player. Can pick-up reinforce bad habits? Of course.  If players were always fundamentally sound, college coaches would be out of a job.  Risk of injury?  Well, that risk exists in every corner of life.  Does it promote selfish play? Perhaps.  With maturity, a veteran group can grow out of the cattiness. 

It's greatest value lies in what it reveals.  Plato's famous quote
says it all, "you can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." This speaks volumes about the opportunity pick-up presents.  Players learn a little something about each other.  Who can they attack?  Who can they trust to make a play? Who will be competitive enough, despite the summer heat, a questionable foul call, a previous argument about the score, plans later in the evening, or any other "obstacle" under the sun to make game changing plays.  In the end, if a player is expected to make a game winning shot in-season, he needs to have made dozens of game winning shots in the summer time. You can't tell me there isn't some form of a correlation.  What happens in the instance where a player is picked last?  Does that not resonate
with them? Perhaps drive them and shape their latter workouts, training, and desire?

There are intrinsic elements of pick-up that have value.  First off, players love to play.  Its simple, but cannot be overlooked.  Whether coming out of your ideal offensive system, or the mosh pit possessions that pick-up can be, players love to go at each other.  Allow them to embrace this and take some pride in merely competing. Second, its a chance to put them in positions of pressure all year long.

At Northeastern University, our senior class instilled a rule in which the player who scores on game point must follow the game-winner
with a made free throw whether fouled or not. Step to the line and follow your game winner with another one. If you miss- play on. Lastly, defense calls fouls. I've discovered no better way to clean up the quality of pick-up games than to put accountability into
the defense's hands. Sounds counterintuitive, but the game regulates itself. Drive to the hoop and your hacked? Big deal. Be physical on the other end and you're even. There are no opportunities to alpha-dog a freshman with mysterious foul calls. The intensity of competition instantly picks up.

Are the game conditions, efficiency and team play less than ideal in summer pick-up? No question. But a lot can be learned from
playing with your teammates. Like any training or practice players can't simply talk about it, they have to be about it. They can't go through the motions. Do it right and recognize it's value. Allow teammates to challenge each other and enjoy doing something they might not be able to do forever- merely play the game.

by Art Horne

Like many coaches and athletic trainers, finding time to relax and devour a novel is a real luxury and one that I don’t overlook.  For those that can’t find time, I hope the summary below of Daniel Coyle’s The Talent Code provides a glimpse into his work and its relationship to basketball. 

Deep Practice

Throughout the book, Coyle travels to “hotbeds” around the world where masters of skill have evolved to dominate their sport and particular skill.  Coyle recounts his travels to the Spartak Tennis Club in Moscow, a club which has produced the likes of: Anna Kournikova, Marat Safin, Anastasia Myskina, Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina, Mikhail Youzhny, and Dmitry Tursunov.

“Walking up, I could see shapes moving behind clouded plastic windows, but I didn’t hear that distinctive thwacking of tennis racquets and balls. When I walked in, the reason became evident: they were swinging all right. But they weren’t using balls.  At Spartak it’s called imitatsiya – rallying in slow motion with an imaginary ball. All Spartak’s players do it, from the five-year-olds to the pros.”

“It looked like a ballet class: a choreography of slow, simple precise motions with an emphasis on tekhnika – technique.  Preobrazhenskaya (the lead coach) enforced this approach with an iron decree: none of her students was permitted to play in a tournament for the first three years of their study.  It’s a notion that I don’t imagine would fly with American parents, but none of the Russian parents questioned it for a second. “Technique is everything.” Preobrazhenskaya told me later, smacking a table with Khrushchev-like emphasis, causing me to jump and speedily reconsider my twinkly-grandma impression of her. “If you begin playing without technique, it is big mistake. Big, big mistake!””

Back to Basketball

This brought to mind my contention with summer pick-up games amongst college teammates.  Many coaches feel the need to have their athletes play these games as way of developing their basketball skills. However, I have encountered not skill development, but instead the exacerbation of knee pain, a continued emphasis of conditioning in the off-season rather than a pure strength focus among the number of problems that go along with summer play.  The main issue in my mind is this: many schools have incoming freshmen attend summer school in an effort to get them up to college speed, attend voluntary workouts and relieve some class load prior to the busy basketball season. With that said, the NCAA does not permit coaches contact with these freshmen until the start of school and thus anywhere from 6-8 weeks of pick-up games (2-3 times a week to be modest) including 6-8 weeks of poor habits are engrained in these young athletes.  Instead of pick-up, I propose that athletes are encouraged to immerse themselves in deep practice where priority on specific skills for specific players would be emphasized.

“For most of the last century, many educational psychologists believed that the learning process was governed by fixed factors like IQ and developmental stages. Barry Zimmerman, a professor of psychology at City University of New York, has never been one of them.  Instead, he’s fascinated by the kind of learning that goes on when people observe, judge and strategize their own performance when they, in essence, coach themselves. Zimmerman’s interest in this type of learning, known as self-regulation, led him in 2001 to undertake an experiment.”

Summary of Experiment:

Question: Is it possible to judge ability solely by the way people describe the way they practice?

• The chosen skill to observe and test was the volleyball serve
• Experimenters gathered volleyball players of all levels and asked them how they approached the serve – goals, planning, strategy, etc, - twelve measures in all.
• They then predicted who would be the best at that skill and then had them execute the serve to test the accuracy of their predictions.
• Result: “90% of the variation in skill could be accounted for by the player’s answers.”

“”Our predictions were extremely accurate,” Zimmeran said. “This showed that experts practice differently and far more strategically.  When they fail, they don’t blame it on luck or themselves. They have a strategy they can fix.”  “Through practice, they had developed something more important than mere skill; they’d grown a detailed conceptual understanding that allowed them to control and adapt their performance, to fix problems , and to customize their circuits to new situations.”

Back to Basketball

How many of your basketball athletes attempt foul shooting with the same organized and strategic approach? Is their routine the same whether alone of in front of millions on TV? How many have a clear goal before they step foot in the gym? How many become upset when that goal is not reached or simply wandered out happy they’ve completed their allotted number for the day?

Repeat it

 “There is no substitute for attentive repetition. Nothing you can do – talking, thinking, reading, imagining – is more effective in building skill than executing the action, firing the impulse down the nerve fiber, fixing errors, honing the circuit.”

“Repetition is invaluable and irreplaceable. There are, however a few caveats. With conventional practice, more is always better: hitting two hundred forehands a day is presumed to be twice as good as hitting one hundred forehands a day. Deep practice, however doesn’t obey the same math.  Spending more time is effective – but only if you’re still in the sweet spot at the edge of your capabilities, attentively building and honing circuits. What’s more, there seems to be a universal limit for how much deep practice human beings can do in a day.  Ericsson’s research shows that most world class experts – including pianists, chess players, novelists, and athletes – practice between three and five hours a day, no matter what skill they pursue.”

Sweet Spot

Can be described as, “that productive, uncomfortable terrain located just beyond our current abilities, where our reach exceeds our grasp. Deep practice is not simply about struggling; it’s about seeking out a particular struggle, which involves a cycle of distinct actions.”

1. Pick a target, 2. Reach for it, 3. Evaluate the gap between the target and the reach. 4. Return to step one.

Back to Basketball

How many of your athlete’s lace up their sneakers thinking about finding the sweet spot? Thinking about pushing themselves to the edge of their own comfort? About failing and then implementing a plan to resolve their failure, then going back and pushing themselves further again?  It’s been said you should try, fail, try again, fail better.  Someday you’ll get it right. There is a clear difference between working on your shot and working on your “post up -up fake - drop step and kiss off the glass while getting bumped by a defender.”  Good players work on their shot; players that get paid work on the latter.

Take Home

1. Master the basics. Technique is king. This is hard in American culture where high flying dunks and trash talk seem to dominate the hard wood. The nice thing about mastering the basics is that it can be done by oneself and does not require another person. Immerse yourself in Deep Practice.
2. Develop a comprehensive plan when approaching skill development: this is most difficult since it requires athletes to first see themselves, and their skill set honestly.  Many avoid post moves because it’s simply not as sexy as the three-point splash. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen big men out in three point land jacking up shots for hours during the summer even though they’ll never get out of the paint during the basketball season.  Your plan must come with honest self-monitoring, goals, strategy, planning and adaptation. Simply “putting up shots” will only make you better at “putting up shots” and never translates to making a mid-range jumper coming off an up screen on an in-bounds play.
3. Enjoy the process. Your athletes need to become comfortable with being uncomfortable. I don’t mean while running a suicide during practice when you’ll yelling at them, I’m talking about pushing themselves to near failure during their own independent skill development time. Pushing themselves to find their sweet spot time after time after time.

Now go get some shots up or get better today.  The choice is yours.

by Art Horne

I received an email from Jim Snider (University of Wisconsin and speaker at the First Annual Boston Hockey Summit )- he's a hockey guy now but he did work basketball when he was at MN so we'll let him slide) just before the July long weekend reminding me to ask myself a few simple, yet overlooked questions prior to the beginning of our summer training program. 

Below you’ll find those very questions.
- Thanks Jim

Questions you should answer when PLANNING:

• where are we in the training calendar?
• what is the technical-tactical nature of the position?
• what are we philosophically committed to?
• what geometric position does his body initiate movement from at the snap, jump or defensive stance?
• what directions might he initiate movement in and in what way might he change his direction?
• what muscles are involved?
• what is the speed of contraction?
• what amplitudes of movement are involved in the work?
• where in the amplitude are the greatest forces generated?
• what percentage of his technical-tactical responsibility necessitates that he overcomes or resists external resistance?
• what is the magnitude of resistance he must overcome or resist against?
• what are the geometric positions of his body when he overcomes or resists against external load?
• over what distances does he cover on average?
• what role do speed, reactive/elastic ability, power, strength, and joint mobility play in the execution of his competition maneuvers?
• how many possessions does he average per game?
• how long is the average play?
• how much time transpires between most plays?
• how might I construct drills to be performed under alactic and aerobic conditions?
• how will I sequence the change and introduction of training stimuli into the training load?
• how will I utilize the time available during the off-season?
• what will the contents of the training blocks consist of?
• how will I regulate the sequence and nature of the bioenergetic training?
• how will I regulate the sequence and nature of the biomotor training?
• how will I structure individual training sessions and consecutive days and weeks of training?

• and the list goes on…

Questions from the Late Dr. Yuri Verkhoshansky.  It is a shame such a great person of influence is gone.

by Steve Scalzi

Close your eyes.  Envision the dreams and aspirations you've held inside of you.  Is it completing a degree?  Sitting on the porch of your dream home?  Leaving the green room to be greeted by David Stern on draft night?  Picture your end goal.  Dwell in the satisfaction of achieving what you've always pushed toward - knowing that the work you've put in has culminated in something truly special. 

Now go backwards.  Envision the previous steps in the process of this ultimate achievement.  Did you complete your degree because of academic diligence?  Was the dream house achieved through sound investing?  How about draft night?  What did you do to separate yourself in the scouting process?  Perform on a big stage?  Compose yourself as Charlie Weingroff, Keith D'Amelio and Mike Curtis suggest? 

Continue to go backwards.  How were you admitted into that academic institution?  What jobs did you hold as you built credit for that mortgage?  How did you build your body and your skill set to be considered an NBA prospect?

Never was this exercise so eloquently narrated and executed than in the Jordan Brand's 2008 Commercial.  Beginning with a glimpse of Michael Jordan's iconic "jumpman" statue outside the United Center, with the Chicago skyline graciously paying homage to its own, Nike takes us on a journey through Michael's life.  Set to the voice of the G.O.A.T., we see recreations of MJ's childhood home, his college dorm room, the legendary Hoops the Gym in Chicago's West Loop, a quiet Laney High School, and lastly Michael's very own trophy room in his home - adorned with the center court Chicago Bulls logo he purchased after the destruction of his beloved Chicago Stadium. 

Through it all, Michael presents us with a series of "maybe's." 

"Maybe it's my fault," he ponders.

"Maybe I led you to believe it was easy, when it wasn't.  Maybe I led you to believe that my game was built on flash, and not fire.  Maybe I led you to believe that basketball was a god given gift, and not something I worked for, every single day of my life." 

Michael challenges the viewer, implying, maybe, just maybe, you're failing to reach my level, because you've failed to recognize the necessary steps... "or maybe, you're just making excuses." 

Too often people have a lofty end goal in mind - clouded by the visions of grandeur, they confuse that goal as the single outcome they're driving toward, failing to recognize that after a degree comes the real world.  Even dream homes have a mortgage, and making an NBA roster doesn't guarantee you stay.  The real daunting task isn't the end goal, its recognizing the world as it truly is.  Knowing your limitations, assessing where you're beginning and understanding what you'll have to do to get to that next step every single day of your life.

When I arrived at Northeastern University at twenty-two years old, I felt so fortunate to be given an opportunity at the Division I level.  After being a student assistant with Boston College basketball, enjoying time in both the Big East and their transition to the ACC, I thought it possible, like many young coaches, I would chase a return to that level for years.  Never did I envision being given an immediate chance upon graduation to build a program in one of the nation's premier mid-major conferences.  I didn't invent the game, I likely won't revolutionize it, I just wanted to be a young coach who soaks up his chance.  Carry no ego and enjoy the ride.  While this may have been a gracious mental approach, at times I was almost apologetic.  Sheepishly wondering how I could be so lucky. 

"Stop wondering how you got here.  Stop feeling lucky to be here. Start figuring out how you'll stay here.  How are we going to build this thing?"

Spoken in my first meeting with our Head Coach, Bill Coen, those words have resonated with me from day one.  I foolishly confused Division I basketball with flash and not fire.  Basketball is not a god given gift.  It's something you have to work for every single day of your life.  As coaches, athletic trainers, and students of the game, we at BSMPG are in a unique position where it is our job to help others arrive at their lofty end goals.  Next time a player says he wants to play in the league, we're in no position to tell him he's naive. That's not for us to decide whether he can.  But we can help him see the reality of the challenge.  Paint the picture as it truly is.  Put him in position to be successful by making sure that when he envisions the end goal, the necessary steps are clearly illuminated. 

Help your players create their own cinematic commercial in their mind, filled with scenes from their lives, the habits, people and places that have influenced their rise to success.  Become a fixture in their images and enjoy where their ride takes them.  Michael challenges us to "become legendary" - this won't happen without a vision.  Not without a sense of where you're going and how to get there.       

by Steve Scalzi

It seems that due to the circus surrounding his recruitment, his departure, and his destination, LeBron James has become one of the most divisive figures in sports.  In April of last season LeBron was one of the most revered personalities in the game, earning himself his first MVP award and seemingly on a collision course to match-up against Kobe Bryant in a classic NBA Finals.

That was never to be.  And my how things can change in one year.  James' 2009 Cavaliers were eliminated by the Orlando Magic starting one of the most interesting downward spirals in recent memory.  Cleveland rebounded from their unceremonious exit to once again seize the best record in the NBA in 2010 and LeBron James had a dominant regular season earning himself his second MVP trophy.  However, as the season wore on, and the media hype surrounding his impending free agency came on strong, all was not well for King James and his Witnesses.  Running into a motivated and healthy Boston Celtics, the Cavaliers were eliminated in the second round despite 61 regular season wins and the uncertainty hovering over LBJ's free agency options loomed.

How he handled the free agency process in July 2010 has put an awfully sour taste in the mouth of most American sports fans.  If you ask me, I jumped off the LeBron James train a year prior and for vastly different reasons.  My qualms have little to do with how he handles himself off the court.  If anything, my biggest qualm with LeBron James is his pre-game behavior.  Every team has its own camaraderie, chemistry, rituals and so forth.  On the surface, the Cleveland Cavaliers of the past two seasons appeared as a tight knit group living their dream scenario - playing with a transcendent player in a city that adores them.  Announcement of the starting lineups was a show in and of itself - players pretending to pose for pictures, go bowling, play charades you name it. 

At first, I loved that an NBA team unabashedly showed their enjoyment of the moment.  They were grown men playing a game, flat out admitting their love for the opportunity.  They would bounce back after tough road trips, pick each other up when knocked to the floor, leave their seat on the bench to cheer highlight plays.  The Cavs seemed like a lovable group and LeBron was the ring leader stamping his seal of approval on the endearing antics.

But when the Cavaliers ran into opponents they couldn't handle, particularly the '09 Magic and the '10 Celtics, those antics changed.  Their demeanor looked almost fearful, sheepish in big moments.  And LeBron, a man who tattooed "Chosen 1" on his own back, ducked from the big moments.  Did he play poorly?  At times.  All teams amidst elimination aren't playing up to their best.  Worse than his performance was the change in his act.  Little pregame goofiness.  Few smiles and encouragement.  The loosest team in the NBA became tight, afraid of clutch spots, and well, virtually leaderless.

The issue isn't that LeBron engaged in goofy pre-game antics or presented himself and the team as loose, yet focused.  The issue I have is that in big moments he completely veered away from this.  An NBA team can win with a multitude of leadership styles.  Can an NBA team be successful with a fun-loving leader?  Let's not forget Magic Johnson.  Can they win with a stone cold killer? 

Kobe Bryant has done a decent job.  A leader who barely spoke?  Hakeem Olajuwon won two NBA titles as such.  An ultra-competitive dictator?  MJ's teammates would say he did ok.

Changing one's leadership style, more specifically, changing one's game face from moment to moment is poisonous to a team's success.  Whether it be a regular season game in December or a playoff match-up in May, LeBron James should not be a chameleon catering his reactions to the intensity of each moment.  Of course, a seven game playoff series brings an entirely different demand on a player's focus and the organization as a whole over a preseason game.  But, I argue the face of a franchise should take ownership of his leadership style, stand firm in his personality, and show the rest of teammates that no matter the moment, they have the same captain at the helm, ready to lead.

This consistency is so key in fact, I believe it should carry over to practice and training sessions.  A player's demeanor and approach should remain the same in virtually all scenarios.  You can't own an ever-changing game face.  Can a leader be the class clown in practice, yet turn serious only in games?  Can a player be rambunctious during competition, yet quietly go through the motions in a weight room?  The inconsistencies create too much uncertainty and in big moments teammates and coaches aren't sure what type of player will show up.  Coaches have a responsibility to harbor and embrace the personalities of their players, to understand the core characters that are coming together to form a team, and create environments where there is consistency in their approach albeit in the weight room, at practice, or in the final minutes of a playoff game.  Consistency in this way is a challenge that only championship teams generally reach.  Miami may offer a loaded roster that trumps his Cleveland team.  But I'm not sure they'll be successful there until LeBron realizes in the past he failed his teammates as much as his teammates failed him.

by Steve Scalzi

It's 6:00am on a summer day.  The air outside is already humid and another scorching hot day is on tap.  Still, the devoted players rise, beat the hustle of the campus life, and arrive at the gym to put their work in.  Dribbling through cones, coming off fictitious screens, going to the foul line with the game hanging in the balance - if only in their mind. 

Coaches and trainers stress the need to practice as one would play.  "Recreate moves at game speed, envision competing and improving under game conditions" they preach.  Operating as though they're in the moment, so when their chance arises, they've already been successful in that very spot. 

But what about while training?  When the court beneath a player is replaced with turf, or their familiar high tops are traded out for Nike Frees, are they still in the arena in their mind?  Counting down the final seconds for a desperation game winner is easy.  But when they're running stairs do they see the value of each rep?  Does each movement on the slide board register as having an important impact in their ability to stunt and recover on the defensive end?  Is it clear to your athletes that an asymmetrical kettle bell lunge is directly related to their ability to gather themselves in transition, take a bump and finish with contact for that game changing basket? 

From a college coach's perspective, when you can't work directly with a student-athlete in the summer time, and technically cannot make workouts a mandatory occurrence, a major concern is not simply that they get in the gym, but that while in the gym players maximize their time.  With summer training occurring 3-4 times a week as a major focus of improving one's game for the fall, I say the notion of game pace and visualizing basketball success is equally important in the weight room as it is on the court.  As a strength and conditioning coach, are your workouts consistent with what will be physically required for their position?  Does each exercise combine as pieces of a puzzle to create a more complete player?  No question the readers of Everything Basketball have well planned workouts and philosophies that prepare a player for success.  However, do the players recognize and understand that running “17’s” leads to the ability to provide one inch of improvement in their chase for a loose ball?  More importantly, are strength coaches consistent with the basketball staff in their terminology and nomenclature inciting visual images of how their training session relates to the game?  Players can go through motions in any workout, meet any bench mark or time required, but doing so and understanding the connections the training has to their overall game, relating specific exercises to intricacies or facets of the game, is priceless. 

This can be simple, or this can be done at a high level.  In our second season at Northeastern University, we took on perhaps the toughest non-conference schedule in the country.  We had merely one non-conference home game and ventured into hostile arenas such as Illinois's Assembly Hall, Maryland's Comcast Center, the Carrier Dome, and Gampel Pavilion.  The summer before, only days after our schedule was released our strength coach, Art Horne already had the images instilled in their minds during tough workouts. 

"Don't stop! Give me three more reps, Maryland's Sea of Red wants to see you fail." 

"Get your hands off your knees.  Don't show the Carrier Dome that you're tired." 

It can be as simple as helping them step into the arena in their mind or it can go further by implementing the coaching staff's terminology. 

"We close out with high hands on their strong hand gentlemen.  Take shot out of their mind as you closeout in this defensive conditioning drill.”

Simply put, some players want to win a sprint our put in max effort out of competitive pride.  Some will complete training sessions just so they're merely finished.  But when a player's mind set shifts from simply completing a sprint, and changes to envisioning success on the court within the context of the game, that's when true improvement is achieved.  As a college coach who has to be quite hands off in the summer, there's nothing greater than trusting a strength coach to drive these elements home.

Matt Cavallaro has worked in the Strength and Conditioning Departments of both Northeastern University and Boston University as an intern and graduate assistant respectively. He currently lives and works in Sydney, Australia as a teacher and coach at Knox Grammar School. He is also the Co-Owner and Head Strength Coach for Athletes United - a training and recruitment service for Australian athletes interested in competing at American universities.

I came to Australia with some interesting perspectives on their state of basketball. Australian players are popping up all over the place in the States with increasing regularity and success. I was curious as to how this faraway country, notable for beaches and kangaroos was becoming a source for some real basketball talent.

In my initial observations of player development I missed out on a lot of really useful information by comparing the Australian system to the US system. I wanted to poke holes in everything that was going on for development of players in Australia simply because it wasn't like the US. I was being the ugly American and it was an obviously flawed way to view the situation.

Australia isn't the US when it comes to sport. This is most clear when looking at the populations of the two countries. The US? Over 300 million. Australia? Just over 20 million (on an island that is nearly the same size as the lower 48). This changes everything.

Australia is a sporting country. There are competitions in nearly every sport at nearly every level. They have just as many professional sports as the US - just that Rugby (league and union) and Aussie Rules Football (AFL) are king, with soccer (similar to the US) creeping up in popularity. Basketball is a secondary sport with a fledgling professional league. There is no real elite-level amateur competition like the Div 1 system in the US. Throw into the mix that basketball isn't offered at most high schools, forcing kids to join a local club, and you have a drastically different system.

My first reaction was that it was a bad system, but really it is just a different system.

So how has Australia been able to produce talent increasingly valuable to US colleges and professional teams?

Similar to my experience with baseball in Australia, another secondary sport here with small relative participation which is increasingly producing players competing in the US at high levels, the government is involved, creating centralized institutes of sport which identify and develop talent. These institutes of sport work to funnel this talent to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and develop Australia's national teams - while farming talent out to the States from these institutes of sport is increasingly becoming effective in many ways to develop talent and maintain participation at the elite levels - a key focus of these institutes.

Again my bias for American sport, especially a love of college basketball, made it difficult for me to understand and appreciate a system which leans so heavily on government involvement and funding. But, looking more closely at the efficiency and effectiveness of the program to identify and develop talent, (a trend that is changing in the US since some embarrassing results in world competitions recently) there is something to be appreciated.

This system is well-developed for a situation where there are relatively few players participating (compared to the US) and often the best athletes are playing other sports. In effect, the government system loosely works like a single university system actively recruiting the best talent and developing players to perform at their version of the 'varsity' level - the national stage.

For coaches, the fingers of the Australian system dips into all of the clubs in that every coach at all levels needs to be certified by a centralized body ensuring a basic quality and continuity of coaching across all situations and all ages. This helps increase the likelihood that a kid trying basketball out for the first time will receive a basic level of coaching. This is important when you have such a small number of participants relative to other sports.

For the players, because there is really no amateur competition to focus your efforts on domestically, these government-run programs get their full attention - very much unlike the US where high school teams and AAU teams are constantly fighting for a player's focus. This allows for clear continuity in the development of players.

In the US, it is often the case that top players come out of high school with many bad habits due largely to playing with multiple coaches in multiple systems. Talent identification and development in the free-market system of the US is ruled by elite players being appeased in their attempts to move on to the next level and coaches focused entirely on winning. The actual development of talent ends up being secondary because tenures in which to display one's talent for players and win for coaches are far too short for development to occur at the elite levels.

In Australia, winning at the club and school level is clearly secondary to being selected and representing these elite developmental programs run and funded by the government. In these institutes coaches are focused much more on the development and retention of talent than on wins. As well, being the only team in town for talented players allows for a talent development program built on the sequential skill-mapping and benchmarking of player development over a significant period of time during a player’s most formative years.

Now I know that there are many coaches out there drooling at the thought of having so much control over the development of players - no more bargaining with AAU coaches and parents desires for their child when you're the only team in town. But, before you book your flights and pack your bags for the Land Down Under, there are also some obvious flaws to the system.

With only one central body ruling over the sport of basketball and offering a pathway to playing basketball at a high level, you end up putting a lot of faith in the development of your sport in a small number of people. In the Australian system, if you don't have the right people driving the system the whole sport falls down.

In the American system, decentralization opens up the market place to different ideas and styles. If one doesn't work, you can move on to the next one - you see this mentality in the high turnover of coaches in the US as winning becomes of increasing importance. This comes down to the euphemism of not putting all your eggs in one basket. You only need to look at the different players that NBA and college teams look for. One system may place a high value on certain types of players and another system focuses on an entirely different type. If you only have one program driving the identification of talent, players may miss out on their best opportunity because they weren't a good fit. Linked to this, with players involved with one system for the majority of their formative years, they can become limited in their styles of play and systems into which they can adapt and contribute.

As well, in this system there is no room for late bloomers or sleepers. When you only have one option, if they make a mistake on a player their chances of achieving elite level becomes miniscule.

Yet the Australian system seems to have identified some of these problems and is openly encouraging and assisting players to go the States to play in the college system. (As many other countries in many other sports have realized, the American college system is a cost-effective way to supplement their own coaching and development of talent.)

Still, I have to return to my first and most important realization about basketball in Australia. Australia isn't America. This centralized system suits the situation in Australia quite well. Again, you only have to look at the increasing number of Australian players making a splash in college basketball to appreciate this.

While such a clearly centralized program is highly unlikely to ever take hold in the US because of the overwhelming numbers of participation and money to be made, there are some changes occurring in the States. USA Basketball, where Mike Krzyzewski and Jerry Colangelo made a distinct effort to work in close accordance over the four years leading up to the Olympics, has certainly begun the process of moving basketball away from a purely free-market in developing talent to gently embracing a more centralized and stable national program. The result of which is the return of USA Basketball to the top of the international food chain.

Also, Krzyzewski was the right choice for the position of national coach for numerous reasons, but in this conversation it is most notably his ability to develop and retain talent over four years - similar in many ways to what the Australian system strives to do. There is a division beginning in college basketball (largely to do with the NBA's 'one year rule') where coaches like Calapari, who can repeatedly bring in the most talented players, are being challenged by programs who embrace the opportunity to develop players of a lesser talent not solely focused on taking their game to the NBA as fast as possible.

Lastly, what really stands out about basketball in Australia is the passion they have for the game. Because, unlike in the US, you often have to seek out the sport to participate in it and there is little fanfare associated with the sport domestically, it is full of people who are truly invested in and passionate about the game. In many ways it is amateurism in a way that America will never again experience in basketball.

by Ray Eady

I was talking to a former colleague (who was also a former collegiate basketball player) and we were debating if basketball was a team sport.  His reply, “Absolutely not, all you need is two all-stars and a decent role player and your team has a good chance of winning.”

Ok, I can understand his argument and we call all agree if you have a couple of “all-stars” on your team in any sport you can improve your chances of winning”.  However, I still believe role players (reserve or bench players) are a key ingredient in the winning process.  In many cases, you cannot become a championship team with just two good players. You need important players who can come off the bench and play quality minutes.

What is considered “quality minutes”?  A few include:

• Substituting for a starter who is injured
• Substituting for a starter that has fouled out of a game
• Substituting for a starter that is having a bad game (it does occur!)
• Giving the starters rest during intense competition
• Helping to provide a momentum shift in competitive games because of renewed “spirit” and “energy”

Others include:

• Preparing the starters during practice
• While on the bench, the good role player keeps their head in the game, and observes what's going on, where the weaknesses are in the defense, which opposing players are a threat, what's happening on the boards, etc.

The coaching staff at the University of Wisconsin constantly stresses to our bench players to "make a difference".  Not just go into the game and run aimlessly up and down the floor, but play hard, hustle and become the “X” factor.
With this understanding, here are a few things I do with my reserve players in the weight room to foster that “X” factor mentality.

1. Assign leadership responsibilities to the reserve players and not solely to the captains, starters or the “best” player on the team. This gives the reserve players some team ownership and keeps them engaged.

2. Have the starters’ partner with the reserve players during training sessions.  This shows that everyone on the team is of equal importance [regardless of minutes played] and that the whole is better than the sum of its parts.

3. Empower your reserve players to make decisions for the team. Once again, this promotes leadership, decision-making, as well as confidence and competitiveness.

4. Constantly give positive feedback.  Positive feedback promotes self-confidence, self-assurance and improves self-esteem. In addition, it shows that you care!

5. Continue to challenge them physically and mentally.  Put them in situations where they have to overcome some adversity. 

6. Recognize their hard work, achievements, and efforts in front of the team.  This develops player credibility.

7. Promote the perception that membership on the team is an honor regardless of role.  Players feel more attached to the team when it makes them feel special.

8. Limit group competitions but incorporate more team competition where success is only achieved by the inclusion of all players.

9. Verbally communicate to the team the importance of role players and their impact on team performance.

10. Most importantly, continue to hold them accountable at all cost!

The good role player realizes that their "time will come". The role player is a special person because most players want to be starters; however, it takes great maturity to be a good role player.

With that being said, I guess basketball really is a team sport!