I watched a team on the season’s opening night and predicted how I thought their season would go. It was clear to me a freshman was their most-talented guard, while the coach trusted the more experienced guards. I felt the team could reach their goals only if the freshman maximized his skills and played starter minutes; he added the passing, basketball IQ, and defensive length to raise their ceiling above what the experienced guards offered.
I predicted the coach would stick with the veterans through a relatively easy non-conference schedule until a bad loss or two in conference, then turn to the freshman. My question was whether the freshman would be ready with the lack of preparation to lead the team during the difficult part of the schedule without the preparation in the easy part.
The switch did not require the bad conference losses, but a 20-point deficit to a non-conference rival in which the coach turned to the freshman who responded by leading the team to victory. Now, he is on the court to end conference games, although the veterans start.
Last week, as the Golden State Warriors blew a big lead with Jonathan Kuminga on the bench, the Bay Area angst mushroomed, and frustrations were publicized nationally. I do not watch the Warriors enough to have a strong opinion, although I have a general opinion and insight from watching this situation repeatedly over the years, as well as in my own coaching.
My specialty, if I may be so bold, or at least the area where I feel I fit the best is the transition of young players to adult basketball. My goal, for instance, was never to coach in the NBA; my goal was the G-League or a EuroLeague team’s academy, as my skillset fits better at those levels. I likely am not cut throat, competitive, or smart enough to win an NCAA D1 or professional league championship, but I am comfortable coaching adult tactics, while also having a background in skill development and coaching youth players. I am comfortable blending developmental and competitive levels.
In the United States, my best coaching was at the junior-college level, assisting the development of players who were deemed not good enough for NCAA Division 1 or 2 basketball into D1 or D2 players after a year or two. In Europe, I generally have worked with young semi-professional teams: Essentially U20 or U22 teams playing adult basketball in the country’s first or second divisions. Even in my most professional job with the most veteran players (one late 30s and one early 40s), I was hired with the expectation of developing and incorporating the younger (teenage) players (at least, when they hired me).
Veterans raise a team’s floor as they generally avoid the mistakes of youth because of their experience. They are accustomed to the speed of the game and the coach’s likes and dislikes. They know if their coach has a low tolerance for quick shots or risky passes, and they avoid those shots and passes, whereas new or younger players may not have learned, or at least not internalized those lessons yet. Most coaches see their roles as floor raisers, regardless of the motivational messages they post. Floor raisers favor experience over talent because the experience is more predictable, even when the potential is not as great.
Late in every season, college coaches comment about the need for more shooting and seek to sign shooters in the late signing period; then, the next season starts, and they favor toughness, defense, and players who make fewer mistakes. Players generally make fewer mistakes once they adapt to a level and the coaching; veterans have adapted to the level and posses the advantage over inexperienced players initially. That does not mean the veterans are better.
Young, talented players likely are on the roster and vying for playing time because they offer something the veterans lack. Kuminga pressures the rim and adds power and explosiveness unlike anyone else on the Warriors. The freshman is an exceptional passer, taller, and a better shooter than his teammates; he has the potential to take the team to another level by throwing crosscourt passes off the dribble, knocking down three-pointers, and playing the passing lanes, which are the qualities I identified on opening night. They were drafted and recruited for these qualities, to add to the current team, but once on the team, their qualities seem to mean less than their mistakes or deficiencies.
The challenge in these situations is the time required to incorporate young players to allow them to realize their potential and raise the ceiling without the mistakes compromising the floor. Coaches fear losses more than they strive for victories, which makes turning to the talented, but more unpredictable player stressful. Often, this fear prevents coaches from starting the talented players, and they may get lost in the substitution pattern off the bench, especially when the game does not go as planned or the team falls behind. The natural inclination is to stick with the players the coach trusts the most when falling behind, unless the team falls so far behind the coach will try anything, which is exactly how the freshman got his chance. They took one bad loss without playing the freshman, and when things trended toward the second bad loss, the coach relented, and he seized his opportunity.
Every few weeks, posts circulate with a famous coach saying it is not his job to give a player confidence, as with UCLA Head Coach Mick Cronin’s recent postgame press conference when he said about a player’s development, “That’s on him, not me” (Bolch, 2024). Coaches feel pressure to win now, not to develop players for the future, even when the future is the conference schedule.
The counterpoint was offered by Denver Nuggets Head Coach Michael Malone, who said, “Confidence is the greatest gift I can give them. Staying with them and not just pulling the plug... it's a long year, and you've got to live with some of those growing pains that you're going to see with young players.” It is hard to develop without minutes, especially when moving to a new level (JV to Varsity; HS to NCAA; NCAA to NBA). Practice can teach players only so much, especially when they have not experienced the game. “The biggest lesson that you can learn is being in game situations and failing and saying, ‘You know what, I can’t put myself in that position next time,’ Malone said” (Brooks, 2024).
Game repetitions require the coach’s trust. “Honestly, just for (Malone) to trust me at 21 years old to come out and start for the reigning champs. I mean, that's big time, and it does a lot for my confidence. But it also puts confidence in him that I can go out there and I'm ready to perform," said [Nuggets’ forward Peyton] Watson after the win. "I couldn't thank him enough for the confidence that he's put in me. It’s done a lot for my game.”
Believing in players and giving them opportunities without them looking over their shoulders for the quick substitution after mistakes is the quickest way to further their development and move past the youthful mistakes. The goal — raising a team’s ceiling — should be worth the potential near-term mistakes. Coaches need to embrace the ceiling raisers, the players with special talents, the game changers. This does not necessarily mean ignoring all mistakes or allowing the players to do whatever they want, but coaches are smart to have a higher threshold for the talented few. Ultimately, they raise the ceiling on the team’s overall potential.
Brooks, M. (2024). Denver's ascendant sophomore, Peyton Watson, commands your attention. NBA.com, January 9.
Bolch, B. (2024) Mick Cronin questions players’ aptitude after UCLA struggles during loss to Stanford. Los Angeles Times, January 3.
One coach who does embrace the youth and helps them develop, is Matt Le Fleur. The Green Bay Packers are the youngest team to make the NFL playoffs in decades (and the first #7 seed to win a playoff game).
It was painful to watch all the mistakes in the first half of the season, but the coach led the team and stayed the course. It does help having a supportive management/ownership structure: not all teams are so lucky.