West Brom Basketball Club premier division coach Tim Rudge is calling on his players to have their ‘brains rule their bodies’ ahead of their season opener against Balts.
The Black Country side welcome the new league entrants in their opening game of the season on September 29 hoping to get off to a strong start.
Having worked meticulously over the summer and finding success in the off-season trophy, former BBL coach Rudge is hopeful that the work over the past few months shows results.
“I think, from my point of view it’s just getting people to understand how to play with each other and the ethos that we bring in.” he said.
“The style of play, who does what when – I had this theme all summer long as we build for this year that the brain rules the body, not the other way around.”
The atmosphere around the club has been one of intense hard work this summer, with the team working on a new brand of defence whilst also introducing new faces to pad out the roster.
Rudge believes his job this summer has come down to getting players to understand the effort needed not just on the physical side, but the mental side of the game.
“When you play in scrimmage games, you just play. Nobody really thinks about the next thing.
“I’m big on how you suck it up when you have a rest rather than ignoring the fact and you just stop.
“You really concentrate on getting your body to recover whilst free throws are being taken and sorting the thought process of who’s doing what, communication between us about the team we’re defending. Communication when you attack so you can see your arms up where you want the ball.
“That all only comes from practice and only comes from understanding and that’s what we’re building here.”
West Brom are able to register new players through the season, but have worked with a solid core of players having held on to the majority of the squad from the last campaign.
Coach Rudge believes his team are more than capable of competing for the league title this season, but admits some extra new faces would be welcomed.
“I think the team we’ve got now is quite capable of competing. But I think if we have any aspirations of winning the league we need a little new blood and to have people who buy into our ethos.”
“If they can score on the break then all the better.”
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