One of the best things about working for Dale Brown is that he opens your world up in a way that you could never imagine. As a coach, he introduced me to a number of amazing people, in and out of the business. One of those people was Alexander Gomelsky, the father of modern basketball in Russia. Coach Gomelsky was a dear friend of Coach Brown and they spoke often of basketball, politics and life. My relationship with Coach Gomelsky evolved to the point where he trusted me with an entire workbook of his basketball philosophy and we had even spoke of working together to publish it until he passed away 2005. From time to time I think I'll share some of Coach Gomelsky's thoughts on how the game should be played."Passing is one of the most important and complicated elements of the game of basketball. The diversity of passes is enormous. One of the most important tasks of the coach in this area is to explain to the players how important passing is, because it is one of the elements players do not like working at. Passing should be practice every day with a lot of dedication."
COACH GOMELSKY'S PASSING RULES
1. Never pass if you are unsure. 95% of steals occur because of the passer's mistake.
2. The passer has to know his partner's capabilities and way of thinking in order to be able to predict his motions.
3. In order to be able to pass efficiently you have to see the whole court. In order to do that you have to work on your peripheral vision.
4. the passer is responsible for the precision and effectiveness of the pass.
5. General passing should be practiced by every player along with specific passing techniques according to the player's position and his capabilities.
6. There is no place for carelessness in passing or practicing passing.
7. Working on passing should be combined with working on dexterity and grip.
