I don't own stock or hold favor to any one person, school, AAU program, coach, or any other entity. That is one of the beauties of running the summer leagues and fall events to me - I get to remain neutral, and really, it would be bad for 'business' if I wasn't.
When I see someone doing something that is a benefit to the players that are involved, they'll get the props they deserve. As far as Capital District girls basketball goes, there may be no one that deserves it more heading into this fall than Terrance Florence.
Florence (aka TFlo, head of TFlo Basketball) is a trainer to many up-and-comers in the area, and he also coached one of the most competitive girls AAU teams in the area this past season. He's back in the gym preparing for his group's fall program, and in the process, he's been having something that is desperately needed in local girls' basketball - organized open runs.
An open run is essentially pickup ball. No set plays, restrictions, zone defenses. Just playing the game. This is something that the vast majority of girls simply don't do. If you go to the local park or YMCA, you may find a few pickup games going on - all guys. It's uncommon even seeing one girl in that setting, but enough to get a game going is a once-in-a-blue-moon experience. That's only to be seen in a structured environment - a team scrimmage or game, or a practice ran by the team's coach. They'll be going through set plays, go to their set positions on the court, and play strictly in their comfort zone.
While running the 1st annual Empire State Takeover girls league, I continued to see and say the same thing. In a league such as that, where many of the participants were playing with each other for the first time, there was a clear difference on the court between the few that you'd see in the gym on their own and those that played only a more structured style. Girls that didn't have to play in the fully structured style looked flat-out better, especially in the opening weeks before players on each team got used to each other. The better basketball sense and higher basketball IQ on the court came to the forefront for all that had it. It showed to me that in general, girls don't play enough free-flowing basketball.
In preparation for his fall program, this is what TFlo has done. Many people from his AAU team come. They aren't running their sets. They're not on the same teams. Two hours of just playing basketball. No running suicides for missing a free throw or stopping play every 20 seconds to 'coach 'em up' and go over something that a player did wrong. It's all about playing ball, gaining confidence, getting a feel for the game, and playing through mistakes - because in such an uptempo setting, everyone will make them.
There's a mix of some of the area's current top players and those to look out for in the future. The open runs have been dotted with players receiving attention from Division I programs, such as Columbia's Grace Heeps, Shaker's Shyla Sanford, Lucy and Sophie Tougas from Glens Falls, and Amsterdam's Nina Fedullo. One of Florence's AAU girls, Shenendehowa's Cameron Tooley, was one of the best players on the court this evening. There was also an appearance from Guilderland's Skye Lindsey last week. There are also a good number of younger players getting some run, with a couple being as young as 7th grade.
It appears to have been received with a great deal of interest. 33 girls attended Florence's open run at Albany Leadership Charter School for Girls last Thursday. Despite volleyball & soccer games getting into the full swing this week and temperatures rising to nearly 90 degrees today, around 25 girls attended tonight.
Is it ugly sometimes? Sure. Many girls attending are not used to playing pickup basketball and don't have the feel yet. You'll see two people cutting to the same spot on the floor occasionally, congesting the lane on what could've been a layup. You'll see a girl putting her head down and driving into 2 or 3 people occasionally. Rome wasn't built in a day, and basketball is an entirely different game when you don't have a diagram, play, or a coach telling you where to go on the court and what to do. Many of the girls haven't had to make decisions on the court for themselves before. This is exactly why workouts of this format are desperately needed in the Capital District, along with many other places. Individual skill work - shooting drills, ballhandling around cones, everything you get from a skills trainer - hones and improves that basketball skill. Open runs - getting on the court and having to use that skill without someone holding your hand through it - is where ballplayers are made.
