Tuesday, May 4, 2010

HANDLING THE GAME AT THE END WHEN YOU ARE TRAILING

Another great article from www.Hooptactics.net. One of my absolute favortie sites!

Fouling plays a critical part in the outcome of the game, especially when it comes playoff time. Fouls were added to the basketball rule book to penalize; however, intelligent players and teams can use fouls to their advantage. When trailing by more than two offensive possessions late in the end, the clock is your worst enemy not your opponent. Every second counts, so if you have to foul, foul immediately. Do not let any precious time run off. Legendary, Hall of Fame coach, Dean Smith, was a mastermind of this end of game strategy.

However, when it comes to fouling to gain a competitive edge do not assume that players know how to foul. Have you practiced fouling? in reality, when a coach tells their players to foul, they are most likely to just push or grab an opponent resulting in an intentional foul. Since the opponent gets to shoot free throws and retains ball possession, this is disastrous. Players need to know how to foul, when to foul, and who to foul.

These end of game fouling techniques must practiced. When taking a quick foul, players should first attack the passing lane and go for the ball. A steal, five second count or picking up an offensive charge is much better than a foul. If unsuccessful, players should foul by trying to knock the ball out of their opponent’s hands. Every once in awhile, they just might be successful in knocking the ball loose. In addition, officials will, occasionally, be out of position and not call the foul. When trapping, execute one hard trap and then foul. Learn more see Clock Management & Fouling – Premium Members Click Here

Wise Substitutions

When faced with a must foul situation, do not forget to substitute!!! During a timeout or when shooting a free throw, be sure to make defensive substitutions and put players into the game that can afford to foul instead of putting your best players into foul trouble or even losing them to disqualification. Once the foul has been committed and the clock stopped, players in foul trouble or key players can be reinserted back into the game. How many times in the recent NCAA Tournament games have you see key players, needlessly, foul out in must foul situations?

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