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« on: March 08, 2010, 03:45:57 PM »
Well, well, well. Looks the scenery has changed, but the same old actors are spouting their same old lines over and over again. While the PC-fest on ksufans continues to engulf them in flames, I had high hopes this site would finally be the one were Wildcat fans could get an unbiased perspective. But alas, I was wrong. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised to see the usual social experiment defenders crawling on the hands and knees apologizing for "Frank" Martin's unsurprising and typical late season collapse. I knew back in November that his favoritism would cost us in the long run. When your so-called point guard cannot communicate with his teammates, then the offense (if you can call what Frank runs an offense) will dissolve. My son worked for 15 years at IBP, and if he learned one thing, it's that you get a leader who can talk with ALL of his teammates.
So what then?
That's why coaching matters.
Late in the year when brute strength and athleticism start to to wane, you need fundamentals to fall back on. It has been talked about for years now, but I have not seen a single improvement in this team when it comes to fundamental basketball. I continually see lazy one-handed passes, layups with the wrong hand, and not closing out the baseline. Closing out the baseline is RULE #1 when teaching defense. Against Kansas and Iowa State our players continually let their players drive the baseline for easy baskets, while we rushed back down court and threw up terrible outside shots. Its a simple game, and Frank Martin doesn't seem to grasp it yet.
4 RULES OF BAKSETBALL
1. Spacing
2. Pivoting
3. Pace
4. Hands Up
How come I know these things and my high school coach (who didn't make a hundredth of what Frank Martin does) knew these thing, while the supposedly best team we've had in years can't even properly execute a fast break?
It reminds me of that one kid in my son's high school. his parents moved in from Altanta so the high school coach was just drooling at the prospect. He looked like what most people though a basketball player should look like. He had the nicest shoes on the team (what those people will spend their money on), shoes I wish I could buy my son. For the first fifteen minutes or so of practice he dribbled the ball up court and easily scored, jumped higher than anyone else by about a half foot. Looked unstoppable, the whole team was in awe. During a break I took my son aside and told him that the new kid's dribble was too high and a myriad of other flaws in his fundamentals. Next trip down court my son stripped the ball from him and made an easy layup on the other end that would have gone in if the new kid hadn't goal tended and fouled him. After that he spell was broken. The other players forgot about the flash and remembered the substance. The new kid never started a single game.
Frank Martin is our new pair of shoes. The nicest ones on the team.
Too bad we forgot our fundamentals, because the other teams aren't scared anymore.