International basketball

I hope everyone is watching the great basketball that is being played in the World Championships in Turkey this summer. Having spent the last 6 weeks with the British National Basketball team I have seen first hand the difference between basketball being played in the States (NCAA,NBA) and the international game. Watching the World championships you can see that there is quality basketball being played all over the world. there are some great games being played. On ESPN2 watched a great game between Spain and Serbia, two power house teams. Serbia had control of the game until the last 3 minutes of the game then Spain made a run and tied it up with 25 seconds left. It took a last second 30 foot shot from serbia to win the game! Team USA also had it's hands full against Russia but came away with a hard fought 10 point win. In the States we are use to a lot of spread the floor one on one, breakdown your man and get to the basket basketball. There is a lot of that in International basketball too but there is a lot more movement away from the ball. Cuts to the basket and flare (back) picks to get shooters open. That is a big difference in the two games. There are a lot more shooters (makers) on the court at the same time. It is very difficult to defend ball penetration when there are shooters all over the court, even the bigs in international play can shoot from the outside. It also helps those shooters when the 3pt line is so much closer in international basketball.

Another thing to watch when you watch the games this weekend (USA vs Lithuania and Turkey vs Serbia) is the FIBA refs. The international game tend to be more physical than the American game. They let the guards bang the player with the ball and it turns into a wrestling match in the post. There is also a lot of flopping (acting) going on during the games. If you are a basketball fan do yourself a favor and watch these games this weekend you will get a good look at a different kind of basketball. I know you will enjoy it.