Have you ever heard the old saying, "Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime"? It's one of my favorites. The message is clear, powerful, simple. It says it all in just a few words.
I like to apply the same message to basketball. Show a team a play, they'll score for a game. Teach a team TO play, they'll score for a lifetime. Clear, powerful, simple. All that needs to be said. I guess I am a self-described purist. I believe basketball is best when you just play. It isn't hard or complicated. It is a simple game. Beat your man, put the ball in the basket. Guard your man and keep him from putting the ball in the basket. That's really all there is to it. Coaches complicate basketball. Yes, I said it. It's true. Basketball is complicated by coaches who think they have the next miracle offense or sure scoring play. That's not me.
I don't believe in having 62 set plays and a playbook that is 2 inches thick. Believe me, it's not necessary. Kids have trouble remembering so many plays. They also get locked into running those plays. They get so focused on running the play that is called, they will run that play no matter what the defense does. If the defense knows the play and is already in position to defend it, the kids will still try to run the play. They'll force it. After all, that is what they are told. Run the play. So they run the play, and it doesn't work. The kids don't know when to deviate from the play and take what the defense gives them.
I have seen all kinds of teams win with the old school techniques that were used back in the day. Back in the day, to me, would be the 50's and 60's that my dad told me about when I was growing up. When teams used the pick n roll, the give n go and players were constantly in motion. Back in the day growing up in New Castle I watched Indiana and Bob Knight on channel 4 run the motion offense for the entire game and beat everyone they played, any and all comers no matter what they did or what kind of defense they played. Motion. The act of moving. Not standing or being still. I loved it then. I love it now. I believe that is all you need to win basketball games.
Give 'em a framework. From my point of view, that is what a motion offense is. It is a framework. A framework with rules. The rules of the motion offense are simple. Make a pass and go somewhere. Sometimes the rule is pass and cut through the lane. Sometimes the rule is pass and screen the ball. Sometimes the rule is pass and screen away. Sometimes the rules are combined. Whatever the rule, everyone is constantly moving. The ball shouldn't stop or stay in one place. Just constant passing, moving, screening and cutting all over the court until someone is open. Ideally, the best shot you can get in a motion offense is a layup. The idea is to keep moving until the defense gets tired of playing defense. Some people call this the "slow down game". I call it smart basketball. Now don't get me wrong. I love to run up and down the floor. My teams are taught to run every chance we get. If we can get a steal or a rebound and beat the other team down the floor and score, there is nothing better than that. I will take that every time. However, if we don't have a fast break or we don't get a good shot off of our break, we run the motion offense. It's called taking what the defense gives you.
Take what the defense gives you. You hear it all the time. Dwayne Wade said it at halftime of game 2 in the finals. He was asked about his agressive tendencies on offense and how he was getting to the basket. He said he was "just taking what the defense gives me." This is a difficult concept to teach to young players. Each defense is based on giving up something, according to my friend and colleague, Nathaniel Wills. Nathaniel is the Director of the Hoosier Hoops Basketball Club for which I am a board member and a coach. A man to man defense gives up the drive to the basket. You will hear coaches say, "make him a driver." This is done by getting close to your man and making him drive to the basket rather than letting him shoot. A zone defense is designed to give up the outside shot and take away the drive. Trapping defenses are designed to create turnovers and give up the over-the-top pass and the easy basket. In every situation the offense has to recognize what the defense is giving you and take advantage of that. Nowhere is this more true than in the motion offense. There are so many possiblities.
Give 'em a framework. A motion can be run against any kind of defense. The principals are the same. Screen the ball, screen away, screen the top of the zone, the bottom of the zone. Pass, cut, find the open spots. 3 out, 2 in. Screen down screen away. 4 out, 1 in. 5 out pass and cut motion. Cut through. Cut across. Back door cut, flare cut. Drive the gaps. Pick n roll, give n go. These are all things you would hear at one of our practices or games. The idea is to teach the kids to play the game. Not just run plays. The better a kid understands the game, the better player he will be. The framework is designed to bring out a kids instincts. Make him learn what to do in different situations. Not teach him to run a different set play every trip down the floor. Give 'em a framework. It will make them better basketball players.
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