The Miami Herald on the Miami Heat sharing the puck, oops, I mean sharing the basketball and getting the hockey assist.
All the pundits who dislike LeBron James and shout that he should shoot the ball at the end of the game, this article is for you!
As a coach you want your players playing unselfish basketball. You want everyone sharing the ball, not hogging it. The defending champs are all about playing the right way.
“[James] could have had more [assists] if he was ego-driven, hunting for his own,’’ coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I think he had three to five hockey assists where he knew it would be a rotation where the next guy would be open. He’s looking at the play after the play after the play.’’
“We’re playing at a high level offensively and it’s because we have unselfish guys,’’ James said. “We don’t care who shoots, we don’t care who passes. We’re finding the open guy and everyone on the floor is making plays. That’s all that matters.’’
“We talked about hockey assists in high school,’’ James said. “I come from a very unselfish brand of basketball as I grew up. That’s how my little league coaches taught me up through high school. It’s just stuck with me.’’
“It was a big thing at Marquette to get a hockey assist,’’ Wade said. “Coach rewarded us for it more than regular assists. You would come in and say, ‘Ten hockey assists tonight,’ and there would be something on your locker. If you didn’t have any you would have a big doughnut on your locker.’’
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Great post. The players respond to what you teach and emphasize. Recognizing the subtle sequences of ball movement that build up to the easy shot is a great way to build an unselfish group.
Great post. It’s so important for coaches to realize what they emphasize and reward is what will be done. Hockey assists are critical to fluid ball movement and good shots.
Reblogged this on Keepinitcoaching and commented:
Great Post from CoachFinnamore on the value of the hockey assist or second pass in basketball.