Jerebko started again but his Pistons fell short

Jonas Jerebko started his second game in a row for the Pistons and got the assignment to guard the Turkish NT-player Turkoglu as I thought before the game. The Pistons started the game excellent and Jonas was really active on both ends of the floor. Pistons quick guards and special Ben Gordon just sliced the defense of the Toronto players and got easy buckets. Detroit was up 28-24 after the first quarter after letting the Raptors get started in the end of the quarter. The Raptors flow continued in the second quarter which was where the game turned around. The ten point margin was kept throughout the third quarter and at one point they were down 17 points. But they came back out of the hole, and at one point in the fourth quarter of the game they were back in the lead. But Toronto took back the momentum and won the game, 110-99.

On the Pistons homepage Jonas gets a lot of credits for his defense on Turkoglu and his game in general. I think Jonas did a very good in his 1-1 defense on him. The big problem was the big-big P&R, with Turkoglu and Bosh, that the Raptors used in the second quarter more and more on the top of key. The Pistons tried to hedge and recover but were late to many times giving Bosh easy dunks in the paint. This really hurt their defense and was a big part of letting them score more than 40 points in the second quarter. I know the rules are different in the NBA with the defensive 3-second rule in the paint but it still feels like they should have been able to have better rotations on the P&R situation for example.

I was hoping they would start switching on that screen on the top to let Jonas pick up Bosh and the big man of Pistons handle Turkoglu. After halftime the Pistons came out and did this. They got some trouble with handling Turkoglu out on the floor but they got rid of the open points in the paint. Jonas had only three rebounds, I believe they missed at least one in the stats, but that’s not most important. Jonas is so active on every rebound or loose ball and the “hands on the ball making your team-mate get the rebound” is not counted in the stats.

Jonas first points of the game came on a put-back and that’s so significant for his game. He crashed the board and with his long arms his first two points in the NBA was a fact. He gathered 8 points after nailing an open three pointer, another 2-pointer in the paint and 1/2 on the free throws. In the second half he had a huge two hand block and I think he had his second block in the same defensive possession. Jerebko played 25 minutes but I think if he wouldn’t had got in foul trouble in the second half after some bad calls he would have played even more, and the Pistons would have needed that!

One thing i hope to see more is that the guards of the Pistons passes the ball to the open players when they penetrate. Ben Gordon, Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey can all beat their defenders 1-1 but they don’t pass the ball when help is coming. Ben had some nice runners which he dropped tonight but I would like to see more of the penetrate and dish game. That would give them more open shots and create more spacing in the offense. Toronto plays much more like that, but I guess thats part of all their European players making them play a more European style of basketball.

On Friday Jerebko and his team head down to Orlando. They beat them the other night and Jonas started and defended Vince Carter. Will we see a replay of that?

Expressen: Åtta poäng av Jerebko i NBA i natt

Jerebko started for the Pistons

In the winning game, 85-80, against the Orlando Magic, the Swedish NBA-player Jonas Jerebko started the game for the Detroit Pistons with the mission the play defense on Vince Carter. As some of us knows Jonas he will always come out with lots of energy and always play hard on both ends of the floor. I am really happy to see that a player like that gets a chance to start a game in the NBA and even if Jonas didn’t score he stayed on the floor for 25 minutes getting 5 rebounds and one block. This shows how important he was for the team and for the success in the game. I believe the fact that he left the game scoreless just shows even more his value.

Coach Keuster:

“Joe Dumars, we were talking today, what a great opportunity for a lot of these young players that we have so much confidence in – this was a total team effort,” Kuester said. “I thought Jonas did a great job. He didn’t know until this morning that he was going to start. He brings an energy to this team that I really like.”

Tonight the Pistons play against the Toronto Raptors in Toronto and probably and hopefully we will see Jonas start this game too. Will we see him start against the Turkey National Team player Turkoglu (last year in Orlando) or will he match up against someone else? The game starts at 7 PM ET.

In the Swedish newspapers there are plenty of articles about Jonas Jerebko’s first game as a starter.

Aftonbladet: Jerebko från start när Pistons vann

DN: Jerebko spelade från start

Basketsverige.se: Jerebko startade mot Orlando

A dig in the archive!

I often think about new subjects to write about on my page, but sometimes I glance back and read through what I have published before. Through my blog stats I can see that some of the articles are frequently read so I thought about posting the links to the most popular articles in one post. Enjoy!

Inside is important
Inside is like the most important street in the game of Monopoly, you really want to be in control of it, and you definitely don’t want your opponent be in control!

What basketball skills takes a player to the next level? Part 1: The shot
I believe that this skill is the most important one of the offensive skills a player can master. Maybe the shot is not the most important when you are on a certain level but when trying to reach the next level when physique and speed becomes more significant a player without the skill of shooting is way more easy to break down.

What basketball skills takes a player to the next level? Part 2: The defense
Is this just something coaches say to make players work on their defense because a  lot of coaches like defense? I would say that the main reason defense is important is that a player who moves up has first to adapt to the speed in the practise and the new group and at the same time to stay on the floor.

Modern day basketball
The game is much faster and everyone on a team needs to be able to run and move. As the game has become faster the reaction time and the time for decision-making has decreased. This is why in modern day basketball you very seldom see fakes anymore. There is simply no time to make fakes, either you are open to take the shot or you have to drive to the basket or to find the next pass. The modern players read situations before they occur and react in a flow.

Chris Ballard: Inside the NBA

Earlier this week Chris Ballard wrote an article in the October 26, 2009, issue of Sports Illustrated, about trainer Idan Ravin who works out some of the best players in the NBA. LeBron James,  Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul are among the players working out with Idan Ravin, who has no playing or coaching pedigree but knows just what they need to hear.

Below are some interesting parts of the article, but I guess you will hit the link above to read the whole story!

…after moving to San Diego, he began coaching kids two nights a week at a YMCA, using unconventional drills of his own creation. Soon enough, as he recalls, all the kids wanted to be on Mr. Ravin’s team. A few years later, back in the D.C. area, Ravin used those same drills while casually running some workouts for college-level players. His big break came when Steve Francis, then a star at Maryland, showed up at a workout and got hooked. He in turn brought a friend who was also NBA-bound, Elton Brand. One referral led to another, and Ravin’s client base grew.

Many of Ravin’s drills are intended to create a state of confusion. In one he throws tennis balls at a player, who must catch them while maintaining his dribble. (Ravin could be seen doing this in a Nike ad with Anthony a few years back.) The goal is not to improve hand-eye coordination but rather to create sensory overload. “You make the player focus on everything else except the game, so that the game skills become automatic,” explains Ravin. “You try to make the unreasonable feel reasonable.”

When working with NBA players on finishing at the rim, for example, Ravin addresses a common shortcoming: On a drive to the basket, most players bring the ball down as they prepare to jump, exposing the ball to the defense. So Ravin has them keep the ball high as they begin their ascent. To drill the move, Ravin stands to the side of a player, let’s say Carmelo Anthony; as Anthony runs, Ravin keeps his hand waist-high, where the ball is. “I tell him to visualize Earl Boykins [defending],” Ravin says, referring to the superquick, 5′ 5″ former Nuggets guard. “You have to give them someone in the league they recognize to visualize. They all know Boykins and Brevin Knight, guys who have quick hands. So if I say, ‘Brevin Knight is here,’ they think, F—— Brevin Knight, if the ball gets too low, he strips it.”

Enjoy the whole article on Sports Illustrated!

Vad är talang? Hur jobbar man med talangutveckling?

För knappt två veckor sedan hade jag förmånen att vara inbjuden till Trollhättan på ett seminarium för att prata om talang och talangutveckling och se den efterföljande Champions League matchen mellan Alingsås och Köpenhamn. Det blev två väldigt spännande upplevelser.

SISU Västergötland har träffar mellan de olika elitklubbarna i regionen. Om jag förstod det rätt så var det de klubbar som har seniorlag på elitnivå och temat för dagen var precis som rubriken antyder “Vad är en talang? Hur jobbar man med talangutveckling?” Tyvärr blev det inte den spridning på idrotter som man hoppats då några inte kunde närvara. Det blev istället en övervikt med bandyklubbarna från Trollhättan, Vänersborg och Lidköping, men det utvecklades till en väldigt givande och spännande eftermiddag.

Som sagt var temat Talang och Talangutveckling och jag utgick från mitt perspektiv från basketvärlden och berättade hur vi ser på talang och talangutveckling inom basketen. Såväl Svenska Basketbollförbundets Spelarutvecklingsplan berördes liksom Regionverksamheten samt mina egna erfarenheter kring ämnet.

Det som är så intressant i ämnet talang och talangutveckling är att det finns egentligen inget rätt eller fel, men det finns tystnad och kortsiktighet eller diskussion, eftertanke och långsiktighet. Givetvis är det senare att föredra, men det är lätt att prata om det och svårare att genomföra det när man väl är ute i sina respektive klubbar.

Klubbar med elitverksamhet har givetvis ett intresse att få fram egna talanger för att stärka verksamheten inom den egna klubben med målbilder till de yngre spelarna såväl som det även är en ekonomisk aspekt i det hela. Det senare blir extra viktigt i tuffa tider som det är för närvarande med finanskris och en tuffare sponsormarknad. Men det kräver ständigt arbete och en tydlig utvecklingsplan inom klubben för att ungdomsverksamheten ska ha en bra och sund koppling till senior- och elitverksamheten. Jag tror att bara genom att diskutera ämnet så lyfter man fokus och tänker mer långsiktigt i att utveckla talangerna man har till framtida seniorelitspelare istället för att man ser på nästa match i ungdomsserien som det viktigaste i världen.

Det var som sagt en väldigt lyckad eftermiddag och de tre timmarna försvann snabbt och vi hade nog kunnat sitta kvar och diskutera och prata vidare i ämnet om det inte var så att en Champions League match höll på att starta inne i Älvesborg. Men en av bandyklubbarna, Gripen, från just Trollhättan blev väldigt intresserade och har redan bokat in en till träff i samma ämne med hela sin klubb. 9 november bär det av igen ner till Trollhättan och en intressant kväll i ett alltid så omdiskuterat tema.

När det gäller Champions Legaue matchen i handboll så var det den första matchen jag sett på väldigt länge hos en av våra konkurrenter, dvs handbollen. Det jag blev imponerad av var vilken stämning och inramning man skapade. Läktarna var kanske inte helt fulla men det var säkert 1500 personer och ett rejält tryck som jag önskar man skulle få uppleva oftare på basketmatcher i Sverige. När det gäller spelet så tror jag det är många saker som hämmar handbollen. Däribland sättet man får stoppa och hålla fast varandra, det hämmar försvarsspelet med positionering, fotarbete osv. Dessutom skulle de må bra av en skottklocka istället för det där fjanteriet kring maskande när domaren håller upp en hand i luften.

Men bortsett från det så var det kul att se matchen och det var framför allt Köpenhamn som imponerade. De spelade ett mycket renare spel i försvar där de var i position, de spelade över passningar, de höll inte fast (foulade) så mycket OCH de tjänade på att spela så här. De bestämde, styrde och i stort sett ägde sin planhalva. När det gäller det offensiva spelet så sprang dom hela tiden. De vände bollen riktigt bra och ska man göra en koppling till basket så hade de ett riktigt bra transitionspel.

Väl uppe i anfall så var det danska laget även här på en helt annan nivå än det svenska. Det klassiska bolla runt bollen runt 9-meterslinjen fanns inte. Det såg man bara hos Alingsås. Köpenhamn däremot attackerade och dishade av bollen. De sökte passningar till spelarna på linjen efter attack och inte bara bolla in den. Likheterna mellan klassisk basket där man passar runt bollen mer och står stilla och det klassiska handbollsspelet med ett bollande runt 9-meterslinjen var stora och likheterna mellan det moderna internationella basketspelet med attacker, rörelse och ett mycket större flöde i spelet kunde man även ana i hur Köpenhamn spelade sitt mer moderna handbollsspel.

För mig var det en spännande iakttagelse och det visar att även handbollen utvecklas som sport precis som basketen gör och att det är på det internationella planet man först ser de nya trenderna. Egentligen är det upp till var och en om man väljer att leva kvar i det gamla spelet som snart kommer hamna på antikhyllorna oavsett om man pratar basket, handboll eller andra idrotter, eller om man väljer att hålla sig uppdaterad och se till att följa trenderna.

När det gäller att kunna identifiera talanger och att utveckla dem är det A och O att man håller sig uppdaterad med nutiden och ständigt blickar in i framtiden. De spelare som man utvecklar idag är de som ska spela i framtiden! Glöm inte det!

Which coach are you? Devil or Angel?

Sefu Bernard writes on his web page The LLaBB about coaching types and about different ways of communication as a coach.

The first post at Sef’s page shows the two coaching styles – Devil or Angel. The two different characters have a  couple of words explaining there characters:

• The Angel: Enthusiasm, Praise, Fun, Patience
• The Devil: Shout, Criticize, Bully, Win Win Win

My personal belief in this subject is that a good coach has the knowledge to move between acting as an ‘Angel’ and a ‘Devil’ depending on the situations and which state of mind of the players and the team. A good guidance to follow as a coach is “to show the face your team needs”.

In the post about Coaching Communication Styles he breaks down different communication styles and together with examples and a chart it helps the reader in the subject. Sef summarize:

The truly great teacher-coaches move seamlessly between the different types of communication: tell & repeat, question & listen; and, collaborate. This is the art of coaching rather than a science.

There’s a time for telling. A time for questioning. And, a time to collaborate. Become a master communicator and you’ll be well rewarded with how much more you’ll be able to yield from your athletes.

Sef is a master of posting interesting subject on his page and you can find the link to his page on the right side of my web page.

10,000 views

Today the Leman Coaching web page, http://lemancoaching.wordpress.com, has reached 10,000 views. The web page started out in January 2008 and during this time 57 posts have been published. Some articles shorter and some longer and deeper. Articles in Swedish and lately more and more articles in English.

Below you can read some blog stats:

Total views: 10,030

Busiest day: 249 — Thursday, January 24, 2008

Views today: 47

Posts: 57

Defensive footwork: “Close-outs”

In basketball a player’s foot work is fundamental both in offense and defense. I believe that all players no matter if they are young players or senior professional players need to work on their footwork and especially the defensive footwork. In modern day basketball when fakes are history and ‘catch and react’ behaviors are most common the close-out to a player with the ball is a fundamental part of a players ball-defense.

What is a close-out?
A defensive player is closing out on an offensive player trying to make the player with the ball hesitate. A good close-out takes away the shot at the same time as it takes away the penetration. After a good close-out the defensive player will be in a good position and stance and at a proper distance to be able to put pressure and to play defense out on the perimeter.

The movement of a basketball player doing a close-out is very similar to the movement of a fencer moving forward or backwards in attack or retreat. The body is moving on a straight line and has to be in a good balance and control, making it possible to change direction at any time.

I have chosen a video clip from last evening’s game between Serbia and Lithuania from Eurobasket (16 sept -09 in Poland) where Serbia’s players close-outs several times to keep pressure on the Lithuanian players without getting blown by.

U18 All-Star game at Eurobasket 2009

As many of you know the Eurobasket 2009 starts in Poland on Monday the 7th of September. For almost 2 weeks the eyes around Europe (and the world) will be pointed at Poland and the different cities and arenas. At least all the basketball eyes, which are a big significant part of the world population. Anyway a new and very interesting happening is the U18 All-star game that will take place the 18th of September before the Quarter-finals for the big boys!

After our success in Sarajevo at the U18 European Championships two of our players got invited to this venue. Andreas Person and Christopher Czerapowicz will both represent the yellow-blue colors among the best U18 players of European Basketball. Only a few nationals have more than one participant among the 24 players and Sweden is one of those countries, quite good right?

I wish them the best and I hope they both continue in Katowice the way as they finished the championships in Sarajevo.

Looking for a new job

Now when the school year at Sanda Basketball Highschool is finished I am looking for a new coaching job the upcoming season. I will not stay in Huskvarna (Jönköping) and I am looking both in Sweden and outside of Sweden for new challenges. I’m interested to hear about any type of suggestions and ideas. Go to ‘Contact’ for my contact information.

Until the 3rd of August I’m occupied with the Men’s U18 National Team where we just came from a tournament in Spala, Poland. This weekend we have a camp in Stockholm as on of our final preparations as we head into the European Championships in Sarajevo the 23rd of July against Finland.