Study examines why the head outsmarts the body in basketball

A new study by the University of South Australia examined why coaches believe that 'game intelligence', work ethic and competitiveness are far more significant for success in basketball.

The research has been published in the 'Sports Medicine Journal'.

PhD student Michael Rogers surveyed 90 basketball coaches from 23 countries to find out what factors -- other than peak fitness -- are used to recruit players for the big league.

"We found 35 performance indicators that coach considered important and at the top of the list were psychological attributes," Rogers said.

"Coaches look for players who are competitive, have a strong work ethic, are excellent communicators, good teammates and can 'read' the game. Being super fit is a given. It is the other traits that make a difference to the scoreboard. Game statistics are commonly used to recruit basketball players but by watching players on the court, and how they behave outside of it, coaches can pick up a lot of non-physical factors that indicate whether a player is likely to make the grade," he added.

Of the 35 performance indicators used by basketball coaches, 14 are psychological and four of these -- attitude, coachability, competitiveness and work ethic -- are considered more important than anything.

"Basketball players who are optimistic, easily taught and trained, and determined to be more successful and to work harder than others are favoured by coaches," Rogers said.

Coaches indicated that players who put themselves ahead of their team were not good picks.

Mental toughness is also critical, because the ability to focus on every play, especially when tired, reflects on the scoreboard.

"Resilience, motivation, and good communication on the court are crucial in separating the 'best from the rest' once players reach elite level, according to the coaches we surveyed. Interestingly, the least important indicators were physical fitness and movement skills," he said.

The study is the first to examine key indicators for recruitment in basketball using a large international panel of elite countries from FIBA-ranked countries.

( With inputs from ANI )

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