01-04-2005, 10:47 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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Banned Member
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 11,117
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Jaynes Article
From: PDX Trib
Quote:
Too many coaches, or not enough?
I’m not one of those people embarrassed to tell you that I don’t have all the answers. Let me give you just a few examples.
I’ve been to hundreds and hundreds of NBA games. Thousands and thousands, probably. But I’m still befuddled by something I’m seeing these days prior to games.
In early warm-ups, before much of the crowd is in the building, players are on the court working out with assistant coaches. In some cases, as many as four assistant coaches combine with three or four ballboys and a few players. During this time, players work endlessly on post moves, jump shots, footwork — all sorts of things, with the coaches and their helpers feeding them basketballs in a rapid-fire manner. This sort of thing happens on a daily basis throughout much of the year.
In some instances, it’s kind of funny to watch. You’ll see a 60-year-old assistant coach out there rushing at a shooter with his arms up as if he’s going to block his shot. Over and over. A balding, pint-sized guy with glasses who probably blocked his last shot in 1953. These coaches, by the way, are usually dressed in gray shirts, which tend to more easily show evidence of sweat than any other color, evidence to higher-ups of how hard these men are working.
A few years ago, the coaching fraternity convinced ownership you need several of these “developmental” assistant coaches because so many players are coming into the league without significant time in a college program. So, now it’s an arms race, as teams race to sign as many coaches as possible. By the way, they earn six-figure salaries for either shagging missed shots, passing guys the ball, or running at them as if to threaten their shot.
Actually, I understand all this. Coaches have a natural instinct, like rabbits, to multiply. If left alone, they will do that.
What I don’t understand is why, with all these coaches bumping into one another, are we still bemoaning the lack of fundamentals in the NBA? Why, still, are there no pure shooters? Heck, these players get more individual coaching in one NBA season than they’d get in four years of college, where the NCAA is now severely hindering practice time.......
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Jaynes Article
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