Comments

Thank you very much, Dan. 

Having not played any AAU myself, I am not quite sure how it impacts young players.  I think that competition against high quality players is a good thing overall.  But if all you do is play games, then there isn’t as much time for drills on fundamentals, nor is there as much time for explanation of various schemes and Xs and Os. 

These are the types of things that big-time college basketball players need to really learn.  And players can’t learn it the way a students learn the material for a midterm and then forget it for the rest of their life after two beers at the next party they attend.  Our players need to learn this stuff so well that when the opposition switches up their defense in the second half of an NCAA tournament game, they know how to react without having to temper their competitive instincts one bit.  In fact, the knowledge of the scheme and the fundamentals has to become instinct. 

I think that if Coach Bzdelik turns out to be that kind of teacher, we’ll be in really good shape.  Thanks again for the great insight, Dan.  It is much appreciated.  I’m looking forward to more articles/posts.  Take care.

DC on 10/21/2010 (9:27 pm)

DC, the thing is I don’t see as much improvement in basic fundamentals as one might expect, given how much basketball these guys play before they ever get to college. Perhaps the emphasis in many AAU programs is not fundamentals. I don’t know. But I just got through watching another Wake practice and Bzdelik is a teacher. That appears to be his strength as a coach. But we’ll see as the season progresses.

Dan on 10/21/2010 (6:53 pm)

Dan,

In terms of just basic fundamentals, do you see a significant difference between incoming freshmen now versus ten, fifteen and twenty years ago?  There seems to be potential for the benefits of the AAU circuit (i.e. great experience competing against high-level competition) to take away from a developing player’s foundation of basketball skills. 

If that is indeed the case, then it would seem even more important for a college basketball coach to be adept at teaching fundamentals and schemes.  Coach Bzdelik’s more cerebral approach to the game would be a good fit.  The basis for mental toughness in critical situations is preparation.  This is the time of year when post-season collapses are averted. 

Thanks as always.

DC on 10/21/2010 (10:20 am)

It sounds like we have a coach now.  Teaching players how to behave in certain situations is what a coach is paid to do.  Let’s hope that the days of watching pick-up style basketball are long gone.  If Coach B can recruit ACC caliber talent we could have competitive teams in the future.

MikeB on 10/20/2010 (6:39 pm)