Versatility Is A Must For College Basketball Coaches

Versatility is an important word to me and he said so. You have to have versatility in your game if you are going to be successful at the next level. So, when you play point guard and have to play both the back and the guard, that works either way, right? That sounds like an awesome idea, doesn't it? I mean you can switch people up all the time, it will make things interesting and it will be an awesome thing to watch.


You just never know when you might get double teamed. It is inevitable in the NBA. The great teams seem to be able to switch people out and have a guard that can switch into a big man and protect the basket. But sometimes you just can't do it.

One example was against Seton-Mcknight of UK in the UK championship game. We played two guards at the time and they out-manned us big time. They took us out of our rhythm and we ended up losing the championship game by a few inches. It was just one of those situations. The point guard got burned and we didn't have any depth that could help him.

We have had some good college players come to our university that have been able to excel and become All-Americans and even NBA first round draft picks. But sometimes you don't have as much depth as you might like in certain positions and you have to rely on coaches to put you in position to succeed. So I think it's a fair assessment that sometimes college basketball players lack versatility.

We are big fans of Kentucky's Rashard Lewis. He is a tremendous athlete at guard. He can get into the lane, protect the basket and hit shots. The other thing he does really well is to run the floor. There are so many things he does extremely well that make him a very valuable player for our basketball team. Even if Lewis doesn't develop into anything majorly, he is still an extremely valuable player for UK.

We also have true centers on our team in Matt Stainton and Perry Stevenson. Matt is at the point in his college career where he is basically a pure shot blocker. He has a decent vertical but he is not an excellent athlete. On the other hand, Perry is probably more athletic than Matt. So when Matt is playing in the national championship game or during a big exhibition tournament, you will definitely see how Perry helps carry UK to a victory over UGA in the tournament.

Versatility is an often overlooked aspect in evaluating basketball players. Often college coaches think they do not need good athletes if they can play shooting or inside the three-point line. However, basketball players with good athleticism can play on defense and on offense. You have to evaluate players on a case-by-case basis because the skills they have may not be ideal for playing in the NBA, but they can play in the NCAA or in the NBA if given the opportunity.

Versatility is a must for any basketball coach. It doesn't matter what level they are coaching at, the important thing is to have multiple versatile players on your team. The skill that they have doesn't matter if they can't play inside the three-point line or on defense. Versatility is very valuable in the professional sports because you want to be able to mold your players according to your own skill and style of coaching.

If you're a basketball coach at a college, you can't afford to overlook versatility because it can mean the difference between a great college career and a long one at a small-school level or an NBA career. For example, Kentucky's Billy Gillispie is an excellent basketball coach, but he has been unable to get past NBA teams due to his lack of ability to adapt his style of coaching to suit the personnel he has at UK. He's lost several programs because of his inability to adjust his style of playing.

There are a lot of coaches out there who are simply content to wait and see what another team does without putting their basketball plan into action. In fact, some of them have even lost money by sitting back and waiting for another team to make a decision. As a basketball coach, you have to realize that you can't depend solely on other people to make your decision. You have to be able to make it on your own. It's your team and you have to be the one to take charge.

If you're thinking about going back to college to play, you need to consider your options. Do you have the ability to adapt your style of playing and coaching to fit a smaller college? Are you willing to work with a system so that your possessions are limited while at the same time using your skill set to its utmost?