HoopsHype.com Columns

NBA not the root of problems
by Eddie Johnson / September 1, 2004

I find it hard to believe that we actually had people in this country openly root against our Olympic basketball team. Why would people have such animosity towards the best athletes in the world? Why would Americans openly applaud when Italy wins a meaningless exhibition game? Why were they satisfied and comfortable with the fact that Puerto Rico and Lithuania beat us and then Argentina eliminated us in the semifinals?

The blame has been spread around evenly among all those involved, but I say
the problems are more deeply rooted than we think.

Let's start with the obvious – the players, Larry Brown and the Olympic selection committee.

- Players: This was not the team that we expected. But even without Shaq, Kobe, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady, this squad still was capable of getting the job done. They just never jelled or found a way to play with and trust one another. When the situation got tough, they reverted to "I" instead of "We". They played hard, but not the right way. Tim Duncan was left out to dry time and time again by perimeter defenders who could not stay in front of their man, thus keeping Duncan in foul trouble.

- Larry Brown: Larry is a purist when it comes to strategy. He dislikes intentional fouls, zones and young players whom he feels do not accept his constant teaching. Because of this, Team USA played right into the European strategy throughout the tournament. They fouled to stop our fast break. We did not. They played zone thus negating the dominance of Duncan and we did not, so to take away their great outside shooting. They used their youthful energy against some tired veterans and Brown decided not to use the explosiveness of Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire.

- The Olympic Committee: They are only guilty of not having a good backup plan when Shaq, Kobe, Garnett and McGrady refused to travel to Athens. They went with the inexperience of Anthony, James and Stoudemire and it backfired because Brown was not in the mood to be patient and content with that. I am sure Brown would have found plenty of minutes for Michael Redd and Brent Barry. Heck, Fred Hoiberg would have gotten solid minutes. This is my suggestion for the committee in 2008: select five superstars and then have tryouts for top NBA role players to build around your stars.

I was raised in sports to always be held accountable when my team succeeded or failed. So, yes, all three entities should be held responsible. But the blame cannot start and stop there. Our basketball culture must realize that the problems are more deeply rooted. And only then will we be able to correct and improve the game that we have dominated.

Let's go with the sources of the problems:

- Parents: Parents rely too much on the advice of other people to teach their kids how to become sound basketball players. They must start to do better research and background checks on coaches, camps and personal trainers. They also must make sure that the kid understands at a young age that respect for the game is a must in order to reach their goal.

- Streetball videos: I respect the fact that these individuals have found a niche in the game to make a living, but this has become the biggest deterrent to our game right now more than anything. Watching a player bounce a ball off someone's head and then throw it in the stands instead of shooting it in the basket and getting applause is the biggest disservice to the game that I can think of. It makes my blood boil that a fancy dribble will bring fans out of their seat and not the execution of the jump shot. These tapes are big sellers among our youth. And we wonder why the Europeans have passed us by when it comes to fundamentals?

- AAU and high school coaches: AAU coaches are driven by sponsorship money from shoe companies. So recruitment of top local players is a must. The problem with this is that some AAU coaches will tell the player anything to get him to commit to their team and once there will allow him to play without the discipline and guidance needed at such a young age. This way of coaching gives too much responsibility to the player and that's why we see numerous players at the college and NBA level who do not respect authority. High schools need to do a better job of hiring coaches instead of turning teachers that have no basketball experience to adequately teach our youngsters into coaches. Combined, these two entities are not giving our youngsters the fundamental base that the Europeans have been getting for years.

- College coaches: College coaches have lost faith in the recruiting process of top players. Why? Because they feel that top players will only attend for one or two years and then leave for the NBA. They put a lot of attention into the players that they feel will take four years to develop and yet they might not ever become pro players. So, it is understandable why coaches might not want to waste numerous hours teaching a player who plans to leave after one year and with the lack of fundamentals permeating the NBA, that argument can be raised. These coaches must do a better job of teaching regardless of how many years the player stays.

- NCAA: Why won't this organization change? Why is it so difficult to understand that just an athletic scholarship is not enough these days for student-athletes to stay on campus? Especially when the NCAA is signing billion-dollar television contracts and coaches are being paid millions from schools and shoe companies. The NCAA must stop blaming the NBA for enticing underclassmen to leave and start making it appealing for players to stay at least three years by paying them a stipend so that coaches can adequately teach and prepare them for the next level.

- Players Union: The NBA Players Union must eventually give in to the age limit rule. It is obvious that teams will not set a precedent and ignore young players that have good upside when they apply for the draft, so the union must take the initiative and agree to a 20 or 21-year-old age limit. Too many veteran basketball players are losing jobs to young players who are not ready to contribute. This move will allow teams to have a better idea about how good a player will become. Instead of being 21 or 22 when teams have to extend their contracts, they would be 23-24 years old, which is a much better age to determine a player's ability.

- NBA: The NBA must do something that is totally against what put them back on top during the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird era and that continued into the Michael Jordan era – they must tone down the marketing of players based on potential and put faith in the veterans who are fundamentally sound and have proven to be professional on and off the court. Also, they need to find a system that encourages players to take better shots that raise field goal percentages, which in turn would improve scoring. During my career, if you shot below 47 percent you had a bad year. Now, 45 percent is considered very good. The one change I would encourage the league to make is to get rid of the three-point line. Yes, it is a great marketing tool, but the wrong players are taking advantage of it. Without the three-point shot, players will learn to operate in their range and use teammates to free themselves effectively. This is what the European ball player has perfected and that is why we are left wondering what happened.

Eddie Johnson is a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com

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