Bob Huggins on NBA Players in Practice

Watched a great interview the other day on ESPN with West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins. What stuck with me was the idea of having guys in your practice from the next level. In his case, having NBA players in his practices at Morgantown. I think its important from a goal-setting and motivational standpoint for players at your level see what they could be, what they should be. It also ups the intensity, because the really competitive players on your team will want to see how they matchup against the next level.

So, if you're a college coach, having professional players in your practices. If you're a high school coach, having college players in your practices. If you're a JV coach, having Varsity players in your practices. If you're a youth coach, having high school players in your practice. Definitely something to think about.

Here is the video clip of the interview (around 8 minutes) if you want to see it whole. The part about NBA players in practice is around 3:40,



Some other great things that I picked up on from the video:

- 1:00. Coach Huggins talked about the differences in style of play between himself and Coach John Beilein who preceded him at WVU. Beilein's emphasis was on shooting, while Huggins was on size and toughness. Both have had success at WVU. For me, it just goes to show that there are many ways of doing things, and many ways to achieve success. At the end of the day, what matters the most is getting the right system for the right players.

- 5:30. "It is hard to play and think at the same time." I definitely agree with this statement. On offense and defense, your players must get to the level where they are playing basketball, not thinking about every little nuance of their technique and positioning. That is not to say that tactics and technique are not important, but first you must coach age-appropriately, and then players must practice a technique or tactic enough times so that they do it without thinking about it.

For more great ideas for half-court pressure defense, take a look at Bob Huggins' new DVD on Aggressive Trapping Defensive Systems. Definitely looking forward to watching WVU in Big East play this upcoming season.