Basketball Training: Skills, Speed, and Strength » Jay Bilas http://www.richstoner.com The purpose is to provide information to basketball players and coaches that will help increase basketball skills, strength, and speed. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:06:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 The “AAUization of the NBA” http://www.richstoner.com/the-aauization-of-the-nba http://www.richstoner.com/the-aauization-of-the-nba#comments Thu, 10 Mar 2011 12:47:02 +0000 Rich http://www.richstoner.com/?p=1977 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

]]> http://www.richstoner.com/the-aauization-of-the-nba/feed 0 What Makes A Basketball Player Tough? http://www.richstoner.com/what-makes-a-basketball-player-tough http://www.richstoner.com/what-makes-a-basketball-player-tough#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:58:36 +0000 Rich http://www.richstoner.com/?p=970 There should not be any doubt that Jay Bilas is one of today’s foremost authorities on college basketball so I am always intrigued by what he has to say throughout the course of a game.  This weekend as I watched the end of the Duke/Georgia Tech basketball game, a game Bilas was calling, I heard him mention some characteristics that make a basketball player tough.  Characteristics like diving on a loose ball or making key free throws down the stretch (something Georgia Tech did in their upset victory) define tough players.  Nonetheless, hearing Bilas mention these tough plays reminded me of an article that he wrote last year entitled Defining Toughness in College Hoops.  If you have not read this article, it is a must read, and if you have read it, reread it.  This article’s value is limitless and can be used at all levels of basketball.  So do not hesitate and click on the title above and pass it on to those whom you think would benefit.

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