THE TRUTH ABOUT REBOUNDING

"Simple truth of all great rebounders: they go after more! Logic states the more you go after the more you are likely to get!"

- Kevin Eastman

SOME WISDOM ON REBOUNDING...

Rebounding is:

1.) Athletic ability

2.) Effort

3.) Basketball IQ

And 2 & 3 can make up for 1

(thanks Coach Cooley)

How Significant Are Rebounds?

The top 20 rebounding teams in the Nation win over 80% of their games.

3 Important Principles of Rebounding:

#1 Assume that every shot will miss.

No matter what, box out your opponent on every single shot as if the shot will miss. Doing so will put you in a better position to rebound if the shot does miss.

#2 Use Two & Two

Rebound with two feet and two hands. Don’t just stand and wait on the ball, or even stand and reach for the ball. Instead, you need to jump up to the ball and snatch it out of the air.

#3 Understand Rebound Angles & Distance.

70% of the time, a missed shot from the wing or corner will come off the rim opposite the shooter (opposite side of the court).

A shot taken from 20 feet away, will usually be rebounded 10 feet from the glass. The rule is half the distance of the shot.

Check out previous post about “Dead Time”

WHAT DOES A REBOUND REPRESENT?

One of the most unglamorous parts of basketball is rebounding, yet there is a direct correlation between rebounding and winning. Rebounding is also a great way for a player to create a niche for herself on a team. Maybe you can’t dribble the ball exceptionally well or possibly you’re not a good shooter – but if you dominate on the boards, the coach will always find playing time for you.

First and foremost, let’s understand what a rebound represents – an extra possession for your team… and one less possession for your opponent! In a 32 minute game, every possession truly does make a difference. It doesn’t matter if it’s a defensive rebound or an offensive rebound, you have just given your team a possession that they may not have otherwise received.

Excellent rebounding teams usually win because they have a greater number of possessions than their opponent. It means they have more opportunities to score while their opponents have less.

But rebounding isn’t easy.

A good rebounder has to mentally strong and physically tough. Going to the boards is a very demanding job. It gets extremely physical inside with a lot of bumping and pushing. Some players don’t mind going to the boards occasionally, but the good rebounder is tough and not only does she not mind the contact, but she relishes it. She loves not only to receive the contact but likes to dish a little out as well. Mentally she knows the importance of rebounding and she blocks out any aches and pains. Mentally she also makes sure the contact doesn’t go too far. She wants to bang with her opponent but not to the extent that she draws a foul.

- Coach Starkey

A FEW THOUGHTS ON REBOUNDING

Most players and coaches have a tendency to look at rebounding in terms of total rebounds, and view rebounding as a single endeavor. However, offensive and defensive rebounding are entirely two very distinct basketball techniques that must be addressed and perfected separately.

While offensive rebounding is mainly an individual effort requiring agility and movement, defensive rebounding relies mainly on positioning and strength. Defensive rebounding also requires a total team effort. However, offensive and defensive rebounding do have four things in common:

1. Anticipating a missed shot

2. Determining rebounding location

3. Flight time effort

4. Determination

HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT?

Rebounding is not about size, rebounding is about effort and desire. When a shot goes up, there are 10 players on the court looking for that ball, the player that wants it the most is going to come up with it. That's what rebounding is about.

4:13

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF "DEAD TIME"

DEAD TIME is the time it takes for the ball to leave a shooter's hand until it gets to a position where it can be rebounded.  This normally takes 2 to 3 seconds.  What players do, or do not do, during this Dead Time period will determine their success or failure in rebounding. 

Dead Time is when the great players excel.  Instead of watching the flight of the ball, much like a great outfielder, they anticipate a missed shot and immediately move to the area where the ball is most likely to rebound and establish inside position.  Before you can rebound the ball, offensively or defensively, you need to know where to rebound it. 

Rebound location is dependent on THREE factors:

 The angle from the basket

 The shot distance

 The shooter's touch.

Basically, the majority of the time, the rebound will occur on the side opposite the shooter.

Shot Angles:

On a shot from the wing the ball will bounce to the opposite side approximately 70% of the time. A few shots will bounce directly back toward the shooter or hit the edge of the rim and deflect straight down.

Low angle shots from along the base line because of the backboard have a much narrower range. However, the percentages are about the same as a shot from the wing.

Shots taken from the top of the circle area are much more difficult to read since they involve a much wider range.  In addition to being short or long, rebounders must determine if the shot is traveling directly to or is to the left or right of the basket.

Shot Distance:

Normally, the longer the shot, the further away from the basket it will bounce.  The shooter's touch will also have an impact on the distance of a rebound.  A shot with high arc and back spin will hit in paint while line drive type shots will rebound further away from the basket. 

Be alert for "Air Balls" and be the first to get to them.

For being a small team, we are doing a great job of rebounding this season. Keep up the good work!

4:13

REFUSING TO LOSE

Many of you have seen this picture on one of our pre-game motivational papers, but it wasn’t just a fluke picture.  This was the way this guy played the game…every night!

Came across this article this morning and thought it was worth mentioning.

When asked recently about similarities between his Lakers team this season and the Bulls teams he coached in the 1990s, Phil Jackson had this to say:

"I don't know if we have the same ruggedness that we had, that was brought to the team by Dennis Rodman.  He had that character where he was going to . . . lay his body on the line, dying to get the ball back, dying to defend.  It just wasn't in their makeup to lighten up.  They wanted to work.  They liked to work. . . . This team is learning how to do that every-night action it takes in the NBA to win."

For those of you that never had a chance to see Rodman play, it wasn’t unusual for him to get 20 to 25 rebounds in a game due to his aggressiveness going after a rebound.  He truly believed that EVERY rebound was his.  On defense, he would routinely taunt offensive players…daring them to get past him. 

When a team has a tough player like that, a player that "refuses to lose" it ignites a fire that quickly spreads to the rest of the team and makes an average team into a legendary team.

EXCELLENT REBOUNDERS ARE.....

Maybe one of the most unglamorous parts of basketball is rebounding, yet there is a direct correlation between rebounding and winning. 

Rebounding is also a great way for a player to create a niche for herself on a team.  Maybe you can’t dribble the ball exceptionally well or possibly you’re not a good shooter – but if you live on the boards, I think the coach will find playing time for you.

First and foremost, let’s understand what a rebound represents – a possession!

That’s critically important.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a defensive rebound or an offensive rebound, you have just given your team a possession that they may not have otherwise received.

Excellent rebounding teams usually win because they have a greater number of possessions than their opponent.  It means they have more opportunities to score while their opponents have less.

Excellent rebounding teams usually win because they shoot a higher percentage.

They shoot better because they rebound which leads to fast break opportunities.  They shoot better because they get second chance opportunities on the offensive glass which often leads to a follow up shot from close in.

Excellent rebounding teams usually win because they hold their opponents to a lower field goal percentage.  They do this by keeping them from getting out and running consistently.  They also take away the second chance points on the opponent’s offensive end.

Excellent rebounding teams usually win because they get to the free throw line more.

They get to the free throw line more because of extra possessions they create for themselves as well as the ones they deny their opponent.  How many times do you see a fouling situation occur on an offensive rebound put back?

Excellent rebounding teams usually win because they have more heart.

It is heart that is the primary ingredient in good rebounding and if you play with a big heart on the glass, then it is probably going to spill over to the defensive end of the court as well as the offensive end.

A big part of rebounding is obviously technique – both individually as well as a team.

The individual that excels in rebounding has a special blend of physical and mental characteristics that allows her to help her team on the boards.  She plays with a warrior mindset with one goal in mind…to get the next rebound!  It’s more mental than physical.

A good rebounder is a well-conditioned athlete.

Rebounding is one of the most tiring phases of basketball if a player is truly committed to rebounding.  The pace of the game already makes is a demanding game but the good rebounder is going hard to the glass on every shot – and over the course of the game, that’s a lot of shots.  So the good rebounder is going to understand the importance of conditioning.  She is going to work hard with the team during conditioning and probably do a little on her own as well.  She must be tireless in her approach.

A good rebounder is physically strong.

Because the good rebounder knows she must sometime move through people as well as over them.

This doesn’t mean she has to be big and muscle bound but she knows she must have the strength necessary to hold off her opponent when she is blocking out.  She has to work hard, more than the average player.

A good rebounder is mentally and physically tough.

Going to the boards is a very demanding job.  It gets extremely physical inside with a lot of bumping and pushing.  Some players don’t mind going to the boards occasionally, but the good rebounder is tough and not only does she not mind the contact, but she relishes it.  She loves not only to receive the contact but likes to dish a little out as well.  Mentally she knows the importance of rebounding and she blocks out any aches and pains.  Mentally she also makes sure the contact doesn’t go too far.  She wants to bang with her opponent but not to the extent that she draws a foul.

Good rebounders are smart players.

You have to be smart to read where the rebound will likely go off the rim on a missed shot…especially one shot by your opponent.  The smart player can anticipate when and where her own team will shoot.  She makes mental notes on opponents and understands their tendencies in terms of how she can best get around them and get to the backboard.

Good rebounders have a rebounding mentality.

I’ve never seen a good rebounder that didn’t think every shot was a miss.  When the ball is shot, they know that ball is not going in and they follow it’s path and try to make a read as to where it will come off.  Part of that special rebounding mentality is they have a great hunger to rebound.  The good rebounder loves to rebound more than she loves to score.

Good rebounders are relentless.

Good rebounders have a strong desire to rebound – they are relentless.  They go to the boards to try and grab the rebound.  If they can’t grab the rebound, they are going to work as hard as they can to try and get their hand on the ball where the can tip to themselves or to a teammate.  If they get bumped, they recover and keep going.  If they get knocked down, they hustle up.  They are not going to let anyone or anything stop from going to the glass.

OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING

Each player on the court has a specific role that she must fill in order for our team to be successful.  This is true when we shoot the ball.   Once the ball is shot, you have one of two responsibilities: crash the offensive boards or sprint back on defense. 

The worst thing you can do is stand and watch.