Shutdown Defenders

You might not know it, but coaches are the most selfish people in the world. They look to put players on the field who will make them look good, who will give them the best chance to win.

I hear people talk all the time about 'great players' and wonder what exactly they mean. In a basketball player, the coaches see everything...physical and mental.

• Is the player a good and supportive teammate?
• Does the player practice correctly, focused with the intention to improve?
• Does she work on her weaknesses or just her strengths?
• Does the player understand what the coaches are trying to teach?
• What is the player's attitude?
• Does she accept coaching?

1. Does she play good individual defense?
2. Does she play good team defense, knowing when and how to HELP and to RECOVER?
3. Does she know how to "balance the floor" on defense?
4. Can she make an immediate transfer from offense to defense and defense to offense?
5. Does she block out?
6. Does she rebound offensively?
7. Does she know how to move without the ball?
8. Can she run the floor in transition?
9. Can she come off a screen with the ball/without the ball?
10. Can she see the floor?
11. Is she willing to make the pass to the open player?
12. Does she know which pass to make in which situation?
13. Does she stand around or is she active after making a pass, finding open spots?
14. Is she selfish or does she act in the interest of the team?
15. Can she dribble with either hand?
16. Can she take the ball to the basket off the dribble?
17. After the catch, is she instinctive or mechanical?
18. Does she shoot with proper technique?
19. How quick is her shooting release?
20. Can she make free throws?
21. Does she know how to use the backboard when shooting?
22. Does she know what to do and when to do it?
23. Can she incorporate game management into her understanding of the game?
24. Can she play 'under pressure', maintaining focus in close games?
25. Does the coach want her in the game at the key moment...as a finisher?

Having a hammer and a saw doesn't make you a carpenter, or giving you a piano doesn't create a concert pianist.  Yes, it is about you, but is about practice. In Malcolm Gladwell's book, "Outliers", he writes about most careers requiring 10,000 hours of practice to develop expertise. Few of us have the innate skill to develop shortcuts to proficiency. If you spend two hours a day on something, it takes over ten years to approach that 'magic' number. But it really doesn't amount to magic, just work.