In Basketball, It’s Score, Score, Score, but Defense Grabs Attention

Defending Has Become a Lost Art at the High School Level

Say all you will about the faster pace of basketball today and the higher scores being put up, but in the end, college coaches still want to recruit high school prospects which are fundamentally sound on the defensive end of the floor.  Time and again, when we talk to college basketball coaches about prep players, they address kids’ defensive abilities second in terms of skill set.  First?  Athleticism.  Second, how well they defend.  Shooting and offensive skills typically come third in the conversation. 

Athleticism is something all coaches talk about first.  The pace of today’s game calls for players to run the floor, jump well, move laterally and be coordinated.  Coaches believe they can teach good athletes with poor fundamentals to contribute by their second year in college.  The trait, though, which will get a good athlete on the floor faster than anything else?  Solid defensive skills.  When a freshman can walk through the doors from Day One with the ability to stop an opponent from gaining position, scoring and rebounding, that freshman will get significant playing time.  A shooter who cannot defend will see spotty action at best. 

Certainly, offensive skills are desired, but prospects today have put so much emphasis on being able to find creative ways to put the ball in the hole that they have ignored their defensive responsibilities.  Their thought is, If I can score, I’ll play.  To make matters worse, there are not as many high school and travel coaches concerned with defense or with a clear understanding of defensive fundamentals, so their players do not receive sound defensive instruction.  Spread the floor and score, score, score is their mantra.  Get it and go.  Good defense has been diluted to zone presses where the object is to intercept cross-court passes or steal the ball from behind with a slap-away. 

Need proof?  Watch just about any high school or travel game and you will be hard pressed to identify any player whose talent rests on their defensive game.  Posture, footwork, base line coverage, two-on-one or three-on-two strategies and rebounding fundamentals are simply not there.  But, find one player that does focus on those things and can consistently do them well?  That kid sticks out in the crowd of all the other kids who can’t wait to get their hands on the ball to show off just how quick their first step is to the basket…and then miss the layup.