Chapter 1: POST PHILOSOPHY
Before you learn precise
techniques to get open and score, you must develop the heart and the mind of a
winning post player. Post Philosophy gives thoughts and principles to
help you develop the determination and mindset of a successful post player.
Perhaps the most important of the seven principles in Post Philosophy is
titled Keep It Simple. Better Post Play contains dozens of moves,
not to mention their countermoves. You don't need to master every single move to
be successful. So when you watch the video, work only on what's going to best
fit you and your team's style of play.
Chapter 2: FUNDAMENTALS
Most of chapter two is geared
toward younger players still learning the game's more basic fundamentals. For
example, younger players must learn to go up strong and seek contact. They must
learn the power shot, and how to shoot with the non-contact arm. They must
be able to win both the arm and foot battle to get open and look open, and then
be able to hold that seal. Finally, they must be able to receive the ball with
either one hand or two hands, chin it, and read what's going on. These (and
more) are the fundamentals of post play, and they're explained in detail in this
Fundamentals. But the chapter also gets extremely advanced at times. For
example, Coach Torbett explains how to win the arm battle by controlling your
defender’s arm with a bicep clamp, a move that many officials will let you get
away with.
Chapter 3: GETTING OPEN VS
ZONES
If you can't get open, all your
moves to score with the ball are useless. So chapters 3 and 4 dive into
getting open against zone defenses and man to man defenses, respectively.
Sections in this chapter include Screen the Center, Work the Seams,
Attack from Behind, and Cut Early or Cut Late. By the way, the
Better Basketball videos are not only great fundamental improvement tools,
they're also fun to watch. So we asked some of the best street-ballers in
Atlanta, on Atlanta's premier street-ball court, to demonstrate Coach Torbett's
techniques. And you're not hallucinating, the guys played some zone defense, and
they played it well!
Chapter 4: GETTING OPEN VS
MAN-TO-MAN
Chapter 4 contains techniques
that all post players must master, movements that you should be able to use
instinctively when the defense plays you a specific way. A few examples are the Cheat
Step, the Swim, the Reverse Pivot, and the Leg Whip.
The moves used to get open in this chapter are based on combinations of the
following:
(1) Where you want to receive the ball, (2) Where you're located in relationship
to the ball, (3) The position of your defender. In the chapter, these
combinations account for 22 moves to get open! And by the way, these moves are
not counted in Chapter 10, which runs through only the moves to score!
Chapter 5: SCORING BEFORE YOU
GET THE BALL
Coach Torbett states at the very
beginning of the chapter, "When watching the pros on TV, many times the
post player simply catches and dunks, and most spectators think, 'nice dunk, but
he didn't do anything special.' Coach continues... "Sometimes that's the
case, but usually it's not. A lot of good basketball when on before the pass was
made. In other words, the post players moves were made before he got the
ball." Chapter 5 contains these hidden moves... The battle that most
spectators miss, but the fraternity of post players know all too well. The
defender’s own position is used to beat him.
Chapter 6: THE AIRTIME
ADVANTAGE
Chapter six contains a series of
moves that revolve around drop stepping while the ball is in the air. You'll use
these moves when a defender plays you to one side or the other. The chapter goes
into great detail on what is basically one move. This includes the move's
footwork, counters, even using the move from different spots on the court.
Also included in this chapter is a step-by-step breakdown of how to
execute the Up and Under, a favorite counter for a lot of post players.
Chapter 7: BACK TO THE BASKET
Back to the basket moves are
often considered traditional post play, but may be the toughest way to score
because you don't start with any real advantage on your defender. So Coach
Torbett explains a number of moves and counter moves, and goes into great detail
on each of them. The chapter is basically divided into four sections - the Spin
n Go, the Step-Pound-Hop, the Step-Pound Pivot, and the Front
Pivot. The key to many of these moves is to be able to read your defender.
If he stops your initial move, you must have a counter. Most of the counters
have been taught already at various points in the video, such as the Up and
Under in chapter 6 and the Baby Hook in chapter 2.
Chapter 8: THE PRO STANCE
In the pros, many players have
mastered the moves in chapters 5 and 6. So defenders simply stay behind
the post player and push them as far away from the basket as possible. That's
why you see this type of play so often in the pros, and it's why we call it the Pro
Stance. In this entertaining chapter, Coach Torbett first explains why
learning the pro stance is so advantageous. He then details how to receive the
ball and other pro stance fundamentals. Finally, the chapter shows 16 pro
stance moves and countermoves. These are based not only on your defender's
position but also on the help defense. After all, you might have to beat two
players!
Chapter 9: THE EXTREMES: SHORT
CORNER AND HIGH POST
In this unique chapter, we focus
on two areas that require slightly different reads and moves than normal post
play, the Short Corner and the High Post. You're most likely to
get the ball in the short corner when a player penetrates and dishes to you, or
when you're attacking a zone from behind. And of course there are a number of
times when you'll attack from the high post, but the best players can make a
play from any position!
Chapter 10: JUST THE MOVES,
ONE AFTER ANOTHER
The video's last chapter contains
no speaking, just music by the Hutton Experience and every scoring move
in the video (so not the moves from chapters 3 and 4 to get open, and not all
the fundamentals in chapter 2 and elsewhere). It's a fun chapter to watch, and
perhaps an advanced player can get to a point where he or she has mastered all
66 moves!
Bonus Sections: WITH
JERMAINE O'NEAL AND TAMIKA CATCHINGS
Better Basketball Post Play,
1 hour and 58 minutes, 2004. DVD.
