One Speed

An interesting observation was made at practice today. A coach noted (correctly) that the players seem to always play at the same pace during practice. They run down the wings, run through their cuts, run to the offensive glass, and run back in defensive transition. Great players do not always play at the same pace. They use subtle changes of speed to get separation when they need it. I think using the change of pace it is an indicator of a much greater understanding of the game though.

We do a fine job of teaching how to do change of pace. At least once a week we do a defensive mirror drill where the offensive player has to move in a straight line from one baseline to the other using only changes of pace to try to get separation. The defense's job is to stay about arm's length away from one of the offensive player's hips and "mirror" her movement. This is a perfect way to discover how changes of pace can be effective. The problem is that this doesn't seem to be tranfering to game situations.

One of the most important skills in basketball that I am struggling to teach well is the notion of "being hard to read". There are two sides to the coin. On one side is the idea of always trying to figure out what the other player is thinking. The other side of the coin is trying to get them to think certain things about you, then misdirecting them.

The first level player will just play the game and try to win based on speed, strength, size, or skill. You can be very successful playing like this.

The second level player is good at "reading". (I don't think we emphasize reading the offense enough as defenders, but that's a post for another time.) They can beat a player by reading their opponent's body and seeing how they are being guarded, or reading how a teammate is being guarded. They generally will do better head to head than a first level player.

The highest level players are the ones that really understand misdirection. They are "hard to read". They will make you think that they are slowly bringing the ball up the floor to set up a play, and then accelerate by you when you relax. The will take you a step away from the hoop before running you off a hard backscreen. The notion of getting the other player to read you one way, then doing something else.

I would be willing to bet that the player on your team that is the best at using fakes effectively is also the player that uses changes of pace the most effectively. That speaks to a greater force guiding both principles. The way these great players approach the game is with this idea of mindreading. Always trying to figure out what the other person is thinking, and not making it easy for other people to decipher what you are thinking.

That was a long convoluted post to explain that I think "being hard to read" is an undercurrent that isn't recognized enough in this game. There are a lot of genereal skills that rely on this concept and I'd like to find a way to teach it better. As always, comments and feedback are expected.