The next most important factor in selecting a player is Attitude and Coachability. [tag]Basketball[/tag] is a team [tag]sport[/tag]. It requires all 12 players to be on the same page and work towards a common goal. Unfortunately, some players tend to be more interested in individual gains and accolades then team success. Others will simply not take the sport seriously, preferring to goof off during practice drills. Still others will refuse your advice and suggestions, continuing to choose their own way of doing things despite the coaching staff’s best efforts.
You can often spot the early warning signs of poor attitude or lack of coachability during tryouts. Be sure to include plenty of hard work and defensive drills in your tryout plan. Sometimes, these players will disqualify themselves when they realize the team will not just be fun and games.
Poor attitude can cause a cancer on your team. It is important to identify early which players may pose potential problems. If the problems are severe, I would not recommend that you select that player. If the problems are minor, the player will require your close attention and guidance to prevent his attitude from defeating the team’s spirit.
Conversely, you may have players try out for your team who lack dominant skills, but have fantastic attitudes. My personal opinion is that these players can be very valuable. As discussed above, there are only so many minutes to go around, so some players will inevitably spend more time on the bench than others. You want your bench players to be models of hard work and enthusiasm. While they may not contribute during games, they can play an incredibly important role by pushing your starters to work hard and compete in practice.
When filling the last 1 or 2 positions on my team, I would much rather have an underskilled keener than a talented troublemaker.