The madness is set to return tonight and I am psyched because I get to see my Carolina Tarheels live tomorrow night at the Prudential Center. That other game between Kentucky and Ohio State should be decent as well…I’m joking of course. It will be awesome!
In the meantime, I wanted to get you a quick post on a drill that I like to use at the end of a workout. I particularly like to use it for post players but it can be used for any type of player. The drill is called make Five in a Row. For this drill, the player should flash to the short corner and shoot a jumper. If the ball goes in the basket, it counts towards the five in a row. If the shot misses, the player must rebound the ball before it bounces and score for it to count towards the five in a row. Once the player misses, they restart at zero for that spot. This process is then repeated at the foul line and the opposite short corner.
This drill is great because it put pressure on the player to make shots, but also hustle after a rebound on a miss and concentrate on the follow up. Here is a video sample of the drill in action => Five in a Row Drill
I apologize for not having the video right in the post. For some reason, I am having some technical difficulties embedding it.
As always, let us know what drills you guys are doing at home and whether or not you like this one.
See you on the court!
Rich Stoner
Elite Basketball Training, LLC
Its that time of year again, March Madness. I have been watching college basketball games non stop over the past two weeks and I cannot wait for the start of the NCAA tournament. For true basketball fans and even the casual fan, it is the most excting sporting event this side of the superbowl. It is, for lack of a better phrase, “Real” Reality TV played out on a stage that is 94 feet of hardwood. It just does not get any better.
This season’s NCAA tournament promises more madness than ever as the parity in college basketball is at an all time high. Consequently, the games will be close and people will be sweating out these games and hoping that their brackets don’t burst early on. That being said, if you are looking for some tips, I would go ask an expert and not someone like me who picks North Carolina (I bleed Carolina Blue) to win every year. I think that I even picked them last year and they weren’t even in the tournament. That being said, here are my predictions sure to go wrong:
1) If you are looking for upsets, look no further than the Southeast bracket. It is the current residence of past tournament darlings like Gonzaga and Old Dominion (who are, by the way, hot like Hansel right now) who have a history of slaying past giants. The Southeast also has Belmont who is off the charts good and a veteran team in Utah State who is a legit sleeper to make the sweet 16.
2) Look out for the Aztecs of San Dieo State. The are a legitimate contender and if they make it to the Sweet 16 they will have a virtual home game in Anaheim against, most likely UConn and then a potential match up with Duke in the Elite Eight. That’s if Duke doesn’t get knocked off by an athletic Tennessee team or a very dangerous Texas. Forget what Texas did against Kansas in the Big 12 championship game. A month ago, Texas was the best team in college basketball, hands down and posesses all of the pieces to cut the nets down in the end.
3) Finally, if you are looking for a play in winner to win a couple of games, consider USC who, if they win their play-in game would take on a suspect (at best) Georgetown team. Upset city USA, baby!
Can you feel my excitement exuding from the pages of this blog? I hope so. I am looking forward to getting this thing started and watching the madness unfold. Until then, let me know what your thoughts are on the NCAA tournament in the comments section below.
See you on the court! Or maybe at Buffalo Wild Wings, hope they can keep the game going like they do in the commercial.
Rich Stoner
Elite Basketball Training, LLC
Each day on my ride into work, I listen to Mike and Mike in the morning with the off chance that I might find them talking just a little about basketball rather than their customary football jargon. Not that I am not a football fan, but it would be nice to hear some basketball talk every once in a while now that football season has ended. Well, it just so happens that right after Carmello Anthony was traded to the Knicks, they had Jay Bilas on the show to discuss the NBA and the anxiously anticipated NCAA tournament. Bilas, who is arguably the best basketball analyst out there, was weighing in on the Anthony trade and he began talking about what he called the “AAUization of the NBA.” This topic was a laughable metaphor that had me chuckling for a while on my ride up to work. Bilas’ point was quite simple. The NBA is currently is a state where in order to compete, teams are going after the best superstars they can find in order to secure their win at all costs mentality. The Celtics were the first to have the “Big Three,” The Heat followed suit, and now the Knicks are two thirds of the way there and anticipating the signing of Chris Paul in the off season to complete the triumvirate.
This “Big Three” mentality is no different than the hyped up AAU philosophy of picking up the best talent from across the country, rolling the balls out and letting these superstars compete together to win glamorous tournament titles week in and week out. The kicker is that you never know if the same team will be there from weekend to weekend because who knows what dominating player the coaches might be able to convince to play with them on a week to week basis.
Ultimately, the big question is does this philosophy work? It is honestly too tough to tell. At the AAU level, yes it does as there are just not enough great basketball players out there to compete with some of the glitsy AAU teams that have been created. At the NBA level a case can be made either way. In the case of the Celtics, the “Big Three” won the NBA championship in their first season together. This is in large part due to the other players playing their role around the original “Big Three” especially Rajon Rondo and his point guard abilities. However, in the case of the Heat, only time will tell. As of right now, it does not look promising. The Heat are 5-13 in games decided by five points or less this season and have yet to consistently win against any of the top tier NBA teams. The reason…superior talent does not always outperform a good team. Take the Chicago Bulls who this off season chose not to go the AAU route and instead added the necessary pieces to complete their puzzle. Now the Bulls have an MVP candidate in Derick Rose and are a true title contender. They are a good team that includes eight to 10 players playing and contributing on any given night. They are not a combination of three superstars that do not compliment each other’s game and therefore have trouble working together.
It might appear that I am anti AAU but I am not as it does have its value in moderation. However, the notion of the Big Three could ultimately hurt the NBA as it creates a huge divide in talent between the top teams and the lower teams.
Let me know your thoughts on this in the comment section below.
See you on the court!
Rich Stoner
Elite Basketball Training, LLC
At Elite Basketball Training we are always looking for new ways to improve our basketball skills training. Basketball skill development encompasses many aspects of the game of basketball and there is such a great variety of drills out there to choose from. This drill today is a drill that I use as part of a stationary ballhandling warmup. When working on a player’s ballhandling, I prefer to start with some stationary drills to ensure that the player is maintaining a certain level of fundamentals. This can be compared to working on form shooting for about 10-15 minutes before beginning your game shots drills. The video below shows a player performing, what I call, the Circle the Cone pound drill. The video shows the player using two basketballs, but can be performed with a single ball. That being said, make sure that when using one basketball, you work with both hands. This drill will develop the player’s hand strength as well as the proper posture when handling the ball.
To view this video, click on this link: Fundamental Ballhandling Drill (Video)
As always, if you have any drills please share them in the comments section below.
See you on the court.
Rich Stoner
Elite Basketball Training, LLC
Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend the basketball game that saw Rutgers shock then number 10 in the country, Villanova. I was invited to the game by Dallas Ouano who is a walk on at Villanova and trains with me in his off months from basketball. It was really exciting to attend a high level Big East basketball game, especially one that ended like this game did (sorry Dallas).
The first thing I noticed after I received oxygen and the burning sensation in my legs wore off from climbing to my seat in the rafters was how hard the players were working on the court. I could seriously touch the roof of the RAC but was still able to hear the sneakers squeak on the basketball court below. That is not by accident. That is straight up hard work! There is something to be learned from the sounds of the game of basketball and squeaking sneakers is definitely a sign of effort. This effort was exuded by both teams and it was Rutgers who gave just a little bit more down the stretch to earn the victory.
After the game, I hung around to talk to Dallas about how things were going with college and basketball. He came out noticeably disappointed and justifiably so. We got to talking about things and I was telling him about my team and how we had lost six straight games at that point. I asked him what coach Jay Wright had to say after a devastating loss like this. His first response was quite simple; that they needed to take it on the chin and get back to business the next day. However, he further went on to explain that at that level, everyone is really good and the pace of play is extremely fast, and that ultimately, it is the team that plays the hardest for the longest wins. Dallas places the responsility for such losses on his own shoulders as it is the scout team’s (which he is a part of) responsibility to prepare his teammates for each and every game. Dallas told me that they work so hard to beat the first team every single practice and if they do not, they are not doing their job.
I was so impressed with this advice that I relayed it to my own team. This information is not something that is new to them, as we emphasize effort and execution daily. However, the source from which it came is. What I made clear to them was that Dallas has very little to gain from busting his tail day in and day out. As a walk on, he will very rarely, if ever play. This makes his perspective on hard work and effort very selfless and team oriented. His selflessness was reiterated in the following text that he sent me after the game: “Tell your guys that it doesn’t matter if you look bad. Some of them will stop playing ball after high school and some might have college on their minds, but in the end, guys on good teams get looks. You have to sacrifice your personal agenda for your team, and in the end it will help each guy reach his personal goals.” As a long time coach and trainer, this says it all. The concept of working hard for the name on the front of your jersey is not a new one, but it is sometimes forgotten when the going gets rough. Dallas’ insights served as a reminder of this for my team with the hope that it will provide new life for my them going forward in the playoffs.
Let me know what you think on this topic in the comments section below or by weighing in on this discussion on my Elite Basketball Training Facebook Fan page.
See you on the court!
Rich Stoner
Elite Basketball Training, LLC
