BLOG POSTING #29, February 13, 2009

COMMON SENSE: WARM-UPS IS PRACTICE

Sitting in the bleachers, I was watching warm-ups for a high school game. If I don’t know the teams well, I try to predict, by the way the teams warm up, which is the better team.  What I mean is, I watch to see which team is more “business like.” It doesn’t work. There are teams that approach the pregame seriously, but are not very good, and visa versa. It all depends on skill, conditioning, and working together as a team: things you can’t really see until the teams compete. What I did notice, however, is some teams approach pregame warm-ups as an opportunity to improve fundamentals while others simply go through the motions.

I see players defensive sliding at half speed, lifting both feet off the ground, simultaneously and bringing them together, two NO NOs, I’m sure not allowed in regular practice. I see sloppy and inaccurate passing during layup drills. I see players approaching the basket for a layup, acting like Dr. J or LEBron James. I see missed layups for no reason. I see players taking slow jump shots—ones that will get blocked during games. I see players showboating and looking in the stands at girl friends or family, hoping everyone thinks he’s so cool.

Passing and receiving are the most important offensive fundamentals. It is passing that moves the ball ahead of the defense, creating spacing and openings; it is quick and accurate passing that will get the ball into the hand of shooters, exactly when and where they need it. However, I see little emphasis on the quick and proper fundamentals of passing during warm-ups. On the contrary, I see sloppy underhand passing and slow, inaccurate, bounce passing, especially during layup drills. North Carolina repeatedly stole the ball from Duke because receivers were standing, waiting for the pass. The timing was way off as receivers came to the spot too early and were not coming to meet the ball.

My question is, if passing and receiving are the most important fundamentals, shouldn’t players be trained to take them seriously during pregame warm-ups? Doesn’t what you do during warm-ups carry over to the game? 

The issue is, warm-ups is an opportunity, not just to get ready to play, but to improve. Warm-ups is a twenty-minute practice session, devoted to sharpening and improving the fundamentals.

Perhaps we have done our young people a disservice by titling the pregame as “Warm-Ups,” for that is exactly what they are doing. In fact, that’s all they’re doing. I recommend, renaming it “Pregame Practice” or “Game Preparation.” Perhaps that will send a clearer message.

While at UCLA, our pregame never started with two-line layups. It ended with it. Pregame Practice began with a high intensity passing, receiving, and cutting drill, in the context of our offense. Shooting practice was done in pairs. Bill Walton and I took turns making low-post moves while the other made crisp, deceptive, and accurate passes into the post. The other players were also paired up according to position, usually a starter with a substitute, the starter getting most of the repetitions. They were always taking game shots. One pair was always on the free throw line, taking five shots each and moving to game shots. Shooting started slow, working on the basics, and then progressed to very high speed. All shots were covered, including moves and counter moves. Passing and receiving were taken very seriously, knowing, in just a few minutes, the opponents were going to put some defense on it.

In short, while most of the other teams we played “warmed up,” we improved. Common sense, isn’t it?