Possession Focus By Kevin Eastman

Focus is a big phrase in sports. We constantly hear coaches and players talking about having to “focus more” or “focus better” or “improve our focus." Without question, this is an aspect of sports that we all know needs to improve, yet we’re all still searching for the best way to make sure it gets done consistently.

To ask a team to focus for a full game is a worthy demand, but to expect this to happen is often a frustrating exercise for a coach. Though I don't have a tested and proven solution, I strongly believe we must try to address the art of focusing, as it is a major factor of success.

Make focusing an every minute/every day endeavor for your team. Give it verbal repetition (coaches constantly reminding players) every time you hit the floor. Define it even more by having your team become a group that focuses on one possession at a time, no matter if it’s a drill or a scrimmage. Get them thinking and trying to maintain focus for short periods of time while in practice to start the habit.

Drills are designed to improve a specific area of the game; constantly remind your team what this specific area is for each drill they're working on. Demand that they truly focus on this intended area of drilling. Stop the drill when it gets sloppy, and remind them of the intent and focus of the drill. Get them to focus on the execution possession by possession in every drill and scrimmage.

I believe focus is the ability to know what to do, how to do it, and actually doing it that way every time through intense concentration. Demand this concentration every possession until it builds into a game in/game out habit.

These are steps toward developing focus. The major responsibility first falls with the leaders of the team -- your staff and any player who may be a leader. They actually have to have a focus first, before they can begin to remind the other players to focus and concentrate every possession. Just as we improve skills through repetition, we can improve focus through repetition. Focusing every possession every day will get you on the road to improving in an area that can be a big time difference-maker for your team!

Start a new streak

Read a good story on new Memphis head coach Josh Pastner and the difficulty of taking over a program with such high expectations due to the success of former coach John Callipari. Memphis recently had their 64 game conference winning streak snapped. Coach Pastner offers tremendous perspective on what a loss in basketball means:

The loss left the seniors in tears after the game, and when Pastner noticed them moping around in practice the next day, he brought them in for a pep talk.

"For crying out loud, there's no reason to be so depressed," said Pastner, who unlike Calipari and just about every other coach in America does not use profanity. "We just lost a game. Do I need to take you over to St. Jude's [Hospital]? No doctor called to say you're sick or that you're dying. We lost a game, that's all. Let's start another streak."

Want to win? Don't do these things

Jay Bilas has a list of six things in college basketball that will get you beat. This is a list that he complied from years of talking to the best coaches in college basketball about what gets teams beat. Lots of great stuff for every level and every sport:

1. Defensive Breakdowns:

Teams with defensive breakdowns lose. The best defenses are difficult to score upon and do not allow open shots. The best defenses are "help defenses" that require little help because they guard the ball well by closing out under control to take away the open shot and because they take away the middle drive. The best defenses sustain a physical and intense defensive effort, play the ball and communicate at a high level, and they do it consistently throughout the game. Bob Knight has said that action is quicker than reaction, and help defense is the solution. If the defender containing the ball gets beat, he must have swift and decisive help, and the helper must be helped with a similar sense of urgency. The best defenses are committed to taking away any open shots and forcing one quick and contested shot, with five defenders committed to getting the ball before converting to offense. Teams I have seen that consistently have the best first-shot defense and fewest defensive breakdowns are Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Duke, Temple, Syracuse, Tennessee and Florida State.

2. Outcompeted on the Glass:

The best teams understand the worth of additional possessions and make rebounding a priority on both ends. The best teams understand that defensive rebounding is a five-man effort to deny the opponent the opportunity to get additional possessions to score before you can. The best teams understand that offensive rebounding allows you to get additional possessions to score before your opponent can. The best teams are committed to going to the glass and not surrendering to or staying attached to blockouts, but instead overcoming obstacles to pursue the ball with both hands and secure it. The best rebounding teams I have seen this year are Michigan State, Kansas, Baylor, Kansas State, Tulsa and Kentucky.

3. Losing the Free Throw Battle:

The free throw line is the best and most efficient place from which to score on a basketball court. The best teams work with a purpose to get to the free throw line, coach to get to the free throw line and hit free throws when they get there. The best defenses keep the opponent out of the middle, play tough and physical defense without fouling, and understand that there is no such thing as "fouls to waste." Fouls should not be wasted, and when a substitute enters the game with no individual fouls, that is not license to commit a needless foul and put the opponent closer to the bonus. Getting into the bonus earlier takes away opponents' aggressiveness, and putting the opponent into the bonus takes away your aggressiveness.

4. Losing the Turnover Battle:

The best teams understand the value of the ball, and being loose with the ball provides the opponent additional possessions and results in empty possessions for your team. The turnover total is not the best marker -- it is the turnover margin, because that is the number of additional possessions gained or lost based upon how each team values the ball. Some teams protect the ball better and other teams have more takeaways than miscues. The key is the additional shot attempts gained by valuing the ball on offense and defense. The teams that value the ball the best are Michigan, Missouri, Northern Iowa, Duke, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Virginia and UNLV.

5. Poor Shot Selection and Offensive Execution:

The best teams consistently work for and take high-percentage shots and are committed to passing up early, contested shots to find a teammate with an open one. The best teams are committed to working together and are not hung up on "my" shot, understanding that every shot is "our" shot. The best teams understand roles and have all five players on the court working hard to get open and be threats to score. The best teams understand that working hard to get a good open shot and taking it is not selfish. Taking bad shots, such as contested shots early in the clock, is selfish. The teams I have seen that have exhibited the best shot selection and offensive execution are Kansas, Duke, Syracuse, Ohio State, BYU, Gonzaga, Georgetown and Cornell.

6. Poor Communication:

The best teams not only talk, they listen. It does no good to have five talkers on the floor unless you also have five good listeners and actors. The best teams are connected to one another on offense and defense, and are connected to the bench. Whether at home or on the road, breakdowns in communication result in corresponding breakdowns in Nos. 1-5 on this list. Communication is a skill, and the best teams value communication as highly as any other aspect of the game.

Paint Touches Lead to Three Point Success for Marquette

Marquette University is leading the NCAA in three point field goal percentage this season at 43.4%. Coach Buzz Williams has a good idea as to why this is getting done:

"I definitely have a strong belief in numbers - if you study them in an objective way," said coach Buzz Williams. "We have never mentioned a specific number of threes, or what our percentage has been recently. However, we constantly stress paint touches and creating for others. We believe the combination of those two things will typically turn into a good shot for our team."

"I'm not sure if we have a team full of shooters, but I think we have developed into a team that understands the foundation of a good shot."

Playoff Time Brings the Best Out of Warner

“Playoff time is just special, and it’s different. I said that to somebody last week, ‘It’s time to elevate, it’s time to raise that standard.’ You have to bring your game up. You have to bring up your consistency level. There is something about knowing that this is it, that every game you could be going home, that it’s just more fun. It’s more exciting.

“You don’t get a second chance. You don’t get another opportunity. This is it. So, you better bring it every time, and lay it all on the line. To me, that’s fun. Having the success that I’ve had, it even pushes more in that direction. I’ve accomplished the ultimate goal in this business, and I really don’t have anything else I play for. It’s all I play for every year.

“I don’t care about the stats. I don’t care how many touchdowns I end up with. I want to win a championship, so that’s fun. When you get here, it’s like throw everything else aside and forget what we’ve ever done. It starts right now and you see how long you can keep it going.”

-Kurt Warner

Struggling Florida finds itself at a crossroads

Found a really good article on Billy Donovan talking about Florida's struggles lately. After beating Michigan St. and Syracuse earlier in the year, Florida has dropped its first two conference games and Coach Donovan is asking himself how his team is going to respond. Here is a little from the article:

Gators coach Billy Donovan has had quite a philosophical viewpoint while coaching an elite program. He has plenty of experience managing egos with a roster that has had its share of big-time players mixed with classic four-year players who are necessary to win at a high level. He has been to three national title games and won two, and consistently has Florida known as a national name, even during the past two struggling seasons.

Donovan said he has seen the arc of a season.

"Every team is jacked up for the start of practice, but then the excitement wears off," Donovan said. "You have the first game and then everyone is focusing on minutes. Then you start to distribute them and then you start to understand there is a ceiling to get better. We have a high ceiling."

But Donovan admits there was a dip in intensity when the Gators came off the Michigan State win and Syracuse effort but then landed with a thud when they failed to hold on to a double-digit lead against Richmond in Sunrise, Fla., and then fell flat by losing at home to South Alabama.
Getting beaten at Vanderbilt was arguably expected because the Commodores are always a tough out in Nashville, especially when they are as talented as they could be this season. Kentucky simply was more talented.

"I'm anxious to see how this team responds against LSU," Donovan said. "It's critical for us to separate ourselves. Do they come together as a group? How will this team come together for practice Thursday? What kind of effort will we have? There are external motivational things that happen, like playing Michigan State or Kentucky. But how internally motivated are you?"

"We've got some stuff there, but every team comes to a crossroads," Donovan said. "You can go into the league with false sense of who you are. We're at that crossroads right now, and which path will we choose?"

That's Durant with a capital 'D'

CNNSI had a good article today on how Kevin Durant has stepped up his defense this year for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are having their best season in years so far.

Says one Western Conference scout:

"Anyone with his length and wingspan can be an above-average defender by putting in the effort. This year I noticed he's more engaged. He's getting into his stance much sooner and not standing around, and getting back [in transition]. That's great because he's still very young -- he just turned 21. When you're that gifted offensively as a teenager, you just don't think about defense that much. I give a lot of credit to [Thunder coach] Scottie Brooks for getting him to buy in."

Says coach Scott Brooks:

"I spent time with Kevin watching the NBA playoff series and talking things over this summer," Brooks said. "There were so many great moments where great players were the ones defending -- Kobe, Carmelo, Paul Pierce -- and so many times the winning basketball play was on defense.

"Kevin always had the effort, but he didn't have the knowledge or the physicalness in his body to go through an entire NBA season playing defense. This summer he got his mind and his body right. He understood that if he was committed, we would be a much better team. We focused on defense from Day One, and when one of your better players is one of your better defenders, it makes coaching easier. I mean, he leads our team in rebounding, steals, blocks."

"Knowing when to stay with your man and when to help out is one of the hardest things for young players coming in," Brooks said, "because you think you're playing defense if you're guarding your man, but you also have to be aware of what might happen three passes away.

"We like to be as disruptive as possible, pushing people to the baseline, defending tight in the paint and closing out on shooters. We constantly talk about having a hand up in guys' faces -- you have to contest to make NBA players miss. And we like to force extra passes and get deflections. Kevin is a big part of all of that."

Never Give Someone the Chance to Question You

Great article in Sports Illustrated on Cowboys WR Miles Austin, who was recently voted to his 1st Pro Bowl appearance. This is a good story about what going hard on every single rep can do for you:

Fifteen months ago Austin slumped into his seat on the Dallas team bus in St. Louis, confused and hurt. Work hard, and you'll get your shot, he was told after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Division I-AA Monmouth in 2006. Now the Cowboys had acquired Roy Williams from the Lions, further cluttering the depth chart. Austin wondered, What can I do?

"He came to me, and he was a little down," says receivers coach Ray Sherman. "I told him, 'This isn't about you. This is about Jerry Jones going out and getting a good player. You control you. Nobody else.' And I talked to him about being consistent on every play, in practice and in games."

Austin had gotten his shot in the NFL because Bill Parcells—who signed him in '06—thought he was a little engine that could. "The more I thought about it," Austin said last week, "the more I thought I never really gave them the consistent product on every snap. Nine out of 10 plays, I put it all out there. I decided I'd never give them the chance to question anything about me again. Every time I ran a play, in practice or a game, even when I knew it wasn't coming to me, I killed out there. I tried to win every play. I still do."

Thoughts from Steve Nash

Words of wisdom for point guards (presented bySteve Nash at the Nike Point Guard Academy:

"You should always want your coach to be critical. It gives you an opportunity to learn and to over-come adversity."

"You maximize your potential by being humble,develop a work ethic, strive to be a good person,and to be the best teammate you can be."

"Use your scoring ability to be a better passer,and your passing skills to become a betterscorer."

"You can't be a point guard who gets into thelane and always passes. Capitalize on the realestate you have gained."

"Point Guard must be able to pass with both handsequally off the dribble."

"I am always thinking how can I get myself better."

"On the fast break, after 2 or 3 hard dribbles youshould see the whole floor and know where allyour teammates are."

Two Good Teammates

Good article on Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and WR Julio Jones. Both of these Alabama stars are big time playmakers who have done a good job of buying into the team concept. Here is a little from the L.A. Times:

Offensive linemen don't win Heisman Trophies. Neither do running backs without a few 300-pound bulldozers clearing a path.

That's why Alabama running back Mark Ingram's Heisman acceptance speech last month included a shout-out to his five faves.

"Everything I do starts with them," Ingram said Monday."I try to give them as much praise, as much acknowledgment, as I could because they're kind of like the unsung heroes. They talk about me, but they're never on the picture, they're never on the highlights."

The linemen said they felt like they're part of the excitement, though. Peek said he was so touched by Ingram's winning the Heisman that he sobbed. Johnson said, "We felt like we were sitting there with him. It was a really special moment for the five of us. . . . I think we all felt like we had a hand in it."

Here is a little about the mindset of Alabama Julio Jones:

Sophomore receiver Julio Jones is on a significant uptick, making 29 of his team-leading 42 catches over Alabama's last six games. The increased production wasn't a result of any just-give-me-the-ball demands.

"I've been around guys demanding the ball, making problems, making issues when they don't receive the ball, but Julio never complains," quarterback Greg McElroy said. "He's a joy to have in the locker room, a joy to have in the huddle."

Said Jones: "I really don't care about stats and everything. I just go out there and play the game like it's supposed to be played and try to block . . . it's how I was raised."