I think a lot of what the argument comes down to is personal opinion over the best way to develop young talent - and this isn't just limited to basketball.
One side prefers to be put into the action, like being thrown into the deep end to learn how to swim; pressure motivates. The other side prefers to develop behind the scenes, waiting to put that practice into action; avoid crumbling under pressure. Yes, I'm sure I'm oversimplifying both sides a little.
Part of it has to do with personality types. Part of it has to do with risk/reward preferences. Part of it has to do with priorities (ie: win now VS rebuilding). Part of it has to do with competing pressures from above.
I get the argument from both sides. The biggest thing for me is that if a coach is going to play a young player in live game action (not just garbage time), I worry that a player who plays afraid (constantly looking over his shoulder and worried about making a mistake, for fear of being benched for the rest of the game) isn't focused on making the most of the opportunity.
To me, making a player play afraid is a bigger risk for stunting long-term individual development than the risk of having the player crumble under pressure as a youngster thrown into the fire, without ever opening him up to potentially have the pressure motivate him to be his best. Either don't play the youngster at all (ie: use practice and D-league) or let him learn from his mistakes (ie: let him show that he understands the mistakes he's making and has the ability to adapt, within the same game, running the same plays against the same opponent).
One side prefers to be put into the action, like being thrown into the deep end to learn how to swim; pressure motivates. The other side prefers to develop behind the scenes, waiting to put that practice into action; avoid crumbling under pressure. Yes, I'm sure I'm oversimplifying both sides a little.
Part of it has to do with personality types. Part of it has to do with risk/reward preferences. Part of it has to do with priorities (ie: win now VS rebuilding). Part of it has to do with competing pressures from above.
I get the argument from both sides. The biggest thing for me is that if a coach is going to play a young player in live game action (not just garbage time), I worry that a player who plays afraid (constantly looking over his shoulder and worried about making a mistake, for fear of being benched for the rest of the game) isn't focused on making the most of the opportunity.
To me, making a player play afraid is a bigger risk for stunting long-term individual development than the risk of having the player crumble under pressure as a youngster thrown into the fire, without ever opening him up to potentially have the pressure motivate him to be his best. Either don't play the youngster at all (ie: use practice and D-league) or let him learn from his mistakes (ie: let him show that he understands the mistakes he's making and has the ability to adapt, within the same game, running the same plays against the same opponent).
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