These days it feels like I eat, sleep and breathe basketball. I’m either studying plays, researching collegiate and professional programs, touching base with coaches or (let’s be honest) traveling down the deep dark YouTube rabbit hole searching for LeBron’s best dunks or the NCAA’s all-time greatest plays (hours have passed in this hole).
I recently came across ESPN’s Top 10 Best Plays In NCAA Tournament History; among the list were Jordan’s 1982 game-winning, championship finals shot against Georgetown when they were trailing by one with seconds left; and a year later when Jim Valvano stormed the court after NC State became national champions with only five seconds on the clock, putting the Houston Cougars to bed.
Number one spot? The Duke Blue Devils’ 1992 regional final against Kentucky on an in-bound play from the opposite end of the court with 2.1 seconds to go. Grant Hill throws the ball the length of the court to Christian Laettner who fakes right, dribbles once and hits the jumper as time expires. In 2004, Sports Illustrated deemed this particular matchup the greatest college basketball game of all time, and to many this buzzer beater is simply known as “the shot.”
Eventually, I climbed out of the YouTube hole and my afternoon continued, but those trailblazing NCAA moments lingered. I kept going back to these top 10 plays because my first thought was, “This is the kind of basketball fans crave,” immediately followed by, “This is the kind of basketball coaches and players have to be prepared for.”
Crisis situations are a part of the game
Having recently partnered with the Duke men’s basketball team, I’ve become familiar with how Coach K and his staff prepare their players. About the infamous “shot,” Coach K has said:
“Actually, the Kentucky moment was better than winning the two national championships because it was the epitome of what I try to get from a team in a crisis situation.”
It’s play calling at its finest. It’s being prepared for the final two seconds of the game and knowing exactly what you’re going to do. It’s in moments like this that explain why efficient coaching tools and playbook technology wouldn’t just be nice to have, but are absolutely necessary.
These crises situations are all too familiar and inescapable; they’re the exact reason why effective digital coaching tools combined with a player learning application are crucial to a game that has significantly evolved throughout the years.
Handling these defining moments comes with preparation
Coaches need a platform that will integrate everything into one platform, providing more functionality with the ability to access playbooks, scouting reports and video on any device.
Coaches around the country who we’ve partnered with haven’t been shy about the results they’ve seen using our technology. Assistant Head Coach Seth Minter of the women’s basketball team at Western Illinois University can’t imagine coaching without it.
“It’s been a huge, huge tool for us. It’s right there at the players’ fingertips,” he said. “It’s something they’re able to use if they want to refresh their brains right before the game. It’s been a great tool, and I definitely would say it contributes to our success.”
Kory Alford, video coordinator for UCLA (31-5) men’s basketball, is all about efficiency, and that’s exactly what Just Play delivers.
“With Just Play, we can have our playbook, scouting reports and individual video for our players all in one place,” he said. “In the end, it makes the whole operation more efficient.”
For most NCAA teams, preparation is always top of mind, and it should be. Crisis situations and how coaches and players handle them is what sets apart the plays that make the highlight reels and those that don’t.
Technology is revolutionizing the way coaches and players prepare. As founder of Just Play Sports Solutions, Austin Barone is dedicated to providing teams with the tech they need to teach plays faster and prepare for games better. Share your thoughts with us on Facebook or Twitter.