🏀 Avery Johnson saw renewed energy, focus from players after shortening recent practices.

[#80]

CAJ has shortened practice time so the players are fresher to help close out games. We are seeing a shorter bench players who make poor decisions and turn the ball over are seeing shorter to no playing time.

 

[RTB X Bot]

 

[TerryP]

This was a move that left me scratching my head a little. It's not that I'm confused on what he was after, it's the point of how he handled it versus what I would expect from a basketball coach.

This is purely my opinion but it's based on what I've seen and been involved with years ago.

In every sport I was involved with in my early years—you know, before that age thing kicks in—we always expected sprints and other running drills twice during practices: before and after.

Knowing we were going to get our tails ran off at the end of every practice with our coach pushing, pushing, and then pushing more we learned. I can't say it was a conscious thought. Although, in some ways, it may have been.

We were practicing two, sometimes two and a half hours per day. Knowing those drills were coming we learned to pace ourselves in practice. By no means were we slacking, or taking it easy, but rather preserving energy for the upcoming drills. The benefit in the end was when it came down to crunch time there was always "gas left in the tank." I credit that conditioning purely on how we managed to make it through those practices.

Granted, we were playing the same number of games as your average D1 college program. Our seasons were as long. But the same principle applies in both situations. How you practice is how you play.

With professional player we see how the majority take their off-season conditioning very seriously. The vast majority are in game shape when preseason arrives. That discipline is a trait I feel is taught and remembered as guys move upwards in their career.

We've discussed over the last three years about Avery and his ability to relate and communicate with collegiate aged ball players. It's left me wondering if his approach is different than so many coaches with whom I've been involved.

 

[BamaFan334]

This was a move that left me scratching my head a little. It's not that I'm confused on what he was after, it's the point of how he handled it versus what I would expect from a basketball coach.

This is purely my opinion but it's based on what I've seen and been involved with years ago.

In every sport I was involved with in my early years—you know, before that age thing kicks in—we always expected sprints and other running drills twice during practices: before and after.

Knowing we were going to get our tails ran off at the end of every practice with our coach pushing, pushing, and then pushing more we learned. I can't say it was a conscious thought. Although, in some ways, it may have been.

We were practicing two, sometimes two and a half hours per day. Knowing those drills were coming we learned to pace ourselves in practice. By no means were we slacking, or taking it easy, but rather preserving energy for the upcoming drills. The benefit in the end was when it came down to crunch time there was always "gas left in the tank." I credit that conditioning purely on how we managed to make it through those practices.

Granted, we were playing the same number of games as your average D1 college program. Our seasons were as long. But the same principle applies in both situations. How you practice is how you play.

With professional player we see how the majority take their off-season conditioning very seriously. The vast majority are in game shape when preseason arrives. That discipline is a trait I feel is taught and remembered as guys move upwards in their career.

We've discussed over the last three years about Avery and his ability to relate and communicate with collegiate aged ball players. It's left me wondering if his approach is different than so many coaches with whom I've been involved.

Not sure what effect if any, but I did see our guys hitting free throws at the end of the game that helped secure the win.

 

[UAgrad93]

My coach in HS used to run the piss out of us, but we were playing full court man to man from the opening tip to the final buzzer though. I never questioned him until the end of my senior season. He was busting our asses, but it wasn't a normal "grind it out" practice. We had scrimmaged for an hour at the beginning, drilled for an hour, scrimmaged another 30-40 minutes and then was in the middle of 20-30 more minutes of conditioning. We were playing the hottest team in Jefferson County the next night (Pleasant Grove) and the Area tournament would start 3 nights later and I was dead legged and extremely pissed that some of the B team guys weren't giving max effort and coach was busting all of us. Finally, I snapped!! I questioned him in front of everyone. He said that he was "getting us in shape". I popped back that if "our asses weren't in shape now, they wouldn't be in shape tomorrow night at 7:30 nor would they be for the tournament!" He told me to "shut up and run!" I told him I would run but I sure as Hell wasn't going to shut up and I didn't!! After another 20 minutes of suicides, he dismissed me to his office and sent the teams home. We spent the next half hour shouting at each other!! He asked for senior leadership and I told him I was the only one with balls enough to say anything and that all I wanted to do was win!! we got blown out the next night and then got upset in the Area tourney and failed to go to State. After what was perhaps my best game as a varsity player, playing for him, the asshole got me back by not nominating me for the tournament team, even though I had led all scorers with 28 points, 12 rebounds, and 3-4 blocks. He made a point to tell me in front of the entire team when we stepped on the bus.

My point is, I guess, then, it took a hell of a lot to see a kid lose it mentally. Today, I think they just check out mentally way too early.

 

[TerryP]

My point is, I guess, then, it took a hell of a lot to see a kid lose it mentally. Today, I think they just check out mentally way too early.

Which is bringing us back full circle. Teaching leadership, and mental toughness, is not easy to do in any genre of any sport. And that's if you believe leadership can be taught—which in some cases certainly can.

 

[UAgrad93]

Which is bringing us back full circle. Teaching leadership, and mental toughness, is not easy to do in any genre of any sport. And that's if you believe leadership can be taught—which in some cases certainly can.

I always believed it could be taught, especially mental toughness. Teaching one to be a leader is a fine line, because a lot of kids today think to be a leader, you have to be all rah rah and scream and yell. I always tried to lead by example as a player and as a coach, I tried to put it into their heads that there was more than one way to be a leader.

I think this basketball team of Avery's has 1 true leader and at least in my eyes, it is Riley Norris. That kid plays with a lot of tenacity and grit. Kira is probably next in line for someone so young. They both play with a lot of poise and under control.

 

[alabama mike]

There is no way today that you can run a practice at the end of a season they way you do at the beginning of the season. Tired legs and injuries require you to be smart about wearing kids out. Back in the day, as @UAgrad93 stated, coach's ran you till you dropped or felt like you were going to drop dead any second.

One thing I did, when I coached back in the early days of 84-90 was to always run players a lot at the end of practice. As I got older and wiser, it was more important to incorporate drills and scrimmaging to where running was getting done instead of waiting until the end.

In this first post, we are talking about a man who played all the way through the pros. He should know when to pull back on the reins and cut practice time down to say energy. Hopefully, he has found the answer to getting this team back in full stride. RTR!

 

[footballer]

IMO, there are natural leaders and wanna be's. No one wants to follow wanna be leaders. Natural leaders usually don't even realize they are the real leaders. Natural leaders are who they are, without even trying to be.

 

[TUSKtimes]

Which is bringing us back full circle. Teaching leadership, and mental toughness, is not easy to do in any genre of any sport. And that's if you believe leadership can be taught—which in some cases certainly can.

I think you can teach it to a degree. I think you can teach anyone how to play the piano, that won't make them Mozart good. That's a gift. It feels like more of a natural gift for those that can really lift a team around them, regardless of their style or personality.

On the other hand, I would think the more you get players to feel the urge to learn the behavior and be that example it has to rub off and galvanize the team that much more. We know that coach Saban is constantly teaching the same class on leadership, year after year, but yet some years he mentions that leadership has been an issue.

Makes me wonder how much that has to do with winning national championships in the final analysis?

 

[JoseyWalesTheOutlaw]

Avery just needs to ask Wimp to find one of those Plaid jackets and come be an unpaid advisor for the rest of the season. Wimp was a hoot for CM so he can play the part for a couple of weeks.

 

[TerryP]

Avery just needs to ask Wimp to find one of those Plaid jackets and come be an unpaid advisor for the rest of the season. Wimp was a hoot for CM so he can play the part for a couple of weeks.

So, I'm about to add this to the reactions. I'm leaning pretty hard that way on Wimp right now. And it has nothing to do with what he is, what he means, etc. (To a degree)

Gotta stop with the comparisons...the dynamics. The game. It's not the same.

 

[TUSKtimes]

So, I'm about to add this to the reactions. I'm leaning pretty hard that way on Wimp right now. And it has nothing to do with what he is, what he means, etc. (To a degree)

Gotta stop with the comparisons...the dynamics. The game. It's not the same.

I would imagine, in that we owe Avery about 9 million if he was fired, that most fans are still trying to help him fix his problems as a leader. In that, we are probably stuck with him regardless. Having a little more Wimp Sanderson on the sidelines for toughness might just be a way of saying what Avery is missing to some.

Cutting practices short for example sounds reasonable, especially in that Bama played much better down the stretch. But Bama has been swooning in the late-season every year. Getting the bench shortened and taking some of the most turnover-plagued players off the court in crunch time, regardless of experience, makes a lot of sense as well. I have been wondering for the longest why Avery insists on sticking with guys in crunch time who can't finish.

Any change that can salvage the season is worthwhile. But year 4 after another late-season swoon seems like it's taking this guy longer than most to learn his team and college basketball. And that's provided he really has it figured out. We shall see.