Blog Posting #27, February 5, 2009

IF THE FUNDAMENTALS ARE NOT IMPROVING, THEY’RE DETERIORATING

After the last practice, the day before the NCAA championship game in San Diego between UCLA and Florida State, a reporter approached me and asked, “Why did you guys spend so much time on those drills instead of practicing strategy against Florida State?” At the time, I didn’t know the answer, but now I do.

What the reporter had witnessed, watching practice, was high-intensity drills that reinforced jump stops, pivots, passing, receiving, jump shooting, lay ups, defensive footwork, and basic rebounding footwork and timing, the same drills we had been doing since the first day of practice in October. But, when we performed the drills, Coach Wooden made sure we were not going through the motions; he was as demanding as he was in October, pointed out all errors and not letting us get away with any degree of sloppiness and carelessness. Yes, it was the last practice of the season and we all had adrenalin-rushing anticipation for the final game, but that did not affect Coach Wooden’s intensity.

“Pete: Don’t raise up when you pivot. Stay low.”
“Swen: Keep your chin up.”
“Bill: Elbow above the ear when you finish the shot.”
“Keith: Sprint and retreat, then catch up.”
“Tommy: Goodness gracious sakes alive! Stay under control. Keep your balance. Feet a little wider than the shoulders.”

All across America, as teams approach the post season, you’ll find players going through the motions, when doing fundamental drills, because the section of practice devoted to preparing for the upcoming opponent (strategy) is more important to the coach than improving the fundamentals. What they don’t realize is, the sloppiness results in a deterioration of the fundamentals rather than improvement. The subliminal message to the players is extremely damaging: The key to winning the upcoming game is strategy, not the basics. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Coach Wooden has said, “Few teams ever win a game. Most games are lost rather than won.” We all know this to be true. And how are these games lost? They are lost by a bad pass, a hurried and off-balance shot, and failure to block out an offensive rebounder. The offensive and defensive strategies, implemented in practices, tailor-made for post season opponents, are important to putting a team in a position to win, but the execution of offensive and defensive plays/maneuvers are dependent on the execution of the basics of the game.

As the high school and college basketball seasons approach playoffs, you will begin to notice the teams that are fundamentally sound. They can operate at extremely high speed, at both ends of the court, and maintain a very high level of ball handling, without turning the ball over. Their team defensive footwork make opponents take a poor-percentage shot. Their ability to quickly and aggressively block out give the opponents one shot at the goal. These teams will not beat themselves. They may lose a game, but it’s going to take a pretty good team to beat them.

Take a tip from Coach Wooden. Never take a practice off, especially at the end of the season. Teach fundamentals with a disposition of “demandingness” and your team will continue to improve in that area. If you’re not improving the fundamentals, your team’s fundamentals are deteriorating.