American Kids Flunk Basketball 101

[Katy Lied]

A Rather devastating critique of how AAU sets up US kids to fail basketball at a higher level because it doesnt teach them fundamentals or defense.

Michael Beasley of the Miami Heat, finally conceded a fundamental flaw: No one, at any level in his basketball career, had asked him to play defense. And especially not in AAU. “If you’re playing defense in AAU, you don’t need to be playing,” he says. “I’ve honestly never seen anyone play defense in AAU.”

It’s a bad system for developing players,” says Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. “They aren’t learning to handle the ball, they aren’t learning to make plays against pressure.

The result is a mixture of unrestrained offense and Harlem Globetrotter defense: Even with 32-minute games, far shorter than the NBA’s 48 or NCAA’s 40, top AAU teams often score more than 70 points and sometimes more than 80.

It was, he [Brandon Jennings] says, the most intense two weeks of his basketball life. If he’d never gone to Europe, he says, “I wouldn’t know the pick-and-roll game. I wouldn’t know how to guard, wouldn’t know how to fight through screens. I’m stronger now.”

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/...TEyNDUyWj.html

[Jeff Lebowski]

You will be happy to know that this is not true with girls AAU basketball. Not in Utah. Certainly not on my team.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Great find, thanks.

[KillerDog]

A Rather devastating critique of how AAU sets up US kids to fail basketball at a higher level because it doesnt teach them fundamentals or defense.







http://online.wsj.com/article_email/...TEyNDUyWj.html

Interesting. I learned defense from high school coaches. He figured we would all work on scoring on our own so he focused on teaching us to defend. It was exhausting but I think it worked out. It makes you wonder if an AAU coach could make a lot of hay teaching D.

[Donuthole]

You will be happy to know that this is not true with girls AAU basketball. Not in Utah. Certainly not on my team.

I am just happy to know you play on a girls AAU team. The Dude is full of surprises.

[Donuthole]

Interesting. I learned defense from high school coaches. He figured we would all work on scoring on our own so he focused on teaching us to defend. It was exhausting but I think it worked out. It makes you wonder if an AAU coach could make a lot of hay teaching D.

My high school coach had the same philosophy. Whenever someone would grumble about too much practicing defense, he would always yell something to the effect of "How many times do you go out in the backyard and practice defense?!" or "How many times have you broken into the church to work on your defensive stance?!" On average, our practice were about 1:30 long, and we'd spend about an hour of that working on defense.

[TripletDaddy]

My high school coach had the same philosophy. Whenever someone would grumble about too much practicing defense, he would always yell something to the effect of "How many times do you go out in the backyard and practice defense?!" or "How many times have you broken into the church to work on your defensive stance?!" On average, our practice were about 1:30 long, and we'd spend about an hour of that working on defense.

This explains why you get so defensive when talking about basketball!

[KillerDog]

My high school coach had the same philosophy. Whenever someone would grumble about too much practicing defense, he would always yell something to the effect of "How many times do you go out in the backyard and practice defense?!" or "How many times have you broken into the church to work on your defensive stance?!" On average, our practice were about 1:30 long, and we'd spend about an hour of that working on defense.

2:30 pm - 5:30 pm for us and of that time we practiced D and did defensive drills until about 4:45. Then we would work on our plays. We had two core defenses and a bunch of Ds that were extensions of our core defenses. Takes a lot of time to learn that much defense.

[woot]

My experience was similar. AAU was about sprinting up and down the court doing alley-oops and generally getting rid of the ball in 10 seconds or less. High School ball was about carefully set offensive plays and defense, defense, defense. Between the two, I think I turned out fine and would have had sufficient fundamentals to play college had I been a better player.

Are these players not getting the fundamentals from their high school coaches? I assumed that there was an understanding that AAU ball is where you practice your aggressive offense/street ball skills.

[RockyBalboa]

My High School Coach had one simple philosophy: "IF You don't put all balls to the walls effort on defense of every second.....then I will pull your ass out of the game and you will sit and watch...I don't care how talented you are on the offensive end."

What a liar he turned out to be.

[TripletDaddy]

Question for the group: how does this article jibe with the general perception that Euros are soft and can't play defense? I agree with the article in that the American game promotes individual play, as opposed to team play.

But which Euros in the league are known for their lockdown defense? I mean, even if we can name one or two, since when is Europe known for defense, as opposed to shooting?

[Coach McGuirk]

Question for the group: how does this article jibe with the general perception that Euros are soft and can't play defense? I agree with the article in that the American game promotes individual play, as opposed to team play.

But which Euros in the league are known for their lockdown defense? I mean, even if we can name one or two, since when is Europe known for defense, as opposed to shooting?

I don't know, but I don't understand why K-dog and D-hole are not in the NBA with all the defense they learned.

[il Padrino Ute]

Question for the group: how does this article jibe with the general perception that Euros are soft and can't play defense? I agree with the article in that the American game promotes individual play, as opposed to team play.

But which Euros in the league are known for their lockdown defense? I mean, even if we can name one or two, since when is Europe known for defense, as opposed to shooting?

My guess would be that Kierlinko is about as lockdown as a Euro player gets.

[Donuthole]

I don't know, but I don't understand why K-dog and D-hole are not in the NBA with all the defense they learned.

I have small hands*. Oh, and I smell like cabbage.




*And for the record, it is a MYTH! A MYTH, goshdammit.

[KillerDog]

I don't know, but I don't understand why K-dog and D-hole are not in the NBA with all the defense they learned.

I'm a poor jump shooter.