Setting a Screen:  Hands need to be locked in front of the body. The player needs to be set and not moving, in order to prevent an offensive foul (moving screen)

Cutter sets up the screen: Fake away and go shoulder to shoulder off the screen.

These are just some of the reasons why setting a screen and using a screen is important.  The team that will buy into screening and helping a teammate get open will have much success this season.  I have not even mentioned pick and roll action. I am only concentrating on setting screens away from the ball. A couple of hard screens in the beginning of the game will set the tone for the team. Most teams will not continue to fight through screens because fighting through screens takes a toll on your body. A couple here and there is no problem but if you are the kind of team who sets hard and frequent screens, chances are you will be finding yourself many scoring opportunities.

For example: If your team uses a screen and curls for an open layup. The opposing team’s coach will be yelling at their players not to allow that to happen again. This will cause pressure on that player not to allow a layup anymore. In order to prevent further layups, the player will start to cheat over to try and beat the man to that spot. A good team will be able to see the way they are playing that screen and make adjustments accordingly.  The player can now flare, pop, curl, and receive another screen. Even if the team decides to switch every screen, back door and multiple screen options are always available to counter the defensive scheme of switch screen.  Switching screens will allow a team to exploit mismatches in the perimeter and post areas. At times you may even have the defense screen themselves because of their lack of communication when guarding screens.

Screens cause chaos to the opposition. It forces the defense to make decisions when they are tired. It causes miscommunication on the defensive end, whether to switch, hedge, double, go over or under a screen. The use of a screen and how to guard it may be easy to explain on paper, however, is very hard to defend in the game. The truly disciplined and well coached teams have a high success rate at guarding against screens. Even those great teams often make mistakes and that is the beauty of them. Every team should not only use them but practice against them to make them a better overall team.

Realistically, everybody that plays basketball does not have an amazing skill set. So how do you get noticed at a tryout if you are just a decent player? One of the things that will help is introducing yourself to the coach before the tryout. This does not mean visit the coach at every opportunity that is presented where the coach begins to try to avoid you. This means go shake their hand, tell them your name and position, then let them know that you are excited to have an opportunity to play for them. Make a positive impression on the coach to the point that you know they will remember your face and would want you to be a part of the group of young kids they choose to spend the majority of their time around. On the court, be that player that hustles, dives after loose balls, and is very vocal on the defensive side of the court. Cheer on the people at the tryout whether they are better than you or not. Coaches notice these things and love to have these role players on the roster.

Lastly, remember that being cut is not the end of the world. Everybody knows the story about Michael Jordan being cut and this same person developed into the best player to ever touch a basketball. If you are cut, feel free to ask the coach what part of your game you need to work on and use the free offseason time to improve in those categories. Good luck in the future and remember to always give full effort.