David E
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Re:Open Post for Developing a Program - 2007/08/07 22:07
Several years ago I read a book by Clay Kallam in which he said that the most important thing for a player to do after catching the ball is look at the basket. The second most important thing is to look to score.
He points out that too often players catch the ball and, like a robot, simply look to make the next pass required to run the play. There could be a player wide open under the basket, or there could be an open lane for a layup, but the player with the ball never looks.
Kallam says that girls in particular have to be reminded that the purpose of offense is to score, not to run the play. As I read this I realized that he was talking about many of my players, especially my younger (6th grade) ones. I became determined that my girls were going to look to score.
Shortly after reading this book, I was at a clinic where I heard Don Meyer speak. He was talking about motion offense and the thought progression his players used after catching a pass. Meyer's phrase was "Rim, Post, Action." Those words stuck in my mind and I adapted them to what we were doing.
Therefore, on first catching the ball (or before, really) I look at the rim to see if I can score, by shot or drive. It doesn't matter that we don't run the play if I can get a layup or wide open shot in my range. If I don't have a scoring opportunity, I look at the post area for an open teammate (could be a cutter). Finally, if I don't have a shot or an open teammate in the post, I will follow the action of the play, making the next pass to keep the offense running.
I mentioned in a previous post that sometimes our players do get drive happy. They force the action when patience is needed. I heard a good line this past weekend from Andrew Calder, assistant head coach of the UNC women's team. He said, "See a driving hole, don't try to make a hole." I felt like that applied directly to us, so that is going to be one of my mantras this season.
I hope that explains what I was talking about better. "Rim, Post, Action" is just a way to get the players to concentrate more on scoring instead of running the play.
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