PROGRESS

Getting better and being a great teammate should be a player’s top two goals on the court.

Damian Lillard of the Portland Trailblazers was a guest on “Inside the NBA” last night to talk about his accomplishment of winning the Rookie of the Year Award.

“When I went to Weber State I wasn’t an NBA player; over those 4 years I got a chance to keep getting better and develop myself.”

“I got a chance to mature as a person and as a player.” Lillard mentioned on staying in school for four years.

“The biggest thing is I’m not scared.”

A key factor that no one talks about when getting on the court.  Some call it intimidation. Not Lillard.

“Next year I have to show some improvements.”

So you see, no matter what awards you win or accolades you receive, you have always have to keep working hard.

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Twitter: @CoachFinamore

WHY STAY IN COLLEGE?

Just ask Damian Lillard of the Portland Trailblazers.

Great piece by J.A. Adande on the rookie Lillard – must read for all players. Here’s a taste:

“As [opponents] kind of got on to me, that’s when I learned to watch film. I saw that they were kind of forcing me to weaknesses at that time. Over the summers, my coaches, they were making me think the game: write down 10 things that you need to get better at and over the summer you need to really get better at it. I got to the point where I was staying over the summer, working with them with those things that I wrote down and the things that they wrote down. And when I came back the next season, teams were forcing me to do something that I had developed over the summer: pull-up jumpers going right. Quick finishes — we called them Steve Nash finishes, little quick layups. Step-back jumpers. Just small stuff.” 

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Twitter: @CoachFinamore

RAININ’ 3′s

Last night the Portland Trailblazers and the Dallas Mavericks were involved in a Foul or Defend in Portland.  The Mavericks were up three and on defense.

LaMarcus Aldridge came up big on a sweet sideline out-of-bounds play to tie the game with a step-back three from the right corner.  Aldridge was 0-for-9 from 3-point range this season until hitting the shot with 4.5 seconds left to tie the score at 104-104.

A few seconds later, after an offensive foul was called on OJ Mayo, Aldridge nailed the game-winner. (Aldridge’s shot comes at the :25 mark of the clip)

This is the third time this season the Dallas Mavericks have been involved in the Foul or Defend. The Mavericks have now given up three’s in two different Foul or Defend situations and have lost both.

Blazers win, thanks for coming, arrive home safely.

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Twitter: @CoachFinamore

COACHING DEVELOPMENT 101

EXPECTATIONS

Terry Stotts is the new head coach in Portland. When a head coach is hired, there are a lot of questions and of course expectations.

“I think they are going to play an exciting brand of basketball and the young players will improve. I think we will be better in April than in November. That will be the measuring stick. My concern with this team, and especially the young players, is getting them better every day, and every month.”

“I want to run. I want to shoot threes. And if we can score 100 points every night that’s great. But to be successful, you have to do it on both ends of the floor. I’m proud of what I can do offensively, and how I can help this team offensively, but make no mistake, I’m going to make sure the players know that defense is a priority.”

“Even though things may not be going the way (you want them) to go, you gotta keep coaching the players. It’s a long season, with a lot of ups and downs, but you need to stay positive and keep working.”

“Part of my offensive philosophy is trusting the players to make good decisions and giving them the freedom to play within a structure to make basketball plays. I think the league is going more toward players making plays, and to do that, coaches have to give the reins up to give them freedom.”

“I love the way the Portland Trail Blazers won their championship, As a matter of fact, I texted Coach Ramsay because I felt the way we won was similar to that. That’s my ideal. It takes a lot of time and trust to do that, but it’s something that is contagious. Once you start playing that way, you don’t want to play any other way.”

Source: Jason Quick, The Oregonian

HOOPS135@HOTMAIL.COM

TWITTER: @CoachFinamore

MAN-TO-MAN

Detroit Free Press on Oakland University shooting guard Travis Bader. Golden Grizzlies head coach Greg Kampe and his staff have done a great job recruiting and of course developing players. Oakland plays Texas in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

“We’re the only Division I school that offered him a scholarship,” Kampe said of Bader, who has started 21 of 34 games and is hitting 45.8% of his three-pointers, eighth among Division I players.

“Much of the reason was his work ethic. We’re always searching for that next (Erik) Kangas, that next (Brad) Buddenborg, and we thought he had a chance to be that, but he had to grow.”

A year of watching and growing as a redshirt last season prepared Bader for a challenge like the one No. 13 seed OU faces against No. 4 seed Texas. Three-pointers often are the difference when lower-seeded teams pull early-round upsets.

“I’m just real excited for the opportunity to play in the tournament,” Bader said. “… It’s every kid’s dream who wants to play college basketball to go to the Big Dance.”

I watched Bader in high school at Okemos and have watched him progress into a fine player. He has improved his quickness and he is fearless and the best trait is he’s a great teammate.  You pull for players like Bader to do well.

Matt Calkins of the Columbian on Portland Trailblazer assistant coach Billy Bayno. I’ve known Billy a long time. I have spent a lot of time with him, he’s one of the good guys in coaching.

“The only thing I regret is not sitting down with my players and explaining it to them. They had no idea what I was going through and they thought I abandoned them. But at the time, I was trying to get healthy, and just being around them put me in a bad place,” Bayno said. “I felt like I had let them down. But if I would have just had them all over at my house and said ‘Here’s the deal — you have no idea what I’m going through. You only see me during the day. I fake it. It’s just not healthy. I can’t do it. I took the job when I really shouldn’t have’… I think, if anything, I just cared too much.”

Believe it or not, many people out there think coaching is easy. I laugh when an ignoramus states, “Oh all he does is roll the balls out.” At the college level you deal more with off the court issues than you do with x’s and o’s. Billy’s a great guy, he has found his niche, player development. He’s one of the best.

You gotta love Tom Crean, head coach at Indiana also a former assistant coach at Alma College who is sitting in studio for Tru TV or is it CBS? Crean said that “80% of Jared Sullinger’s post touches come from entry passes from Jon Diebler’s side.” That’s an amazing note. Crean’s scouting report are bible-like.

What do basketball-lifers Mario Elie, Chris Mullin, Lew Alcindor, Brendan Malone, Dick Bavetta and Len Elmore all have in common?

Speaking of Elmore, last night during the USC-VCU game the excellent analyst for Tru TV said, “you can’t beat a zone by passing it around the perimeter”. Ouch…

Why do athletes say stupid things? Bad enough, why tweet it where everyone can see? This WNBA player and former Rutgers Scarlet Knight had an awful comment about Japan. Washington Post writer Cindy Boren fills us in.

Just what did she say? In tweets that have since been deleted, she wrote: “What if God was tired of the way they treated their own people in there own country! Idk guys he makes no mistakes” and “u just never knw! They did pearl harbor so u can’t expect anything less.”

Oh brother!

Enjoy the NCAA tournament!

hoops135@hotmail.com