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By Adam Stanco
BasketballWriter@cs.com
7 Secrets to Tournament Success:
Guard Play
If the
NCAA Tournament is the Big Dance, the point guard is the
choreographer.
An
excellent lead guard controls the pace and energy of the entire cast.
Whenever the performance peaks too quickly or too deliberately, he must
steady the rhythm. True point guards carefully balance fundamentals and
freestyle.
The
shimmy and shake of a stylish move is fan-friendly, yet point guards are not
judged by the swivel of their hips or the bounce in their crossover. They
can not be measured in points, steals, or even assists. To find the true
worth of a tournament-tested general, just ask him the same two questions a
mother asks her daughter after she arrives home from a taping of “Blind
Date”: Did you keep your poise? More importantly, did you go all the way?
Mike
Bibby answered both questions emphatically during the 1997 National
Championship. Future NBA players Michael Dickerson, Miles Simon, and Jason
Terry comprised a talented and experienced Wildcat backcourt, yet the
freshman was their sage. Bibby’s consistency was frightening and his
brilliant contributions were so plentiful they screamed redundancy. He
scored. And passed. And rebounded. And defended. In two Final Four games, he
danced to the beat of 39 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists, and 6 steals.
When
it comes to guard play, apparently age doesn’t matter. Duke’s Bobby Hurley
(1991) and tiny Tyus Edney (1995) of UCLA proved size doesn’t either. And,
as Kentucky’s Wayne Turner (1998) taught us, you don’t even need a jumper.
It’s
all about punctuation. Sometimes point guards are periods and sometimes they
are exclamation points. If they roll their coaches’ eyes, they might even be
a question mark. Yet, no matter how they express themselves, their only job
is to end the sentence… with a win.
Secrets For NCAA Tournament
Success:
-
Talent
- NBA potential is no joke.
-
Post Defense
- The bigger, the better.
-
Sharp Shooting
- Simple math: three is better than two.
-
Experience
- Who has nerves of steel?
-
Star Power
- Winning is the All-American way.
-
Guard Play
- Little guys point the way.
-
X-Factor
- Fear of the unknown.
The March Manifesto is the secret
to filling out your NCAA Tournament bracket.
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