Basketball Statistics Blog

To take all the blame

"Just recently the superintendent of my team gave me some advices. He said that when you win a game do not take the credit, but praise the players. The players won the game. When you lose, its your fault as the coach. You take all the blame.

Another statement he said was, "Don't ever say it's OK that we lost because we played well." What are your thoughts? ..."


"Welcome to the world of coaching. The players always get the praise, but heck, you know that you did a great job of preparing them, otherwise you wouldn't be getting the W !!

I think that what he might be saying to you is to take the blame to take the heat off the kids.... right or wrong... it's pretty good advice. Kids don't need to be told that they didn't play well.... they know when they don't. It's not about placing blame... more about how do we correct our problems.

One of the things that I went to towards the end of my coaching career was to wait until we got home from away games to talk to the team... usually had a clearer head and could measure my words a little better.... and the talks were usually shorter...

There were times I let the Captains do the talking about the game and what we had to do or work on.... or another player from time to time, everybody got their chance to talk during the season. Try to keep you comments on the positive side... like saying we need to work on this or that.... instead of saying we really stunk at boxing out or some other point.

When you get to practice the next day you can go into a little more detail and create your practice plan around correcting those items. I'm NOT sure what he was trying to say in his last comment. What is wrong with saying that we played well but the other team was better tonight ? It happens.... live with it. When some team comes out shooting the lights out... it doesn't make a lot of difference what you do.... we've met teams like that and we have had some games where we shot well too.... hard to beat someone that doesn't miss. I keep reading the last statement and I can't figure out what he was trying to say..... maybe someone else has an idea on that.... . "
by Coach Sar at the Basketball Coaching Forum

tags:  basketball comments  ~  coach's digest   ~  coaching

Same Knight, Different Channel

By: Jack Isenhour
Basketball legend Bob Knight is fond of saying that he has never gotten over West Point. In Same Knight, Different Channel, Jack Isenhour takes him at his word. A player on Knight’s first West Point team, Isenhour shows how the controversial coach has changed little from his early days at the academy, temper tantrums and all. Knight made up his mind there to "win-gotta win" and follows that philosophy to this day.

Knight’s sentiment was in step with the core value of "there is no substitute for victory" at West Point, where soldiers were being trained to fight and win the next war. So it came as little surprise following Knight’s 18-8 record in his inaugural 1965-66 season-a season in which the twenty-five-year-old hot-headed coach berated officials, totaled chairs, and got into his first shouting match with an athletic director-that West Point chose to keep the young Coach Knight on. What’s a tantrum or two in the name of winning? With that, "Bobby T" was born. Knight’s bad-boy persona-the hair-trigger temper, the acting out, and the defiance-was codified as at least tolerable, if not acceptable, behavior.

Relying on firsthand experiences and interviews with teammates, administrators, and Knight himself, Isenhour traces the pattern of misbehavior established during Knight’s inaugural year at West Point, during his last days at Indiana, and to his reemergence at Texas Tech. The result is the most even-handed portrait of Knight to date. In a narrative both lively and irreverent, Same Knight, Different Channel demonstrates who Knight is today and shows how he was shaped by his experiences at West Point, ending with a thought-provoking discussion of just what it takes to play, coach, and win in the high-pressure world of college basketball...."

Jack Isenhour an award-winning television journalist, was a seldom-used guard on Bob Knight's first Army basketball (1965-66). His premise is that the Knight we know today--controversial, temperamental, successful--was forged by his tenure at West Point when he became the Cadets' head coach at the ridiculously young age of 25. The raw material was there: a fierce competitor in high school and college, Knight was the kid skidding around the court diving after loose balls.

When Army coach Tates Locke resigned to take another position, he recommended that his young assistant succeed him. Knight's inherent competitiveness flourished at West Point during the Vietnam era. He developed a style--stifling defense, patient offense--that maximized the skills of players who were not big and not heavily recruited.

Filled with great anecdotes from former players and Isenhour's self-deprecating replays of his time--yesterday and today--with Knight, this is a compelling look at the early career of a man who will soon become the winningest college coach in history.

    more info

tags:  basketball  ~  basketball books review  ~  Bob Knight  ~  basketball coaching

BASKETBALL REBOUNDS

Excerpt of the module edited on Monday (June 25, 2007) at the last exposition of the eBA 113 - Game Stats Register about "Basketball Rebounds":

"..... A basic generalization in many of the Basketball stats formulas is how efficiently players use possessions. The object is to get players who throws better shots, perpetrate few turnovers and catch the highest possible percentage of rebounds.
We are not just looking for the players who score and rebound the most, but who do so with the fewest opportunities. The more efficient offensive and defensive possessions a team has, the more points it will score and the fewer it will allow the other team to score.

Rebounding Statistics: First of all the number of Total Rebounds are of little value. In addition, since offensive and defensive rebounding requires two entirely different approaches and skills, coaches must look at offensive and defensive rebounds performances separately. To really analyze and evaluate the team's defensive rebounding performances coaches must look at the team's rebounding percentages along with the points scored on second efforts. These figures are found on the game and season (cumulative) box score, leaders, team goals, and graphical comparison reports.
The eBA System shows all this data ordered in the "Rebound Pages Analysis" at his 2nd. Booklet:  "The Game Analysis".

Photograph: Vedia PhotoStream

Rebounding Percentages: are a relatively simple additional part of box score stats. For the reason that a team’s rebounds totals are directly referenced to the number and type of missed shots in a game, rebounding totals are a poor indicator of rebounding success. Generally the teams that have the most rebounds in a season, are also teams that have a very low field-goal percentage.

It is comprehensible - the more shots you miss, the more opportunities you have to rebound the ball. The pace a game is played at will also influence the number of rebound opportunities a team has. A team’s rebounding percentage is the percentage of opportunities (missed shot that can be rebounded) that a team capitalizes on.. ....."

A new Course Begins on: Monday 03/09/07, 21:00 GMT
Go To eBA CLINICS ONLINE

tags:  basketball   ~  coach's digest  ~  basketball rebounds   ~  statistics

Great Basketball Moments: NBA First Game Ever - 1946

Photograph: Vedia PhotoStream

The National Basketball Association has origins in Canada. The NBA's first game was played in Toronto over sixty years ago, on November 1, 1946 when the New York Knickerbockers defeated the Toronto Huskies 68-66 at Maple Leaf Gardens. The teams were part of the Basketball Association of America, the forerunner to the NBA.
... and anyone taller than Toronto's Center: George Nostrand - 6 Feet 8 Inches - 2.03 m - was admitted free to the game !...

tags:  basketball  ~  photographs  ~  NBA  ~  basketball history

STATISTICS LIES

Uses and Misuses of Statistical Graphics:

Yesterday, with the last exposition at the eBA 113 Basketball Statistics Register Course we were discussing the topic of the statistics lies which was initiated by the exposition "Statistics & Statisticians" at eBA ONLINE.
Here is the opinion of Paul H. Kvam and Joel Sokol from their work "Teaching Statistics with Sports Examples":
Statistical lies are most frequently committed in graphical form, where the eyes can be more easily deceived by spurious trends suggested in a picture. A common abuse is manipulating scales on charts and graphs by truncating, censoring or transforming the axis values.

The next figure shows two different charts showing an increase in average attendance at NCAA Women's Soccer games between 1998 and 2003. The first (blue)chart  is the default Microsoft Excel chart; many statistical software packages, in fact, will restrict both axes to a small set of values that contains the data, which helps the reader focus on chart differences more clearly. However, it also removes the scale of difference from the picture, which has potential to mislead readers who pay little attention to the axis labels.

Two different charts showing average attendance
at NCAA Women's Soccer (season) matches

The reader's sense of proportion can be manipulated further with image-based charts, which are standard in sports publications. As an example, the figure below graphs the season wins for the New England Patriots using clip-art in place of vertical bars.

Regular season wins for the New England Patriots, 2002-2003

While the height of the football icons corresponds to the information the graph is meant to communicate, the size of the footballs does not; the Patriots improved 56% in wins between 2002 and 2003, but the increase in area of the football icons is over 140%.

tags:  basketball  ~  basketball comments  ~  coach's digest   ~  statistics

Swish - A Guide to Great Basketball Shooting

By: Tom Nordland
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Language: English

This is the most informative Video/DVD on basketball shooting!
Tom Nordland's "Swish-A Guide to Great Basketball Shooting" is a true three point play. Nordland has taken the art of shooting a basketball and broken it down to the most basic components with excellent explanations as well as showing the practical technique itself. The brilliance of this product is the fact that his explanations are a combination of common sense and backed up facts that shows how even the best players can improve their shooting. You need not be an NBA or college coach to understand all of what is trying to be conveyed.


He uses his own terms such as "coiled spring" and "Upforce" and makes it so even the first time coach or even dad teaching his son or daughter in their driveway will comprehend it all. This product is appropriate for players ages 8-18 and even college and beyond who eat, drink and sleep basketball. There is little doubt in my mind that players who view "Swish" and practice what Nordland preaches will increase their shooting percentage. This is a "no miss" item. Very highly recommended!
- Marty Schupak, Producer of "48 Championship Basketball Drills"

tags:  basketball  ~  basketball resources  ~  Tom Nordland   ~  shooting DVD

 LOSING THE GAME, Thoughts 

Lots of stuff to consider when you lose a game. Could be one thing or a combination of things that caused the late game falter.
Rebounding - did you give up second chance shots; did you get any?

Defense - did your players encounter a different defense, more pressure, traps full or half court? Did your defense get lazy?
Did you allow mini runs of 4-6 points and not have an offensive reply - we call those empty possessions. Did you get beat in transition?

Offense - did you continue to attack the basket or settle for jumpers? Jump shooters don't get fouled by the good teams late in the game.
If you decided that a ten point lead was good enough to win the game and pulled the ball out, you may have screwed up your momentum / offensive continuity thinking your lead could hold up.

Foul shooting? Sub patterns - did you have the wrong guys in at the end of the game?

Fatigue will make a player make mental mistakes. So that is possible another thing to consider...... { Photograph: Trent Nelson }

tags:  basketball  ~  coach's digest   ~  coaching

The Fallacies of eFG%:
"First what is eFG% ?: In laymen terms, it's a shooting statistic that takes into account 3 point shots by counting them as 1.5 field goals. So for example if Kobe Bryant shoots 4 of 12 from the field, all 3 point shots, his FG% is 33% and his eFG% is 50%. And if Elton Brand makes 6 of 12 shots, his FG% and eFG% are 50%. Both players score 12 points in this scenario.

The formula looks like this:
eFG% = (FGM + .5 * 3PM ) / FGA

eFG% is useful for showing a player's shooting efficiency. Both Bryant and Brand use 12 shots to net 12 points and by this method, Bryant is not penalized for attempting the more difficult 3-pointers.

"...So what’s wrong with eFG% ?

eFG% fails to recognize the impact of successes and failures. In the example above, Bryant failed 8 times by missing 8 shots while Brand only failed 6 times.
Hence, Bryant's 50% eFG is not equal to Brand's 50% eFG and if given the choice between the two, I would always choose the latter unless I was the opposing coach.
Why make the distinction when both players scored 12 points on 12 attempts ?
Because, during the game, succeeding is more valuable than failing and missing shots is detrimental on many levels.

1. Missed shots kill team momentum. Basketball is a game of runs and nothing ends a run quicker than sending one off the side of the rim. Conversely, swishing one through the net only adds to momentum, rhythm, and player confidence.
2. Missed shots lessen crowd enthusiasm. How many times have we seen crowd excitement grow with each successive basket only to be deflated by a failed attempt? Countless by my observation.
3. Missed shots often result in over-the-back fouls (on the bigs) or reaching fouls (by the disappointed shooter).
4. Missed shots are a success to the defensive team and a victory to the defensive player (hardly feelings you want your opponent to enjoy).
5. Missed shots are a golden opportunity for the defensive team to fast break, thereby, creating easy baskets and the ever-frustrating ‘touch’ fouls.

Imagine missing 8 out of 12 shots against the Phoenix Suns, who look to run on every occasion. Basketball minds know the very best time to initiate a fast break is on missed shots and steals. And, given the explosive nature of the Suns, providing them with eight potential opportunities is dangerous and counterproductive.
Conversely, making a basket allows your defense time to re-set and prepare for the next possession not to mention all the other intangibles that come from successful attempts.
Because eFG% ignores this impact of missing shots, it should not replace the tradition FG% measurement. Many Basketball forums, however, blindly quote eFG% as the end all shooting statistic. And while I certainly see its value, I cannot understate the importance of makes versus misses and success versus failure during the course of a Basketball game......."
Our Comments about a Post by Tony Benedetti at Basketball IQ.

tags:  basketball  ~  coach's digest  ~  statistics  ~  formulas

The Best from the QUOTES 

"These are my new shoes. They're good shoes. They won't make you rich like me, they won't make you rebound like me, they definitely won't make you handsome like me......

Photograph: Vedia PhotoStream

...... They'll only make you have shoes like me. That's it. ~ From a Charles Barkley commercial for Basketball shoes, 1993 "

tags:  basketball  ~  basketball quotes  ~  comments

 THE MOST USEFUL STAT
"... what stats in the eBA and in this forum are considered to be the best indicators of success ?

1st.  - Field goal percentage and defensive field goal percentage;
2nd.  - A Shooting 50% or Better;
3rd.  - How many possessions get the posts players;
4th.  - 2:1 Assist / Turnover Ratio;

Photograph: basketball_China

5th.  - More FTM than Opponents FTA;
6th.  - Our OR in a 50% of our missed shots;
7th.  - Force 2 Opponents Turnovers for each one we commit;
8th.  - Steals must exceed turnovers: means a defensive minded team;
9th.  - Force Opponents to a 40% or less Field Goal %;
10th. - Contest 90% Opponents total field goals attempts;
11th. - Outrebound your opponent: 40+ rebounds a game means control of the boards;
12th. - ... and one more point made at least than our opponents did...!

Read the complete thread at the eBA Forums

tags:  basketball  ~  selected questions  ~  statistics

Defensive Rebound Efficiency
Talking about turnovers, for example, you might hear someone say, "Our team perpetrated 18 turnovers. That's not very good." It might not be, but you'd have to know more about the way the game was played to reach that conclusion. 18 turnovers against a slow-down team would be awful. 18 turnovers against  a quick-pace squad would be accomplishable.

Photograph: Jennifer Pottheiser from Basketball Notes by Alex

There's a stat called 'defensive rebound efficiency' that is  used in the eBA System ( go to the eBA System ) -- it measures the amount of defensive rebounds taken down from missed shots. There's a similar idea we apply in eBA as 'offensive rebound efficiency', which simply measures the amount of available offensive rebounds that a team gather. One area where that stat breaks down, however, is that it's hard to take free throws into account just by looking at the box score because there's no way to know which missed shots could result in an offensive rebound.
Therefore, when the eBA System register the equations with the "trips to the line", this problem is solved.

tags:  basketball  ~  coach's digest  ~  statistics

What's your game?

A new Basketball clip, which is a clinic about the game's fundaments given by the actual best players....

tags:  basketball  ~  video clips

Photograph: Vedia PhotoStream
Mark Eaton & Michael Cooper
NBA All-Defense Teams 1986-87

Mark E. Eaton
Position: C
Height: 7'3"  ~  Weight: 275 lbs.
Born: January 24, 1957 in Westminster, CA
High School: Westminster in Westminster, CA
College: University of California, Los Angeles
Coaching record: Drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the 5th round (19th pick) of the 1979 NBA draft.
Drafted by the Utah Jazz in the 4th round (3rd pick) of the 1982 NBA draft.

Michael Jerome Cooper (Mike)
Position: G-F
Height: 6'5"  ~  Weight: 170 lbs.
Born: April 15, 1956 in Los Angeles, CA
High School: Pasadena in Pasadena, CA
College: University of New Mexico
Coaching record: Drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 3rd round (16th pick) of the 1978 NBA draft

tags:  basketball  ~  photographs  ~  Mark Eaton  ~  Michael Cooper  ~  legends

About Win Shares:

"One of the hardest things about assessing Basketball players is disentangling the effects of the different players on the floor. If a player gets an offensive rebound and the putback, how much should we credit the guy who drove to the basket, broke down the defense, and missed the shot, but put the defense out of position for the rebound?

When someone scores, how much credit should he get, how much should go to the guy who got him the ball, how much to the guy who set the screen, how much to the perimeter shooter whose defender was hesitant to come over and help, etc., etc.? When the shot clock winds down and someone who can create his own shot is forced to put up a tough shot, how do you spread blame among the teammates who were unable to create a good shot during that possession?...."

"...In other words, it's not clear how reliable the Win Shares statistic is at the kinds of interesting uses that Gladwell wants to put it to - assessing potential MVPs, comparing teammates, identifying overrated and underrated players, and so on. I think that it's necessary to keep track of plus/minus data, like WinVal does, in order to disentangle teammates......" Posted by "blar" at gladwell.com

The eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System give answer to this questions in the chapter "eBA System Non Standard Statistics" which will be analyzed in the next exposition at eBAClinics.com, tomorrow Monday 18 June - 21:00 GMT.

tags:  basketball comments  ~  Win Shares  ~  statistics

"I AM NOT A STATS GUY...."
Excerpt of the module edited on Monday at the eBA 113 - Game Stats Register about "Statistics & Statisticians":

...."It is correct that we have coaches that "are not stat guys", that only trust what they see, and they think they don't need a bunch of numbers to get in the way.
Others, use stats in various ways and are many which can speak about a tendex type formula.
Most of us, being in the basketball statistics analysis theme, and specially the analysis area, begin to understand that Basketball is a difficult game to quantify, in some degree because of the way the game changes through time, and partially because of the powerful impact of teamwork, with the constant moving interaction of 12 players and the ball.

We are the same people which understand that at some level, we use the available information to better understand the game:  no one stat can explain everything, so the combination of the numbers and the plays appreciation, eBA statistics analysis basis, is by this time the correct way......"

Last Module Exposition: Monday 25/06/07, 21:00 GMT

Next eBA Course begins at eBA CLINICS next Monday 03/09/07, 21:00 GMT

tags:  basketball  ~  coach's digest  ~  courses & clinics  ~  statistics

Basketball Coaching e-mail discussion group


Discuss ideas on basketball coaching: Offenses, defenses, drills,strategy... Members can also access the group chatroom for open forums on basketball coaching. Coaches can receive individual e-mails or one daily summary e-mail (daily digest). This community presently have coaches from all levels, youth to professional. The group is moderated by Admiral Farragut boys Basketball coach Mike Wells, who won a state title during the 2003-04 season.

The Basketball Coaching @ Yahoo Groups  Basketball Coaching e-mail discussion group - click here, is a Recommended Site by eBA-Stats.com.

tags:  basketball  ~  boards & communities  ~  recommended sites

Moral Dilemma in Sport: An injured defender player on the court in the middle of the offensive play and the officials don't break the game, the team in offense must stop their play ?

tags:  basketball  ~  coaching  ~  moral dilemmas

About Deflections: "Most statistics you have to be careful of, given just raw numbers," said Jerry Krause, who charts various aspects of each game from the Gonzaga University, Bulldogs bench, "because they depend so much on the pace of the game. I'm more interested in percentages."
Among the most important numbers Krause supplies to his head coach are those relating to offensive and defensive efficiency. They are based on points per possession for both his team and their opponents.
"Those are what I really put a huge emphasis on at halftime or after a game," head coach Mark Few said. "As much as points and field-goal percentages can tell you, they can get skewed with a lot of free throws and things like that. But points-per-possession gives you a much better gauge of where your team is at, both offensively and defensively."
Few also puts plenty of weight on deflections, another number that does not show up in the box score. This number, according to Krause, is based on how many times a GU defender gets a hand, foot or any other body part on the Basketball.

"It can be a blocked shot, diving on a loose ball – anything that disrupts the other team's offense," explained Krause, a long-standing member of the NCAA Rules Committee, who also serves as Research Chair of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. "I believe offense, basically, is rhythm. And anything you can do to upset rhythm is not good for an offense." In addition, the number of deflections gives Few a good idea of his team's intensity level. "It's a great barometer for us," he said.

"When it's up, it means we're active, flying around and doing good things on the defensive end. When it's down, it usually tells us we're being too passive and reactive." Krause said this year's team has been surprisingly sluggish, as far as deflections are concerned. The team goal is 35 deflections per game, but so far this season, his team is averaging just 27. "And that's way below what you would want as a norm," Krause said. Deflections, like offensive and defensive percentages, can be charted during a game. Rebounding effort, however, is a bit more complicated, and can only be determined after watching video of the game as at the eBA Stats Basketball Statistical Register System.

tags:  basketball  ~  deflections  ~  rebounds  ~  statistics

Let's Talk Defense!

By: Herb Brown
Herb Brown's experience and defensive knowledge makes 'Let's Talk Defense!' a must read for any Basketball player or coach. The concepts demonstrated in his book are the same ones a great player must use when guarding some of the best players in the NBA.
Herb Brown teach us the most fundamental aspect of the game and that is 'great defense wins championships'. This book will explain the basic concepts of how it is done. This is the essential guide for coaching defense. Loaded with drills, tips, and step-by-step diagrams. 'Let's Talk Defense!' includes: making the transition from offense to defense;
out-rebounding opponents; stopping fast-break opportunities; eliminating penetration; creating havoc for the opposition and leading the opponent to concede points off turnovers..."

Herb Brown served as head coach of the Detroit Pistons from 1976 to 1978, where he led his team to the playoffs twice. Since then, he has worked with many professional teams, including the Chicago Bulls, Portland Trailblazers, and Philadelphia 76ers. A six-time coach of the year, he rejoined the Pistons in 2004, where he assisted his brother, head coach Larry Brown, toward his first NBA title. He is currently an assistant under Mike Woodson with the Atlanta Hawks.

    moreinfo

tags:  basketball  ~  basketball books review  ~  Herb Brown

Photograph: Basketball Notes by Alex"

Tony Parker scored 30 , Manu Ginobili had 25 and Tim Duncan added 23 as the Spurs rolled past Cleveland, 103-92, in Game 2 on Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals. Manu is impossible to stop...!

tags:  basketball  ~  basketball photographs  ~  Manu Ginóbili

TODAY FORMULA: PGm - Player Games

PGm ( Player Games )

The formula is

Tm G * (( 3 * ( Poss / Tm Poss ) +
3 * ( Stops / Tm Stops ) + ( MP / Tm MP )) / 7 )

Player Games is an estimate of the number of games a player is responsible for. Poss is an estimate of a player's offensive possessions and Stops is an estimate of a player's defensive stops.
The formulas for Poss and Stops are quite detailed and can be found in
Dean Oliver's Basketball on Paper and at eBA ONLINE

tags:  coach's digest  ~  statistical formulas  ~  statistics

RSS News & Contents: 
RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" -- it's a format for distributing and gathering content from sources across the Web, including sports newspapers, magazines, and blogs and you can read only the news you choose from eBA-stats.com without surfing all the web.

eBA-Stats.com uses to easily create and distribute sports and Basketball news feeds that include links, headlines, and summaries. Here you have a partial list of the actual contents which are among the many sites that now deliver updated online content via RSS in eBA-Stats.com.

Sport News RSS ( from Homepage: the Menu at your left ) or clicking here:

Google Sports news (English); Yahoo Sports News (English); Opinion Deportiva (Español); Comentarios Deportivos (español). 

Basketball News RSS ( from Homepage: the Users menu for Registered Members ):

Corriere della sera - Pallacanestro (Italiano); USA TODAY - College Basketball (English);  NBA News & Scores (English); FIBA - Ultimas Noticias (Español); FIBA - Latest News (English); FOX Sports Basketball (English); El Mundo Deportes, España (Español); SI Sports Illustrated - Basketball (English); BBC Sports News (English); Clarín Deportes - Buenos Aires (Español).

Sport News from each country:  clicking here: with public access.

tags:  basketball news  ~  sport news  ~  RSS

 The ASSISTED PERCENTAGE

Excerpt of the module by Prof. Roberto Azar edited at the NEW eBA 113 - Game Stats Register about "Basketball Assists":

"..... the eBA System refers to "assisted %" in the following concept: the percentage of the own shots on which an assist was recorded.

In another systems, the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System doesn't uses predictions, you'll find the formulas to predict the assisted field goal percentage employing the "assist share" factor. The assist share is the estimated percentage of assists a player is responsible for when he's on the floor. This reflects the fact that the player can't assist to himself..."


" So looking over the effective Assisted % for players - the percentage of their own shots on which an assist was recorded - we can see players creating its own shot from a top of 90% +/- (generally the forwards) to an opposite end of a 20% +/- (generally the guards, and specially the point guard).

One of the keys of this analysis is the three-points specialist rating. The three-point shot are generally assisted and the less often a player shoot, and the more often this player shoot threes, the more of a three-point specialist the player is, and his Assisted % would be greater....."

Next Module Exposition: Monday 11/06/07, 21:00 GMT

A new Course begins on Monday 03/09/07, 21:00 GMT

Go To eBA CLINICS ONLINE

tags:  coach's digest  ~  assisted percentage  ~  statistics

"With one million or five, ten or hundred, still you can only eat once - lunch and dinner." Drazen Petrovic


"I learned to give him the ball".... (Magic Johnson's answer when he was asked about what he learned about the game of Basketball by playing with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)


"Talent wins games, but team work and intelligence wins championships." Michael Jordan


"I tell kids to pursue their basketball dreams, but I tell them to not let that be their only dream." Kareem Abdul-Jabbar


tags:  basketball quotes   ~  Michael Jordan  ~  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar  ~  Drazen Petrovic

Photograph: Vedia PhotoStream
Jugoplastika Split
A Chapter in the Basketball History

Jugoplastika Split

A Chapter in the Basketball History
KK Split, a basketball club from Split, Croatia, has been a very successful club in european basketball. They are, together with the first champions, ASK Riga the only team to win the Euroleague trophy three times in a row. In the years 1989, 1990 and 1991, the team known back then as Jugoplastika and POP 84 with players like Toni Kukoc, Dino Rađja, Zan Tabak, Nikola Vujcic, Petar Skansi, Rato Tvrdic, Zeljko Jerkov, Duje Krstulovic, Damir Solman, Ivica Dukan, Zeljko Poljak, Velimir Perasovic, Zoran Savic, Dusko Ivanovic, Luka Pavicevic and Zoran Sretenovic won the top european basketball trophy on 1989, 1990 and 1991.

tags: basketball photographs ~ Jugoplastika Split ~ basketball legends

James R. Beniger, an associate professor at USC's Annenberg School of Communications, said it's better to decide which team is the best on the field -- not through the statistics. "As a statistician, I could find statistics to prove that USC is the best team in the country, and I could just as easily find some to show that another team is," said Beniger, who holds a master's degree in statistics from California.

tags:  basketball comments  ~  James R. Beniger  ~  statistics

Illegal defense: A rather nebulous NBA rule that was called irregularly. It's designed to prevent the use of the zone defense, today legal in the NBA, it was more like a 3-second violation for the defense, in which no defender can stay in the lane for more than, well, 3 seconds. If you were on defense and were not aggressively guarding someone, you could not spend more than 3 seconds in the key at a time.
The term Illegal Defense has replaced Zone Defense in NBA usage. The rule now in place, supported by guidelines, defines approved coverage by defensive players and teams. Violations of these rules and guidelines will be noted as Illegal Defense.

a. Illegal defenses which violate the rules and accepted guidelines set forth are not permitted in the NBA.

b. When the offensive team is in its backcourt with the ball, no illegal defense violation may occur

The illegal defense guidelines needed to be eliminated because they have become problematic. They are problematic for our fans, who don't understand the rule.
They are problematic for the officials, who admittedly have had difficulty administering the rule. And finally, the teams have used the guidelines in a way that produces isolation basketball. Teams identify areas on the floor that they can use to their advantage in a given offensive matchup and this produces a real sameness of play amongst a lot of the teams. With isolation Basketball, a lot of NBA teams began standing around. There is little player movement, there is little ball movement, and there is a decreasing amount of fastbreak opportunities. These developments began with the misuse of the illegal defense guidelines and therefore they needed to be eliminated. By eliminating them, the desired result is to get a game that once again is based on passing, cutting, player movement, and ball movement. A game that hopefully produces fastbreak opportunities because that is the way our game should be played.

Read the complete thread at the eBA Forum


tags:  basketball  ~  NBA  ~  basketball coaching  ~  basketball rules

StatTrak for Basketball

StatTrak for Basketball is a complete statistics management software program.
Perfect for tracking stats for individual teams, multiple teams, leagues, and tournaments.
Great for all levels of basketball including Leagues, High School, and College.
Customize our stat entry screen to match your scorebook layout to save you time during data entry.
Track up to 5 of your own custom stats and display them on your player statistics reports.
Even with all these features, StatTrak for Basketball is very easy to use.
You'll be adding games and printing reports in minutes. Plus, you can always receive free technical support from All-Pro Software.
Track and calculate over 40 stats for: Shots, Assists, Rebounds, Fouls, Team Record, Game Scores, Team Standings.
Many stats reporting options including: Team Totals, Game Types, Player Positions Home or Away, Career Stats, and Individual Player.

...more info...

tags:  basketball software   ~  software  ~  statistics

Is the hook shot passé?:
" ...What ever happened to the hook shot?  Everyone shoots jumpers, practically no one shoots the hook.  At one time it was a venerated shot, learned and used by both bigs and smalls.  I learned the Mikan, jump and sky hooks (though later Jabbar patented the "sky")  in high school and as a 6'5" post it was my go-to shot.
  I successfully used the shot for the next 25 years.  It adds inches to your game (even if you can't jump), can be deadly accurate as far out as 15' plus and is hard to defend.  I still teach the variations to youth and high school players who seek me out but I am dumbfounded as to why you see it used so little in high school and even the college level.

Photograph: The Proud Warrior

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - The Proud Warrior

Case in point. We have a D2 women's team at the local university. They recruited a 6'2" freshman center out of N. Dakota who just yesterday was named the '06 conference freshman of the year. She's great and obviously got good coaching in high school. She's got all the skills less one.......no hook. She and the team actually lost points due to the fact that she had to square up to shoot. The defense quickly figured that one out. Without the benefit of a hook she had to work all that much harder to score.......though score she did. I asked the coach about a hook, she said the girl had one. The very next game I saw an awful looking "push" shot that I guess was supposed to be a hook...........she didn't score off it. The D2 men's team is no different, they all have to square up, even the 6'8" and 6'10" guys. What gives... what ever happened to the hook? Can no one teach it anymore? Has the game passed it by?....." From "lamp.lighter" Read at Basketball Coaching

tags:  basketball comments   ~   Kareem Abdul-Jabbar   ~   tactics

The Red Foxes - THE Cheerleaders from Russia
Our Basketball Beautiful Faces of June

tags: beautiful faces ~ cheerleaders ~ Russia