Men’s Player Development

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

Since Bruce arrived I have been amazed with the development of our players from year to year. I watched players like Bryce Brown, Jared Harper, Mac before his injury, Spencer, etc. get better from year to year. Some of that is during the season but a lot of that is between seasons starting with a careful analyses of each players strength's and weaknesses and a program to address each. Strength and conditioning during Off-season drills they gave players to work on during off season and it goes on. All players in Div. 1 programs get better from year to year but maybe it is my Auburn bias but Bruce coached players seem to grow more across the board. 

This year we lost the Spring strength and conditioning  and while I am sure that Bruce and coach staffing still did the evaluation and provided each player the areas to work on with gym's closed it will be very difficult for players to do the drills and workout.

Part of my optimism for this year was predicated on the growth I was expecting in players like Cambridge, Flanagan, Williams, etc. The new players we have coming in are very talented but we really need the returning players to be an integral part of the team providing depth instant energy and even starting in case of an injury time will tell if this extended layoff has really impacted their development. I am worried that with so many young players this will impact Auburn more than most teams.

 

 

[ellitor 33,091]

31 minutes ago, AuburnNTexas said:

This year we lost the Spring strength and conditioning

For basketball there is really no strength part and the conditioning is actually playing basketball Because it’s in the playing season.

34 minutes ago, AuburnNTexas said:

it will be very difficult for players to do the drills and workout

Maybe but we don’t know yet because their off-season workouts would’ve started for another month or so. By then a number of places could be open to where they can play in gyms and what not. Also basketball will get eight hours of virtual time with the coaches Each week which is six hours more than they would normally get during summer work.

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,297]

I would also say that basketball, of all sports, seems to be LEAST affected by team functions and practice. 1 player can make a huge, immediate impact with relative ease.

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

7 hours ago, ellitor said:

For basketball there is really no strength part and the conditioning is actually playing basketball Because it’s in the playing season.

Maybe but we don’t know yet because their off-season workouts would’ve started for another month or so. By then a number of places could be open to where they can play in gyms and what not. Also basketball will get eight hours of virtual time with the coaches Each week which is six hours more than they would normally get during summer work.

I seldom disagree with you because I usually lose when I do,  but Damon Davis is the strength and conditioning coach for men's basketball and that is done throughout the year but differently during the season.. I am not talking off season workouts. I know for a fact that the players after the season still hit the gym on their own and often with each other and they work on the  things the coaches have talked with them about. This year school was out shortly after the season and when they went home gym's and playgrounds have been locked down.  I am sure they have found ways to work some but not together and nobody to push them even when playing pickup games. Basketball players play year round either organized or in pickup games. They have lost that so far this year.

[ellitor 33,091]

16 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

I seldom disagree with you because I usually lose when I do,  but Damon Davis is the strength and conditioning coach for men's basketball and that is done throughout the year but differently during the season

Yes it’s different during the season and unless you’re saying during the season they are working on building strength then it is not a disagreement. Pretty much no sport works on building strength during workouts and conditioning during the season. At that point it’s to maintain the strength that is already there.

16 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

I know for a fact that the players after the season still hit the gym on their own and often with each other and they work on the  things the coaches have talked with them about. This year school was out shortly after the season and when they went home gym's and playgrounds have been locked down.  I am sure they have found ways to work some but not together and nobody to push them even when playing pickup games. Basketball players play year round either organized or in pickup games. They have lost that so far this year

Yes but the pick up things players do in the off-season without actual training doesn’t benefit in development and themselves. They’re just playing ball and having fun. What could be affected is the team chemistry since it’s such a young team, which I believe is something you loosely alluded to.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

That team chemistry is also gained through those fun pick up games. Like if they aren't at their practice facility, they're at the college's rec center to run pick up games against us normies (or against some of the other athletes on campus, occasionally). Not the biggest thing to lose on, but it's something they thoroughly seem to enjoy 

[McLoofus 35,182]

On 4/28/2020 at 9:25 AM, ellitor said:

Yes but the pick up things players do in the off-season without actual training doesn’t benefit in development and themselves. They’re just playing ball and having fun.

Disagree. More time spent playing ball (or practicing your instrument or reading books etc) is developmentally beneficial. Pretty sure any athlete would agree. It might not be as beneficial as structured training with coaches present but it helps. One of the main reasons that American basketball players are so much more individually gifted than players from other countries is that they grew up playing the sport recreationally. It's the same way with South American and European soccer players. World class coaching and training facilities will make a bigger difference but "just playing ball and having fun" is huge. And who knows what psychological benefits there are to actually playing for the love of the game from time to time.

[ellitor 33,091]

7 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Disagree. More time spent playing ball (or practicing your instrument or reading books etc) is developmentally beneficial.

In principle yes, but in the specificity of pick up basketball no IMO unless the players are consciously focused on developing certain things. Most kids aren't focused like that when playing pick up ball.

7 hours ago, McLoofus said:

It might not be as beneficial as structured training with coaches present but it helps.

It helps in terms of keeping the rust off but that's about it.

7 hours ago, McLoofus said:

One of the main reasons that American basketball players are so much more individually gifted than players from other countries

Not sure that's the case anymore.

In sum, agree to disagree friend.

 

[cole256 17,051]

Playing pick up all depends on your competition. You simply need good opposition to get better. I remember my time at Auburn played guys like Lincoln glass etc super hard to feel like I was helping the team

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

It has been a long time since I played pick up games at Auburn during the summer. I was a good athlete back than but not a polished offensive player but a really good defensive player. I made a mistake we were playing 4 against 4 full court and one of the opposing players was  Eddie Johnson who played for Auburn and later Atlanta. One of my teammates was guarding Eddie and he was beating him over and over with the same behind the back dribble move. I cheated from my man and timed my steal perfectly and took off for what I thought was going to be an easy layup. To say Eddie stuffed my layup would be an understatement. The other side was I thought I realized how good he was what I found out was up until then he had just been playing with us for the next couple minutes he kicked it in on O and D and our team sat down rather quickly.

After that he was super friendly but would not ever let me forget how good he was if I was on a team against him we lost quickly and if I was on a team with him we won quickly but if I was just watching he played well enough to win but not to embarrass the other players. The exception was when there would be two teams made up of Auburn players then they really went at it and I was amazed at how good all of them were even the bench guys. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

On 5/12/2020 at 8:44 PM, cole256 said:

Playing pick up all depends on your competition. You simply need good opposition to get better. I remember my time at Auburn played guys like Lincoln glass etc super hard to feel like I was helping the team

Eh, you can still work on stuff. And you will occasionally see something new and file it away for later. Every pickup game has some dude who is trash but who has a little go-to move that nobody else does, or some passing combination will happen, or some other situation comes up. And even if not, that's just more time on the ball. 

If everyone is in lockdown, then the guys who are training the hardest on their own are going to come out better than the other guys. 

[cole256 17,051]

On 5/14/2020 at 8:58 AM, McLoofus said:

Eh, you can still work on stuff. And you will occasionally see something new and file it away for later. Every pickup game has some dude who is trash but who has a little go-to move that nobody else does, or some passing combination will happen, or some other situation comes up. And even if not, that's just more time on the ball. 

If everyone is in lockdown, then the guys who are training the hardest on their own are going to come out better than the other guys. 

I agree but I don't think from playing pick up, if you're doing things like constantly shooting and dribbling....I actually think once you're in college probably too late with dribbling but that's me. But I think just working out by yourself would be best, UNLESS you are playing against good competition. And I guess running keeping your wind, there's alot more cons too playing with people outside your talent than pros though IMO and from what I've seen and experienced