I watched the CBS special on Lebron James that aired on Sunday night. I thought it was a decent interview but I felt that there was a lot of fluff in it. There is a debate about whether all the commodification has had a positive, negative, or neutral value effect on basketball and sports in general. Then there is the whole cult of personality and celebrity culture promoted through professional sports which one could argue has had an overwhelmingly negative impact on the development of youth. Personally, I was surprised and quite disappointed that 60 Minutes would do such a soft piece given its journalistic reputation. I would've liked to have seen more in-depth questions and answers about what Lebron thinks he can do from a societal standpoint -- where he can use his "brand" as he has used "basketball as a mechanism for material wealth" to influence structural change especially in the economically depressed neighborhoods where he grew up.

But irregardless of whether you think that Lebron James as a "brand" represents all that is bad or good about sports and the game of basketball overall, what you cannot deny is that he has an incredible talent, charm, and even a little magic. In the interview, he hits what appears to be an unscripted, done in one take, underhand 3/4 shot. Fake or real, you be the judge,

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What an impressive performance by Michigan State last night in beating number one overall Louisville. As a coach, you can look at that win and think to yourself, wow, they really executed their gameplan to a T. Now, on the other hand, I thought that Louisville stayed in their half-court zone defense too long. I know, that is their character, Pitino likes zones and matchup zones, and it would be out of character for them to go straight M2M for a large part of the game. However, I felt the zone defense played right into MSU's strategy, to play the 35 seconds out, wear out the defense, and dictate the tempo.

As for MSU's zone offense, just a tremendous job of doing all the things that you need to do to be successful against a 2-3 zone. They shot the ball well, they rebounded, took advantage of the soft spots. Goran Suton was the difference maker at that high post spot. He made shots, and really dominated, passed the ball over the top of that zone from the high post spot. Take a look,



Stretch the Defense, Make them Work:

MSU's strategy really was to stretch the defense out, use the clock, and make Louisville spend energy on defense so that they would be impatient to score on offense. And it worked. As you saw in the video clip, all defenders were scrambling going back and forth as MSU reversed the ball, over and over and over. That more than anything was the most important factor, it simply wore them out. You can't scramble that much with no reward, and come back on offense and not want to answer right away with quick shots (which Louisville did and missed),

By contrast, MSU had all the energy. It doesn't take much energy to pass the ball around from side to side. The defense is doing all the work. The offensive rebounding by MSU tells the story. After 35 seconds of the offense playing keep away, I don't think any zone defense would have the energy left to find-hit-get?

Summary:

To be honest, I wasn't too surprised that MSU beat Louisville. I think even if Louisville went to a M2M, they probably would have lost, but maybe the score would have been closer. MSU, really nullified Louisville's press. I was very impressed with UNC yesterday. They've been criticized for having inconsistent half-court defense during the regular season (and rightfully so), but I think throughout the first few rounds of the tournament, they have addressed that problem. If they can maintain that consistency on defense in the final four, they're winning it all.

I can tell MSU's zone offense is all of sudden really popular with the number of people looking for Tom Izzo notes. If you want more info though, check out Tom Izzo's DVD on the 1-3-1 Zone Offense. As always, head over to the X's and O's Basketball forum to talk with other coaches about your favorite basketball topics.

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I had a conversation with a coaching friend a few weeks ago about coaching positions available as it inevitably comes up at the end of every varsity season. He is thinking of applying for the varsity head coach at a perennial championship contender. The school is a private school that has a long tradition of winning basketball teams with a very interventionist board of directors, administration, and a very influential alumni association. My friend is certainly qualified for this position by basketball standards and it would represent a significant career progression. However, my friend has only ever coached/teached only at public schools before and thus in my opinion the position is not without its caveats.

With the firing of Billy Gillispie recently from Kentucky, and their Athletic Director saying it was simply "not a good fit," it got me thinking again about how important a responsibility it is as a potential coach to know exactly what is expected of the person before accepting a given position.

As a coach, you need to know what you are comfortable doing and what you are not comfortable doing. For example, being a coach at Kentucky is completely different than being a coach at UTEP or Texas A&M. And we're talking mostly non-basketball related tasks. Coaching at an exceptionally high-profile institution whether in college or high school normally requires the coach to be extremely active in the community, in fundraising, charity work, media events, public relations. It's almost a job within a job. In my opinion, I think it's irresponsible to accept a position at an institution like that, then claim after the fact that these non-basketball related roles do not fall within the ordinary job description of the basketball coach.

So, I guess I'm arguing for a shared accountability. That as coaches, yes, we have a responsibility to properly determine and assess the expectations of such a position (basketball and non-basketball related), and honestly self-evaluate as to whether the position is "the right fit" before accepting such an offer of employment. Athletic Directors must also be transparent in communicating those expectations, and perform proper due diligence in ensuring the candidate they want to ultimately hire actually possesses all the attributes (basketball and non-basketball related) required for the position.

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In watching the big game between Pitt and Villanova, and alot of the pundits on the breakdown of how the game ended. I think as coaches, we can all look at those last 2 minutes and come away with some lessons. Villanova almost gave away the game with an ill-advised baseball play trying to beat Pitt's full-court press. Pitt ends up tying the game.

But then, I thought Pitt made a strategic error after Levance Fields made the free-throw to tie the game at 76. With only 5 seconds to go, they decided to go with the full court pressure again,

The pass is made to the middle on the press break, then Scottie Reynolds is able to successfully get a handoff and because of Pitt's ill-advised decision to full-court press, Villanova has a 3-on-2 with 4 seconds left, good odds if you're Villanova,

I know I tend to focus on the negative (just part of my skeptical nature), but I thought Pitt allowed Villanova, and specifically Scottie Reynolds that layup. In my opinion, if Pitt had chosen to send 4 back instead, allowed Scottie Reynolds to receive the ball and just have 1 defender pressure him and make him turn a couple of times, or at least once, with 4 defenders in the paint, I think Villanova would have had to settle for a perimeter shot. Sure, they could've still hit the perimeter shot to win it, but I like those odds better than a 3-on-2. That's just a matter of math.

If you're a Villanova or Jay Wright fan, check out the Jay Wright DVD on Late Game Situations. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum to discuss this and any of your favorite basketball topics.

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Most of the games today were blowouts, the most surprising was Arizona and Louisville. Arizona had the talent, athleticism, and skill to beat Louisville, but their play was lethargic, they did not look like a team playing in the Sweet 16 against the number one overall seed, but more like a regular season game.

But the Michigan State win over Kansas was a great game. MSU gets a ton of credit for coming from behind to tie then take the lead on a tough Kansas team. Ultimately, Kansas just made too many turnovers at the wrong times. It was a great finish for MSU. With the game tied, under 1 minute to go, half of the shot clock down, MSU goes with the 1-4 low isolation with their best player Kalin Lucas going 1v1,



1-4 Low Isolation:

I like the 1-4 low isolation because it gives your best player the freedom to go either way, unlike a wing isolation. Also, I like it because with the rest of the players flattened out, it really does give your best player the most open space to make a play, against at most 1 defender.

Now, should the defense choose to double to get the ball out of your best players hands, then that should mean someone else is wide open, especially if your offense is spread properly. What also works really well is running a high screen, as most teams switch all screens at the end of the game, you can get a quick-on-slow or a big-on-little mismatch.

Last but not least, should your best player miss the shot, your forwards O4 and O5 should be in great position coming from underneath to sneak in for the offensive rebound. How many times have you seen it where it wasn't the initial shot that won the game, but the offensive putback.

Summary:

The Elite Eight is set now. Michigan State is playing Louisville. A tough matchup, but the Spartans have the toughness and tenacity to face Louisville's daunting full court press. But all the matchups on paper look very intriguing and I think they could go either way. In my opinion, the safest number one seed probably is UConn. Missouri is good, but I think UConn can use Thabeet in the middle to throw over the top of their press.

If you are a big Michigan State or Coach Izzo fan, then you'll enjoy Tom Izzo's DVD on his Philosophy and Practice Drills. As always, head over to the X's and O's Basketball forum to talk with other coaches about your favorite basketball topics.

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I know I wrote about Pitt just a few days ago, but I just thought that last night's win over Xavier was just a great game to follow-up on, especially with the way Pitt finished the game. You know, as a coach, we always talk about building leaders, players who step up and make plays. Levance Fields of Pitt epitomized that role last night.

In the last two minutes, he made three key plays. First, he trailed the fast break and when Dixon messed up the open court dunk, Fields was there to put it back. Second, he steps up and hits a huge 3-pointer to give Pitt the lead. Third, he steps into a steal and gets the basket that sealed the win,



What I wanted to highlight here specifically is what a leader is all about. In this first sequence, when Jermaine Dixon missed the open court dunk, Fields is there to put it back. That part is just standard "doing your job" part. What I really liked to see is what Fields did right after, he immediately told Dixon to get up and get back on defense,

That's a team. That's a what a leader does. He picks up his teammates when they've made a bad mistake. He pulls them together and gets them focused on the next step. As a coach, that is what you want. It isn't about you shouting out instructions to your players, telling them what they did wrong, what to do, where to go. Your job is to educate them so that they make their own decisions, so that they know themselves what to do next. That is when you know that you've done your job as a coach.

Summary:

So far, my bracket is looking pretty good. My upsets are out, but that shouldn't be a surprise because well the favorites should be winning anyways. I think Arizona is a dangerous trap team. They are seeded 12th, but as Rick Pitino said himself on ESPN radio, Arizona has 3 NBA players, they do not play like a 12th seed. I think all the controversy surrounding Jim Calhoun and UConn with the recruiting allegations will only serve to bring them closer together, making it an "us versus the world" type of motivation. Well, should be a great weekend ahead.

If you're a Pitt or Jamie Dixon fan, check out the Jamie Dixon DVD 5-pack. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum to discuss this and any of your favorite basketball topics.

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One of the big things that I've noticed with the Celtics this season as compared to last season has been their inability to contain dribble penetration. I watched the early ESPN game between the Magic and the Celtics and was really surprised how Orlando was able to penetrate the lane pretty much at will. Yes, the Celtics tried to rotate and help, but against a good team like the Magic, they either found their shooters, or Howard cleaned up the offensive rebound as a result. If you can't stop penetration, the rest of your defense simply breaks down. Here are some sequences from the first half,



Attention to Detail:

I just wanted to point out a couple of small things that make a big difference. There isn't anything strategic that the Celtics are doing wrong. They run the same defense they've always been running. But as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. The first one to point out is on the help defense forcing to the baseline. This is a very standard M2M defensive principle, force the dribbler to baseline help. However, this play only works if the help defender successfully cuts the dribbler off at the baseline, preventing him from making that pass along the baseline, and making him pivot and turn back,

Next point. I hate it when my players bail out on their check, and attempt the wrap around poke. One in ten, they will actually force the turnover. Nine in ten, it results in a bad play for us as a defense. There is no substitute for moving your feet, and keeping your check in front of you,


Summary:

I guess it's important to point out that everything is relative. The Celtics are still the league's best in opponent FG% (42.9, they were at 41.9 at the end of last season). And I know that Kevin Garnett has been away for some time, and he was taking it slow tonight. Still, I think that with essentially the same core, the same coaching staff especially with the defensive-minded Tom Thibodeau, the Celtics should be better, and they will have to be during the playoffs or they could be bounced early.

For a new video on defensive skill development, check out Pat Clatchey's DVD on Championship Defensive Drills. Coach Clatchey is a high school coach and was selected as a head coach for the 2009 McDonalds All-American game. Discuss your favorite defensive strategies at the X's and O's Basketball Forum with other coaches from around the world.

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