Team Work: Rediscovering the Essence of Basketball

Copyright

Copyright © 2013, by Mike Huff

Teamwork: Rediscovering the Essence of Basketball

Mike Huff

www.teamworkhoops.com

coachhuff@msn.com

Published 2013, by Torchflame Books

an Imprint of Light Messages

www.lightmessages.com

Durham, NC 27713 USA

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-61153-087-2

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-61153-086-5

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 International Copyright Act, without the prior written permission except in brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Dedication

To Kathy, Katrina, & Jay – the best teammates ever!

Part 1 - The Need for Teamwork

Are you kidding me???

The unspoken thought invaded my mind repeatedly as I refereed four consecutive championship games at our summer basketball camp. I was the camp director, and it seemed like everything I believe in and try to teach as a basketball coach was being mocked. I felt like a total failure as I watched these eight teams, the best in their respective leagues, vie for camp championships. I wanted to announce to the parents watching in the stands and assembling for our final program that I was going to keep their boys for five more days and we were going to start over.

The source of my dismay was the selfish play and lack of teamwork displayed by many of the players on these teams. I could understand and forgive the 9-10 year olds, who were too young to fully understand what it means to play together as a team. However, I got more upset with each succeeding game as the lack of team play persisted. The most glaring example: I didn’t see a single player in those four games even attempt to set a screen away from the ball to free a teammate to receive a pass or get open for a shot. Even if someone had tried to set a screen, it’s doubtful that the player receiving the screen would have used it correctly. I don’t remember seeing a player catch the ball and immediately reverse it to the other side to an open teammate. I also saw very little evidence of team defense, with five players ready to rotate and stop the ball.

The 16-18 year old game featured a matchup between the two players who were also, unfortunately, selected as co-winners of the Best Offensive Player award for their league. These two players repeatedly came down the court and drove to the basket or took a shot without making a single pass. While they were clearly the leading scorers, two of the most talented players in camp, and both fine young men, their shot selection was horrible. They passed the ball only when they were unable to get off their own shot. More importantly, they didn’t involve their teammates in the game. I was struck by the thought that it couldn’t be much fun to play with either of them. They did very little to help the other players on their teams contribute to or be involved in the offense. And, frankly, I was disappointed that our coaches, myself included, had not done a better job of emphasizing team play.

Coincidentally, I was having a cup of coffee with my friend Doug a few days after camp ended. Doug had been on our camp staff, and I was sharing my frustration with him. Doug, a coach who is also committed to team play, had just a couple nights before decided to count the passes made as his team played pick-up ball. In one game he counted 45 offensive possessions between the two teams, but only 26 passes. Prior to my camp experience I would have found that statistic incomprehensible, but that day I could only shake my head and wonder… what is happening to our sport?

I believe basketball is, or at least should be, the ultimate team sport. Of course, coaches, players, and fans of other sports are free to argue for their favorite sport, but in basketball every player on the floor has to play both offense and defense in order for the team to be successful. Some players are more talented on offense, but all five must also play defense together. In sports like hockey and soccer the most talented offensive players are seldom or never required to get to the defensive end. In the same way, basketball players whose strength is defense still have to run to the other end and contribute to the offense. In football there are separate offensive and defensive teams. Very few players beyond Pop Warner League participate on both of those squads. Football also has special units for punts, field goals, and kickoffs. In basketball there is no goalie like there is in soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, water polo, and probably more. Basketball has no specialists, like a punter in football or a libero in volleyball. Basketball demands from each player the widest range of skills of any of the team sports.

The importance of teamwork in basketball seems obvious and undeniable to me. However, the style of play of many of today’s basketball players emphasizes just the opposite. For example, SportsCenter’s highlights rarely feature a pass—and when they do it’s the spectacular, acrobatic variety. YouTube videos provide more of the same. How can we blame young players for emulating what they see? Players also flock to individual skills coaches who do a great job of teaching individual offensive moves, but in my opinion they often produce players who focus more on showing off their skills than on using those skills within the framework of a team concept.

In my experience, AAU and other travel basketball generally does little to enhance the development of teamwork in youth and high school basketball. Some teams are collections of all-star players who get together to play tournaments with little or no practice. Players frequently jump from team to team, sometimes within the same season, looking for the team that will do the most to promote them as individuals. The coaches may not have the training or experience that a school would require. In 2012 I helped coach my son’s 8th grade summer travel team. We weren’t a big-time team with players who were already getting letters from colleges, yet it was amazing how many players came and went over the course of a couple months—all looking for the place where their talents would stand out.

Of course, parents are often the driving force behind the self-absorbed attitude. After one of our summer games we were outside getting ready for our normal post-game meeting, but were missing one player. I went back inside and found him with his mother. When I told him we were meeting outside his mother very sternly told me, I’m talking to my son! Clearly she thought whatever she had to say to him was more important than his being a member of the team and listening to his coaches. Soon afterward this young man quit the team.

Then there are the showcase events, where individual players go to get evaluated by college coaches or recruiting services. Every player I have coached that has attended one of these events reported that the players were told beforehand that they were being evaluated for more than their individual talent. They were told to play as a team, but once the games started it was every man for himself. I understand that the players are trying to earn a scholarship, but it saddens me to know that basketball has become such a selfish sport.

That selfishness shouldn’t be a surprise, since we live in a self-absorbed society. Nowhere is that more evident than in the I’ve got to get mine world of professional sports, where many athletes make far more money in half a season than I will make in my entire career as a teacher and coach. As I began writing this book, the National Football League had just ended a lockout in which players and management were arguing over the distribution of billions of dollars, all the while talking in press conferences and releases about how much they care about the fans. At the same time, the National Basketball Association was in the midst of a lockout that ultimately resulted in a shortened season, once again with owners and players fighting to get the biggest piece of a huge financial pie. During the course of writing the book, the National Hockey League went through a lockout that cost them half a season. All this took place while the rest of us faced an economic crisis that continues to threaten the financial stability of our country. I believe the style of play kids are learning clearly reflects this me first attitude.

I mentioned earlier the four games I officiated at basketball camp. That day I made two commitments. First, I made a personal commitment to never have that same kind of experience again with any team I coach or camp I direct. It is said that players don’t do what you teach, they do what you emphasize. I emphasize teamwork strongly each day with the high school team that I coach. However, based on what I saw that Friday afternoon we clearly did not emphasize teamwork enough during that week of camp. As camp director, that was my responsibility, and it won’t happen again.

The second commitment I made that day was to write this book. It includes information I have gained through personal experience and have learned from coaches who are far more experienced, knowledgeable, and wise than me. My goal is to motivate basketball coaches at all levels to focus on developing teamwork, using the sport of basketball to teach young men and women what it really means to be part of a team. I have included numerous stories of how some coaches, including myself, have successfully developed teamwork with a particular group. There are also stories of mistakes I have made. I admit that I am still learning myself.

Basketball is a beautiful game when it is played in what I personally believe is the right way, with every player knowing and executing his or her role within the team concept. Phil Jackson, who coached eleven NBA Championship teams with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, calls basketball …the subtle interweaving of players at full speed to the point where they are thinking and moving as one. This is the kind of basketball I want to teach, and not only because I believe it is the best way to play. I also believe that there are tremendous life lessons to be learned from playing this kind of basketball, such as working together for a common purpose, sacrificing for the sake of others, and being part of something bigger than yourself.

The challenge is that every team is different—and every coach is different. My purpose is to illustrate why teamwork is so important in our sport and encourage coaches to make it a point of emphasis with their teams.

As coaches, we have the opportunity to impact the lives of young men and women on a daily basis with life lessons that can benefit them far beyond the basketball court. What better lesson could we teach them than what it means to be a part of a team?

1 - In the Beginning

The invention of basketball was not an accident. It was developed to meet a need. Those boys simply would not play Drop the Handkerchief.

–Dr. James A. Naismith

Necessity, it is said, is the mother of invention. In 1891, Dr. James Naismith needed an indoor game for the young men of Springfield College to play during the cold Massachusetts winter months between football season and baseball season. Little did Dr. Naismith know that he was inventing what would one day become one of the most popular sports in the world!

The facility was simple. Naismith found two peach baskets and nailed them to the balcony railing at each end of the gymnasium. (Imagine… a gym that wasn’t built for basketball!) Dr. Naismith used a soccer ball for his new game, likely because that was all he had. There were 13 very basic rules:

The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.

The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands (never with the fist).

A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man running at good speed if he tries to stop.

The ball must be held by the hands. The arms or body must not be used for holding it.

No shouldering, holding, pushing, striking or tripping in any way of an opponent. The first infringement of this rule by any person shall count as a foul; the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game. No substitution shall be allowed.

A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violations of Rules 3 and 4 and such as described in Rule 5.

If either side makes three consecutive fouls it shall count as a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the