Teams need more practice
Only 25 days passed from the moment Division I teams were permitted to begin official practice until the first real game of the 2006-07 season.
A high school production of “Guys and Dolls” gets more rehearsal time.
The lack of practice sessions is showing up in the play. If you suspect you are seeing more palming violations, more passes thrown to imaginary teammates and more defensive blunders, you’re probably right.
This season started earlier than any this decade, and teams are playing more November games because of the new expanded schedule. A year ago, Pitt opened its season Nov. 19. On that same day this year, the Panthers improved to 5-0.
The rush to get teams ready for games can mean coaches don’t have time to get the players prepared. “It’s very easy for coaches to eschew fundamentals – individual fundamentals – to get their team offense and defenses in,” says ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla. “Coaches feel they can always go back and clean up individual play.”
The slippage shows up in several areas affected by the lack of practice time:
“Control. Ohio State, Alabama and Washington all won tournament championships before Thanksgiving. That was good. In their nine victories, they averaged 17.6 turnovers. That was not.
A lot of those turnovers were the result of the teams not being completely connected. A player throwing a pass sends the ball toward a teammate he perceives to be open while the intended receiver cuts off in an entirely different direction. It’s epidemic.
“Comprehension. One reason for the current turnover deluge: Players don’t know the rules. Well, they know the rules, but not how they’ll be applied. There has been a surge in carrying violations. The rules committee first asked officials to cut down on palming more than a decade ago, after members watched Allen Iverson play at Georgetown. Refs are paying closer attention to players freezing defenders with hesitation dribbles – and now are whistling guys who are merely shifting the ball from right to left. A player touching the side of the ball as he does that is getting called.
“Consistency. Texas competed in the season-opening 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, a decision made more perilous by the presence of three freshmen in the starting lineup. In the semifinal and consolation games, the Longhorns learned valuable lessons about how to finish tight games – in losing to Michigan State when no one offered help on Drew Neitzel’s game-winning drive, and in beating St. John’s by a point when they forced the Red Storm to burn most of the last 15 seconds and fire up a guarded 3-pointer.
“I think that’s what these guys are learning right now – how hard it is to play hard at this level every time,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “I don’t think they understood what goes into winning every time.”
If you ask Barnes, though, those two games in New York taught the Longhorns more than their coach could in a month of daily practices. “I think the players love to play,” he said.
Eventually, perhaps soon, their play will be better prepared to dazzle an audience.