A subject I don't believe has ever been discussed.
Caitlin Clark's reputation as a passer is regularly discussed on all media but I don't believe I've ever had other players been assessed for that skill?
not just assists, for they only count if the recipient scores, being fouled and made free throws don't count. not just point guards,
aside I remember the first LVs who tried a behind the back pass in the era of PHS; it took risk, and the player was a recipient of a stare. (smile)
This is a great and underappreciated topic! Thanks for starting the thread,
@stllvf!
I'd love to know how top programs--with all their graduate assistants and huge SSDs full of video--track and grade passes. So many factors go into making an effective pass, regardless of whether it turns into an assist in the stats.
Great passers at this level are not just
accurate (putting the ball within a 6-inch window of where the receiver needs to catch it), and they don't just
anticipate where their teammate
and the defenders are going to be. They also cultivate ways to
manipulate defenders away from the anticipated passing lane--or at least get their weight shifted the wrong way. That could include eye fakes
(no fake lashes comments--you know who you are!), shoulder turns, faking a pass in another direction, appearing to set up for a shot, even just relaxing or glancing toward the bench can be enough.
A great pass is usually set up several moves in advance. In the course of a game, it may be set up a quarter in advance. That's why basketball is such a great game--there's no end to the number of levels at which it can be played!
Great passers are also calculating how
spin is going to effect the handling of their pass. A strong arm can whip a long bounce pass into a player running the lane or baseline, but you have to allow more space between the player and the basket because it's going to take him/her an extra moment to take the spin off the ball and gain control of it before they can manipulate it into a shot or extra pass. I've even seen side-spin used to thread the ball along the baseline, past a defender before angling into the post player!
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Sorry--didn't mean to bloviate. I just wanted to make sure everyone appreciates all that goes into making a great pass, things that may not show up on TV, that won't show up in stats, or yield easily to a grading system.
Truly, for the Maravich's, Stockton's, Bird's, Nash's, and Magic's of the game--and the elite LVs whose names get noted in this thread--
passing is an art of deception and execution.
)
