FINAL FOUR WEEKEND

The bitter taste of last season's Final Four has lingered for far too long and it's time to remedy that.  News Herald article.

FIRST TWO SELECTIONS ANNOUNCED

Got a phone call from Brad Milner at the News Herald this afternoon informing me of the "official" announcement for the first two athletes to be named to the Freedom All-Star Classic East girl's team....

... Haley Sheffield!  The announcement naming her as one of the first selections will be in the paper this weekend.

Although he didn't mention Megan McDonald (Bethlehem pictured here) this afternoon, he did previously tell me that she will likely be on the team as well.

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CENTER OF ATTENTION

Could a girl steal the show at the McDonald's All-American festivities in Miami this year?  Not since Candace Parker threw down a nasty dunk in the All-Star game has there been this much aniticipation to see the girls game. 

Six-foot-eight Brittney Griner (center, No. 42) is averaging nearly a triple-double for Nimitz High School in Houston, Texas, and is ready to take her game to a national stage.

The teams were announced today for the eighth annual game that will be played in Miami, Fla., on April 1.  

A USED UP DRIBBLE CHANGES EVERYTHING

A used-up dribble changes all the rules of defense. Suddenly, no one needs help, the ball cannot penetrate to the basket, and a pass must be thrown within five seconds.  

That means it is time to climb all over your man. Overplay her so she cannot get to the ball.  If you're guarding the man with the ball, get in her face... and try to force her into throwing a bad pass or an off-balance pass that is rushed.  

Don't double-team a man who has already used her dribble.  Stay on your own man and prevent the pass.  Don't be content to let your man use up her dribble and then just stand there, away from her, as though you still respect her speed and dribbling ability.  When a man has used her dribble, get on her -- all over her (without fouling).

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You Don't Need Tremendous Power For A Lay Up!

One of the main reasons why players have trouble making lay ups is because they have no touch.  No matter if you are going 100 mph to the hoop, or if you are under control off a fundamental jump stop, you must be able to execute an overhand lay up with a soft touch. 

When you begin practicing your lay ups aim for the top corner of the square, however after you master that attempt to shoot them higher and higher off the backboard. 

Live LOW & Watch Your Game GROW

When you begin to execute a lay-up, you must always play the game from low to high.  Too many players play the game stiff legged and fail to tap into their full explosion capabilities because they refuse to play low.  

By playing low you will have better body control and balance, and will be a strong finisher around the basket.  The only time you should be high is when you are exploding to the hoop and releasing your shot to score!

FORCE A MISTAKE, NOT STEAL THE BALL

Forget the idea of stealing the ball from your man.  You can only get the ball from your man if she makes a mistake.  Too many times, trying to take the ball from your man is likely only to get you a foul or throw you off balance, which makes it way to easy to beat you off the dribble. 

Your thinking should be to force a mistake, not get a steal.

Contain your man and force her into a situation she is uncomfortable with. Most players will look to get rid of the ball when they feel pressured.  When you think of stealing a ball, you should think of stealing it from the air.

In other words, think of stealing a pass, not a dribble or a ball being held.

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NEVER FOUL A DIFFICULT SHOT

Game after game players go driving into the basket and get themselves too far underneath or stretched out, and their only opportunity to shoot is some off-balance whirling, loop-dee-loop toss up and then some eager but unwise defender swings at the ball and fouls. 

Don't try to prevent a low percentage shot that you are happy for them to take.  Let them have those crazy low percentage shots.  Whirling, loop-dee-loop throws don't go in that often. But they are constantly fouled.

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EVEN A WIDE OPEN SHOT

Most players, even lazy ones, give the impression they are ready to play good defense during the first five seconds of any defensive play.  As a result, any shot taken after only one pass is likely to be well defended and followed by five players blocking out for the rebound... followed by a fast break.

Two to five seconds on defense, no cuts to guard, no man to chase, no screens to get over or through, no fakes to worry about.  One pass and the shot goes up.  

It should be obvious, when you think about this, that the first-pass shot should be refused -- even if it is a wide open good shot.

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CHASING THE BALL vs. DENYING THE PASS

Watching the boys in the championship game against Emmanuel on Saturday, reminded me of one of the major mistakes teams often make when they are behind late in a game.  

Emmanuel was trying to waste time off the clock by spreading out and playing "keep-away."  They made multiple passes back and forth while our boys scrambled to follow the ball trying to get either a steal or a foul.

If you want to play good defense at the end of a game, you have to make it very difficult -- ideally impossible -- for your man to receive the ball.  The objective isn’t to chase the ball from reciever to receiver as the boys were doing.  Instead, you have to realize that your objective is to prevent the passes in the first place by covering the receivers so well that making the pass isn’t even an option.  

Good players know their job is to prevent perimeter passes in spite of screens and other diversions.  When a team is behind near the end, it takes extra-effot to get the ball back. Don’t chase the ball around the floor, instead, stick to your man and don't allow her to be an option to the passer.  Shut the passing lane down and we will get the ball back.

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#1 CAUSE OF LOSING GAMES

Bad shots, probably more than anything else, lose basketball games, yet bad shots are ridiculously common. Go to any gym and you will see more bad shots taken than good shots.  

Players seem to love taking bad shots.  Winning teams are most often the teams who pass up low percentage shots and wait for better ones.  

What is the difference between a 45% shot and a 60% shot? Not much.  A bit more time.  A step closer in.  A bit more confidence and certainty about getting the best shot possible. 

Look for the "easy" shots...not the low percentage shots the defense wants you to take.  

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Pat Summitt's Team Motto

Tennessee women's coach Pat Summitt on the Lady Vols' motto:

"Our little motto is 'Offense sells tickets, but defense wins games and rebounds win championships.' 

That’s the way we have really taught our philosophy to our young student-athletes.  If you are going to go on the road and be successful, you better play great defense and you better rebound, because shooting is sometimes off.  

Sometimes you’re on and sometimes you are struggling to make shots and the only way you can win in those circumstances is your defense and your rebounding, so we really emphasize those two."

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CAN YOU GET THERE WITH ONE DRIBBLE?

You should learn to score from everywhere with just one dribble. That means, when you get the ball in shooting position (at a distance you can shoot from) you should expect to be able to get to the basket in one dribble.  

It is a matter of wanting to get there in one dribble, practicing (like we have been practicing), and developing the habit of attacking the basket.

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RESIST GOING FOR THE KNOCKOUT PUNCH

Have you ever noticed that good boxers don't miss very often with wild swings?  

Inexperienced boxers are constantly missing with big swings that look like they could knock out an elephant if they connected.  It doesn't pay in boxing to swing wildly or lunge forward and get off balance.  A boxer is too vulnerable when he is badly off balance.  And so are basketball players.  

Good ones don't lunge and get out of position very often.  It is the mediocre player who tries to show the coach she is hustling by making flamboyant attempts to steal or block shots when obviously it is too late.  

The problem is, basketball players don't learn this as quickly as boxers.  When a basketball player lunges out of position, it only results in a five-on-four situation, and the eventual shot may seem to be someone else's fault.  Too bad basketball players can't get a solid rap on the chin when this happens.  If they could, they would learn faster.

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BALL CONTROL WHEN SHOOTING

Came across a good visual representation of how you should hold the ball when shooting.  This link is a short video covering the same thing.

SHOW STRENGTH IN YOUR BODY LANGUAGE

Tough players project confidence with their body language.  They do not hang their heads, do not react negatively to a mistake of a teammate, and do not whine and complain to officials.  Tough players project strength, and do not cause their teammates to worry about them. 

The Celtics used to stand up during timeouts just to send a message to their opponents that they were better conditioned than their opponents.  We do it when we jog back onto the court from the locker room after halftime.

Tough players do their jobs, and their body language communicates that to their teammates -- and to their opponents.

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THE GAME IS 90% MENTAL - 10% PHYSICAL

I was glad to see that our pre-game discussion yesterday about being careful not to come out “playing soft” against Grace was heeded.  You came out and took care of business early.

There is a danger in sports when players base their focus, output or intensity level on the quality of their opponent.  Against weaker opponents, they coast a little.  Against the better, more talented teams, they come ready to play.  It's a dangerous habit, but it happens at every level in sports.

The best teams are the teams that understand that basketball is 90% mental and only 10% physical.  The best teams are the teams that have mental toughness and display that mental toughness on a daily basis regardless of their opponent.  They know what their job is and they go out and take care of business… and it doesn’t matter who’s on the court.  They go out and do their job and rack up the wins.

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EAST ALL-STAR TEAM SELECTED

Congrats to Haley, Chelsea and Hannah for being selected by the conference coaches to the All-Conference Team.  I thought for sure we would have seen at least one more of ours selected.

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The East Regional Tournament

Friday's match up with #4 Seed Maranatha was an exercise in both patience and sportsmanship.  

After jumping out to a 31-5 lead at halftime, we slammed on the brakes to show some sportsmanship. No more fastbreaks, four passes before a score, went into a zone and played every player with no one getting more than 20 minutes.  The end result was a 47-21 win (which could have easily been a 65-10 win). Dothan Eagle Article

Saturday's match up with #2 Seed Grace wasn't much different.  With a 25-9 lead at the half, and a 43-11 lead to close the 3rd Qtr, we again went into a zone and played every player with no one getting more than 20 minutes.  Final score 47-20. Dothan Eagle Article

We're back to the Final Four! We will face Aletheia for Game #1....and we WILL NOT be slamming on the brakes for either Aletheia or Central.

BRING IT!

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SHOWING SOME SELF-DISCIPLINE

The scrimmage last night showed some of our weak areas that need immediate improvement before we head into the Conference tournaments, but more importantly, these are the areas we need to address before we head into the National tournament.

Why?

Because we won’t beat many good teams by playing the way we did against the boys last night.  

We cannot afford to keep shooting low percentage shots when we aren’t hitting. We cannot afford to ignore the instructions from the coach (hold for last shot, stop shooting 3’s, C4 to move the defense).  We cannot afford to continue to telegraph, and throw poor passes (especially after being told over & over again to go “under” the defender).

It’s not a lack of skill or the boy’s superior talent or athleticism that created those situations… it’s a lack of self-discipline and poor decision making on our part.

The two most important times of the game are the first two minutes of the half and the last two minutes of the half.  It can create momentum or destroy momentum.  Every possession, every pass, every shot, every box out, every rebound and every loose ball is of the utmost importance during those two times.

If we want to progress beyond the East Regional, we MUST begin to show some self-discipline in our game.  

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IT AINT OVER TILL THE FAT LADY SINGS

Rick Byrd admits there's no magic potion to apply when a team is down, apparently hopelessly, and time is running out on a chance for a comeback.  "Sometimes," the Belmont coach says, "it's just fate."

Whether fate, luck, perseverance or the answer to a prayer, Byrd's Bruins just about wrote the book on comebacks Friday when they rallied from a 75-57 deficit with 3:27 to play and stunned Campbell 87-84.

"The mentality of the two teams in a situation like that is entirely different," Byrd says.  "When you've got the lead, you don't want to shoot quickly, and you don't want to foul.  You almost have to play conservatively with a big lead.  It's a sense of protectionism and conservatism against a sense of urgency.  We had nothing to lose."

Belmont's stunning rally was one of several eye-opening comebacks in recent days.

Hokies coach Seth Greenberg says a little psychology, as well as some strategy, is sometimes needed to overcome such a deficit and make sure the players continue to compete.

"You try to paint a picture (for the players) of how you're going to get back in the game," Greenberg says.  "You try to show them a scenario where you can get it from 16 to 10, then from 10 to five with four or five minutes to go."

In Belmont's rally, Campbell missed 11 of 20 free throws after taking the 18-point lead.  But the Bruins got quite hot at the same time, scoring 30 points in the last 3:27, a pace that would have had them post 348 points in a 40-minute game.  After going 2-for-24 from three-point range for the first 36 minutes, the Bruins made six of their final eight beyond the arc.

Matthew Dotson's three-pointer with 21 seconds left gave Belmont an 85-84 lead, its first advantage since 2-0.

"In over 30 years of coaching, I don't recall a game (that was lost) with that large a lead and that little time left," Byrd says.  "It was a fun game to win, and it was the happiest our locker room has been all year.  None of our players will ever forget it, and unfortunately for Campbell, they won't either.  I felt sorry for them."

"Getting stops is the big thing.  If you trade baskets, you're not going to come back."  The Hokies held the Wolfpack to one field goal in the final 9:51 of regulation.

RECENT COME FROM BEHIND VICTORIES

Binghamton trailed Vermont by 25 early in the second half Feb. 4 before roaring back to win 85-83.

Cincinnati had only 21 points with 17:46 to play in regulation Saturday against Georgetown, then outscored the Hoyas 43-29 the rest of the way for a 64-62 overtime win.

The same day, Duke came from 16 down in the second half to beat Miami 78-75 in overtime.

Florida State trailed Clemson 44-25 with 15 minutes left Saturday before storming to a 65-61 win.

Missouri rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit in Monday's 62-60 victory against Kansas.

Virginia Tech was down by 18 in the second half Sunday against North Carolina State before earning a 91-87 overtime victory.

Your mindset makes all the difference.  A team is never whipped until they give up in their own minds.

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BASKETBALL + BALLERINA = BASKERINA

This is amazing!!!!!  She's a weak dribbler, but has great ball handling skills and no turnover's.  (LOL)  

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CONFERENCE SAYS...."NO"

Got an emil from Coach Moss tonight informing me that the Conference has denied our request to add Monica to the roster for the tournaments.  He sent them a rather pointed email back.  I doubt that they change their mind, but let's wait and see.

CHAMPIONS WILL NEVER STAY DOWN

In his book "How Good Do You Want to Be," Bama coach Nick Saban tells a story about Muhammad Ali, who "was knocked down for the first time ever in his career in the late rounds of a loss to Joe Frazier."

When Ali was on the mat and appeared to have already lost the fight, he got up to his feet and continued.  When asked afterward why he'd gotten up, the champ responded, "The first thing I remember hearing was the ref at the count of 'eight.'  The first thing I thought was 'I don't belong here.'"  He got up and finished the fight because of pride.  He was a champion, and champions don't belong on the ground.

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TOO OFTEN WE ARE SCARED

Scared of what we might not be able to do.  Scared of what people might think if we tried.  We let our fears stand in the way of our hopes.  We say “no” when we want to say “yes.”  We sit quietly when we want to scream.  And we shout with the others, when we should keep our mouths shut.

Why?

After all, most of us only get one chance.  There’s really no time to be afraid.  So stop.  Go ahead and risk it.  Those that came before you risked it and paved the way for you.

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