It's a little strange to be talking about basketball in May, but this piece by Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker caught my eye and I thought it was worth sharing.
The article talks about how underdogs in sports have a much better chance of beating heavy favorites just by adopting an unorthodox or unexpected strategy. But the part I found the most intriguing involved the advantages of using a full-court press in basketball all the time. The YAIAA team that immediately came to mind was the West York girls, which won the league tournament title this year and was known for its relentless pressure.
Gladwell writes about a girls' team of 12-year-olds with limited experience that made it to the national championships by sticking to a strategy of non-stop full-court pressure on defense:
It was as if there were a kind of conspiracy in the basketball world about the way the game ought to be played, and Ranadivé thought that that conspiracy had the effect of widening the gap between good teams and weak teams. Good teams, after all, had players who were tall and could dribble and shoot well; they could crisply execute their carefully prepared plays in their opponent's end. Why, then, did weak teams play in a way that made it easy for good teams to do the very things that made them so good?
It's not that the West York girls' team didn't have talented players. They had some of the best in the area, including Paige Elliott (shown above playing defense), who was named to the Division III/IV first team. Coach Jon Shultz just utilized that talent to the fullest by pressing throughout the game, causing turnovers and getting easy baskets.
Gladwell also interviewed Rick Pitino for the story, since Pitino's teams have had a great deal of success following a similar strategy. It's not like full-court pressure is some sort of groundbreaking development, but after reading the story, I did start to wonder why more teams didn't use the strategy all the time, especially teams that may not have the best raw talent.
I think such a tactic pays bigger dividends in the girls game because there seem to be more turnovers than when the guys play. Plus, girls players seem to have less experience than guys at the high school level (although that is certainly starting to change). I don't think it's a coincidence that a team that put a heavy emphasis on full-court pressure ended up winning the league title on the girls side.
What do you think? Would more teams benefit by pressuring the ball early and often? Add your input in the comments section.
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