March 5, 2005, 10:59PM On a fast break toward oblivion Alley-oops are in; fundamentals are out. Crowd-pleasing dunks are in; shooting is out. Today's basketball might have Dr. James Naismith turning over in his grave. Can it be fixed? By FRAN BLINEBURY Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle What's right with basketball in America? Could the answers be both nothing and everything? Watch Tracy McGrady transform from his seemingly somnambulant state to a whirling, twisting, flick-it-gently-off-the-backboard magician in the flap of a hummingbird's eye, and there is every reason to think the 21st century version of Dr. James Naismith's invention is climbing to new heights. But flick the TV remote control on any given night and wind up seeing an NBA or college game in which the most basic task — putting the ball through the hoop — looks to be as difficult as in the days when they were using ladders to fetch the ball out of peach baskets. Watch the Rockets and Mavericks race up and down the floor in an efficient blur of reds and blues to produce a 124-114 work of art, and it is difficult to imagine anything prettier. But watch the Rockets and Spurs just three nights later grind out a 73-67 affair in which both teams walk the ball up the floor to misfire, and it's as painful as a tooth extraction, especially if you envision the game as part ballet, part jazz riff. March Madness will again bring the pep bands, the color and the emotion of college kids playing in the single-elimination razor's-edge atmosphere of the NCAA Tournament. Yet what also will be noticeable is a drop-off in skill level and execution from the game that was played a decade ago. "I firmly believe (the game) isn't as good," said University of Houston coach Tom Penders. "I grew up in the late '50s, watching the Knicks and the Celtics. I don't know what you'd call the best era for fundamental or purist basketball. But I can safely say that through the early to mid-'90s, it was still the greatest show on earth. Then something happened." Not just a youth problem It is too easy to blame the opening of the floodgates on dozens of players each year leaving college early and so many jumping from high school straight to the NBA. Particularly when the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Garnett and Amare Stoudemire — to name a few — are top performers who grasp the team concept. From too much reliance on the 3-point shot to zone defenses to the nightly highlight dunks on TV, the game has become more flamboyant yet less appealing for a multitude of reasons. "I'm not one who likes to bash the young guys," said Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler. "I think there is still a good product out there at the very top of the game. But when you get to the bottom half of NBA rosters, there's a drop-off, for sure. What we need is a real developmental league." What the game needs, perhaps, is fewer dictatorial coaches, pulling every string and every lever on the sidelines, and more nurturers to pull the game back up from the grass-roots level in order to avoid a repeat of the bronze bust performance by Team USA — full of NBA talent — that finished third in the 2004 Olympics. Is it just a coincidence that the 2004 U.S. Olympic team was the first made up entirely of players who came out of the AAU system that dominates high school basketball these days? So many coaches pulling in so many directions. Not all of them with coaching expertise, but many wanting to make a name or reputation by pulling the strings. "Basketball is the ultimate transition game, constantly flowing," said Hall of Famer Bill Walton. "To me, there's nothing worse than a guy getting the ball, coming to a dead stop and then looking back over his shoulder to get a play called by his coach." 'Overcoached, undertaught' Pete Newell is another Hall of Famer, still a guru to many of the biggest names in the coaching game, who runs an annual camp for big men. He put it succinctly: "The game is overcoached and undertaught." The game is overcoached — at times even suffocated — at the top level; too few are minding the gym at the entry level of the game, as the instruction of fundamentals has slipped badly. "There has been a premium put on athleticism over skill development," said Rice coach Willis Wilson. "That's reflected at the youth level and the high school level. Kids play games. They don't work at the game." Former Rocket Steve Francis is the poster boy for today's player. He is a superior athlete who can make the near-impossible play but never has learned to simply hit the open man and run a team. Until this season, when teams such as Phoenix and Seattle have attracted so much attention by pushing the tempo and emphasizing offense, the scoring numbers in the NBA had dropped dramatically. Even now, in this season of resurgence, eight teams are averaging more than 100 points per game. In 1990, when the Bad Boys of Detroit were turning heads with their hard-nosed, bruising defense, all but one team in the league averaged over 100 points. Just last season, Sacramento led the NBA in field-goal percentage at a .462 clip. In 1990, 21 of the 27 teams in the league then shot better. Yet there are more players and more teams launching from farther out as the use of the 3-point shot has increased exponentially. In the 25 years since the 3-pointer was introduced to the NBA, the long-range shot has warped the basics of the game. Now there are acrobatic dunks and players — even on a fast break — spotting up beyond the arc. As a result, a generation of players has drifted from the fundamental precept that the closer to the basket, the better. Now there are few players adept at making what used to be the pro's bread and butter — a 12- to 15-foot jumper, a hook shot, a bank off the glass. No shooting practice So why can't Johnny shoot? Or Kobe and Qyntel, for that matter? "You are what you practice," said Bill Fitch, the fifth-winningest coach in NBA history. "Never mind shooting jumpers. If we walked out to a playground right now and watched for an afternoon, how many guys do you think we'd ever see try a free throw? We've lost the value of the free throw, of a lot of basic things in the game. There's just no excuse for Shaquille O'Neal to be the athlete, player and person he is and have that kind of hole in his game." Is it the product of watching all those slam-dunking, backboard-swaying highlights on ESPN? Or is it simply Michael Jordan's fault? Did his Airness take the creative torch from Elgin Baylor and Dr. J and lift the game too far off the ground? "The shame is that a lot of kids don't know how fundamentally sound Michael Jordan was," said Texas Southern coach Ronnie Courtney. "They looked at the crossover dribbles and the dunks. But what they missed was the footwork, the positioning, the getting his shoulders square to the basket that made all of that possible. Kids today are watching Vince Carter, and they're looking past Tim Duncan." There are signs — if you look hard enough — the message might be starting to sink in. The recent NBA All-Star Game featured Carter's self-aggrandizing tomahawk slam off a pass from himself off the backboard, but there was also 20-year-old phenom LeBron James looking to set up teammates with a basic bounce pass. The retooling of the game cannot happen overnight, and it won't happen unless the focus comes from the ground up. Pat Riley coached the "Showtime" Lakers with Magic Johnson and now as president of the Miami Heat says it is the obligation of NBA clubs who draft teenage players to teach. "Maybe overall the game takes a step back for a while," Riley said. "But who's to say the game can't become more exciting to watch with the influx of all that youthful exuberance? "I'm not down on where the game can go in the future. But there's no doubt that it's going to take a lot of work."
