Brandon Young Anderson(SC) Basketball 12 pts in 21 seconds

Sophomore PG Brandon Young hits four 3 pointers in 21 seconds with the Trojans down 7. Anderson won the game 92-91 thanks to BY's 12 points at the end of the game!

Anderson University's Jarret Johnson on Pardon the Interruption (PTI) 1-20-09

Anderson University's Jarret Johnson on SPORTSCENTER 1-20-09

Jarret Johnson (Anderson University SC) vicious dunk on Coker 01/19/2009

Anderson University's 6'3 Guard Jarret Johnson dunks over 6'6 Center Mason Ambler from Coker during the Trojans 89 to 72 victory on Monday night. The boos you hear in the beginning are also for Ambler. The previous play he gave our PG a nasty cheap shot as he ran down the court to protect the basket. However, I am sure he did not think he was going to end up on Youtube and espn!!! This video will air this evening (1-20-09) on PTI and Sportscenter.

The Trojans have won five of their last six games and are riding a three game winning streak.

Anderson Trojans Go 2-1 During Tough 3 Game Week!

Anderson beats Lees McCrae on the Road 60-56: Box Score

Anderson beats rival Erskine at home 72-65: Box Score

Anderson losses to #1 Mount Olive on the Road 77-57. We were down 4 at halftime and the score was tied with 15 minutes to play. We just could not keep it going on the Road: Box Score

The Trojans are now 5-7 overall, 5-5 against Division 2 opponents and 3-2 in Conference Play. We are currently in Fourth place in the conference standings!

D1 Gardner Webb barely escapes Trojans upset Bid

The Anderson University men's basketball Trojans narrowly lost to Big South member Gardner Webb 86-83. The Trojans who led by four points halfway through the second half had a chance to tie at the buzzer but could not convert the three point basket. The following information was taken from the Anderson University website.

Gardner-Webb tied the score moments later, but three pointers by Nick Trull and Brandon Young gave the Trojans (3-6) a 59-55 edge with 9:33 left. Cobb dropped in 27 points to pace Anderson, which shot 50.0 percent for the game and made the most of several open looks from the perimeter.

The Trojans made 10-of-18 treys in the final half, and hit 13 for the game. Young finished with 22 points for Anderson, including 11 in the final minute of play. Kevis Cornwell added 13 points.

Box Score

Division I Opponent Liberty beats Anderson

Big South member Liberty University took down Anderson University 88-46 on Monday night in the Vines Center. Check out the Box Score here. Liberty has non-conference wins so far this season over Virginia and George Mason and only lost to Clemson by five points.

Freshman Nick Trull named Conference Player of the Week

The following was taken from Anderson University Sports Information Director Cobb Oxford:

Anderson University's Nick Trull (3-4 overall, 1-1 Conference Carolinas) has been selected as the NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas men's basketball Player of the Week during week number four in the 2008-09 season.

In Anderson's lone game of the week, Trull, a freshman from Charlotte, N.C., came off the bench to score a career-high 30 points in 37 minutes to help lead the Trojans to a dramatic double overtime victory over Carson-Newman.

Trull made a 3-point basket late in the first overtime to tie the game at 98 and finished the game 6-for-10 from behind the arc. He also had eight rebounds and four of Anderson's 11 steals.

The game set Anderson school records for most points in a single game and most points by both teams in a single game at the Abney Center.

Trojans Score 117 Points in Win vs. Carson Newman

The Anderson University men's basketball team set a new scoring record in a single game during their 117-109 double overtime victory against a very talented and deep Carson Newman team. The Trojan's improved to 3-3 with the win. Five players scored in double figures led by Freshman Nick Trull's 30 points on 11-19 shooting from the field and 6-10 from behind the three point line. The following article was written by Anderson Sports Information director Cobb Oxford:

The game set Anderson school records for the most points in a single game by an AU team and the most points by both teams in a single game at the Abney Center since AU joined Division II in 1999. Anderson, 3-3 overall, led 47-42 at the half and led by 10 points twice and 11 points once in the second half. Kevis Cornwell and Jarret Johnson added 18 points apiece for the Trojans, Young finished with 17, and Britton tallied 11. Young played all 50 minutes for Anderson.

Box Score

Trojans 1-1 in Conference Play

Anderson University men's basketball team pulled to 1-1 in conference play with a convincing 79-62 victory over Limestone. The win moves the Trojans to 2-3 overall and 2-0 at home. Sports Information director Cobb Oxford wrote the following about the game on autrojans.com:

The Trojans led 35-28 at the break, but the Saints got a basket from Bobby Grier at the 12:59 mark to cut the Anderson lead to three -- 48-45. From that point, Stephen Cobb and Brandon Young scored six points apiece in the next five minutes to give Anderson a 60-50 lead with 7:31 remaining. Anderson, 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference, was led by Cobb and Jarret Johnson with 19 points apiece. Young added 14 and Taylor Shugart chipped in 13.

Johnson was 9-for-11 and had eight rebounds, six steals, and four assists in 29 minutes. Shugart was 6-for-6 from the field and had a team-high nine rebounds. Anderson dominated the boards, 47-28, and had 17 offensive rebounds. The Trojans had 19 second-effort points and 40 points in the paint. Anderson shot 50 percent or better in both halves and 52 percent for the game. Limestone shot 34 percent in the second half and finished the game at 37 percent.

Trojans Beat Tusculum 71-57

The Anderson University Men's Basketball team opened the season at the Abney Center with an impressive 71-57 victory over a tough Tusculum team. The following write up was taken from Cobb Oxford, sports information director at Anderson University.

Stephen Cobb scored 20 points and Brandon Young added 18 points to lead Anderson University to a 71-57 victory over Tusculum in a non-conference game Saturday afternoon at the Abney Center.

Anderson, 1-0 overall, outscored Tusculum 20-9 in the first 10 minutes of the second half to take control of the game. Anderson's lead never dropped below double digits in the final 10 minutes.

Anderson's largest lead was 17 points -- 60-43 -- with 5:35 remaining.

Anderson shot 50 percent from the field in the second half while limiting Tusculum to 32 percent from the field.

Cobb, a sophomore from Raleigh, N.C., was 7-for-10 from the field and 4-for-5 from behind the arc. Young, a sophomore from Belmont, N.C., had five of Anderson's eight assists.

The Trojans scored 17 points off 17 Pioneer turnovers and limited Tusculum to 38 percent from field for the game.

Kevis Cornwell added 11 points and Jarret Johnson chipped in 10 for Anderson.

Box Score

The Trojans travel to Lander on Wednesday, November 19^th to take on the Bearcats.

Trojans Begin Season Saturday with Home Opener!

Season Preview written by Cobb Oxford, Sports Information Director At Anderson Univ.

Last season was a big step forward for the Anderson University men's basketball team.
With a roster that featured seven freshmen, the Trojans were 12-16 overall and 10-10 in Conference Carolinas. Reaching the .500 mark in a difficult conference with a young roster has created higher expectations for the 2008-09 season.

"We've taken a step to where hopefully we have some expectations," said head coach Jason Taylor. "It has taken us two years to develop expectations inside and outside our locker room. I think we will define those expectations as the year goes along. We're still learning how to win. We've got to learn how to win and handle winning. "If there's a concern, it's that most of our experience is sophomores. We don't have a senior on the roster."

The Trojans are led by sophomore Brandon Young, who was an all-conference selection last season. Young led the team in scoring at 16.3 points per game and scored in double figures in 26 of 28 games.

"In a perfect world, Brandon becomes our leader," Taylor said. "He has to do that. The big thing for him improvement-wise is turnovers. He has to take care of the basketball. He has the ability to be a pass-first point guard and still score 15 points per game. That's what I expect out of him.
"He's still learning how to pick his spots to get his own shot and when to get other players involved. He's got a lot of learning and growing to do."

The leading returning rebounder is sophomore Stephen Cobb. Cobb was third on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game and averaged 6.1 boards per game. "Stephen is extremely versatile," Taylor said. "He can step out and shoot the three. He's still learning to put the ball on the floor. The biggest sign of improvement is on the defensive end. My expectations for him are really high. He has the ability to be a special player."

Taylor says the rest of the sophomore group also took major strides during the summer.
"Jarret Johnson, Trey Britton, Quinton Baines, and Kevis Cornwell all have gotten better," he said. "Before he leaves here Jarret might be known as the best athlete to ever wear the uniform. The things he can do vertically are extremely special. What sticks out for me are the effort plays. He is athletic and explosive, and he is one of our best defenders. "Kevis wants to do everything right. He's probably the quickest player on our team. He's really improved his shooting, which will enhance his ability to drive."

Taylor is also expecting major contributions from a solid group of juniors. Taylor calls them "a strong character group." "Jonathan Mattox, Josh Beale, Stoney Hill, and Jamelle Lowery all had good summers," he said. "Nobody outworked Jonathan this summer. Josh got stronger and Stoney worked on his shot. Jamelle can be a high-energy guy who can give us something on the defensive end and he has improved his ability to pass the ball."

Taylor has added two freshmen to the roster – 6-2 Nick Trull and 6-7 Taylor Shugart.
"We've continued to add athleticism," he said. "We've added some shooting with Nick Trull and another interior presence in Taylor Shugart. We knew both of them would be good. We still don't know how quickly they're going to produce, but we've been pleased with how they have progressed."

With the large influx of new talent last season, Anderson's style of play started to evolve. If given the opportunity to run, the Trojans turned up the tempo. "We're continuing to adapt to our talent," Taylor said. "As a coach you have a system you want to run. The truth is I'm not going to turn down really good players. We'll figure out how to coach them. We have consistent principles. You have to adapt that to the players you get. I think our talent level is improving. Our style of play will continue to evolve.

"We want to attack the basket as much as possible. Last year, we felt like we were pretty good in the mid-range area. This year, we have to take the next step and be a penetrating team. We also want to develop more aggressiveness on the defensive end."

Program Building

7 Strategies for Building an ELITE Program

1. Long term vision of success
2. Committed for the long run
3. Don't judge success by wins/loses
4. Selectively bring in recruits and staff members that share their vision and values
5. See their work as a platform for teaching people how to succeed in life.
6. Build life-long relationships with their people
7. Provide their people with perspective

Click here to read the full article about strategies for Building an Elite Program

Ubuntu!!!

It is championship night in Boston with the Cavs in town. The players just received their rings and raised the championship banner. Craig Sager just reported that every ring has the word UBUNTU engraved on one side. Ubuntu was and still is the Boston Celtics team motto. So what is the meaning or message behind the word? Ubuntu is an African word that means, "Humility to others" or "I am who I am because of who we all are." It also refers to a "philosophy of life that promotes the greater good rather than individual success."

Do your players understand that individual honors and accolades are rarely awarded to players on losing teams? Look at your All Conference teams and you will usually see where the top teams in the league are usually awarded the most spots on each team.

Black/White Scrimmage

The Anderson Trojans men's basketball black/white scrimmage took place on Saturday, October the 25^th. The black team won the 36 minute scrimmage 69-57. The scrimmage was a good gauge of where we are offensively and defensively as well as what areas need a little more attention before our first live action against other teams. Overall, the intra-squad scrimmage was a success. The energy and effort level of every player was high and intense. We were very pleased with how both teams competed.

While the chemistry between both teams was outstanding, there were several highlights from the scrimmage. Sophomore Stephen Cobb led the black team with 24 points on 5 for 7 shooting from three point range. Also in double figures for the black team were sophomore guard Kevis Cornwell, who scored 20 points on 7 of 8 shooting from the field, and Freshman Nick Trull, who chipped in 16 points, while shooting 4 for 10 from the three point line. Quinton Baines and Cobb led the black team with 6 rebounds apiece. Point guard Jamelle Lowery dished out 5 assists and had only 1 turnover.

Two players posted double doubles for the white team. Sophomore Trey Britton had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Taylor Shugart had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Jarret Johnson also scored in double figures for the white team scoring 13 points.

Old school baller: 73-year-old makes the team at Roane State

Interesting video about 73 year old man that is lacing them up with Roane State, a junior college in Tennessee. While it is obvious that it is very difficult for him to compete athletically, his hard work, dedication and fitness level for his age are all worth noting.

Maxwell on Leadership

According to Leadership expert John Maxwell here are ten things that all leaders need to accomplish before the age of 40. Excerpt taken from Maxwell's article, The First Step Toward Success.

Specifically, where should leaders start? What areas should take precedence at the beginning? From my experience there are 10 things you should do as a leader prior to reaching age 40:

Know yourself
Settle your family life
Determine your priorities
Develop your philosophy of life
Get physically fit
Learn your trade
Pay the price
Develop solid relationships
Prepare for the future
Find purpose for your life

Thoughts on 1st Two Days of Practice

Defensive rotations and closeouts are key: both happen every possession

Shell Drill is the most versatile defensive drill. Continue to build on it

Some post players just have touch and for others it is almost impossible to develop

There is nothing better than a shooter who can knock down three or four 3 balls in a row

Good floor spacing leads to better shots

You will have sloppy turnovers the first couple days.

The returning players need breakdown work too.

If you see carryover from practice to practice or from breakdown to live then you are doing something right.

You better talk shot selection early

Components of a Good Practice

October 15th (17th for Division I) is the date that Coaches have been looking forward to for a long time. After weeks of preparation through skill development, conditioning and lifting weights, it is finally time to practice. Coaches have already begun to plan their team’s first practice. Listed below are 13 of my components of a good practice.

1. A good practice is always planned. Stick to the practice plan
2. Competitive Drills: Keep score. It helps players learn about winning and losing
3. Skill Development: No substitute for getting up shots. Tailor to offense
4. Conditioning: Use a ball for conditioning
5. Keep Drills under 12 minutes: Players lose focus. Go harder, more intense, shorter
6. Play 5 on 5
7. Breakdown Drills: For example, closeouts on one end/ball screens on the other
8. Quote of the Day
9. Offensive and Defensive emphasis: Remember, you are what you emphasize
10. Be creative with Dummy Offense. While it is sometimes necessary, players hate it!
11. Don’t forget to Teach
12. Work on special situations
13. End practice on a good note

Mike Dunlap on Practice: The more things you try to do in practice the worse you get. Write out your practice plan 3 times. Each time you write it, don’t add anything but take something away. That will make your emphasis clear

Terry Porter and the Suns

Terry Porter has taken over as head coach of the Pheonix Suns. Here is what GM Steve Kerr was looking for when he was hiring the next head coach for the Suns. This exerpt taken from an article in the Arizona Republic titled Porter stresses pushing defense. Kerr's check list:

Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said he had four main qualities he was seeking in a head coach. Here is how Terry Porter fit each:
Leadership qualities: As a player, Porter had a team-first approach and strong presence. He is a tough coach but has humility.
Communication: A former teammate friendship will make the coach-GM relationship better than it was this past season.
Championship-caliber experience: Porter was Portland's point guard in two NBA Finals and was a Detroit assistant for the past two Eastern Conference finals.
Experience: Porter was the only known candidate with head-coaching experience. He also played 17 NBA seasons under some of the league's top coaches.

Outdoor Basketball/Streetball

Even though it is only preseason NBA basketball between the Suns and Nuggets, there is a twist that has me flipping back and forth amongst all the quality sporting events (Florida/LSU blowout and RedSox/Rays homerun derby ). The game is being held OUTDOORS at the Indian Wells Tennis Center. For me, there was nothing better than playing basketball outside on the blacktop. Whether it was shooting by myself in the cul-de-sac for hours or playing pick-up at Carmel and Park Road parks in Charlotte, NC, the battles on the blacktop taught me a lot about the game of basketball. The following are some of the lessons I learned.

1. Toughness: Play hard or you will not survive.


2. Shooting: with wind, no nets (I used to love the chain nets) or hard rims.


3. If you can't shoot inside, you definitely can't shoot outside (btw, neither the Suns nor Nuggets are shooting it good outside)


4. Play through contact


5. Winning: You have to win if you want to play. Losers sit and you might be 3 games down (that is the worst).


6. Playing with older guys regardless of skill level makes you better.


7. You have to make a few shots to get respect.


8. Learn to take game winning shots

Closeouts

It's no secret that the offense has the advantage when a defender is closing out. Even the slowest players can get by the defender if he/she does not close out properly. Every coach has different philosophies on how their players should closeout. Some like for players to closeout with two hands high, while others require only one hand. Still others would say that they don't care how it gets done, but that the player find a way. I would not argue that one way is better than the other so long as the skill is drilled with regularity.

With that said, I want to run through several keys to becoming a good closeout defender and containing the offensive player.

1. Anticipation is vital. Defender must anticipate the pick up, move on airtime and arrive on the catch
2. Be in a stance. If the defender is standing upright at any point they have no chance
3. Be in good defensive positioning according to the coaches philosophy.
4. Footwork. Every good closeout defender has the ability to fight for their feet
5. Balance. If the defenders weight is forward they are beat
6. Breakdown into short sprint to recover. There will be times when the defender has to stop sliding and sprint to a spot.
7. Know who you are guarding. A three point shooter or a driver? Closeout short on a slasher and long on a three point shooter
8. Have some pride!

Closeouts are very important. Keeping the ball in front and containing the straight line drives will limit the number of defensive rotations your team will have to defend.

Jaime Nared Got Game!

This story about Jaime Nared aired two nights ago on E60, one of my new favorite shows. What do you think? Should she or should she not be allowed to play with the boys?

My personal opinion: I do not think the boys in this video should be allowed to play against her. I think her skill level is so much more advanced then the boys her age. If she wants to get anything out of the experience she needs to compete against boys a couple years older than her.
Even then I am not sure the boys will be able to keep up. What is interesting to me is that it is the parents, not the players, that do not want her playing.

Trojans Finish Community Service Project

Once again, the Trojans men's basketball program helped give one of the local Anderson parks a much needed face lift. Here are some pictures of the Community Service project.

Band of Brothers

I hate to get away from Basketball topics, but as I sat in my apartment watching game 4 of the Sox/Angels series I was trying to figure out why for the past month or so I have been drawn to the Red Sox (no I am not jumping on the bandwagon...I am still an Orioles fan unfortunately). With the exception of the playoffs, I really do not enjoy watching baseball (it bores me!). However after reading an article by Ken Rosenthal on Foxsports.com I figured it out. Here is what Rosenthal said about the Red Sox.

A relentless band of brothers, greater than the sum of their considerable parts, impossible to hate…Manny is gone, Josh Beckett is down, Mike Lowell is out. And the Sox keep going

Who knows what will happen the rest of the playoffs. I know one thing is for certain…I will be pulling for the Red Sox!

Validate Competitions During Practice or Open Gym

As October 15th nears, I found myself thumbing through some clinic notes and came across a clever practice idea from Vance Walberg. He called it "Validation." The following description is taken striaght from the clinic notes.

In practice, he uses “Validation.” Each drill is win or lose. To truly win a drill, team must make a free throw to get a victory. If they miss the free throw, 5 pushups for winning team. Validate the win. He suggested that you do this in your open gym. Have them make a free throw to win in Open Gym.

Boston Celtics: NBA Champions

Kevin Eastman, assistant coach for the Boston Celtics, recently posted a blog on individual and team discipline. We always tell our players that there is a reason why these guys are the best basketball players in the world. I am not sure they completely grasp how hard the NBA players work day in and day out to improve and refine their fundamental skills. Here is the proof taken from one of the best skill development coaches in the business.

Ray Allen arriving at the game site 3 hours before tip-off so he can go through his shooting preparations before anyone else on either team is in there (and I will tell you this was the case every night because I was right there with him), to Rajon Rondo making a minimum of 100 shots before each game so that he develops not only good form on his shot but also the workout discipline needed on a daily basis to become an improved shooter (we estimated that he made almost 12,000 shots total before all of the games combined last year — and 12,000 shots if done with fundamental form can improve your shot, to Kevin Garnett working on some part of his game just about every one of those 287 days (he is a very big believer in fundamentals and repetition). And this doesn't even take into account a Paul Pierce working on the treadmill many days whether we are practicing or not.

Anderson Men's Basketball Youth Clinic

The Anderson University men's basketball program put on it's second free clinic today at the Anderson Rec Center. There was another great turnout of 30+ boys and girls who were anxious to practice and learn new skills on the court. Passing, pivoting, footwork and shooting were the four areas that were concentrated on during todays two hour clinic.

Ten things taught at the youth clinic were:

1. The importance of Triple Threat
2. Chest, overhead and bounce pass
3. Front pivot and rear turn
4. Shot Pocket
5. Keep your wrist locked
6. Weak hand development
7. Follow through/elbow above eye and guide hand
8. Buzzer Beater!!!
9. Importance of Academics
10. Definition of Discipline: Do what you're suppose to do, when you're suppose to do it, do it to the best of your ability and do it that way everytime!

Here are several pictures from the event as well as a couple video clips.

Ten Thoughts on High School Basketball

I have watched hundreds of high school basketball games over the past 10 – 15 years. Here are a few of my own observations on high school basketball as it relates to skill development, game situations, recruiting and other aspects of the game.

1. Players need to work on weak hand development. For example, every good point guard on the college level can drive it both ways.
   


2. It seems like every game I go to or DVD of a game I watch both teams are playing zone. The most common: 2-3 zone
   


3. Passing and catching is more important than you think! Work on it. This is true also at the college level
   


4. Every player thinks they are a three point shooter. This is furthest from the truth.
   


5. High School players have poor footwork skills. Developing footwork (jab fakes, front pivots, inside pivots) on the perimeter and in the post is crucial for success in college


6. There is nothing worse than going to a game and watching a player that does not play hard and compete
   


7. They all want to go Division 1 in the summer and fall. In the winter and the spring reality sets in. Did you know that only about 3% of HS basketball players go onto play college basketball? Think about it!
   


8. Most teams have an undersized, strong and powerful football player that plays in the post
   


9. If you have a good offensive system (whether it is a continuity or sets) you will get wide open shots
   


10. Missed Layups are something that happen often

Mike Miller Workouts

Taken from Timberwolves reporter Mike Trudell's conversation with Miller:

One of Miller's hardest drills is this: A three-point make is +1 and a miss -1, and he has to get to 50. So he could make 49 in a row, miss one and he'd need two straight makes to finish. Miss five, make five and you're at zero. Try that sometime with NBA threes ... Or you could dunk on Dwight Howard, out-swim Michael Phelps, beat Rafael Nadal on clay or broker a permanent peace deal between Israel and Palestine.

He made 36-straight threes to conclude Monday's workout. That's decent.

The former Sixth Man and Rookie of the Year (you forgot about those awards - be honest) goes at game speed throughout his workout, and he shoots more than just stand-still jumpers. Try step backs, curls, bumps, one-dribble pull ups and more (game situation shooting, basically).

For his warm up, Miller must make 10 shots from seven spots on the floor, and can't miss more than four shots (or he starts over).

I guess this is why Mike Miller is in the NBA. These guys are the hardest working players in the World!