[J. R. VanHoose]

The greater the talent the more freedom a coach can give. The less talented teams need to be better decision makers and shorten the games as much as possible. I disagree with J.R., talent alone wins alot of games. It's up to you as a coach to gage that talent in comparision to the team you play. You play a more talented team, you better shorten the game and do what's necessary to control clock and tempo. In turn, I agree with JR and his view that coaching has an effect on talent. Coaches can overcoach a talented team and destroy the creativity they may bring to the table. Too much freedom, too much control, it's a fine line but a coach must be able and willing to make the right decisions according to his talent pool.

Talent may win you some games, but up against a great "team" and a great coach, talent will not prevail. Talent is usually developed by a great coach. For example myself. When I began playing basketball I was just another tall kid, that coul donly run up and down the court and rebound. I could not shoot well at all. It wasn't until I was in the 6th grade that I learned to properly shoot the ball (by the advie of Coach Runyon and some of his staff). I was pushed by all of my coaches to work on the weaknesses of my game during practice and in the summer. I was taught the proper fundamentals at an early age and was corrected when I performed them wrong. With guidance from my coaches I became talented and accomplished many things. I honestly believe that without all of the coaches that I had, I would never have accomplished so much!!