[26 Year Gap]

Wow. A great thread. Boxing out is a lost art. How many times do you see the inside players on a FT just step INTO the lane? [Any guesses without a 9 in front are DQd]. We had a drill when I was playing where a shot was called by the defender of the shooter and that was a signal for everyone to box out their man. The coach wanted the ball to hit the floor which meant the defenders boxed out properly. Now it seems that players look for the ball first and then their man. At that point, it is too late to box out.

The NBA and even major colleges have glorified the fancy moves. So kids will try to thread the needle going through the lane and be off balance and expect any contact that occurs to be a foul. Most of the regs here will tell you that bailing someone out in such circumstances is not likely to occur.

Other fundamental skills that are lacking are defense--if you watch the guy's stomach then you will know where he is going and are less likely to be faked out; the hook shot--which when properly executed is difficult to block and can result in a trip to the line when the defender does attempt to block it; the give-and-go and its modern day distant cousin drive-and-dish [see threeading the needle above for how NOT to execute it]; and even the pick-and-roll.

I think the obvious lack of some of these skills made watching Princeton in the NCAA tournament so much fun.