With the season nearing I wanted to hit on a topic that I learned the first year I was coaching a team and it has stuck with me ever since. It is extremely simple, yet highly effective. You achieve what you emphasize. Obviously Buzz Williams doesn’t agree with this philosophy:) . What are you focusing on in your practices? You need to pick out specific areas of focus you need to work on. If your team is having trouble passing the basketball, ask yourself, when is the last time we have done a pressure passing drill in practice? Have I taught them how to pivot under pressure and be the boss with the basketball? One pet peeve I have is coaches who hold players accountable for things they were never properly taught. The bottom line is most teams focus on offensive and defensive systems instead of skill development, which during the season you obviously need to do. The flipside is that if your kids can’t make well timed passes, if they can’t handle the ball under pressure, if they can’t finish, it doesn’t matter what type of offense you run.
If I want to develop a fundamentally sound offensive team here are the 6 areas I’m going to focus on in almost every practice:
1. Passing Under Pressure and Being Ball Tough
2. Footwork for shooting off the catch and off the dribble
3. Triple Threat Footwork (strong side step and crossover step off of both pivot feet)
4. Playing off of Penetration
5. Handling the Basketball
6. Finishing at the Rim.
Obviously there are other areas you can focus on, but footwork and passing are paramount! Remember, You Achieve What You Emphasize!
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The founder of Mike Lee Basketball Services (formerly Playmakers Basketball), Mike is known throughout the country for individual player skill development. He has been a speaker at several events and has also recently authored several instructional workout DVDs, which will be released over the next year. Titles out right now include, 25 Killer Scoring Moves, Secrets of Unstoppable Guard Play and Secrets of Unstoppable Shooting. Since 2006 Mike Lee Basketball has trained over 3,600 boys and girls through their skill development programs. Dozens of players that Mike has worked with have gone on to play collegiate basketball, some at the NCAA DI level. In addition to his own basketball services, Mike is a Nike Girls Skills Trainer and a member of the Nike sponsored, Ganon Baker Basketball.
From 2001-2006, Mike participated as a player and assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. During the fall of 2006 he was awarded a scholarship to attend the Coach K and Duke University Leadership Conference in Durham, NC. In December of 2006 he graduated from the University of Wiconsin-Stout with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a self-planned concentration in Basketball Entrepreneurship.
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