The Scoop on Basketball Coaching
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| Mike Neri - 3/26/2011 11:40 AM |
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The obvious point about coaches in all sports is that they need talent on the court of the field to win. But a more subtle aspect, which is related to handicapping, is that competent coaches maximize the essential ingredients of winning (teaching, discipline, strategy, running through situations in practice, exploiting matchup edges), while poor coaches often beat themselves. It's important to understand the value of coaching. If Duke's Coach K suddenly was handed the roster of, say, New Mexico and asked to compete in the ACC, it would be a mountain to climb. But a good coach brings many things to the table beyond recruiting talented players. Smart coaches bring discipline, defense and sound fundamentals. They also know how to teach and help develop confidence, which is especially essential with college athletes. Even great coaches at smaller schools can get the most out of their players. We all recall the run George Mason made in 2006 to the Final Four and they did it again this season, winning the Colonial and upsetting Villanova in the Big Dance. Some people think that former UCLA coach John Wooden won because the best players in the country wanted to go to UCLA. This overlooks the fact that he was brilliant coach and teacher. Folks remember the UCLA dynasty that won ten NCAA championships in 12 years and recall the great centers he had in Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton. But people forget that Wooden won NCAA titles before those two arrived on the UCLA campus, and Wooden won after they left. The Bruins won it all in 1975, a year after Walton graduated, which was also Wooden's final year as coach. In the 30-plus years since his retirement, UCLA has a single basketball national title (1995). Wooden was a master at teaching the dynamics of team play and defense. He also ran his players hard in practice so that they were the best-conditioned athletes in the country. Players used to say the practices were tougher than the games, so when they took the court on game night it was easier than that week's practice. Good coaches bring discipline. This means teaching players how to react in every situation on the court. If a team is in tight game, say, tied in the final thirty seconds, a disciplined team doesn't panic, because they've been through it many times in practice. Players will emulate their coach - and a good coach is calm and focused at crunch time. Great coaches know how to teach fundamentals. Their players know how to properly use their feet to play defense, or how to box out under the boards, or how to set a proper pick to unselfishly allow their teammate to get open for a shot. This doesn't happen by accident - it's all a result of proper coaching. How many times do games and point spreads come down to free throw shooting at the end? All the time! When your team is up by five in the final seconds, wouldn't you prefer to have players at the line who are good free throw shooters? You most certainly would if you're holding a ticket with that team at 5½! Defense and fundamental play are essential for teams - and sports bettors - and you'd much rather have fundamentally sound players on your side. Defense is another sign of good coaching. Three of the best in the NBA are San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, Boston's Doc Rivers and first-year coach Tom Thibedeau of the Bulls. Good players are essential to winning, but so are good coaches, and don't overlook what they bring to a team or their importance to winning against the number and with respect to totals! |
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