SoonerNorm
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Courtney was a great rebounder before she arrived in Norman. If you look at other power forwards and centers before or after Courtney, I think you will find that those who were good rebounders were good before they arrived. Some players just have what it takes to be great rebounders. Positioning, be able to predict where the ball is coming off the rim, and, most importantly, want to. I will add one more, jumping ability. Yes, I know Courtney did not jump but, she is the exception as she didn't have to. The vast majority of other players have to jump today. Standing flat-footed is a huge mistake many players make. Look at the girl from South Florida. She had a double double against us because she was athletic and she refused to allow our players to come away with rebounds by standing flat-footed. Fast forward to the Duke game. They had a girl, Williams, who wore us out jumping for rebounds. She ended up with 20 rebounds, 9 of which were offensive boards. The days of flat-footed rebounders is over (I might make an exception for a 6'9" Nancy Mulkey). There are too many girls that will clean your clock if you stand still hoping the ball will fall into your hands. We have one girl who has want to and can jump in Sharane. Her problem is, she is 5'10" instead of 6'4".
Another mistake we make is standing still or taking off for the other end of the court as soon as the ball goes in the air, particularly when we are on offense. We need at least 3 players headed for the rim as soon as the ball goes in the air. This can be corrected by the coaches. I was never a fan of Dennis Rodman but I certainly admired his rebounding ability even against taller players. I never remember seeing him head for the opposite end of the court when the ball went in the air. He thought one thing, that ball is mine. His 'want to' was extra-ordinary.
Do I think you can take a poor rebounder in high school and turn her into a great rebounder in college? No. I think someone like Geno will improve her rebounding stats somewhat but she is not likely to ever be a great rebounder.
Let's talk about blocking out. Yes, I know some coaches stress blocking out and I'm sure our coaches talk about it too; although, we are not good at doing it. But, I much prefer the John Wooden and Bill Bradley theory, which is, players should worry much more about going after the ball than blocking out. If you watched Courtney and Dennis Rodman, they went after the ball and I don't recall seeing either one spending much effort to block anyone out.
The answer is, recruit great rebounders who have the entire package. Height is certainly an advantage. Positioning is extremely important. Want to is critical. Jumping ability is mandatory. If a player possesses all of those tangible assets, you have a potentially great rebounder.
Some people get excited over girls who can block shots. That really doesn't excite me nearly as much as strong rebounders do. Most of the time blocked shots are knocked out of bounds or go back into the hands of an offensive player. Either way the offense retains possession which may ultimately give them a chance for an easier basket. But, a rebound changes possession, stops the offense from scoring, and gives the rebounding team a scoring opportunity.
No one took rebounding more serious than Kelvin. He had his teams work hard on rebounding because he knew the impact it would have on the outcome of close games.
I would like to see the coaches take rebounding more serious, correct what they can, and recruit great rebounders out of high school.
Another mistake we make is standing still or taking off for the other end of the court as soon as the ball goes in the air, particularly when we are on offense. We need at least 3 players headed for the rim as soon as the ball goes in the air. This can be corrected by the coaches. I was never a fan of Dennis Rodman but I certainly admired his rebounding ability even against taller players. I never remember seeing him head for the opposite end of the court when the ball went in the air. He thought one thing, that ball is mine. His 'want to' was extra-ordinary.
Do I think you can take a poor rebounder in high school and turn her into a great rebounder in college? No. I think someone like Geno will improve her rebounding stats somewhat but she is not likely to ever be a great rebounder.
Let's talk about blocking out. Yes, I know some coaches stress blocking out and I'm sure our coaches talk about it too; although, we are not good at doing it. But, I much prefer the John Wooden and Bill Bradley theory, which is, players should worry much more about going after the ball than blocking out. If you watched Courtney and Dennis Rodman, they went after the ball and I don't recall seeing either one spending much effort to block anyone out.
The answer is, recruit great rebounders who have the entire package. Height is certainly an advantage. Positioning is extremely important. Want to is critical. Jumping ability is mandatory. If a player possesses all of those tangible assets, you have a potentially great rebounder.
Some people get excited over girls who can block shots. That really doesn't excite me nearly as much as strong rebounders do. Most of the time blocked shots are knocked out of bounds or go back into the hands of an offensive player. Either way the offense retains possession which may ultimately give them a chance for an easier basket. But, a rebound changes possession, stops the offense from scoring, and gives the rebounding team a scoring opportunity.
No one took rebounding more serious than Kelvin. He had his teams work hard on rebounding because he knew the impact it would have on the outcome of close games.
I would like to see the coaches take rebounding more serious, correct what they can, and recruit great rebounders out of high school.