coachmccormick
Admin
Admin
| Posts: 643 |  |
Karma: 1
|
Rod Thorn on the USA's problems - 2006/07/26 02:10
A great article by Adrian Wojnarowski
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?
qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyNjkmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY5NTQyMDQmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2
Some highlights:
Just because LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have emerged as the next generation of superstars, just as Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett did in the 1990s, doesn't mean our development program within amateur basketball isn't fundamentally flawed.
Exactly.
"And when you're playing games, the coach is trying to win," Thorn said. "So the thinking isn't, 'Well, I've got a big guy here and if I play him outside, it might not help my team as much, but it might help him grow.' "
Why is it that summer games are so important to win? I'm tired of going to message boards and reading teams' summer league record or hearing about coaches playing seven players in summer league tournaments so they can win the game. Summer is for getting better, expanding your game, getting outside your comfort zone, adding a new skill. Coaches need to nurture and guide this development.
The system still needs work, something that could begin with the NBA investing more money in America's summer basketball system. Stern can raise the age minimum again, get it to 20, but it doesn't go the distance to solve our problems. We can still be better, a lot better, something the rest of the world keeps reminding us every year on draft night.
Lack of money in the current system is not the problem. The NBA needs to oversee it, take control of it and guide it. The problem is a void of leadership which creates a free-for-all which is filled by sneaker companies who have the wealth and thus take control of the power, and their interest is profit, not skill development. The NBA needs to fill the void and create a system of skill and athletic development, not a profit-driven model. Coaches need to be rewarded for developing skills, not enticing already talented playrs to join their team and wear their brand.
|
