Quote:
Originally posted by ronny mulkey
Zebra, Mick, Chuck,
The question becomes - WHEN do you go "on ball" in your primary? When you stop rotating? Can you resist the urge, as Chuck does, and go on ball almost from the get go?
There are times when you are going out and the drive is coming in. Do you stop and referee that drive or do you continue to rotate and watch anything BUT the ball?
Because we have adopted the Women's mechanic on their expanded Lead coverage, it has become a big deal down here. We had 2 or 3 different camps yesterday. That is why I wanted to put it here and get y'all's input.
In my crew, I want the C to have clear expectations from me as I rotate into him/her.
Mulk
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What I've been taught, in NCAA-W's mechanics, is to start the rotation as the ball comes over to C's side. As the L comes over, they have to stay focused on the matchups in the paint. As Chuck mentioned, it's hard not to start focusing on the reason for rotating, but I've found it becomes easier the more you do it. Also, the C stays with the ball-handler and defender until there is no immediate matchup, like say a 5-sec. count. So, as the L comes over, they might be looking back over their shoulder as they move across the paint, then set up with their body angled in towards the paint. Once the L knows the C no longer has an active, immediate matchup, the L turns their body and squares up with the new matchup, which then tells the old C/new T that they can now go off ball. It's all in the body language. The C can tell the L that they are actively watching the matchup (with, say, a 5-sec. count), so that tells the L to stay in the paint, even after the rotation. The L can also tell the C by turning towards the ball-handler that they now have on-ball coverage, which tells the new T they can look off-ball. It's the same type of mechanic as in HS and NCAA-M where a T might start a 5-sec. count, and follow the dribbler into the C's area. The C knows not to pick up the ball right away while the T is still counting, but can pick up the on-ball coverage once the T stops their count.
It's just a form of non-verbal communication between partners. The initial coverage stays with the official that had it first, until there's an opportunity to hand over coverage.