Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
November 17, 2000, Washington Post

Basketball Coach Gives Advice

The hoops season has started. Future basketball stars are practicing jump shots and crossover dribbles hoping to catch a coach's eye.

So who better to ask about basketball than DeMatha High School Coach Morgan Wootten? Wootten has coached high school hoops for 50 years and won 1,213 games. He coaches kids ages 8 to 18 at his summer camp at Frostburg State University every year. No one knows more about what coaches are looking for than Coach Wootten. He is so good he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame this year.

How should kids be preparing for the basketball season or for team tryouts?

The first thing is that any player has to be in good shape. So kids should be
running before the season starts. It is estimated that a basketball player runs
five miles during a game. Then players have to stay in shape by eating right and
getting enough sleep.

What basketball skills do coaches look for?

The basics. A player has to be a good ballhandler, to be able to pass and catch
the ball. Players should also practice dribbling--with either hand--with their head
up and practice layups with their right and left hands.

What other qualities do coaches look for?

I always like a youngster who has a real enthusiasm and love for the game.
Because nothing is ever achieved without enthusiasm.

It is also very important that a player be coachable. Does the player listen and
try to do the basic things the coach is telling him or her to do?

Do coaches sometimes pick kids who are not the best players?

Positively. The five best players seldom make the best team. I always tell my
players that if you have a beautiful garden, you will need someone to weed it.
Every team needs players who will do some of the dirty work. The players who
will dive for the loose balls, set the picks and make the hustle plays that win
games.

Some kids think that they can't play basketball because they are not tall. What
do you tell them?

The beauty of basketball is that there is a place for everyone. A small player
who can handle the ball can help a team. A big, maybe awkward player can
rebound and set picks. And there is always a place on the team for a defensive
stopper--someone who can work hard and stop the other team's top scorer.

What if a kid does not make a team? What should he do then?

Keep on playing. There are lots of teams you can play for--boys and girls club
teams, CYO teams, recreational league teams.

I remember Perry Clark who played on the DeMatha junior varsity for two years.
He tried out for the varsity in his junior year and didn't make it. I told him what
he had to work on. He played on a recreational league team and made the
varsity his senior year. Perry attended Gettysburg College on a basketball
scholarship. Now he is the head coach at the University of Miami.

Have you ever coached any players who became pros?

I have had 12 players make the NBA and 12 more play pro ball overseas. But I
have had players become doctors, teachers, lawyers and school principals. I
always tell my players you have a better chance of being a doctor than being
Doctor J [the former NBA star].

Whether they make the pros, make the school team or not, what should kids get
out of playing basketball?

Whatever makes basketball work will make life work. The things you learn from
basketball--hard work, dedication, learning to work with others--will help you in
anything you do.

Basketball also teaches you how to handle success and failure. If you lose, you
have to pick yourself up and try again.

Thanks, Coach. How does the DeMatha team look this year?

We'll be fine. Like I tell my teams, play hard, play smart, have fun and play
together and things usually turn out all right.

FRED BOWEN is the author of sports novels for kids. Write to him at KidsPost,
1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071. Or e-mail (with "The Score" in the
subject field): kidspost@washpost.com.

She Shoots, She Scores!

And the winner is . . . Charlie E. Turner. We picked the Washington 9-year-old's
postcard out of the entries in our basketball contest. Charlie knew the name of
the man who invented basketball in 1891: James Naismith.

Charlie is going to MCI Center on Nov. 25 to see the Washington Wizards take
on the Milwaukee Bucks.

© 2000 The Washington Post Company