Local basketball needs technical infusion

Mar 28, 2012 Sports

By Edison Jefford
It was pellucid Saturday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall that unless local basketball gets a technical

David Patterson

infusion at all levels, Guyana will not become a competitive regional force and years of ineptitude will only be prolonged, resulting in ultimate ennui.
One of the most glaring facets of the Linden versus Georgetown game that was held in memory of the late Kevin Lawrence was the pathetic performance from the senior players, whose lay-up technique, ball-handling and shooting skills were generally poor.
I am tempted to blame them for that lack of technical skill since it behoves every individual, who takes sport seriously to personally hone their respective talent. Personal responsibility for talent should be rested squarely on the shoulders of the individual.
However, in the absence of proper systems and structure, holistic blame has to fall on those who hold offices that are responsible for the development of sport and athletes. Therefore, within the context of this critique, the basketball federation cannot be exonerated.
Local basketball needs a technical infusion to prevent widespread apathy. Players can be inclined to take it upon themselves to shoot 100 free-throws per day, for example, but that is just the baby step. The game situation is completely different and more technical.
Of course some will acquit themselves, and conclude that the example I referenced should solely be the responsibility of the Coach, but who mentors the Coach and who prepares successful ways and means for the Coach to progress? There has to be a greater authority.
The point is simple. Unless the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) realise that what is necessary is a technical infusion of experts relative to varying aspects of the game, the level of local basketball will remain a domestic affair opposed to global trends.
While the Linden versus Georgetown game remained a competitive duel between the two famed basketball-playing communities, there was a notable absence of technical finesse, which resulted in prolonged periods of poor offence, turnovers and lack of defensive systems.
For instance, Georgetown scored its first points of the third quarter after seven minutes had gone from the 10-minute period. It was not a scenario where Linden played extraordinary defence; the Capital City just could not complete basic, fundamental offensive plays and that was after noting the fact that Georgetown had much more seasoned athletes than Linden.
There were much more situations in the game that could be referenced, but I will use just another to support the need for technical infusion into the game locally. It is important to revisit the point I made about free-throws earlier with an example from the game.
Linden went up 60-55 with one minute left in regulation time. It was still a two-possession game with nearly three shot-clock interludes left. Akeem Kanhai, the player, who has been heralded as ‘The Dream’, was fouled and placed on the free-throw line for two shots.
Kanhai missed both shots that would have made it a three-point one-possession game with still a minute to play. It can be argued that this happens even in NBA games, but the pressures there are immeasurably different and cannot be compared to a domestic structure.

Rawle Toney

Kanhai should have made those shots in the context of a half-filled Sports Hall, no distractions at the backboard as obtains internationally, and no one shouting for him to miss. In other words, the shots should have been two straightforward attempts.
It has to be reproachable at the highest possible senior level in Guyana. I was told that those who worked as statisticians for that game did not keep turnover statistics, but from my personal count, Georgetown had 19 turnovers in the first half of the game alone.
Free-throws and ball-handling skills are among the fundamentals of basketball. The Coaches can be blamed for this persistent degeneration of fundamentals and lack of technical skill, but as said before, the federation has to take equal blame for not exposing them to training.
When the GABF hosted former NBA Coach, Tom Newell for a clinic here last year, it was a step in the right direction. Much more of similar infusions are required to really lift local basketball to an admirable regional standard and change what causes embarrassing results.
The effectiveness of the federation will be measured with how it is able to overhaul what obtains currently with a systematic approach aimed at holistic development. Every feature of the game in Guyana needs an infusion of technical expertise to raise its level; from table officiating, on-court refereeing to coaches and players, local basketball needs to raise the bar.
Those types of responsibilities are completely the responsibility of the federation. It is indeed an unfortunate development, if it is true, that Rawle Toney is being prevented from attending FIBA Referees’ Certification Clinic after his pre-certification success in Guyana.
Barbados’ Glyne Clarke had conducted a FIBA Pre-Certification Clinic here last year and all the participants except Toney received a negative report on their readiness for FIBA certification. It must come as a surprise that, in the context of pervasive below-par officiating, which has plagued local basketball for the last decade, the youthful Toney is having difficulties getting the green light from the federation to attend a certification clinic.
If that proves to be true, then there is no wonder why local basketball continues to spiral beyond regional recognition. I am hoping that the GABF President, David Patterson, decides to give me the interview I have been asking him for since January.