I don't deserve to post anything after seeing only a little of last night's game. I recorded the game, but got home in time to catch the last 5 minutes of the first half. I turned on the Telly and Cal was already down 19. I had some dinner, and turned on the game again to see if Cal had cut into the WSU lead, only to find that WSU had increased their lead to 25 points. I switched channels to a Gunsmoke rerun, and enjoyed the rest of my evening.
I watched less than 10 minutes, and what I saw was something that has been bugging me all season. Or rather Cal's passes and Cal's shots. Lesson #1 in passing is to learn how to make the physical passes, two handed chest pass, bounce passes, one-handed passes etc. Lesson #2 in passing is don't telegraph your passes. See your teammate out of the corner of your eye, but don't look directly at him. If you do look at where you are going to pass the ball, is easier for a defender to get a hand on the ball, and deflect it or steal it. Lesson #3 is to learn how to fake a pass, before you make your pass. This disrupts the defender's timing, and makes it hard for him to recover in time to steal a pass he knows is coming.
The same is true of shooting. Lesson #1 is to learn all the mechanics of shooting, and the different types of shots, and practice that endlessly, until you attain some accuracy. Lesson #2 is don't always look at the basket when you are getting ready to shoot. You have to "feel" where the basket is, know where it is, but don't look directly at the basket until right before you go into your shooting motion. And of course you have to learn that when you are too tightly covered by a defender or two to get off a clean shot, then pass the ball to a teammate. Lesson #3 is to fake before you shoot. Not always, but do it when a defender is in position to block your shot, such as when you are standing close to the basket and are well guarded. Fake that shot, and get your man up in the air. As he is coming down, you go up with your shot.
Now these are things we old-timers were all taught by coaches in the 8th through the 10th grades. Do they teach all this stuff today? Last night, in my maybe 8-10 minutes of watching Cal, we telegraphed every single pass, never faked a pass, never faked a shot. The most egregious example of a bad pass was Foreman with the ball faced with a double-team, and looking right at his teammate and trying to make a bounce pass between the two defenders, which was easily picked off. The more I watch Foreman, I think he should never pass, and just stick to shooting.
The most egregious shot attempt was Anticevich driving and stopping near the basket, and then jumping up to shoot, with an athletic defender right on him Grant in essence telegraphed the shot, because he went right up with the ball, instead making a pump fake, and then going up with the shot. Of course, the defender stuffed the shot back in Grant's face.
How in the world did our coaches assemble a group of players (except Bradley and maybe Celestine) who all don't know how to avoid telegraphing passes or shots and don't know how to fake a pass or a shot? I've seen this in too many Cal games this season. Last night, WSU defenders were getting their hands on too many of Cal's passes, even in the few minutes I saw. Needless to say, I won't be watching the rest of that recording. I know I just couldn't stand it.
I watched less than 10 minutes, and what I saw was something that has been bugging me all season. Or rather Cal's passes and Cal's shots. Lesson #1 in passing is to learn how to make the physical passes, two handed chest pass, bounce passes, one-handed passes etc. Lesson #2 in passing is don't telegraph your passes. See your teammate out of the corner of your eye, but don't look directly at him. If you do look at where you are going to pass the ball, is easier for a defender to get a hand on the ball, and deflect it or steal it. Lesson #3 is to learn how to fake a pass, before you make your pass. This disrupts the defender's timing, and makes it hard for him to recover in time to steal a pass he knows is coming.
The same is true of shooting. Lesson #1 is to learn all the mechanics of shooting, and the different types of shots, and practice that endlessly, until you attain some accuracy. Lesson #2 is don't always look at the basket when you are getting ready to shoot. You have to "feel" where the basket is, know where it is, but don't look directly at the basket until right before you go into your shooting motion. And of course you have to learn that when you are too tightly covered by a defender or two to get off a clean shot, then pass the ball to a teammate. Lesson #3 is to fake before you shoot. Not always, but do it when a defender is in position to block your shot, such as when you are standing close to the basket and are well guarded. Fake that shot, and get your man up in the air. As he is coming down, you go up with your shot.
Now these are things we old-timers were all taught by coaches in the 8th through the 10th grades. Do they teach all this stuff today? Last night, in my maybe 8-10 minutes of watching Cal, we telegraphed every single pass, never faked a pass, never faked a shot. The most egregious example of a bad pass was Foreman with the ball faced with a double-team, and looking right at his teammate and trying to make a bounce pass between the two defenders, which was easily picked off. The more I watch Foreman, I think he should never pass, and just stick to shooting.
The most egregious shot attempt was Anticevich driving and stopping near the basket, and then jumping up to shoot, with an athletic defender right on him Grant in essence telegraphed the shot, because he went right up with the ball, instead making a pump fake, and then going up with the shot. Of course, the defender stuffed the shot back in Grant's face.
How in the world did our coaches assemble a group of players (except Bradley and maybe Celestine) who all don't know how to avoid telegraphing passes or shots and don't know how to fake a pass or a shot? I've seen this in too many Cal games this season. Last night, WSU defenders were getting their hands on too many of Cal's passes, even in the few minutes I saw. Needless to say, I won't be watching the rest of that recording. I know I just couldn't stand it.
SFCityBear
