Kips Bay Basketball

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More Than a Passing Conversation

"Anytime your pass is intercepted, thrown away, or fails to produce a score, you have to question your game: is something missing? Have you done all that you could have done?"

"There is more to passing the ball than throwing the ball at the receiver. Passing, when done well, is an art. Start with communication, factor in performance profiles, disguise pass entry with misdirection to complement ball-handling skills, and with disciplined practice driven by a great work ethic, you can achieve celebrity."

"Coach, I hear the words. Now make me understand them."

"Okay Jason, you have the ball; these are your options in order: pass or drive or shoot. When passing, first think inside (dunk, lay-up, short jumper), then outside (long jumper). Drive when you have the skills and the defense is soft. Shoot only when under control, when out of defensive reach or reaction, and you have what it takes. Know your limitations and your teammates."

"You passed. He didn't know it was coming. Failure to communicate causes turnovers. Words are not necessary to understanding. Eye contact: a glance from your mom speaks volumes. Not a word passed her lips, still you heard the message loud and clear. Without a word, eye contact tells the passer that the receiver is reporting for duty with hands at the ready and eyes on the ball."

"Knowing where your receiver can score from dictates when or if he will receive the ball. Before you pass, recognize what he cannot do. He can look lost without you dumping on him. The final decision, to pass or not, depends on information filed in memory and the ability to discover or uncover a passing lane with an edge."

"An advantage is a momentary window of opportunity that begs: use me or lose me, I will never be yours again. I can be anything, apparent or contrived. Recognize me: mismatches - height, size, quickness, jumping ability (alley-oop): and injured or inept defender; relative position - head turned on defense, good post position, inside position on the pick and roll, lead pass in transition, give and go, zone out of sync, static zone, zone picks: or a hot shooter. Know me without thought. Use me!"

"Exposing seams or uncovering the receiver is but half the magic needed to disguise pass entry. Success call for misdirection: deceptive body language - foot, hand, eye and head movement intended to mislead or relax the defense; and skilled use of the dribble, pass, and shot, to take advantage. One is useless without the other."

"Make eye contact just once to confirm readiness, then without having to look directly at your receiver again, pass or observe. No look passing fools and freezes the defense, leaving a passing lane uncovered long enough to gain entry - and an opportunity to score."

"The passing lane, a beeline from passer to receiver, is a well defined shifting corridor. Although jealously guarded, it can be uncovered if your body language can fool, freeze, find or force entry. Passes must be on-time, precise, and user friendly. The pass should be thrown with enough force to reach the receiver quickly, yet arrive soft enough for handling. Passes with too much hang-time - the time it takes to reach the intended receiver - invite interception. The aim is not to invite attention, but to catch the defender unready. Passes thrown behind the advancing receiver, below the waist, too high, too far off-line, or too far in front, will most likely become unforced turnovers."

"An errant pass, if recovered, has caused the receiver to squander the advantage of surprise, time, position, or opportunity. Moreover, it gives the defense time to recover and defend. Thrown with laser-like precision, the entry pass must thread its way through a defended alley, just beyond the defender's reach or reaction, deftly coming to rest in the receivers hands with the advantage."

"Coach, can you make it any shorter?"

"If you are to be a prime-time mechanic having facility in either hand, shrewdly assigning passes sensitive to weakness and strength ( user friendly passes that call for finish), you must keep your head up to invite eye contact, maintain a wide field of vision to include secondary receivers, scan for defensive weakness, and manage the clock - even as you glean and exploit opportunity."

"Once comfortable you'll deliver and teammates will gladly jockey for backdoors, seams, and gaps with their hands ever-ready and eyes on the ball."

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Copyright© 1998 Charles Vasser. All Rights Reserved
Last Updated September 3, 1998

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