EMERGENCY BULLETIN FOR AMERICAN BASKETBALL COACHES

By Swen Nater

The Association of American Basketball Coaching (AABC) has concluded a world-wide study and has released its stunning findings. After polling over 2,000 coaches and over 5,000 players across this country, the research is clearly showing a revolutionary finding in the area of rebounding: A vast majority of American basketball players do not understand what “Box Out” means. After reading the research results, Hector Williams, a Michigan select coach, humbly stated, “I’ve been coaching for twenty years and I had no idea I was not communicating clearly to my players.”

American coaches clearly understand what “Blocking Out” is: The act the defensive player (with inside position) makes, when a shot is released, of making contact with an opponent, in an effort to keep that opponent away from the basket and away from the rebound. Hence, he is “boxing” his opponent “out” and away from the basket. The five-year study showed, although coaches understand this definition clearly, there is no guarantee the information is delivered to players with clarity. In fact, the AABC study revealed, less than 10% of American basketball players understand what their coaches are saying when, in practices and games, they yell, “Box Out!”

It is widely known, European basketball players are more fundamentally skilled than the Americans, as witnessed by those who watch the Olympics. Boxing out, is one area the foreigners are way ahead in. In the study, hundreds of American basketball players were confidentially interviewed and asked the question, “What does ‘Box Out’ mean to you?” 90% gave answers that had nothing to do with basketball. After their answer, they were told the basketball meaning of Box Out. Following are two examples.  

Said Juan O. Blivious, a promising Mississippi high school player, “My father owns a grocery store and all groceries are delivered in boxes. I used to help during the summer. All emptied boxes were discarded into the recycle bin, outside in the alley. In the grocery business, the act of moving the boxes from inside the store to the alley is called, “Box Out.” Whenever my coach told me to box out I thought, ‘How cool! He worked in a grocery store before.’ I had no idea he was talking about something related to basketball.”

Chase Cadet, a high school post player in San Diego, California, said, “My grandpa was a prizefighter. He used to tell me amazing stories of when he fought different opponents for money. This was in Idaho back in the day. He told me, when the weather was bad, they would box inside and when it was good, they would box out. Thank you for explaining what “Box Out” means in basketball. In the past, when my coach told me to “Box Out,” I would leave the gym and find somebody to beat up.”

Those are only two examples of the thousands of basketball players that are saying the same thing. Like a middle school boys choir, pure in heart, they are collectively and innocently voicing, “No one has ever explained what Boxing Out means in basketball.”

At last, the long-awaited answer to every coach’s question, “Why aren’t my players boxing out?” has been answered. We thank the AABC for revealing the truth of the matter; it is a communication issue.

Basketball coaches of America, the research is in and it is rather sobering, isn’t it? We have failed our players. But there is hope. The AABC recommends never assume a basketball player understands what you are saying. The association encourages repeated demonstration and explanation until the lights go on and the “Aha Moment” arrives. Then, you can be fairly certain you and your players are on the same page. 

And believe me; I am preaching to myself also. I have perused this posting several times, looking for something that may be taken differently than I intended and I found one. When I mentioned “post player” above, I was not referring to a person that is playing with his stamp collection.