WKU Lady Toppers defeat Ball State 61-58!

Muncie, Ind. - On three different occasions Monday night, the Western Kentucky University women's basketball team held a lead of seven points or more at Ball State. Each time the Cardinals fought back, but in the end the Lady Toppers were able to come up with big plays late and pick up a 61-58 win at Worthen Arena.
 

The win moved the Lady Toppers to 2-0 on the year, while Ball State dropped to 0-2.
 "We had to find ways all night, and I'm really proud of this basketball team for doing that," said Lady Topper head coach Mary Taylor Cowles. "We did some things in the second half that just showed our desire to want to win this game."

Don Meyer's Thoughts on Building a Great Team

1. Your Relationship with your players is an important factor in building a TEAM.

2. Older players should teach and help younger players.

3. Your TEAM must know that they will win but more importantly, they must know exactly How They Will WIN.

4. You better be a Great Half Court Team in post-season tournament play.

5. Have Goal Sheets established for each of your players. Check these sheets every week.

6. Schedule tough games during the season. This will make you better in post-season.

7. Substitute on every one of your team's free throws in order to prevent the fast break.

8. Evaluate what your Program/Team needs are at the end of each week.

9. Plan the next week on the Sunday before the week.

10. You need to Win and Lose in practice. When one loses, the whole team suffers. When one wins, the whole team wins. Play games like 7-up and Cut Throat.

Detroit defeats Atlanta 94-89!

Detroit led 90-89 with 16.1 seconds left and fouled Nolan. Nolan, who had been fouled hard by Sancho Lyttle a minute earlier, had to leave the game with what Mahorn described as "lightheadedness". Mahorn said he expected Nolan to be OK for Friday's game.
Her absence, though, meant that Meadors could choose who would shoot the free throws. She could have selected Olayinka Sanni, a career 67 percent free-throw shooter who hadn't played in the game, or Braxton, who has hit 66 percent in her career.
Instead, Meadors chose Crystal Kelly, a career 85-percent shooter who has finished in the top 20 in free-throw shooting in both of her WNBA seasons.
Kelly made both shots, moving Detroit's lead back to three.
Detroit leads series 1-0. Next game on Friday @ 7:30pm ET.

Leadership Qualities

3 Important Qualities of Leadership

1. Leads- Guides others towards a Mission

2. Develops- Creates a Positive Environment/Fosters Teamwork

3. Achieves- Knows what Needs to be Done & Consistently Produces Results

Advantages of Playing Uptempo Basketball

Mike Anderson, Mizz

1. More fastbreak opportunities producing high-percentage shots (lay-ups).

2. Uncomfortable for defenses to recover; especially controlled/patient teams.

3. Forces players to get better, bc they must make split second decisions.

Roy Williams, UNC

4. Allows talented players to make plays.

5. Eliminates teams from pressing us, bc we run like crazy.

6. Forces guards and posts to sprint hard all the time.

Steve Fisher, San Diego State

5. Getting easy baskets help you win.

6. His team always runs to score off turnovers.

Latasha Dorsey, WKU

7. Gets you to the foul line, bc it wears down your opponent, which leads to reaching.

8. Gives more control to your point guard who can make reads and set teammates up for success!

9. Take advantage of your depth.

10. Every player loves to run! Easy baskets create enthusiasm, confidence, and deflates the opponent.

Plus it helps recruiting---talented players love playing uptempo!

Crystal Kelly headed to Detroit Shock

Shock Acquire Forward Crystal Kelly from Sacramento in Exchange for Kristin Haynie

Auburn Hills, MI - The Detroit Shock announced today that the team has acquired Crystal Kelly from the Sacramento Monarchs in exchange for guard Kristin Haynie.
“In acquiring Crystal Kelly we add a solid young player to our post rotation who comes with a reputation of not only being a skilled player, but a smart one as well,” said Detroit Shock General Manager Cheryl Reeve. “We are in need of a post that can spell Taj McWilliams as she has been logging heavy minutes at the 4 position.”
In 22 games (three starts) this season, the second-year forward is averaging 4.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game.
Kelly was acquired by the Monarchs as a free agent on May 18, 2008, after being originally selected by the Houston Comets in the third round of the 2008 WNBA Draft (31st overall).
Kelly played in 33 games (four starts) as a rookie last season averaging 7.4 ppg and 3.3 rpg in 16.7 mpg. She scored a career-high 18 points at Minnesota (6/12/08), and ranked second on the team in free throw percentage.
In 20 games (two starts) this season with the Shock, Haynie averaged 2.2 points and 1.3 rebounds in 8.1 minutes per game.
“This trade is a good trade for both the Shock and Kristin Haynie,” said Reeve. “We've thoroughly enjoyed having Kristin on the Shock but know that Kristin wanted to be on the court more often. The return to Sacramento reunites her with former teammates and coaches and puts her in a better situation relative to playing time. We thank Kristin for her efforts in Detroit.”

GUARD DEVELOPMENT DRILLs

CHILL DRILL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIJ6aGRc030&feature=related

This drill involves quick offensive moves and finishing with a layup or jumper.

Dont' forget about ballhandling. This is a great move to get you by the defense.....

Practice it & Own it!

Between the Legs Crossover

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7cMNR5mc2A&feature=channel

3 Keys to Attacking the Defense Off the Dribble

1.Get Low & Stay Low

• Shoulders need to be lower that your defense's shoulders



• Rub your shoulder off the defender's hip. This keeps you strong and balanced

2. Attack the Ankles

• Beat them with your feet



• Get your opposite foot pass your defenders opposite foot

3. Push the Ball Forward

• The ball should be pushed ahead of your feet and explode towards the rim

Drill that can be used:

Shoulder-to-Hip Drill -Offense receives a pass on the wing at the 3 pt line with defense standing directly in front of them. Defense extends arms and offense must get low enough to go under their arms, making sure their shoulder rubs the defense's hip. Finish w/ layup.

What defines an athlete, the mentality or the physicality?"

A large part of an athlete's performance is their mental state. Dr. John F. Murray, a widely-known sports psychologist said, The mind is a huge component of performance and outcome. The mental state that the player is in, either healthy or not seems to reflect on how the athlete plays on game-day, which often affects both the individual athlete's and the teams overall performance. It doesn't matter how small or big you are, the mind moves the body; the body is like the machine and the brain is like the engine." Murray said "Both the body and mind are always key aspects of an athlete's performance and neither should be ignored."

Why am I interested in this?

Because as a college coach, I don't want to recruit athletes solely based on their athletic abilities. I have experienced both positive and negative effects of mental toughness as an athlete and as a coach. I may have been the smallest or least talented player on the court but I really believed that I could outwork, outplay, and beat my opponents. On the other hand, I've coached a couple of players that were clearly the best players on the court but mentally they didn't see or believe that they were. In fact, they ran away from the challenge, because they lacked the mental toughness or confidence to lead.

So instead of looking for the best looking car or athlete, I'm looking under the hood to check the engine or brain. I don't want to be left stranded when the game is on the line.........

Although some players have it and others don't, Mental Toughness requires maintenance.

Check out the components of Mental Toughness:

http://blog.cleveland.com/andone/2008/04/Mental%20Toughness%20Framework1.jpg

http://blog.cleveland.com/andone/2008/04/Mental%20Toughness%20Framework2.jpg

Secrets to Success

What leads to success?

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has instilled the "Keep It Simple Stupid" approach into his coaches and players en-route to three Super Bowl Championships and an overall won-loss record of 138-86 in 15 seasons as a head coach.

"We try to tell the players exactly what we want them to do. Not 800 things to remember. But these are four things you need to do—'this is how we're going to approach this mini-camp, this is how we're going to approach today's practice."

"Tell them the four things that are most important to you, that you want to see at the end of the day, so when you call the team up at the end of the day or at night, you can say 'here are the four things we talked about in the morning and let's grade that. Let's see where we are today."

If they don't do what you tell them to do, I think you have every right to let them know about it and to make them understand that's not going to be acceptable. Or more importantly, you can't win until those things are accomplished.

"That's also for when we go to a game-plan situation as well. So whoever our next opponent is, the first thing I'll do when I bring the team in is tell them 'Look, these are the things we have to do to win this game, or, more importantly, if we do these things, we're absolutely going to lose."

"Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out."

Richard St. John also tells us what leads to success

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/22163/1675401

Courtney Lee Making Western Kentucky Proud

Courtney Lee and the Orlando magic are Eastern Confernce Champions and are headed to the NBA Finals.
Courtney Lee, a rookie out of Western Kentucky University helped lead his team to a 4-2 Series win over the Cleveland Cavs.

He was the 22nd overall selection in the 1st round of the 2008 NBA draft. He has seen action in 15 playoff games, starting 10, and has averaged 28.5 minutes a game. Lee is averaging 8.8 point per game and has converted 18-0f-19 free throws for 94.7 FT %.
I salute Courtney Lee for his outstanding accomplishments.
Good Luck in the Finals!!!

Game 1 Orlando vs. Lakers
Thursday, June 4th 9:00pm ET

Former Hilltopper Doing Work in the NBA!

What are they saying about Courtney Lee.....

Lee is Young but fearless....

Courtney Lee Shines for Magic

What better way to return from a week on the sidelines than a little chatter about Courtney Lee, the former Western Kentucky star who is now two victories from making the NBA Finals as a rookie.

Courtney Lee Pays LeBron Back
A possession or two before Courtney Lee splashed James on a nice breakaway, LeBron volleyball spiked another one of Dwight Howard’s dunk attempts with an awesome, awesome block (the block in the second half, not the first

Lee an invaluable asset

The Magic’s Courtney Lee, whose second of two back-to-back jumpers gave Orlando the lead for the first time in the quarter. Davis, a second round pick from LSU, and Lee, a late first round pick last June out of Western Kentucky are invaluable assets to their teams.

Former Lady Topper, Crystal Kelly

Former WKU standout and current WNBA player for the Sacramento Monarchs, Crystal Kelly, is known for her enthusiasm on the court and hopes to bring success to her team.

I want to wish her the best of luck in the 2009 season. I know Crystal will make great things happen. Good Luck Crystal!!!

http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/crystal_kelly/index.html

Post Development Drills

If you put in the time the results will come.....Coach Kevin Sutton does a great job with post development. Check out some of his drills that I think would improve post play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbwv846fLPs

Guard Development Drills

I'm a firm believer in developing your players. If your players are skilled, then your team will be skilled. In addition, most players want to get better but just don't know how. I will start with the fundamentals and eventually advance to some signature offensive moves.

The Quick Hands Drill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGh81tj6zbU&feature=channel

Basketball Dribbling Drills : The Rhythm Drill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgNyzw52Q8Y&feature=channel

Stay tuned for more drills......