AVAILABILITY: One of the chief assets of a good player is the ability to play the game constantly available to the ball. A player who is constantly available defuses a lot of potentially troublesome situations, and prevents a lot of teammates' turnovers.
Good players ask themselves constantly, "Can the ball be thrown to me now WITH NO PROBLEM?" Many players have a tendency to "hide" or not come hard to the ball, thereby making passes to them difficult to throw. Or players have a tendency to wait until a teammate is double-teamed and in real trouble before it ever occurs to them to try to help out by running for the ball. A good player will sense the trouble BEFORE it happens.
Good players always expect to facilitate things by being available for a pass-- an easy pass, not a great, needle-threading pass.
Don't wait for the ball to come to you. Always be in a position where the ball can be thrown to you easily. Never stand forty feet from the ball and watch the action. Even when you are cleared out on the weakside, you should still be just a step or two away from the lane, about to break in anytime an opening or opportunity presents itself.
(Thanks Rick Allison, excerpt from Dick DeVenzio’s book “STUFF Good Players Should Know”)
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