Friday, September 28, 2012

You are not like everyone else

I kept thoose words with me all life, it was a sentence from my mother after I came home and acting up since i wanted Levis jeans like everyone else. I said everybody got LEVIS jeans and she answered you are not like everyone else and I truly think that was the start for me to go my OWN way.

Everything I have been taught in life, sports I anylized with - Is this me, do I stand for this? Is thsi really true?, What do I think about that? Everybody thinks it is like this, but what do I think?


Its a thing that have made me the coach I`m, not the coach that is like everyone else. My reasoning is that there is not only one truth in basketball teaching or playing. In everyway there commen areas, but you can attack the problems, skills in so many ways.

To me my mothers words at later stage in my life allows me to question even the most decorated coaches in history, should I agree what they say, write just because they are "greats" or should I take what i like from them and be ME?

To me its all about being yourself, you cant be a good teacher if you are not teaching by experience, passion and what suits your personality. Bad teachers just teach what the book says and has no thoughts of their own, they dont teach in my mind, they just "pass on what somebody else has taught".

You are not like everyone else, influences from all over the world combined with my personality has mad me the coach I`m not because I followed a few great ones like a fanatic.

Basketball is a funny sport in one way, since some great coaches do something on the highest level and then everyone almost follows no matter what teams, age, level they are on like this is the new truth and the new only way to play, practise.

Once they said the earth wasn`t round, but flat....once everybody laughed at Janne Bokløv from Sweden when he introduced the "V" shaped legplacement in ski jumping a few years later and everone followed.

You have the classic high jumping change in styles with the Fosberry flop.

I have never been a follower I have choosen my own way in good ways and bad ways, but at least I`m trying to be me and nobody else.

I think we killing basketball with all this pick and roll basketball instead of more movement without the ball, less dribbling and more action. Pick and roll is fairly usuccesful when you break it down into stats. I can acctually find myself being bored watching games nowdays since its so predictable and many teams on the highest levels look like. OK, well we have give up lets run the same offenses as everybody else. In my world its all about doing something everone else is not doing and because of that give them headaches and make them adapt to you and spend time to prepaire to play you.

Basketball needs to adapt to the more and more athletic players, bigger, faster stronger and a slow pace pick and roll offense is to me not the solution, its not very fun to watch, not very effective and only involves a few players. Its a coaches simply way to keep the ball in the best ballhandlers hands and cause of that less turnovers and more control, but in many teams you get very little out of your players potential.

I will never be a euroleague coach, dont have the ambition, or the brown noose to succeed, but I would do it my way if I had the chance. Would my team play pick and roll yes but not as first or last option every single time.

Was in greeece some years ago watching Aris practise before their big game against Panaithiakos and coach says, well this offense, and this and this and this is the same as we have, so we need to prepaire for those that we dont run ourselves. i can still remember thinking what the fuck......

Playing the same offense as Panathiakos a team that always is great, with great players and a legendary coach lets help them win over us. Dont get it....,maybe thats why I`m on the level I`m I dont know, but to me that is like watching the movie titanic, you know that boat will sink at the end and you still watch it.

Because of this locked set plays/ high pick and roll offense, many great players never get their chance to shyne or put up numbers. it will alomst everytime ivolve the same players game after game since coaches put them in the spots in the set to get the ball.

Really great players will play better in more motion based offense, no not without any rules thats not what I`m talking about, but the get the chance to really create plays for themselevs, for teammates, the get to use what to have been given and what they have worked hard for.

Setplays are fine I love them.....but I think you need both not only sets or motion and most of all not all this pick and roll. There are not many players that are great in pick and roll and if the shoe doesn`t fit dont wear it.

More action, less pick and roll thats all I wish for.
But then again I`m not like everyone else :-)

"When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are passed, I want they bury me upside down, and my critics can kiss my ass!"
Bobby Knight