Why It’s So Important For Players to Study the Game of Basketball
We always hear analysts talk about studying the game of basketball and how it can help make you a better player but what are they really talking about. Does that mean that we should study basketball like we study our school work? Here are some ideas that can be used to help increase your knowledge in our great game of basketball.
1. Watch the game differently: Instead of watching the game for the enjoyment of it, try to watch the game from a different perspective. Identify the offense and defense that is being run. If you are a younger player then you first should just identify if the defense is a man-to-man or a zone. Once you understand that then try to identify what type of zone defense is being played. Is it a 1-3-1 or a 2-3 or a 1-2-2 or a 3-2? In order to really start to learn the game make sure you watch the game from a different perspective. That way when you play you’ll be more aware of what is going on.
2. Learn from others: To learn about the game it is important to get as many different perspectives as possible. That means to study all the different ideas from different coaches out there. There is a ton of great reading material on John Wooden, who is considered the greatest coach of all time. Read about him and his philosophies. Coach K is a great coach and there is a ton of great stuff on him as well. Read about his coaching theories and his thoughts on teams and players. If guys like him are willing to share their knowledge then you’d be dumb not to read it. Many coaches make videos or training books with their ideas available.
3. Use the Internet: When I was younger the internet didn’t exist and to get basketball training articles or drills we had to use connections or phonebooks to try to track stuff down. It wasn’t easy. Now you have everything at your disposal including your phones. I have a smart phone and I know there are apps today that show you drill that you can use to help you get better. YouTube has thousands of ideas and websites like ours really give you an edge that I didn’t have. Use the resources that are available to you.
