Re: Rick Pitino show - Nov 7

[jmc@ptc.com]

Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu> gave a great summary of the Rick Pitino show 
of November 7th.  Thanks, Alex! 

I also watched the show, and wanted to add a couple of comments. 

> 5. He tries to keep film sessions at 12 minutes because of the limited
> attention span of the players. Veteran teams tend to learn better.

This is actually teaching sessions in general, not film sessions. 
He said veteran players will absorb 100% of what you're saying, and 
young players much less.  The idea is that in the area of 12 minutes is 
where everyone's attention span starts to drop.  He says he learned this 
from Hubie Brown.  Hubie didn't know the exact number for the ideal length
of time, but picked 12 because it's close to the right time, and players 
are more likely to believe you're telling the truth about 12 than they
would if you said 10 minutes or 15 minutes.  My take on this is that
they'll interpret 10 or 15 as really meaning that plus or minus 5
minutes, while they'll interpret 12 as 12 plus or minus 1 minute.

> 6. He's striving to be more positive - 98-2 he calls it (for 98% positive).
> Last year he said he was 30-70 because the lockout ruined everything.

He said he was 70-30 the last year at Kentucky, and 60-40 his first year 
with the Celtics, and that this year he's higher than 70-30, and 
getting close to 90% positive, and striving for 98%. 

> 7. The coach's clinic was on offensive execution. Good players will try
> to drive towards the middle because it gives them more options - he calls
> it "opening the window." But the defense will typically force the player
> baseline and they may try to trap him; so he shows how the offensive
> players move towards open sight lines. The post players get in the paint,
> the weak side player goes to the corner, the strong side wing player also
> moves for an outside shot. He showed Adrian Griffin driving baseline and
> making some good passes to players who move to the right spots, generating
> open shots for the Celtics.

This was the most interesting part.  He talked about how on defense
they try to "close the window" on the other team, meaning get all their
players bunched up closer to the baseline, so there's less room for
them to maneuver and pass.  A basketball court looks kind of like a window, 
so that's where the terminology comes from.

On offense you use movement, passing and positioning to "open the
window", giving you more room to pass the ball, and more open teammates
in position to receive a pass from you without any defenders in between
you and them, leading to lots of passing options, allowing you to get a
good pass and open shot no matter which way the defense moves in
reaction to the man with the ball.

Jon Mc