Canada Basketball National Championships
a few observations
There is a rather large segmentation between teams that are playing 5 out and teams that are playing with some sort of post option. No surprise the 5 out teams are moving the ball faster and taking more 3 point shots.
Unfortunately the statistics are lacking complete coverage. There is a link for both men and women but only 1 game has been loaded - this needs to be fixed.
Across both sides guard play has been outstanding. Here are some commonalities:
strong left hand - or off hand dribbling
significant front court defensive pressure - ability to play both sides of the ball
speed and stamina are not in question at all
probably 5 strong guard shooters across men and women, with the rest being mediocre to decent shooters. Out of this contingent several will develop into strong 3 point shooters at the University/Collegiate level
Ability to get open - not just off the dribble but strong understanding of spacing, pick and roll and screen options
For all players not playing in the Nationals - it is a great exercise to see how you would match up against these guards. Take the 5 commonalities above and score yourself against them. What are you doing to improve in these areas?