Newz Forum: BASKETBALL: Stern says Americans need a return to fundamentals

NBA Commissioner David Stern has pointed his finger directly at high school and prep school level coaches for the fall of the American talent level. His (in this reporters opinion) acurate accusation that there is not enough of an emphasis of basketball fundamentals at these levels will hopefully be listened to.

Yahoo! Sports Story Link

American coaches must return to teaching fundamentals to compete with the influx of well-schooled international players flooding into the league, according to NBA Commissioner David Stern.

Speaking at a news conference during the
NBA Finals, Stern said international players had paid their American counterparts "the ultimate tribute" by raising their game to the caliber of the NBA.

"There is no difference in the skill level, no difference in the range of the game," he said. "It's really a lot of fun to watch. It's very much a global game."

Stern said international players were drilled and schooled differently to American ones.

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Stern is just trying to cover for the fact that all the refs are bought off and it's finally catching up to the game. The refs totally control the flow of the game and the announcers are in on it. They never point out how ridiculous it is. Plus the fact that the NBA has marketed individual talent for so long that the concept of a team game is lost on the upcoming generation. We need more John Stocktons in the game. Just to set the record straight this isn't an issue of race, although one could get into that aspect of it if so properly inclined. I guess you can't really blame them for going for the dollar but they're missing the bottom line, which is ruining the game.

I agree that the United States needs a wholescale return to fundamentals. We shouldn't have players like Shaq or Big Ben who can't seem to hit a free throw. We shouldn't see teams shooting 45% from the floor. We shouldn't see all these guys bricking three pointers.

The sad truth is that most of the players trained in the U.S. just don't know how to shoot. They aren't taught the mechanics of it all. They don't know how to box out, or even throw a basic pass. There are fewer and fewer big men who know how to play back-to-the basket post up. Movement on offense is an issue, as is defensive rotation.

I agree with Kwy; we need more John Stocktons in this league. He could handle the ball, throw every pass perfectly, shoot accurately--even from long range, play good, fundamental defense, even set a pick properly. Most of today's players don't have those skills, and the ones that do seem to be European. The only team that seems to be fundamentally sound is the Phoenix Suns.

[Edited on 6/19/06 by BirdstheBest]

[Edited on 6/21/06 by BirdstheBest]

I don't know much about the NBA but from what i've watched it's all about the 3, no defence or rebounds or anything. whoever can make the 3 is signed straight out of high school. so i would agree that when someone is capable of shooting for 2 and getting the rebound when it misses they will be the best ever.

This'll be a weak draft if for no other reason than this year's high school grads are ineligible. So no Greg Oden.

I'm not seeing a whole lot of shooting talent (Adam Morrison excepted) at the college level, or the NBA for that matter. At least not what you'd expect. A guy with good shooting mechanics is rare. Does anybody even teach shooting any more? It's all about The Dunk.

Look at Shaq. I'll NEVER be able to excuse anybody at that level for being so incompetent at the free throw line.

The thing about the 3-pointer is that almost every player thinks he can shoot it. Back in the mid-1980's, Larry Bird was a great 3-pint shooter, but he only took maybe two or three shots a game from out there. Today we see players heaving up 7-8 threes a game, and few of those players are hitting a high enough percentage to make it worth it.

I think a huge part of the problem is this ADD, fast paced generation. These kids just aren't self motivated anymore to work on their games. Larry Bird used to do drills for two hours before and after practice. Karl Malone improved his FT% from .481 to .598 to .700 to .766 in his first four seasons in the league. He had a lower FT% in his rookie year than Shaq ever did, yet through practice he was able to become almost an 80% FT shooter.