Watertown runs a basketball clinic at Belmont’s expense

UPDATES:

April 19, 2010 - I made few but important changes to this article published on February 13, 2010. At first, I wanted to leave the original sentences crossed, but in the end I decided to take them out completely because crossed lines destroy the flow. In addition to revising some sentences, I removed all the comments. The debate made sense while it was happening but I don’t think it is interesting as a permanent addition to the article.

Author

“Winning is like deodorant – it comes up and a lot of things don’t stink.” – Doc Rivers, The Celtics Coach

Not long ago, the Belmont Marauders basketball team was undefeated, 15 and 0. But, they lost two of their last three games, first to Reading, then last night to Watertown. Both these teams are considered serious rivals and getting the wins was extremely important to the team. The game against the Watertown Raiders was particularly important because the team wanted to go into the post season on the wings of a decisive win against a great rival. It all looked possible as Belmont thoroughly outplayed Watertown in their first game of the season. This time, the final score was Watertown 57 – Belmont 53.

In my article from January 13th, 2010, titled Big win for Belmont against undefeated Reading, I highlighted what Belmont needed to do differently to get more decisive wins and to prevail in tough situations. When the article came out some people expressed their consternation that I was too pessimistic while the team was winning. I wanted the team not to be oblivious to the “deodorant effect,” to look at their performances objectively, and start fixing problems while there was still time.

Let’s revisit briefly what I said in January (more details here). The Belmont Marauders needed to:

• Find their defense
• Have four players score in double digits
• Promote good passing and have everybody touch the ball on offense
• Move the ball inside out
• Play pick-and-roll basketball
• Take only smart (good) shots
• Dispel the idea of a big three
• Fast break a lot more
• Keep working on team spirit

I can tell with full confidence that in Belmont’s first game against Watertown (watch full game here ) the team followed these guidelines to the letter. They didn’t do it because they read my article, of course, they did it because they know instinctively how to play basketball, and the coach didn’t interfere. In their second game, last night, they failed on 8 out of the 9 points. The coach tried to force them do things his way and he imposed the most confused substitution pattern that I’ve seen this season. Of course, the experiment was bound to fail. (By this I don’t mean playing mostly seniors in the first half on the Senior Night, because I think that was a noble idea and I fully supported it.)

So, what happened last night? Belmont got outplayed and thoroughly outcoached second time in a week. The team played man defense in the first half, then switched to some sort of zone diamond with one player shadowing Marco Coppola, Watertown’s best player. It worked poorly in the first half, and it didn’t work at all in the second. When Belmont had the players in the game who could play zone, the team played man defense. When they had players who could match up, they played this weird combo-zone. The players looked like they played the diamond scheme for the first time in their lives, and it was easily broken down by the Watertown offense. When shots didn’t go in, the Watertown offense penetrated and scored inside.

What was most revealing about the team dynamics was the way the Belmont team did, or to be more accurate didn’t, respond to their coach. Their body language revealed deficiency of trust. They showed resistance to the his substitutions and speeches in the huddle. Can this trust  be established before the post-season? Respect is not something you can shove down your players’ throats in 3+ hr practices after a loss for which you have nobody else to blame but yourself. Opportunities to gain the players’ respect were missed long ago.

Great coach John Wooden believed in practices in which every minute was used for a purpose. He had minute-by-minute schedules and he never let anything distract him from following through with his practice plan. He never extended his practice beyond the attention-holding boundary. If you can’t get your message heard in 1.5 hrs you are unlikely to get it heard in 3 hrs. And don’t blame the recipient, blame the messenger.

Watertown, on the other hand, played a great game. When played the right way, basketball is like music performed by a good symphony orchestra. When you have players in full harmony with their coach they are his extended hand  on the court, materialization of his coaching philosophy. The coach needs to have a good feel for his players; he needs to understand when it is better to let their talent take off and when there is a need to provide guidance, but a good coach never interferes with his players’ talent. He never puts himself in front of or above his players. I enjoyed watching Watertown last night. I enjoyed watching a great coach and enthusiastic players who responded to him throughout the game. At times, although still rooting for Belmont, I caught myself admiring Watertown’s execution of their coach’s game plan, the patience with which they passed the ball until they got the shot they wanted.

In the game of basketball, there are good scorers, good defenders, good rebounders, good shot blockers… There are  few born winners, and even fewer true leaders. Marco Coppola played like a true leader last night. He scored when the team needed it, he ran without the ball tirelessly, he passed when his teammates needed to be engaged. He showed a great feel for the rhythm of the game. He did not take a single bad shot. The last fast-break attack was supreme evidence of his leadership. In a two-on-one play, most MVP-caliber players would take it upon themselves to score and win the game, but he chose to pass instead. Why? Because it was the right thing to do, the right way to play the game. It increased the odds.  That’s why Marco Coppola should be considered a serious candidate in the race for the Middlesex League MVP. He lead a team without much depth to a winning record by making everybody around him better.

Where does this leave us? The Belmont players will continue winning in the post season. They will do it because they have too much talent and pride to stop now. Will they go all the way? That, I don’t know. I do know one thing, though, if they win the state championship it will happen because of the camaraderie on the court, not because of the long speeches in the locker room. They will win by following the guidelines from the beginning of this article because it is a common-sense approach to basketball. They will win because they will find a way to put their egos aside and forge the kind of unity needed whenever a group of people wants to achieve something great.