Guards are Blind, Deaf, Dumb, Selfish, and Bad Passers...

I love the reaction I get from people when they hear me say that for the first time.  The guards always look shocked and offended, while the post players laugh and have that look of "thank goodness someone else knows what I'm going through".  Of course I can't see the reaction on your face as you read this, but my guess is it's one of those two.

Zach Elcano - Westfield / American U.

For those of you who don't know, I'm 6'9" and grew up a post player.  I figure that's important info to know before you get too far along here.

So as much as I love to tease the guards, I'm not going to just offend them with out a good reason.  We big people rely on them for a lot even though we don't always admit it.  So when I say that Guards are Blind, Deaf, Dumb, and Bad Passers, it has very very good reasoning behind it.  This basically teaches post players the mental side behind posting up properly.

1.  Blind.  If someone is blind, or can't see very well, they don't see small things (like when people with bad eyes make the font size on their Iphone or Blackberry huge).  That's how guards are, so you have to get HUGE in the post to make sure they can see you.

2.  Deaf.  If someone is deaf or can't hear very well you have to get loud for them to hear you.  So if a post player wants the ball on the block they need to get LOUD and call for the ball.  As I like to say, call for the ball so loud that the guy in the parking lot knows you're open.

3.  Dumb.  If someone is dumb you have to explain things to them very clearly and communicate.  Same thing goes here.  Tell the guards exactly what you want... "ball high", "ball low", "now", "swing the ball".  Just talk to them clearly, don't assume they know what you're thinking.

Sarah Schoof - Woodson HS / Iona College

4.  Selfish.  Every good guard has to be a little bit selfish.  If a guard is not looking to score then they are not going to be a threat and you need that to win.  So if you don't get the ball every time down the court, relax, that's why.

5.  Bad Passers.  If you are expecting a bad pass then you'll be ready for everything.  We all know that guards are terrible at feeding the post.  That's mostly because no one take the time to work on that.  The other reason is because the guard usually has someone right in their face screaming and trying to steal the ball.  So don't expect it to be right where you want it every time.



I'm really tough on the posts to make sure they are posting up properly.  I'll admit, I've even gotten in trouble before telling guards NOT to throw the ball into the post.  A mother yelled at me one time after a practice because I told the guards not the throw the ball into her daughter if she wasn't posting up right.  The lady was the NCAA Player of the Year back in the 80's so it was hard to argue with her, but I knew that if her daughter was ever going to learn to post up the right way she had to be motivated somehow.

The other part of this is to understand what a guard is thinking when they are deciding whether to throw the ball in the post or not.
1.  Is the post player going to catch it?  If a guard isn't confident that the post is going to catch it, there's a good chance they won't throw it.  Remember, if the post doesn't catch the ball, the turnover goes on the guards stat sheet.
2.  Is the post player going to score?  If a post player gets the ball in the post but doesn't score then the guards are not going to be motivated to throw it in.  "Why would I throw the ball in the post if they are just going to miss an easy layup?"

So as much as I like to laugh and tease the guards about how they are Blind, Deaf, Dumb, Selfish, and Bad Passers you can see that there is a good reason behind it.



Alex Harris
Evolution Basketball Training
www.evobball.com

Want to talk about this topic?  Email me: alex@evobball.com