A Letter to the Center: Having a Great Season is Your Call
Swen Nater

Basketball history shows us, when the center becomes the defensive team leader, that team becomes extremely competitive and difficult to beat.

Last year’s NCAA men’s champion, UNC, was led by center, Tyler Hansbrough. It was his work ethic, determination, and competitive greatness that was a measuring stick the rest of the players tried to equal. Tyler was not necessarily the main leader on the offensive end, but defensively, he was like an orchestra conductor, directing traffic and harmonizing the other four players into a defensive team that usually stopped any play an opponent tried to make. It was not unusual to see Hansbrough push one of his players through a screen.   

At the professional level, Bill Russell used to throw up before almost every game because he was so intent on stopping his opponent with his defense. His direct communication kept his teammates in position to stop penetration. But if they failed and were beaten, Bill would say, “Don’t worry about it; I got him.” He was there to block the shot into play (as opposed to today’s shot-blockers that get their jollies from swatting the ball out of bounds). Russell’s shot blocking and outlet passing ignited the famous Celtics fast break, a key to their eleven championships in the thirteen years Russell played in Boston.

Back to the college level, there had never been, and probably will not be, a complete center like Bill Walton of UCLA. Offensively, he made sure he touched the ball every possession. As a result, his passing made for easy scoring, at times. But it was on the defensive end that Bill’s leadership was truly evident. He was a tremendously vocal defensive leader. Walton is the only center I have seen that let his teammates know where he was at all times (high post or low post), so they would know where the help was and where it wasn’t. Bill incessantly talked to his teammates. He directed everything on the defensive end and his teammates moved in unison to his commands. Like Bill Russell, Walton started the unparalleled UCLA fast break with his shot blocking and outlet passing.

All three of these players were very vocal when they led their teams and verbally led their teammates, like a great general shouting out directions to his troops. Yet the interesting thing is: Hansbrough, Russell, and Walton are relatively shy individuals off the court. What caused them to morph into vocal and assertive defensive leaders once they stepped on the hardwood? It’s easy. Somewhere along the road they learned, championships are won on the defensive end of the floor, a defense can’t be at its best without someone directing it, and the center is the only one in position to lead because he is behind the rest of his teammates and can see it all. Somewhere along the line, because a fervent desire to win, they came out of their shells and became verbal leaders. I could easily say “They had no choice,” but that would be wrong. They did have a choice and eagerly risked becoming a vocal leader for the sake of winning.

Your Team Needs You to Become a Hansbrough, Russell, or Walton, right now!
So what? What’s the point? You! Yes, you big man and center of your team. You have the greatness of the season in your hands right now. You may be shy. Are you going to let your shyness or inexperience rob you and your team of a great season? It’s still early in the year. This is a perfect time to make a decision to lead your team defensively by communicating and directing. There are no excuses, my friend. Like Hansbrough, Russell, and Walton, you have a choice. You must choose right now. If you choose to be a leader and win, here’s what to do. There are only eight things you need to be able to say to your teammates.

1. “High Post” or “Low Post”: Let them know where you are so they can force the play to you. Forcing the play to where the center is, clogs things up for the offense and makes it more difficult to score. You are there to hedge and help the rest of the players recover.
2. “I have help left” or “I have help right”: When you see a teammate caught in a quickness or size mismatch, tell him you have help, left or right. That way he can shift over a little and you can help him stop the player. “
3. “Screen right” or “Screen left”: Your man will screen a lot. Let your teammate know, early, when the screen is coming and where it will occur: right or left.
4. “Stay” or “Switch”: If the defensive player can recover, tell him to stay. If not, tell him to switch and, if you have to, like Hansbrough, pull him or push him over to your man.

Those are the eight basic verbal commands of the defensive center. Start with that until you master it. That should only take a day or so. When you get more experienced, you will be seeing an offensive play develop and call it out before it forms. You’ll find yourself saying things like, “Hey, watch ball screen coming. Fight over the top, Mike” or “Stay with that three-point shooter on the weak side. Don’t leave him.”

The next time you walk into that gym, be the leader your team needs. It will take time to fully develop, but start now. Having a great season is your call.