australian youth basketball players are taught to pass first
This past week, did you happen to see the article in the NY Times about what’s happening with the development of point guards in Australia?
In short, the N.B.A. Global Academy was started in 2017, as the league sought additional ways to grow the game abroad and to develop high school-age prospects from around the world – and this program has quickly honed a reputation for producing a certain type of elite young player: point guards from Australia.
In the Times article by Scott Cacciola, he interviewed Marty Clarke, an Australian who runs the program in Canberra, and it totally emphasizes that it’s all about passing…NOT individual stats like scoring. Clarke, who is 54, described the distinctly Australian concept of “mateship,” which prioritizes teamwork, selflessness, and loyalty.
Says Clarke, “Culturally, it’s instilled in us from a young age, that it’s more about the team or the family or the business than it is about the individual. And if you work in that direction, you’ll be rewarded.”
Case in point? Josh Giddie, the 6-8 guard from Australia who was drafted sixth overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder last year, and has had a fine rookie season in the NBA before getting hurt.
In addition to mateship, Clarke also emphasizes “positionless” basketball, which describes much of the modern N.B.A.: offensive sets in which players can swap roles and operate all over the court. In Canberra, players learn all aspects of the game. It does not matter if you are a point guard or a power forward.
“Everyone is doing ball handling,and everyone is doing post work.”
You get the idea….in a world of American basketball where the focus in AAU and club ball is all about individual scoring and the “look at me” approach, this Australian approach sounds to be totally refreshing.
In fact, for those of us who grew up at a time when the Knicks were all about passing and finding the open man – back in their two championship seasons – this sounds like a return to how basketball is supposed to be played.
And apparently, NBA scouts and top college coaches are paying attention to this Australian way of developing players. Is that the future of the NBA and college and HS ball?
I asked Noah Savage who does college basketball on-air for ESPN to come on the show this AM to discuss. Noah was an All-Ivy League sharpshooting forward at Princeton, and is a product of AAU ball himself. And just for the record, Noah happens to be my son-in-law. Noah brings a different perspective on all of this. Take a listen here: The Sports Edge with Rick Wolff