video credit to ESPN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfvLcLpDT7E

The video below shows a quick clip from the Canada vs. Spain U17 World Cup game earlier today in Belarus. With the FIBA rule of a 14 second reset teams MUST have concepts and strategies in place to capitalize on scoring opportunities. There is little time to center the ball for a set offense.

With offensive strategy such as this of trying to space the floor well and re-attack quickly, attention must be paid to the defensive end of the floor as well. On defense, especially on the weak side, defenders need to be on high-alert, knowing that their opponents will be seeking situations to take advantage of.  Teams should certainly look at tracking offense after the OREB to see how to improve efficiency.

In this clip the Canadian [weak side] defender relaxes and loses her attention to the ball, giving up an easy layup at the rim. Note how Spain keeps good spacing allowing for the quick attack.

Offensive Rebound Strategy Ideas

1. Space the floor
   
2. Attack a potentially disorganized defense
   
3. Bring up the forward for a pick and roll
   
4. Lift the forward to high post and quick action off the entry
   

Great example here of a step up screen by the Cleveland Cavaliers. By running a side, spaced-out, step up ball screen you put the help in a very precarious position. In the video and the typical rotation is for x3 to rotate over leaving many possible openings. Crowder reads the situation and runs to the rim for an easy lay-in. 

Typically in fitness testing, measurements are kept on an individual basis and single players are held accountable for their current levels, their hopeful progressions, and their maintenance of athleticism, strength, and cardio levels over time. I want to suggest a similar but alternate lens to look at this testing and measuring process through. 

In considering motivation on an extrinsic and intrinsic level, I am openly wondering if instead of measuring individual players; that getting standards for the whole group may be more effective. A very applicable and basic example of this would be in-terms of the Yo-yo or Beep Test. In going from individual scores to group scores you would go from firmly considering only single player scores to a group total score. This score could be obtained by considering an early season total score, and then re-evaluating at different points throughout the season, or after significant breaks (after final exam break, or in post-off season). In this example if you wanted an average beep test score of 10.0, and you have 12 players, your group total score would be 120. Rather than only worrying about themselves and their own scores players now would have a greater cause to work towards which is the total group score. 

My way of testing this year before our extended break for first semester exams was a timed sprinting series. I have been seeking testing which is more game-like and to this point I think this drill I learned from Alan Stein at Pure Sweat is the best I have come across. For our test we run lengths in three groups. One length of the court is considered "1." In three even groups we run 1-3-5-7-9 sprints continuously. Group 1 runs 1, then Group 2, then Group 3....after completing the first sprint, Group 1 runs 3, then Group 2 runs 3 sprints......and so on. The next group cannot leave until the final member of the running group has crossed the line, and we time the total it takes to complete. This is a great running drill and lends itself to all sorts of alterations such as making it a true pyramid and working your way back down to 1 sprint, or as Alan Stein does and move the same running drill into and half and then a quarter court iteration after the full sprints are completed. I have the total time, and will be re-evaluating in the first practice after the Christmas Break. It is a little bit of action research to see if perhaps group pressures are more effective then just individual pressures for performance. We shall see!

I would love to know other basketball specific aerobic/anaerobic testing coaches do, if you feel so inclined leave some ideas in the comments below, or contact me via social media! 

In the final installment of Useful Basketball Stats, I want to discuss 'Assist Percentage' (AST%). This stat as you can tell by the formula below estimates for the minutes played by an individual, what percentage of the teams FG's come from that player's direct assists. The formula is as follows: 
Assist Percentage=100*Assists/(((Minutes Played /(Team Minutes/5)) * Team Field Goals Made) – Field Goals Made)

​As you can tell by reading into the formula it takes the minutes played over the total possible minutes played which in FIBA would be 40, and then accounts for the teams total field goals that game minus the individual player's field goals, which obviously they could not assist on. The painstakingly 100% accurate way to calculate this would be to go through the tape or play-by-play stats and see when the player is on the floor of the teams field goals which were assisted by that player and then divide it into a total percentage. Therefore this stat is an estimate, but it's a pretty good one. In 1990-1991, John Stockton had an AST% of 57.5%. On my college team, my 4th year point guard has an AST% of 30.2% with no one else on the team being over 20%. This makes it very clear from a play-making and distributing perspective we will have a big gap to fill next year 

 The best thing about the analytics I've discussed over the past few weeks is that they help to tell a better story of the game, your players, and your team as a whole. The standard box score is too limited an explanation of what is really taking place on the court. I hope this has at least opened some eyes to the analytics side of basketball stats and perhaps shown they are quite accessible and should not be intimidating. Leave any questions or points of discussion in the comments below! 

In this third installment of "Useful Basketball Stats" I wanted to present an easy to understand and very easy to implement 21st century stat. This is called EFFECTIVE FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE. Everyone understands basic Field Goal (FG) % because it is just the total number of field goals made (FGM) out of total field goals attempted (FGA) so FG% = FGM/FGA........as easy as it gets so far. The one thing about the sport of basketball, and in this case specifically, field goals (excluding foul shots) there are two point values for field goals: 2 and 3. In soccer you don't get an extra point or goal if you score outside of 25 yards, it's the same to tap it in the net vs. blast a goal-kick into the opposing net. However, in basketball the area outside the arc accounts for one more point. Armed with this information there is a better way to understand your shooting average on field goals. 

The reason eFG% tells a better story than FG% is that it takes into consideration that the 3pt make is worth 50% more than the 2pt make. 

The formula is: eFG% = (FGM+(0.5 x 3PM))/FGA                                                   ------ 3PM = number of 3pt shots made

If you do not shoot any threes at all your FG% = eFG% and if you make 3pt shots than the formula gives you credit for it. FG% doesn't tell you enough because a 2ft shot is far different than a 22ft shot, and they shouldn't be valued the same. 

If the math and short Excel formulas scare you just think, it's still just makes/shots taken, but add (0.5 x 3PM) to your total makes. 

Hope this helps and gives you an understanding, having a shot chart with percentages shown from different spots on the floor is another useful way to differentiate FG% from different areas. Then as I said in a previous post you can also start to get specific with %s on contested vs. uncontested shots and start to get some answers about your offense. If you end up shooting a lot of contested shots in your offense maybe you need to investigate why. For your specific team what kind of shots do you want from what particular spots? What will put your best players in the best positions to succeed? All good questions to reflect on before, during, and after your respective seasons. 

Thanks for reading!