How to learn the concept of organized basketball?

[bobbyflay]

When I was on the bball team, I was really confused on the plays, defense, and etc. The coach would use concepts such as "flaring", "pistols", etc. I remember when the coach was writing on a chalkboard, and it seemed like a foreign language lol. Also, I've noticed that a lot of street players/casual players does not do well in a system. I want to be able to THRIVE in a system and make the concept easy to me. I don't know where to start though.

[623baller]

you'll thrive in a system if you know what style of ball the coach is trying to accomplish and the primary role the coach wants you to play

does he want you to score, defend, or just do dirty work...etc. does he want the team to push or play half court sets. 90% of the time, it's easiest to just play good defense and score off TO and rebounds.

if you are not sure what your role is on the team, go ask the coach. Tell him where you wana be and if it's possible to transition yourself into that role if you are not already there.

very little players talk to their coaches, do that and take initiative , you will be ahead of the game

IMO, organized Basketball in short = repetitive execution. you will run a lot of the same drills and plays over and over until it's 2nd nature. most street players struggle at that part of the game. You need to be able to first successfully run a play then it will evolve on its own as defense reacts to the set play

[bobbyflay]

Alright thanks. That really brought me a sense of knowledge. Especially the talking to the coach and the running a set up then it evolves.

I think I just struggled learning the play. It's pretty hard when the coach just runs through it once before a game then expects us to utilize the play in game.

[Rake2204]

very little players talk to their coaches, do that and take initiative , you will be ahead of the game

I know you already acknowledged this Bobby, but I wanted to reiterate it for emphasis. For a lot of high schoolers and younger, talking to the coach is like some kind of strange secret. The majority of players seem to be afraid or unwilling to talk to their head honcho, but it can be super helpful. As a coach now, I very much welcome my players looking for additional help with whatever they need. The point is for my players to learn as much as they can, whether that be during practice, after practice or during games. If a player doesn't understand a play, I welcome that with open arms.

If you don't know what "pistols" are (it's not a part of my basketball lingo) then there's nothing you can do but ask. 623 is right about the role thing too. Roles are much more distinguished in real games than they are on the free-for-all that is playground basketball. This is a good thing to me. It was always an opportunity to learn to appreciate the nuances of the game. As opposed to playground ball where everything seems to revolve around scoring, real games tend to have more emphasis on the little things: wily defenders, box outs, sharp cuts, strong screens, effective post entry passes, etc. There's a lot more room for being noticed for excelling at things.

[magic14]

When I was on the bball team, I was really confused on the plays, defense, and etc. The coach would use concepts such as "flaring", "pistols", etc. I remember when the coach was writing on a chalkboard, and it seemed like a foreign language lol. Also, I've noticed that a lot of street players/casual players does not do well in a system. I want to be able to THRIVE in a system and make the concept easy to me. I don't know where to start though.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you guys were running the shell drill(4 players on offense, 2 wings and 2 corners, and 4 defenders practice rotations based on what the offense does). Pistols is basically help defense. When you're man is 2 or more passes away and you're in help, most coaches want you to point to your man and the ball so you know where both are so when you're coach yells "pistols" he wants you to point at your man and the ball. It's called pistols because some coaches have you form a hand pistols when you point at them. When you get a screen from your teammate and you see your defender cheating over it, you "flare" behind for an open shot. However, the most important thing to do if you have questions is to ask you're coach. Also is this for your school team or another team?

[Swaggin916]

Yea just ask the coach... and do some studying online to try and learn terms. Every sport has it's own lingo that you have to learn. If you don't know the lingo, you are confused as hell.

I wish more people could play role type basketball in pick up... but in the end, the most effective teams are ones with people who hustle and play D, and a guy or 2 that can fill it up.