Kevin Love on Rebounding

"For me, rebounding is all a mindset. My dad told me back in the day that there is no such thing as a selfish rebound because it's a team stat. If you have to fight one of your own teammates for a rebound, do it -- as long as you get it. Also, I studied the greats. Dennis Rodman had it figured out: he knew that most shots are going to come to the other side of the rim. So that's how I position myself. And Bill Russell always used to say that 80 percent of rebounds are below the rim. I'm not the kind of guy who's going to jump and touch the top of the square every time. I use my body for positioning, and I work relentlessly underneath the rim.

You don't have to be the most athletic guy in the world to get a bunch of rebounds, so I just try and take what my dad said to heart, what Rodman said to heart, and most importantly what Bill Russell said to heart. He's got 11 championship rings so I think he knows what he's talking about."

Badgers focus on ball tussles

Wisconsin has won 4 in a row and is playing its best basketball of the year heading into postseason play tomorrow with the start of the Big 10 Tourney. This is due to, as head coach Bo Ryan puts it, winning the skirmishes. In their win streak Wisconsin has outrebounded their opponent by 10 or more each game. Here is an excerpt from the Journal Sentinel out of Milwaukee:

Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan stresses every day that his players must win what he refers to as skirmishes:
Win the constant battle for position near the basket. Keep your foe off the offensive glass. Out-hustle your opponent to loose balls, including long rebounds that are prevalent with teams that launch a plethora of perimeter shots.

"It's being more attentive and more alert," associate head coach Greg Gard said. "You can do the correct things to block out, but if you don't go hunt the ball down or just don't get it. . . .

"I think we've done a better job of that. They understand that is one of those things we can be good at that doesn't take talent. We need to make sure a large percentage of those (are) ours."

Thoughts on Rebounding

Saw this in some of my notes the other day:

Rebounding is:

1.) Athletic ability

2.) Effort

3.) Basketball IQ

& 2 & 3 can make up for 1

Rebounding and more from Bill Russell

*To succeed you can't play any other way than with passion. We enjoy the game more because of what we put into it.

*I didn't have to rely on extraordinary inner resources, flashes of inspiration, to tell me to get my body where it had to go. My objective was clear. I wanted to make sure of the rebound.

*The guy who insists on going up as high as he can every time is reacting -and losing- rather than taking a specific positive action necessary to accomplish what he wants. Most of my rebounds came from positioning, where I was able to get the ball while in heavy traffic.

*To me, knowing how to act is everything. You cannot just throw yourself at at problem and expect to succeed. You cannot win the NBA championship on the first day of the season. It has to be won at every practice, every meeting, each and every game on the schedule. During the season, you learn to master all the important skills needed to get you to the championship game.

Scola gives team gritty consistency every game

He leads the Rockets in floor burns. Also in energy, passion, rebounding and defense.

Luis Scola is easy to overlook because he’s surrounded by stars, because he does things that don’t always show up in the box score.

There he was again Tuesday night, throwing in 13 points, grabbing 18 boards and handing out two assists as the Rockets beat Chicago 107-100.

“He was so active,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman said

“He rebounded consistently all night long. He has really had a solid year. You can’t give him enough credit, and it’s all effort.”

In a season when Adelman has been forced to change his lineup and rotation seemingly every other night, Scola has been amazingly consistent, doing the same things, performing with heart, giving the Rockets the ingredient all good teams must have.

“He has been our MVP of the first half,” Shane Battier said. “No ifs, ands or buts about it. He’s just so solid. I’d heard about him before he came here, that he was one of the best power forwards in the world. I’ve seen it.”

Some of the same things that can be said of Scola can be said of Battier. They bring the same effort every night and do things that don’t show up in the box score.

“Luis maybe doesn’t run the fastest or jump the highest,” Battier said. “He’s just a great basketball player. He has grown so much in confidence since his rookie season.”

“He does everything,” McGrady said. “He brings toughness and energy, rebounds and steals. He’s a great defensive player. Winning teams must have players like him.”

“I just try to help where I can,” Scola said. “Sometimes if a teammate sees another teammate running hard it’ll maybe make them play harder. If the way I play helps, that’s great.”

-Houston Chronicle

Doing the Dirty Work

Article this morning on Marquette forward Jimmy Butler and his increased playing time due to him doing the dirty work for his team. He's listed at 6 feet 6 inches and 215 pounds, but both are probably a bit generous. He's not overly muscular, and isn't known for jumping out of the gym.

Yet every game he seems to be worming his way through a gap to grab a loose ball, or using good timing to tip an offensive board back to himself to keep a possession alive.

"He's stepping up and playing quality minutes, and he's providing something off the bench that nobody else can do: getting rebounds, playing great defense and knocking down open shots."

Earning more playing time has been no accident; Butler's insistence on playing his role and sticking to his strengths is what has endeared him to head coach Buzz Williams.

"The best thing about Jimmy is he knows exactly what he can do, and you rarely see him get out of it," Williams said. "He's really created a niche, and he's creating great trust in his teammates."

Butler's knack for snaring offensive rebounds has been especially impressive. Through 25 games, 52.6% of his boards have come on the offensive end (41 of 78). The result is often either a putback or free throws, and he's making 73.2% of those this season.

When asked about his penchant for rebounding on that end of the floor, Butler mentions coaching, film study, instinct and good old-fashioned hard work both in the weight room and in the practice gym.

"When it goes up, you just chase after it, and hopefully you come out with it," he said. "They give you statistics - where they shoot the ball and where it's going to normally come off, and you can usually tell if it's going to be long or short. And wherever I see Lazar, I'll take him getting a rebound in his area any day, so I'm usually going to the opposite area.

"Plus, I know my team, and I know who's shooting the ball, and when."

Butler's offensive game, meanwhile, remains a work in progress. Yet he has taken focus to a whole new level as far as knowing where his strengths lie.

Of his 110 points this season (average of 4.4 per game), 104 have come either in the lane or at the free-throw line. He remains capable of knocking down a pull-up jumper every now and again, as he did Saturday, but with McNeal, Matthews and Hayward handling most of the scoring, Butler is more than content to continue to do the dirty work.

"That's what I've got to do," he said. "That's what everybody's telling me I've got to do, so that's what I'm going to go out there and do. I just hope to keep that up."

Tyrone Nash seeks consistency for Notre Dame

Article in the Chicago Tribune on Notre Dame sophomore Tyrone Nash. Nash was kicked out of practice last week for not giving his best effort. What resulted afterwards were three spirited practices, a better effort out of Nash, and a 33 point victory over # 7 Louisville to snap Notre Dame's 7 game losing streak:

"My job is not to score," Nash said. "My job is to play defense, work hard and, if I get the opportunity to score, then take that chance and try to score. My job is to rebound, make the right passes and screen, be the glue of the team. Keep things going."

Thus Brey raised a familiar specter: missing the physical presence of Rob Kurz, who has graduated to the NBA. Before practice Friday, Head Coach Mike Brey was set to show his team clips from Louisville in which, as the Irish coach put it, Nash "really crushes people with screens."

"That was a bit of the Kurz presence we need against those bodies," Brey said. "And we have a bunch more coming. If he can do that consistently, that can really help us."

Consistency is at the root of everything for Nash. He has 11 games of 10 or more minutes played and nine of three or fewer. Brey eventually may regret limiting Nash's minutes before the Irish lost seven straight — but then again Brey noted Nash hasn't always had his "engine running at the highest of levels."

Hence getting bounced from practice for having no bounce in his step. At the time, Nash returned to his dorm room to clear his head. Whether it keeps clearing a path for the Irish is the question.

"It helped make me realize you have to cherish every moment in practice because what you do in practice is what you do in the game," Nash said. "I don't hope it happens again, but if it has to happen again for us to play like that, I'll let it happen."

Utah Jazz Offense

Some notes here from former Utah Jazz assistant Coach Chiesa and the philosophy of their offense during the days of Stockton/Malone:

Utah Jazz "Offensive Manhood"

1. Screening

2. Getting "and one" opportunities

3. Getting offensive rebounds

Stockton defines Jazz Manhood:

*Stockton screened Charles Barkley in a playoff game and Barkley nearly took his head off with a flagrant foul. Stockton's first words to the coaching staff were "don't you guy's even think about NOT running that play.....run it right now.....I'm going to get this guy."

Togetherness and Screening:

*When you take on contact you tell your teammates I'm with you. When your smalls will be physical and take on their bigs you pull guy's together.

*The better our screening, cutting, passing, the better our shooting percentage. Shooting is the last act.

Post Thoughts:
1. Do Not neglect to post the zone
2. Read the defense are they doubling down or sagging?
3. When the defense helps down, throw the ball out and Re-Post
4. Do Not let the defense dictate what shots you will take, get the ball inside
5. The Jazz want their posts to shoot against 1 1/2 defenders, NOT 2
6. Selfish post players will shoot every time against 2 defenders

Why Dont' You Get Paint Touches?
*Because of good defense.....cop-out. Coach Chiesa asks...."What about good offense?"

Post Rule:
*For every 2 jump shots you take, you must drop step middle on the next catch on the next catch.