Basketball’s unwritten rules

When I first came back to the high school game 12 years ago, one of the first things I noticed was the change in certain coaching philosophies among some younger coaches. Nothing really earth shattering, just a few unwritten rules of coaching that seem to have disappeared over the past 30-years or so.

Yeah, I know I sound like the old guy yelling, “Get off my lawn!” but hey, just because we did it that way back in the day doesn’t mean it was wrong.

So without further ado, let’s discuss a few of the unwritten rules that seem to have faded into the mists of time …

*Who comes out first? Well, it used to be that the visiting team always ran onto the floor first, followed by the home team. It was simply a show of respect to run out, then let the home team come out to cheers from the home crowd. Today? Not so much. It doesn’t seem to be thought about much, if at all. I, however, held onto that old rule until my coaching days were over.

*Surrendering. When I first started coaching I was told by a pretty damn good Hall of Fame coach that, in a blowout, the team that’s way behind substitutes first as an indication that the game is over. Then, the leading team’s coach subs and that’s the way it stays. In the past few years, however, I’ve seen coaches sub, wait for the other team to sub, then put their starters back in in an attempt to get back in the game. Unbelievable. You also have these guys who believe themselves to be super coaches who will never sub, pressing and calling time-outs when they’re down 27-points with 12.3-seconds left in an effort to show people they’re not giving up and will pull off a miracle through their amazing coaching abilities. Sigh.

*Throwing up a 3-pointer at the buzzer. I’m talking about the team that’s ahead. It used to be sacrilegious to take a shot at the buzzer if your team had an insurmountable lead. It was considered selfish to attempt any shot at that point if it wasn’t needed. Today you see it all the time. Bush league I tell ya.*

*bush-league: being of an inferior class or group of its kind : marked by a lack of sophistication or professionalism

*Running it up. I hear this argument all the time from a coach who has just won by 50-points. “What? I can’t tell my subs not to play!” or “If you don’t like it stop us!” That, my friends, is flawed logic. Can’t see it, won’t ever see it. In professional sports this makes a little sense. The players and coaches are getting paid a ton of money to do a job so there are certain expectations. High school? Totally different situation. In high school, coaches usually have to play the hand they’re dealt. Sometimes a team is simply outmanned, and you can’t have a circus without the elephants as they say. I mean, what’s the point? To embarrass a bunch of kids? Make yourself feel special? Show your superiority? Prove you’re a man? Newsflash: Nobody needs to work on basic fundamentals more than your younger players or 2nd Teamers. They learn nothing by throwing up 3-pointers with a 57-point lead. Slow it down, burn the clock, work on the basic stuff, try and get better, all the while saving the other team from humiliation. Is that too hard to comprehend?

*Laughing with the opposition after a game. Who in the world wants to joke around with the guy who just whipped your ass? I can’t imagine laughing with a guy who just beat me, not right after the game. Everyone seems to be friends now during competition, especially in the pros, and it didn’t used to be that way. I remember back in 1999 when George Brett and Nolan Ryan were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. A reporter asked Nolan if he and Brett were friends when they played. Ryan said, “Friends? He wasn’t my friend. He was on the other team.” I loved it.

*Relaxing before games. Quick question – let’s say somebody calls you and says they’re on their way over to your house to kick your butt. What do you do? Lay back and have a glass of Sparkling Rosé? Maybe crack a Miller Lite to relax? No, if you’re a competitor you get hyped up. Hell, one of the best damn players I ever coached threw up before every game. Why? Because he wanted to win so badly, and more importantly he couldn’t fathom losing. Being nervous is a good thing, folks. A couple sprints up and down the court will take those jitters away. Like Mike Tyson said, “Everybody has a plan until they get hit.” Yep. Then you have to fall back on your practice and preparation.

*Dressing up for games. I know, I know, literally nobody does this anymore, but I think the game deserves our respect. Because of this I always wore ties to games. No polos and no sweatsuits for me. And my team always wore ties on most nights, and traveling gear on others. But what they never did was wear jeans and t-shirts. It’s the same reason you never saw any shimmying, dancing, or otherwise acting like a fool on the court from my guys. I’m old school. Deal with it. And don’t get me wrong, I never wanted emotionless robots on the court either. Positive emotions are great, there’s nothing wrong with pumping a fist or otherwise getting fired up, I loved that sort of thing. But what I didn’t want was a bunch of clowns on the court, making a mockery of a great game or showing up our opponent. On a related note, I’ve always believed that every small sacrifice a player makes for his team, whether it be wearing the same shoes, the aforementioned dressing up for games, keeping your shirttail tucked in, showing up on time, not missing practice, all of those things add up as sacrifices, investments if you will, for the game. Then, when something is on the line, the more you’ve sacrificed the more the outcome will mean to you. Make sense?

And hey, I know I’m in the minority here with NBA players prancing about like idiots after every routine shot, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to give in. Can’t do it, won’t do it. And I know some of you won’t get it, that you’ll look at me like I have a marmoset on my head.

But that’s O.K. I gotta fight the good fight, man. There are just a few of us dinosaurs left, so we have to keep raging against the dying of the light, ya know?

PS- Please spare me the old, “Oh, lighten up and let them have fun!” That’s just dumb. You know what’s fun? Winning. Winning is fun. Let’s try and do that and the fun will follow.

Dave Shoemaker is a retired teacher, athletic director and basketball coach with most of his professional years spent at Paint Valley. He also served as the national basketball coach for the island country of Montserrat in the British West Indies. He lives in Southern Ohio with his best friends and companions, his dogs Sweet Lilly and Hank. He can be reached at https://shoeuntied.wordpress.com/.