Expert: Bob Anagnostou - 3/29/2007

Question
hi, my name is David. I'm a 5'9 point guard from the UK. I have been playing ball for 4 years now and i am 19 years old. basically i started playing the point position from the summer of 2006 and its been hard. my passing is improving and my jump shot as well. I'm very quick and i can jump but cant dunk. but the problem is my decision making on how to make me team a better team. what qualities do coaches look 4 in a point guard at the top levels and can you give me sum drills and advise in order to improve on my fundamentals because i want be great and i will put the work in no matter what. thank you

Answer
Dear David,

What coaches want from a point guard as a top priority is keeping head up while dribbling so that he's able to see what his best option is. Really important.

They also want you to penetrate, drive in and then split out the ball to the open player to make a shot.

They want you to make long passes("baseball" pass) if there is a fast break opportunity.

Also, coaches is great teams want their point guards to apply full-court pressure on defence, so you got to have great footwork and stamina to cope with this hard objective.
Here are some top advice. Defence is a very important aspect of your game.
Every good defender takes these into account.

When defending, you should follow these 9 golden rules.

1) Bend your knees so that you are in balance. Try drills that will challenge your ability to change directions quickly. Legs explosiveness is very important.

2) You should always lead the offender to the sidelines. Never let him drive through the center.

3) You should always force the offender to dribble with his weak hand. Close the path to his strong leg and dribble.

4)Providing the offender is right handed let's say, you will have your left hand always "checking" that is constant touching and other times harassing the offender trying to steal the ball at times. The right hand will be on constant moving trying to block any pass. That's its role.

5) If the offender attempts to cross you, make a step backward and explode in the direction that he goes, trying to get your leg close his way.

6) If the offender is going to release a shot, have your right hand if he's right handed in his face in consatnt moving. Try to hinder his sight to the basket and make some noise.

7) If the offender releases the shot, always block and box him out. It's your first priority to turn and see where he is and block his way to the rebound. Don't just sit, look at the rim and wait for the ball to hit there. Also, foresee where the ball is going to hit and take a good position as soon as it hits the rim.

8) It's important to defend when your offender moves off the ball. "Deny" the ball by playing the known overplay defence. Always have your outside hand trying to block a potential feed.

9) To end, when the offender receives the ball from a split out and you were on a help (because basketball is a team sport, don't forget that) take big qick steps on the start to get closer and in the last feet approach with "rock" steps with your hands dening the shot, always giving him a path to the base or sideline. That's really important and is called "close out"

These things make you a top defender. And here in Greece, we work seriously on that, and we have some Euroleague titles from clubs like Panathinaikos and Olympiacos to show that. In national level, we are the European champions and the silver World champions.
I had also the honour to work with Dimitris Diamantidis who is regarded as the best point guard in Europe and by far the best defensive player.

Sincerely Yours,
Coach B.Anagnostou
Olympiacos Coaching stuff
(Euroleague, HEBA)