okansas.blogspot.com Occassional thoughts about orienteering
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
What else? Process versus Outcome
I listened to a press conference with Bill Self while I was driving home from tonight's jog. Self said [roughly, I didn't write it down at the moment}:
You can tell a shot is a good shot the minute it leaves your hand. It doesn't mater if it goes in or not.
For the non-KU basketball fans out there, Self is talking about a shot in basketball and is making the point that the most important thing to judge is whether the shot was good rather than whether it went it the basket. Some good shots won't go in the basket. Some bad shots will. But over time, more good shots will go in compared to bad shots. As a basketball coach, you design your offense to get good shots. Process versus outcome.
Try this little experiment the next time you watch a basketball game. As soon as a player takes a shot, rate it as "good," "bad," on "not sure." It is a fun way to watch a game (if you're a real geek, write down your rating for each shot). You can come up with you're own criteria for "good" and "bad" - but basically, a bad shot is one from a long way away (especially just inside the 3-point line), closely guarded by a defender (especially a defender taller than the shooter), when the shooter is moving, and when no offensive players will have a chance to get a rebound. A good shot is the opposite.
