Before the comment gets vilified as chauvinistic, take time to think about it. What does Cynthia Cooper, Theresa Witherspoon, Dawn Staley, Sue Bird, Cappie Pondexter and Diana Taurasi have in common? Besides being All-Stars and Olympians, they all can handle the rock. Handling the ball is what makes Candace Parker so special. It allows her to grab a rebound and push the ball up the court and make a play for herself or others.
"The High School coach who does not make his players learn and practice dribbling should be arrested."
This quote had to come from a street ball player. Or some coach who coaches show boating and undisciplined kids right? Try reading "The Smart Take From the Strong" and you will find that the originator of the Princeton offense, Pete Carril said this. Carill continues, " Dribbling has to be DEVELOPED when a player is young...The player who cannot dribble is restricted, no matter how tall, no matter what his(her)role is on the team is, and that includes big men who are often coached as youngsters just to shoot and rebounds." He goes on to say " We also played a lot of one-on one(in practice)where we required the player to dribble with his(her) weak hand. We told him(her) he could not shoot until he(she) dribbled first. The women's game is considered a purer game by some basketball authorities when compared to the men's game. The women's game supposedly has more player movement, cutting and passing than the men's game. Isn't that what the Princeton offense is about; back door cuts, bounce passes, spacing and screens. Carrill made his bones by slaying the giants of NCAA Basketball with an offense that was considered the ultimate team game but even he put a premium on players who could dribble the ball.
