Thursday, April 22, 2010

Guard Play

Guard Training

The most important part of being a guard is 2 things: Ball Security and
Defensive Balance. These will keep you in the game or get you on the
bench as fast as anything.

Eyes must never be on the ball / aim high in your vision.

If they press; defeat with a clear-out v. Man Pressure or circle v. Zone
Pressure.

Always be ready for the Run and Jump, Retreat dribble and find the
other guard.

Moment of Truth = Do not let your guard down, don’t bait the defender,
respect him.

Moment of IQ = Entering the Offense or attacking the basket to score or
assist. Do we have an advantage in numbers, can we get a lay-up? If it
is cloudy trust the offense and your teammates.

If we need to set the TRIANGLE is the Key-spot being denied? If so,
Blind Pig, Reverse or attack based on where the help is located. Don’t
dribble into the Key-spot. If you are able to pass the ball to the key-spot
then make a quick corner fill, don’t be lazy. It is OK if it takes a little time
to get in the offense. Don’t let pressure compel you to force a shot or
drive.

When a shot goes up get to the circles before the ball hits the rim if you
can and defensive balance will be easy. Don’t give up a lay-up, take a
charge buy some time, bluff and retreat etc… and we will win most
games. The main reasons teams lose is lack of good guard play. They
turn the ball over or force up bad shots or don’t get back on defense.
These are the main reasons we have lost in shootouts so far. Our
basketball IQ and focus must be at a high level.

Find the hot shooter (it may be you) just don’t force anything; or the
Mismatch (M&M)

Don’t get too high when you make a great play and don’t get too low
when you mess up, this is key for us to be a team of consistency.

Always push the ball. We want to wear our opponents down so they
can’t shoot or guard in the 4th when it is winning time.

Never walk or pout on the court this gives the opponent confidence and
it crushes your teammates and coaches confidence in you. A missed
call by a referee or a missed shot by you is not fun, but that is a part of
basketball. Good players understand this Michael Jordan lost 20% of his
games and he missed more shots than he made (12,345) and he turned
the ball over 2,924 times.

Talk and be upbeat with your teammates and coaches especially when
they are struggling. If they know you support them it is huge in getting
them on track.

Enjoy the game. Magic Johnson was arguably the best point guard to
play the game and his enthusiasm was amazing. He loved the game
and played it with all his heart every game and he did not win every
game and played just as hard when he lost. His opponents hated
playing against him, but his teammates loved playing with him. Make
sure your teammates love playing with you. Finally you will only be
young enough to play this game at a high level for a little while so don’t
waste a game, practice, open gym, or anything. Soak up all you can
and create great memories.

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