Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="Papa33, post: 2996068, member: 682"] Yes yes yes! Were you to ask me, after 30 years of coaching both boys and girls high school basketball, for the most difficult (and simplest) defensive habit to ingrain, it would be to box out . . . correctly. Watch even the best rebounders, and almost all of them make the same mistake: when a shot goes up, they watch the flight of the ball and step to the basket. That's often fatal. Proper actions: look for the player you're defending (or, even better, the opponent closest to the basket) tag him/her with a hand, get a wide, low stance, and plant your butt into his/her thighs, keep the contact, and don't yield an inch toward the basket. Even if you don't get the rebound yourself, your opponent will not, which should be your first priority. Count every instance that you see a player do that in a game; you won't count very high, alas. [/QUOTE]