I know I'm behind on blogs about this week, but nationals is busy and we've had a lot of prep work to do while making sure kids nutrition, hydration and focus stays where it is supposed to. I'll get you back up to date with us later, right now some notes before the important seeding games begin.
- Top teams u15 here this week are: Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. Early on Quebec has been the front runner, but I wouldn't count any of these teams out.
- I'll let other scouts and news sources talk about individuals and just focus on what makes these teams 20+ points better then everyone else in the field. With the exception of us every other team offensively and defensively is half court dependant. The other teams run situationally but mostly put priority on their half court ball control/sets and defensively keeping you in front. The top three teams play at pace all the time. They push and attack on offense every trip and if they don't get early offense can flow into their stuff without needing to pull back. Defensively they pressure, rotate, and make you get out of what the ball carrier wants to do. To be fair this is being done by the longest and most athetlic kids here too, but I find it interesting that most other provinces conceed this point and won't ask their kids to play the way the best teams play.
- Ball protection is huge. With the exception of Ontario just about every other team here is more dependant on paint points then any other. Whether its post touches, dribble drives or fast breaks the majority of the points being scored are being scored inside the paint. Ontario appears like the only team here that can score inside or out as the situation requires. As a result the ability to get easy stuff off turnovers makes even the most conservative teams here pick up full court to deny inbounds hoping to get something easy. It is also the reason you see most of the teams with a dominant PG who they clear for to handle pressure and sets/continuity offenses. Players know where to go and what to do without making reads or by making simpler reads and therefore less mistakes get made.
- Sets. I'm not saying sets are bad, coming out of dead ball situations we've got some quick hitter entries we use to cause the same breakdowns we want transition to cause in order for us to get into our offense. We are using a lot of basketball Canada principles to move and cut/screen to get attack chances. Every other team when they get nothing out of transition has sets or continuity offenses. Defensively its helped us be really successful because we've been able to disrupt most of what teams want to do. I just can't believe that with the LTAD focus on player development and rules for modification players and provinces still get so many of their looks out of stuff.
- Defense. You see three types of defense here this week at the u15:
*Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia play you straight pressure m2m all over the floor with some stunt calls. They rely on their individual defenders ability to pressure and prevent getting beat to win 1 on 1 matchups all over the floor. Any break down is help and recover. Bigs protect key and weakside drops but as soon as possible everyone goes back.
*Manitoba and NB (to some extent PEI depending on their matchups) pressure m2m with rotation/ run and jump principles. We both force the offense to attack of the bounce and use our rotations to defend. The priority is on team defense, pressure and communication to disrupt and accelerate the game. We get offense at a pace where they must turn it over. Both teams do it in very different ways but both are very aggressive and team oriented.
* BC, Alberta, Sask., and NFLD all play pack line m2m. They are aggressive on the ball but everyone else is as far into help as they are allowed. They are pressuring the ball but allowing passes to the perimeters with the focus being on not allowing dribble penetration without built in help or cuts because they chew up the space and passing lanes with bodies and defenders. This is personally my least favorite type of defense here since, to my mind its about believing teams won't make enough shots/ just winning games vs trying to make kids high level defenders. To be fair lots of high level teams defend this way very well and its a legitimate tactic. I simply feel that like zone defesne, while good defense can be taught this way by very welll by good coaches - it allows coaches/kids to get away with not working hard every possession or teachign less defense which at a developmental level should be a priority IMO.
- Final thoughts is on skill level. Ontario has the greatest depth of skilled kids. After that every province has a couple of skilled kids you look at and see their skill matches their physical abilities. The very best players on all the other teams are just making athletic plays. They are athletically superior or using their tools within an offense strutured for their skill set. I have seen almost no players that are using footwork, basketball IQ and fundamental skills to break teams down. I've seen very little screening, cutting or moving based on indivual reads. I also haven't seen anyone here that I would consider a shooter. There are kids who can shoot but no one who is working and moving and trying to get to spots where they loose defenders put them in a tough spot. Still I long way to go in shooting and individual footwork and skills in this country.
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