If you take a look at most players, especially on the professional and to a good extent on the collegiate men levels, you’ll see that most players are becoming not only taller and bigger, but also stronger and more physical in their play. There are exceptions to this as there are still some excellent small players but whose roles are distinctly different from the big men.
Whether this is due to recruiting practices or whether it is because they are now doing more strength training similar to what is practiced by powerlifters and bodybuilders, remains unanswered. Most likely it is a combination of both factors. As a result, many excellent players who fall in between the big men and the small players are being left out.
Is this due to coaches believing that they must recruit or buy the best big players or is it because strength coaches are not doing the best job in developing bigger but better players? Most likely it is a combination of both. Most coaches simply want the strength coach to make the players bigger and more physical. They do not believe that it’s possible to make them better players through their physical conditioning. However, players can be made better in relation to execution of the game skills and execution of game strategy through their physical conditioning.
It takes a combination of general training which should take care of the getting bigger and to a good extent the more physical aspect of their play. Specialized training is needed to improve execution of game skills and execution of game strategy along with developing the ability to be more physical in their play.
However, before we see this happening there has to be a change in understanding that such things are possible. The idea that the best players are born and not developed, still permeates the basketball world. This is especially true of basketball coaches, the proof of which is seen in their demands for more money so that they can recruit (really buy by offering more and more enticements) the best players. Even when strength coaches to a very credible job in developing player skills, head coaches typically ignore these achievements and spend more time and effort in trying to find and recruit the best players.
The same applies to the professional level where they buy or trade for what they consider to be the best players for their team at that time. Analogous examples exist in baseball and football.
What is it going to take before coaches understand and realize that it is possible to improve player performance by improving their ability to execute the game skills more effectively and to develop the physical abilities that are specific to the game skills? To date, even when coaches see tremendous improvement in their player skills, they believe it is due to the player’s maturation and to their use of the player in game situations. To a limited extent some of this may be true, but it is miniscule in comparison to what is possible with the proper technical and physical training.
Until that time, when coaches realize that players can be improved by improving their skill execution and their physical abilities specific to their skill execution, we will continue to see the same practices continuing. As a result we will continue to lose many excellent players and will never fully develop some of the better players. This is a tremendous waste of talent.
More information on improving basketball skills, see Explosive Basketball Training and Sports: Is It All B.S.? as well as High School Basketball Coaches (external site)