UNC Wins the Hustle Battle

Another fantastic night in men's college basketball action. I apologize to you NBA, Euroleague and women's basketball fans, I'll get back to some of that action tomorrow. UNC played Ohio St. tonight in a real scrappy hard fought game. Reminds me of the adult rec league I used to play several years ago, lots of bodies flying around and hard-nosed defense. For UNC, it showed their grit and determination. Though UNC certainly has the talent to play the finesse game, I have a lot of respect for teams that are physical and play a bruising style of basketball, maybe it's the Canadian in me. Anyways, on a night without their starting point-guard (arguably the most important position in basketball) and shooting just 38% from the field, this game had to be won on the glass and with tough defense, and the Tar Heels did both. This terrific sequence shows the kind of hustle we all hope our teams play with. Watch the video and read my thoughts below,



When the going gets tough, it's usually the more physical team that will come out on top. As Al Pacino says in the movie Any Given Sunday, "In any fight, it's the guy who's willing to die whose gonna win that inch."

UNC held Ohio St. to 27% from the field and dominated 58-42 on the glass. That's how they won the game tonight.

If you want your team to play with hustle, I absolutely believe that it starts in practice. The way your teams practice, going hard, will determine whether your team plays with hustle. I've never seen a lazy team in practice go out and play with hustle and determination, it just doesn't happen. I watched Bobby Knight run this hustle drill (and many of you probably run something similar).

Basically, a coach stands underneath the basket and just rolls the ball towards the free-throw line. 2 players go out and dive on the ground, whoever comes up with the ball gets up and finishes the play.

Hustle is one of those intangibles, it's also a great talent equalizer. If you don't have as much talent than your opponents, then your players must outwork your opponent every single possession on offense and defense, there is no other way.

Learn to play hard-nosed defense the Bruiser way. Coach Bruiser Flint's DVD is great at showing you drills you can use to teach a non-gambling hard-nosed closeout defense that will pressure the ball and force turnovers without gambling for steals, a must if you have less talent. Have an idea for a drill, or looking for more info, head over to the X's and O's of Basketball Forum to join the discussions.