Tom Crean, Indiana University men’s basketball:
“Your fundamentals, your technique, all your experiences, all those things are really, really important but there’s nothing bigger than energy and toughness. It’s got to be there constantly.”
HOOPS135@HOTMAIL.COM
TWITTER: @CoachFinamore
Today we’re going to take a ‘TO’ from our 90 Day Basketball Improvement Plan.
I subscribe to a basketball newsletter written by a coach in Texas (free of charge I might add). In this morning’s edition I found an essay written by ESPN’s own Jay Bilas on American Basketball players lacking fundamentals; actually, the title of the piece is ‘Coaches Don’t Teach Fundamentals Anymore’
(Jay Bilas with a textbook overplay)
Here we go again with ESPN basketball announcers ripping into American basketball players and American coaches.
I tried to find the actual article on-line so I can link it here but to no avail. In the meantime I have contacted the coach who provides the newsletter.
Well thanks to my man, Bob Starkey from LSU women’s basketball, he posted the article on his outstanding blog.
Bilas is a guy who has been talking about this topic for a few years. He loves to rip our players for their lack of passing, shooting, dribbling and their footwork. He loves to say “WE” are not teaching our players how to play.
Who is this guy watching?
Who exactly is he talking about?
I wish he would name names, it would clear things up. By putting everyone in one group, he’s making a major mistake.
Over the years I have seen some terrific, fundamentally sound American basketball players in our country at the high school, college and yes Jay-Bird, the pro level.
And yes Jay, there are many outstanding high school and junior college coaches’ who teach the game well. (I get a kick out of every time he mentions, “When I worked the LeBron James Skills Academy Camp in the summer” on air), like that cements his place in coaching. The guy spends a day or two showing a kid a drop step and he thinks he’s done his part.
Right now at East Lansing High School, are working on our skill development in our 4-man workouts. We work on dribbling, passing and shooting three times per week.
Here’s a sample of Jay’s argument:
No reasonable basketball person can refute the fact that the fundamental skills of American players are slipping, and so is the American game. I believe a primary reason is an increased emphasis on coaching the game, and a decreased emphasis on teaching our kids how to play the game.
If the game is slipping here, then why did we sweep all the International championships this past summer, Jay? Here’s another dandy from the former Duke Blue Devil.
Generally, American players are less skilled than their European counterparts. The United States produces the best “athletes” in the game, but not necessarily the best “basketball players.
Excuse me Mr. Bilas, you are wrong. We are by far more skilled than European players. And yes indeed we have better athletes. Last I checked, basketball requires some sort of athleticism to excel. Don’t penalize American players because they can run fast and jump high.
And once again, it’s going to sound like I’m bashing the International player but I’m not, I’m defending our players here in the States.
Let’s face it, it’s a different culture here in America than it is in Europe. Kids are different. Our kids don’t have to be like kids from Serbia. Americans pride themselves on expression. We have great athletes in America because we play more than one sport. We have teenagers that play up to 3 sports per year. (And by the way, our players here in America have heart and toughness, something you can’t teach)
It’s a disservice to all Americans involved in basketball to be compared to the International game. Has anyone noticed Kevin Durant? And just because LeBron James left Cleveland, and the way he did it, does that take away from his basketball skills?
How about Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Timmy Duncan, Chauncey Billups, Shane Battier, Steph Curry, Butler, Duke, Michigan State?
Don’t get fooled by what Bilas and other disgruntled journalists in America say about the game, they never give credit where credit is due. When we win a Gold medal in international play, we were “supposed to win“. When we lose, all hell breaks loose.
A few summers ago when Team USA did poorly in International play everyone blamed our lack of teamwork and that there was too much one-on-one. The following year we were treated to the NBA championship which saw the Detroit Pistons and the San Antonio Spurs. Well many people said the series was boring. Boring? You had two fundamentally sound, solid defensive teams playing the right way. Isn’t that what the pundits wanted to see?
The next time Bilas is on the East Coast, he should make it a point to stop by Saint Anthony’s of Jersey City in New Jersey and observe Coach Bob Hurley and his varsity basketball team.
The game of basketball here in America is doing just fine…Maybe it’s the business side of basketball Bilas should examine.
-Coach Finamore
Hoops135@hotmail.com
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachFinamore
I hear it all the time, the difference between International players and American players…it’s kind of a ‘tired’ discussion. But thanks to my main man John Harris, here’s a take on the topic by Don Casey via his blog The Temple of Zones.
The NBA stresses individual play; FIBA stresses team play. Of course, that is an over-generalization and unfair. There are NBA teams that have beautiful team choreography, such as the Lakers, when they are executing the Triangle. But we also see a lot of “isolation” play in the NBA, which is rare in FIBA play.
Yes, well you get what you emphasize. As a coach, what are you teaching your kids? What are you tolerating? What is your philosophy?
Of course, the majority of players in America look like individuals on the floor. The Dribble-Drive-Motion has taken the game by storm. So you catch, drive to the bucket and try to score. Plus, American players are so much more athletic than International players-so why not utilize their strengths?
Our game here in the United States of America is doing very well. You have morons spouting off on their computers spreading garbage. Shooting, passing, rebounding, defense, playing with energy, toughness, athleticism…all traits players are excelling at in today’s game. Players need to keep working hard and coaches need to keep coaching and not worry about who gets the credit.
“Are you part of the problem or are you part of the solution?”
-Anonymous
-Coach Finamore
Hoops135@hotmail.com
This morning we had our annual coaches retreat at Jackson Community College. Our program is beginning it’s third year after not having sports for a very long time. It was nice to see everyone in one room discussing the problems from last year and how we can improve on them for this coming season. It was refreshing to hear other ideas and also reassuring that other coaches from our other sports encountered the same problems both on and off the court.
The more I listen to Mark Jackson of ABC during the NBA finals the more I wish to see him become a head coach. I think he would make a great college coach.
Speaking of the NBA finals it’s cool to read tweets from other coaches tuning into the game and sharing their views. Go to Twitter.com-(I’m CoachFinamore)
I was speaking with a coaching friend this morning and we both wondered why Nike, Adidas and other shoe companies hire coaches to go over seas to teach the game with their sponsored clinics but will not go into a city in the United States and teach the game? Then they wonder why International players are passing us in basketball? I’m all for spreading the knowledge and teaching kids from other countries how to play but don’t fire back at American players for not being fundamentally sound. Speaking of fundamentals, is Kobe Bryant’s footwork incredible or what?
-Coach Finamore
Hoops135@hotmail.com
A few coaches talk about the imporance of working on the fundamentals each and every day at practice. The Newark Advocate checks in with some good stuff.
“It doesn’t matter what offense you draw up, if you can’t shoot the ball, pass the ball, catch the ball, it is worthless,” Snow said. “I could be the most strategic coach in the world, but if my players don’t have the ability to execute it, it does you no good.”
Larry Eustachy reflects on some problems that got him in trouble a few years ago via the DesMoines Register.
“I had to admit that I was an alcoholic,” Eustachy said. “I was sitting there thinking, ‘How could I be an alcoholic? How could I – the national coach of the year – be a functioning alcoholic?’ – which was exactly what I was.”
Good luck Coach Eustachy!
Father-Son relationship takes on a new meaning at today’s Super Bowl. The Fitzgerald’s on sportswriting and playing via the New York Times.
I’ve been strengthened by the fact that Larry Jr. conducts himself like a professional and performs spectacularly on the field. Whether the Cardinals win or lose on Sunday, I would not change one thing about the way we’ve gotten to this point. Except I wish Carol could have been here with us to share in this wonderful achievement.
-Coach Finamore
Hoops135@hotmail.com
