Mike Krzyzewski talks about building a team culture with the 2014-15 Duke Blue Devils. Concerns for the coach included developing leadership on the court, planning and periodization with only ten scholarship players (which later became eight) and creating a team identity after a summer spent training in smaller groups. The team is seen working on fundamentals – such as a variety of passes and footwork – and defense, two excellent building blocks for any team. Even on the first day, the team is shown getting after it on double teams in the post and downing and hedging screens. Read and …
Duke’s Summer Workouts
Duke won a National Championship and made three first round drafts picks during their offseason work. Basketball players need to train in order to push themselves to the next level. The Blue Devils developed: strength in the weight room explosiveness using plyometrics agility and footwork on the court foot and ankle stability on the beach toughness on the stadium stairs core strength by doing functional movements togetherness by working out as a team
Being Tony Allen
Guarding Klay Thompson and the rest of the Golden State Warriors, Tony Allen has demonstrated tenacious effort and modelled solid defensive skills for younger players to follow. The Grizzlies have played competitively so far and forced the N.B.A.’s highest scoring team into some poor shooting performances. Guarding the Ballhandler: Allen turns Thompson to the left and keeps his hands active. However, he is not riding his man or reaching down. Instead, Allen reaches for the ball between Thompson’s hand and the floor. He pops it loose from below as it is on the way up, avoiding a foul. Allen is able to tip it …
Do Things the Right Way
If you do this job half-way, then you’ll be a half-way basketball player, you’ll be a halfway-student. You have to do things the right way. Earvin Johnson Sr. to his son about rushing through his part-time sanitation job and the importance of working hard.
Make the Most of Gym Class
To maximize the benefits a period or workout, teachers and students (or coaches and athletes) have responsibilities to keep the class (or team) focused and engaged. Teachers must design meaningful activities that develop athletic abilities and simulate game situations. Students should perform the drills as best as they can, in order to improve their personal fitness and prepare for competitions. Part of this focus comes from understanding the purpose behind the exercise. Ideally, a teacher would clearly explain their reasoning beforehand but sometimes students must think critically and figure things out for themselves. Teachers and coaches rarely fill classes or workouts …
Raptors Execute Details
Raptors Execute Many Little Things to Create Game-Winning Shot Down 1 vs. Orlando, Toronto ran an interesting SLOB to create a drive and kick situation. Lou Williams finally made a corner 3 because the team understood the details. First of all, the best time to shoot a three is when you don’t need one. The defense is more concerned about stopping penetration towards the rim than sticking to a shooter or running them off the ball. Greivis Vasquez inbounded the ball, Lou Williams started on the strong-side elbow opposite Patrick Patterson and DeMar DeRozan was on the weak-side wing. Kyle …
Coaches Challenge Themselves
He’s always challenging himself. He has this saying about, ‘Take the lid off it. See where it can go.’ You can tell he’s done all these great things, and he’ll continue to do great things as long as he’s coaching. Tom Thibodeau on Mike Krzyzewski
Fouling at the End of Games
The Lakers experienced an awkward play at the end of of Friday’s game against the Grizzlies. Memphis was up a single point with under twenty seconds remaining but Los Angeles elected not to foul immediately. Eventually, Kobe Bryant ran over and fouled Mike Conley. The Lakers eventually lost by three points. Some areas for improvement: L.A. did not seem to discuss who they would foul if this situation arose. Conley was the best free throw shooter on the court and it might have been possible to trap him in order to steal (hopefully) or force him to give up the …
Raptors-Warriors: Compare and Contrast
The Toronto Raptors are a good team with an effective offense but the Golden State Warriors are a great team with an elite offense. The Dubs do a great job of consistently creating high percentage looks with their activity. On Friday night, Golden State made forty-nine field goals on thirty-five assists (71.4%).
Cost Effective Ball Movement
In Real Life: Atul Gawande speculates that one of the key drivers behind rising health care cost is overtreatment: excessive and gratuitous procedures which give the impression of thorough treatment without actually improving results. Patients may suffer complications from needless operations or doctors may neglect a low cost preventative measure in favour a more expensive and risky procedure. Certain “anchor tenants” influence the culture of particular hospitals and communities. The key to better health care lies in prescribing the appropriate care for each patient and treating the cause instead of all of the symptoms. Western countries agree that health care costs …
Inspiring a Shared Vision
Sometimes, the toughest thing to do is get everybody pointed in the right direction or share the same vision. When you have the same group together for so long, I think it’s easier to understand when you have to reinvent yourself or make changes. That’s true in any walk of life – not just baseball. Experience is also the ultimate coping mechanism when it comes to crisis management. Brian Sabean, General Manager, San Francisco Giants
Little Things at Training Camp
“Homer Goes to College” Homer made a bookshelf out of four planks and six cinder blocks: Marge: Homer, we have a perfectly good bookcase. Homer: Yeah, but this is what they’re doing on campus. Besides, it isn’t costing us: I swiped the cinderblocks from a construction site. Meanwhile, at the construction site: Worker: Sir, six cinderblocks are missing. Boss: There’ll be no hospital, then. I’ll tell the children. Neither passing nor cutting are what they used to be and motion offences are suffering as a result. But there’s a nice bookcase next to the bench by the pick-up court. In the N.B.A. During training …
Finding Inspiration
An excerpt from Bob Ryan’s new book Scribe: My Life in Sports on how Larry Bird used Bobby Orr for inspiration before games: “He was always full of surprises. For years we all noted that he stared at the Garden ceiling during the national anthem. He never said why, and no one asked. Then, during his speech at the dinner to celebrate a statue to him that would be placed in the Sports Museum, he explained that he was looking at Bruines great Bobby Orr’s retired number 4 jersey as a source of nightly inspiration. “I want people in Boston …
F.I.B.A. World Cup Trends
The United States S.M.N.T. won their second consecutive F.I.B.A. World Cup, behind Kyrie Irving’s adroit ballhandling, tremendous outside shooting, intense ball pressure and countless dunks by Anthony Davis and Kenneth Faried. Pundits may have expected the U.S.A. to struggle against Spain in the final but like 2010, Spain was upset earlier and a young American squad captured the title. The team struggled at the beginning of the final defensively but DeMarcus Cousins helped recapture the paint and Irving began penetrating the Serbian zone and getting to the rim or finding open shooters. What may have been an upset actually showed how …
Mr. T at the Mall
You’re right, Marge. Just like the time I could have met Mr. T at the mall. The entire day, I kept saying, ‘I’ll go a little later, I’ll go a little later…’ And when I got there, they told me he just left. And when I asked the mall guy if he’ll ever come back again, he said he didn’t know. Well, I’m never going to let something like that happen again! Homer Simpson
School Artwork
Visiting diverse schools over the years, I have had a chance to see some of the different messages posted in gyms and classrooms to instill values and build a culture. Coaches and teachers should be authentic (but why are so many “No Dunking” signs posted by the court?).