A leader on the floor is always a smart decision maker. Many people think that being a good decision maker on the court is innate or natural, something that some people have and some don’t. I do feel that certain players do have a natural knack for decision making but there are a few things that every player can learn to tremendously up their decision making. The first two things you want to keep in mind while making a decision is time and score. Is there 7 min left in the second quarter? is it under 2 minuets in the fourth quarter? Is your team up by 2? is your team up by 22? Questions like these all make a difference in what is a smart decision. For instance taking a deep contested three when your team is up by 2 with under two minuets probably is not your best possible decision. Always keep the score and time in the back of your mind.
Another thing you can do is simply know your teammates. Do not give them the ball in situations where it is going to be hard for them to be successful. If your center does not have the best hands don’t throw full court baseball passes to him as he’s on the run. If you power forward can’t hit anything from the outside but loves to shoot (ala Chuck Hayes), maybe you swing the ball the opposite direction. Maybe you know that your shooting guard loves to shoot coming off a flair screen so you look to hit him if he does. Knowing your teammates strengths and weaknesses will help your decision making tremendously.
Coach Collin