MISTAKES IN THE POST TO AVOID FOR STRONGER PLAY

by George Galiotos
Coach, Rick Mahorn Big Man Camp (BigMan.camp)

Recently I had the chance to watch a college game, where I was particularly interested in the play of the bigs, having handled post assignments for top clubs in Greece for a dozen years.

What I saw was athletic guys running up and down the court ... but failing to seal the player under the basket. Their positioning didn't allow the guards to feed the post so in this particular game I noticed 6 or 7 times a player posted up but only on one of those times did he score. The other times the ball was turned over because the player either had faulty footwork or when the player went up and under he brought the ball down low rather than keeping it up high, resulting in a turnover.

I also saw that when the big got open he didn't get the ball because he needed to be more vocal and let teammates know he was ready to get the ball. If a big is inactive just outside the paint and not asking for the ball he isn't going to get it. 

George Galiotos

I also saw that bigs were setting screens at the wrong angles so that they weren't rolling to be able to get the ball. When you set a great screen you force the defender to help the player caught in your screen and then you have the space to roll successfully and get the ball. 

On some instances I saw the big just kind of staying where he was and not even rolling or popping out after setting the screen to create space and take advantage of the screen in order to be open to take a shot. .

As far as defense goes, the guys I was watching tended to jump on every shot fake. You don't have to necessarily leave your feet to block a shot. By keeping your hands up and ready  in defensive position you can defend against a shorter player without getting out of position. Not being in position in time - when a player is late to get to where he needs to be and tries to block the shot, that is where bigs get into so much foul trouble. 

Regarding rebounding, I saw players assuming they could rely on their athleticism, making no attempt to box out their player first. I suggest you stop looking for the ball and box out your player first to slow him down. Then you can use your abilities to grab the rebounds.  

When the guard drives baseline past his defender, the big should be ready to help by closing the driving lane. You need to be low with hands up and outer foot on the baseline. to keep the opposing guard from trying to go for the reverse layup. You want to force that guard to have to change or reverse direction, make an errant pass or draw the charging foul. But if you are 3-4 feet away from the baseline, and try to block that shot, you are probably going to be the one who gets called for the foul.  

To sum up, on offense the big should not just be focused on getting up and down the court but getting down quickly for the fast break ... to seal his defender under the basket ... to set great screens and then roll quickly toward the post, getting low and in proper spot close to the basket ... and be loud and active in asking for the ball. On defense, put a higher priority on boxing out to get rebounds instead of overly relying on your athletic abilities ... play with your hands up ... don't jump up on pump fakes ... and make it a habit to be in the proper position to avoid being called for the foul.

Finally, increase your guards' trust in you by projecting the idea that this is YOUR house and nobody is going to score on you. You will be getting more touches of the ball and at the same time the defense is going to be a bit more leery of attacking you.

*George Galiotos, a 7-footer from Greece, played in the Greek league for over a dozen years, while earning a degree in physical education and sport science. He now works as a basketball coach in New York City.

A LESSON FROM THE WORLD OF TV GAME SHOWS

HOW FOCUSED ARE YOU IN CRITICAL MOMENTS?  

Or are you like this guy?

I was watching "Wheel of Fortune" recently with my dad and we couldn't help but feel sorry for one of the contestants on that night's show.  In one puzzle the guy landed on the Million Dollar space (which is nice but only good if you make it to the final puzzle ... AND solve it - but still pretty exciting).  Next spin he lands on BANKRUPT, losing everything including that newly-won card.

Next puzzle he landed on the $3,500 space, called "T" - there were two of them and how he's got $7,000 riding on this puzzle. Spins again and straightaway lands on ... BANKRUPT!

By now you could see he was starting to feel stressed, especially as the other players were racking up big bucks. So what happens on the next spin?  He lands once more on big money, and calls "N."  Normally a good call, except that the N had already been called. 

This fellow's stress had gotten the best of him and distracted his focus. You could just see thinking about those previous puzzles and replaying those bankrupts in his mind - when winning depended on him being FULLY FOCUSED IN THE PRESENT MOMENT. Totally understandable but NEVER a good thing.

How about you? How good are you at letting go of those big mistakes you just made and staying FULLY FOCUSED IN THE PRESENT MOMENT?

FROM DEFLECTING TO REFLECTING: BEING RIGHT VS. BEING GREAT

The alarming spike in anti-Semitic acts (along with other hate crimes) in the past three years reached a crescendo with last week's brutal slaughter of Jews worshiping in synagogue on their Sabbath.

Antisemitism is hardly new. In the Book of Genesis we read of the handsome young slave Joseph, who rejected the advances of his Egyptian master's wife. To assuage her hurt feelings, the scorned woman turns to her other slaves to report that Joseph was the one who assaulted her, adding, "Look how this Hebrew was brought here (by my husband) to ridicule us."

As if she and her slaves had anything in common, she resorts to an "us vs. him" moment to gain their sympathy.

In the nearly 4,000 years since then, there have been many who sought to hold onto their power by seeking common cause with those they ruled through the convenient ploy of Antisemitism. Examples run from medieval blood libels to Eastern European pogroms, and from the Nazis' methodical disenfranchisement of the Jews leading to the Holocaust and the decimation of one-third of world Jewry.

Now we are witnessing the defamatory pronouncements against Holocaust survivor George Soros, who is vilified as a so-called "globalist," (code for "Jew"). Without a single shred of evidence, politicians claim that Soros is funding the trek toward our southern border of people who largely are seeking what most of our own ancestors sought in American - what President Andrew Jackson called "the asylum where the wretched and the oppressed find a refuge." 

Our president told reporters that such claims may be true; one individual was so moved to murder nine Jews and two police officers in a Pittsburgh synagogue, and another mailed pipe bombs to Soros and a list of others who have curried the anger of our president. Our president leads his followers to believe that members of the opposition party want no borders and to simply let everybody "invade us."

This, of course, is preposterous - not to mention dangerous and outrageous.  EVERY American wants to feel secure in our country.  Unfortunately, we are seeing fears being stoked until they turn extreme and then violent. "Us vs. them" has become the norm of the day as American society seems more divided than ever before.

As a sport psychologist I know that only when team members are able to replace fear with trust in one another can they achieve greatness.  Only when players are ready to honestly reflect on what keeps them divided, and resist the temptations to point fingers at one another, can they reach their best.

A college basketball coach asked me to work with his team because players' resentment about how much individual playing time they were getting was hurting team performance. We explored why players weren't feeling valued, why players were not ready to step up and take personal responsibility, and how to trust one another. Fears of being cheated out of playing time eventually gave way to greater cohesion and feelings of unity. The team went on to have a great season, winning their conference championship.

We Americans are a team, what President Jackson called "one great family." But like that college team, we are devoting most of our energies dividing each other into "us" and "them."
We act is if WE are always right and THEY are always wrong.

If we as a country are to be great, it will require a greater measure of trust and mutual respect than we have seen of late. We just have to decide if we want to be right (as factions) or great (as a team).

Thanks to Jon Meacham for the Andrew Jackson references from his excellent book, "The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels"