How To Go To The Rebound: Coaches - Fundamentals and Youth Basketball

COACHES - FUNDAMENTALS AND YOUTH BASKETBALL
by Pete Newell
by Swen Nater
HOW TO GO
TO THE REBOUND
Pete Newell is considered one of the

greatest coach in the United States. He
coached the University of S.Francisco,
Michigan State and California-Berkeley,
that led to the NCAA title. He also coached
the National team of the United States,
winning the gold medal at the Olympic
Games in 1960. Awarded as Coach of the
Year in 1960, Newell was also enshrined
in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in
1979. He run his Big Man Camp since 1976
and his Tall Women's Camp since 2001.
Moreover, he's author of several videos
and books.
Swen Nater is a former UCLA player,
where he won two NCAA titles. After college, he played in the NBA and ABA, leading both leagues in rebounding. Nater runs
his own Big Man Camp in Seattle and is
often consulted as a big man's coach for
developing high school and college players. He's also author of three books, including one on rebounding.
Individual defensive rebounding
Players must be taught the proper technique for defensive rebounding. When
playing man-to-man defense, each player
must realize the importance of screening
the immediate opponent from the rebounding ball. We teach players to assume a low
stance with the arms spread up and away
from the body as soon as the shot is taken.
If the defensive rebounder loses contact
with the opponent because of premature
advancement toward the basket, many
problems will be encountered. For that reason, immediate contact must be made. The
defensive rebounder must be proactive. If
there is space between the screener and
the offensive rebounder, the latter is able to
go toward the basket with momentum that
can help the height of the jump and increase timing. An immediate screen will
deter the offensive rebounder from making
an uninterrupted move to the ball. It also
creates space for the defensive rebounder
to make the move toward the rebound at
the right time.
Space allows the defensive rebounder to
jump at a 45-degree angle to the ball. This
angle enables the rebounder to protect the
ball when returning to the floor after gainpage 8 | 31 2008 | Fiba Assist Magazine
ing possession. If the release from contact

is made too soon, or the rebounder goes to
the ball without blocking out, the jump will
often be vertical, making it difficult to bring
the ball down to the chin for protection.
When this occurs, opponents who are close
by will be able to jar the ball loose. In other
words the ball will be exposed. However, if
the angle is 45 degrees, the ball is protected. In addition, this position often induces a
rebounding foul by the opposing rebounder
for reaching over and making illegal contact.
Because of their height advantage and
proximity to the rim, exceptionally tall players do not need to hold the block out quite
as long as shorter players because their
height has already created space between
their opponent and the ball. However, the
player who is significantly shorter than the
player to be blocked out must make the aggressive initial contact, hold the opponent
away from the rim to create space, and
move to the rebound at a 45-degree angle.
Make no mistake: we are not talking only
about centers and inside players; every

player must practice blocking out as described, no matter where they are on the
floor in relation to the hoop. The greater the
mismatch in height, the sooner contact is
made and the longer it is held.
One of the shortest centers to play professional basketball was Wes Unseld at 6 feet,
7 inches (almost 2 meters). A rookie in the
1968 to 1969 season with the Baltimore Bullets, wes found himself on the shorter end
of the height stick every night. Wes became
extremely skilled in making initial contact
and maintaining inside position, all the while
moving to the rebound. For those who were
matching up against him, the word around
the league was Your legs will hurt after the
game. Wes Unseld's method of making
contact was to thrust his backside into the
thighs of the opponents, often freezing them
because of the impact. Opponents often
backed away from him to avoid the collision, leaving them in horrible position for
the rebound. During his career, Unseld averaged 14 rebounds per game. Not only was
Wes named Rookie of the Year, he was also

the league's MVP during the same year. As
a Washington Bullet, he won the NBA
crown in the 1977-78 season.
But no player in NBA history illustrated the
perfect blocking out technique and 45-degree trajectory better than the Boston Celtics' Dave Cowens. At 6 feet, 9 inches (206
centimeters), Cowens competed against
much taller players such as Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Bob Lanier,
who were skilled offensive rebounders. His
height disadvantage forced him to practice
a defensive rebounding method that was
identical to Unseld's; he blocked out quick
and hard and jumped like a jet to the rebound. But his rebounding technique had
one additional characteristic: when obtaining possession of the ball in midair, Dave
flared his legs as an eagle spreads its wings.
This discouraged offensive rebounders from
coming near and prevented immediate
pressure.
Individual offensive rebounding
An offensive rebound is like a turnover for

the other team. Being a good offensive rebounder takes initiative, resourcefulness,
aggressiveness, and the relentless desire to
come up with the ball. Contrary to what
many may think, some of the greatest re-
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Fiba Assist Magazine | 31 2008 | Page 9

COACHES - FUNDAMENTALS AND YOUTH BASKETBALL
bounders at both ends of the court seldom
dunked the basketball. This shows that
these players were workhorses and cared
little about flare and flashiness. It may also
imply that they were not the tallest players
on the floor, and that was often the case. Effective rebounding has more to do with zeal
than size. It has been estimated that 75 percent of all rebounds are recovered below
the rim. Offensively, the rebounder should
initiate motion at the moment the shot is
taken -or preferably, before the shot is taken. Great offensive rebounders are cunning
and deceptive. First, they are extremely accurate in assessing what direction the ball
will take after it hits the rim. Second, they
make the initial move away from that direction, tricking the defensive rebounder into
thinking they are going that way and opening up the area where they eventually want
to end up. This is called deployment of rebounding. Before Moses Malone and Dennis Rodman entered the NBA, many
considered Paul Silas to be the best offensive rebounder in history. We consider him
to be the most resourceful rebounder. Not
only was Silas skilled at using fakes to get
the position he wanted, but when he was
unsuccessful, he was known to go out of
bounds and then come back in to take the
inside position. This certifies that he was a
rebounder with the passion to get the ball
any way he could. When Dennis Rodman
entered the NBA in 1986, fans witnessed a
dimension of offensive rebounding they had
never seen before: incredible footwork and
an unequaled pursuit of the basketball. On
the defensive end of the floor, he was primarily concerned with stop his assignment,
who was often the most dangerous offensive player. Rodman was named the NBA
defensive player of the year twice. Rodman
possessed great anticipation. Most offensive rebounders begin thinking about the
rebound when the shot is taken or perhaps
just before. Not so for Rodman. He was ever
mindful of the ball and his position in relation to the man who was guarding him;
therefore, he was ready to make his move
when he had the greatest advantage. Often
that move was initiated well before the shot
was taken. Some offensive rebounders can
be stopped with the quick block out and
hold, but players who were matched up
against Dennis Rodman knew that the defensive rebound was never secured until it
was secured. Dennis possessed another
trait unique to him; in addition to being able
to jump in all directions -as all great offensive rebounders can- the square footage he
could cover was unequaled. Any opponent
who casually went for what seemed like a
sure rebound often found Dennis Rodman
flying by him and stealing the rebound. Denpage 10 | 31 2008 | Fiba Assist Magazine
nis was known to go so far as to fly horizontally to get the rebound, if need be.
Rodman was NBA rebounding champ seven years in a row and helped his teams win
five NBA championships. Because of Rodman's antics, ejections, and need for attention, some people may argue that he was
an individual who cared little about the
team. But who can argue with five NBA
championships? Dennis Rodman was a
competitor who understood the value of offensive rebounding to team success, and
he did his job better than anyone in history.
Like him or not, he was a winner. What can
be learned from great rebounders such as
Unseld, Cowens, Rodman and Ben Wallace? Is it that athleticism is the key to rebounding effectiveness? Hardly! We could
provide a list of players who were very
good rebounders but were not extremely
athletic. These players had great footwork
and relentlessly pursued the missed shot.
REBOUNDING FOOTWORK
Body balance, footwork, and maneuvering

speed were discussed earlier in the book
as prerequisite movement skills for post
play. Footwork includes pivoting and spinning. Developing maneuvering speed requires activities that involve changing
direction and pace. The combination of the
three prerequisite movement skills provides a good foundation for rebounding
footwork. To be an effective rebounder, the
player must be able to move and jump in
that order. Defensive and offensive rebounding require different types of footwork.
Footwork for defensive rebounding
As previously mentioned, to move to a defensive rebound at the recommended 45degree angle, the screener must initiate the
contact and make the immediate block out
before the offensive player begins to make
the move to the rim. Making contact with
the arm to the chest will stop some opponents, but the good ones need a quick
backside to the thighs. Also note that the
quick hit will eliminate the effectiveness of
faking one direction to go the other, which
is a key tactic for offensive rebounding.
Spin Pivot
Initiating contact must be done quickly and
assertively; there is no room for hesitation
because the offensive rebounder must be
stopped before beginning the move toward
the rim. The moment the shooter begins the
shooting motion, the screener makes a 180degree spin pivot toward the offensive
player and lands the backside into the
thighs (photo 1 and 2). When the basketball
is about to hit the rim, the defensive rebounder makes the move to the rim (photo
3). Holding position and waiting for the ball
to almost reach the rim allows the defensive rebounder to read the direction of the
possible miss. This decreases the chances
of jumping in the wrong direction.
Front Pivot
Being proactive and making the first hit is
ideal. However, there will be times when
the offensive player makes a quick anticipatory move and the screener must react.
When making the move to the rebound, the
offensive player is limited to going to the
middle or baseline. Therefore, the screener
must learn two methods of footwork. If the
opponent moves to the middle, the screener's baseline foot crosses over, and the
front pivot is made. The backside makes the
impact on the opponent's thigh. Also notice
the position of the hands and the erect posture of the screener. The hands are up and
ready for the rebound. The body is in balance, ready to move toward the basket at
the correct time. Not only is the backside in
contact with the opponent, the screener's
entire back is also derailing any ploy to get
by, such as a swim move.
Reverse Pivot
If the offensive player makes a move toward the baseline, the screener makes a
back, or reverse, pivot. Again, quick impact
is made with the backside, but the back is
also making contact.
A traditional method of blocking out involves using a reverse pivot no matter
which direction the offensive player goes.
However, because obtaining and maintaining vision on the ball after it is shot is crucial to knowing when to release the block
out and go to the rim, we recommend the
front pivot when the offensive player makes

the move to the middle. Besides it possible
to maintain ball vision from shot to rebound,
this makes the player less likely to be faked
in one direction.
Footwork for offensive rebounding
With the exception of the amount of contact with the arms and hands, the footwork
for offensive rebounding can be compared
to that of a defensive end in football who is
attempting to get around the block and to
the quarterback. It requires faking and an
explosive change of direction. It also requires a countermove in case the first move
is hindered.
Plan A-Faking and Exploding
Whatever part of the floor the offensive rebounder has determined the ball will
bounce to, the player makes a fake in the
opposite direction (photo 4). When the
screener reacts, the offensive player
changes direction by shooting the outside
hand past the defender's chin toward the
desired area and moving the outside foot
over the defender's legs toward that same
area (photo 5). When changing direction,
the player accelerates toward the desired
spot.
Plan B-Spinning
If the screener blocks the path to the desired area when the offensive rebounder is
changing direction, the offensive rebound-
er must not stop and accept defeat; to

counter the opponent's move, the offensive
player makes a spin in the opposite direction. Position A was taken away, so the
counter is to take position B (photo 6). To
spin quickly, the player's body must be low
and in a vertical position, and the arms must
not move too far out horizontally from the
body, much like an ice-skater who is increasing the speed of a spin. However, the
basketball player is not spinning in one spot;
the spin is made simultaneously with motion toward position B.
Taken from the book

Pete Newells Playing Big,
Pete Newell and Swen Nater,
Human Kinetics, 2008
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Fiba Assist Magazine | 31 2008 | Page 11

How To Go To The Rebound: Coaches - Fundamentals and Youth Basketball

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COACHES - FUNDAMENTALS AND YOUTH BASKETBALL

Pete Newell is considered one of the

Individual defensive rebounding

ing possession. If the release from contact

about centers and inside players; every

Wes named Rookie of the Year, he was also

Individual offensive rebounding

An offensive rebound is like a turnover for

Body balance, footwork, and maneuvering

front pivot when the offensive player makes

er must not stop and accept defeat; to

Taken from the book

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