"Rants and Raves" is an open forum for coaches to discuss topics, ranging from issues to observations on the state of college basketball and beyond.
 
 
Learning How to Play
By Lute Olson, Arizona

Offense wins games, but defense wins championships.

It's one of the most familiar clichés in sport, but it is also one that holds the most truth.

I have always been a big believer in that offense only determines the final margin of victory. Whether you win or lose is a direct result of the effort put forth on the defensive end of the floor.

Regardless of sport, champions are made on that end of the playing field. And if you take a moment and ask any coach -- in any sport -- what area his team needs to improve upon, you will always hear that word 'defense' in his or her response.

Since the first day I walked onto a court as a coach, defense has been stressed above all else. Certainly you need players with an ability to produce offensively, but you don't need players without a willingness to play -- at the same level -- on defense.

I have always been a big advocate of playing each and every possession as if it were the final possession of the game. Every possession counts.

But in the aftermath of game, analysts will surmise that it was a critical moment in the closing seconds that decided the outcome.

Nobody ever states that the steal and layup in the first five minutes was the difference, because there was still an eternity left on the clock. There is a belief that there is plenty of time to correct a wrong.

There is truth in that, but there is no denying -- from a coach's perspective -- that every possession, every at-bat, every sequence of the game has a direct reflection on the outcome.

But many may think that it is simply 'coach-speak.'

The dynamics of each particular sport may vary, but every head coach understands fully the consequences of every sequence in the contest and it all begins with defense.

Offensively, you are going to miss opportunities to score. No team has ever shot 100% from the field. Missed opportunities on offense are a reality of the game. They are inevitable and acceptable, to a degree.

But I would argue that they don't have to be inevitable or are ever acceptable on the defensive end.

Of course every coach grasps the realization that lapses will occur. As much as we want to be perfectionists, we have to accept error as a part of the process. But that doesn't mean we have to embrace it.

In professional sports, coaches have to re-teach rookies. And in college athletics it is the process of re-educating freshmen. No matter what level you are at, the next level is always more difficult.

In high school, a player's offensive talents often overwhelm opponents, as firepower more than makes up for lapses on the defensive end. That is simply not the case at the college level, which is the best of the best.

Players are the stars of their teams in high schools, but they are one of a roster full of talent at the collegiate level. The challenge is trying to get the student-athlete to recognize and understand that concept.

It is simply not good enough to step up one's effort when necessary. The fact is that it is always necessary.

Kids hear how NBA players 'save it for the game' or that that defensive intensity must be tempered because of the length of the season.

That is not possible at the college level.

Incoming freshmen often don't grasp the realization that defense is in fact a full-time endeavor. Often they believe they can simply show up for the game and apply it. After all, that was often the case at the previous level.

So how does the message get relayed to the young players?

Every coach has a different method, but we can all agree that it begins in practice, through repeated instruction, which can be eye-opening to players.

Initially, the concept of 'no deviation between practice and game' is foreign, but over time they begin to understand that however repetitive and uninspiring as it may seem it is effective.

Every player dreams of lofty point-totals and game-winning baskets, but few envision taking the charge, just before halftime, or boxing-out to grab that rebound that leads to your team's first basket of the game.

But without those efforts there may not be that opportunity for victory. And there certainly won't be any chance of getting those championships imagined.