Categorizing Players: Jordan, Pippen, and Kerr

I’m old so when I think of categories of players, my thoughts turn to the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s. You could, I suppose, do this with LeBron, Anthony Davis, and Tucker-Horton if you like the modern NBA.

The thing is–there’s only one Jordan. You could call him a prima donna (#1 lady) which is a term that goes back a ways for determining the top dog–only for opera rather than sports. So…

Jordan: The top. The greatest Bull, one of the five best all-time. When it was crunch time, Jordan was making the play–offense, defense, with a pass, whatever it took to win. He was going to mastermind it.

Pippen: Also an all-time great, top 100 NBA ever. Pippen was capable of making any other team pay if they focued their efforts solely on Jordan. Stop Jordan and Pippen’s lighting you up for 30-8-8, manhandling you on defense as well. The thing is–when Pippen was given the keys to the franchise for a couple years (MJ’s first retirement), he shied away from the pressure of being top dog only to return to being a top-dog once Jordan returned. So Pippen’s the guy who benefits if you just think about Jordan.

Kerr: You could put Paxson, Cartwright, or Grant here, too. These are the role-players. They aren’t going to light up the scoreboard. They aren’t even going to touch the ball every possession–but they fill in the cracks, each with a skill suited for some key moment during a game or series. When Jordan and Pippen were double-teamed in the Championship against Phoenix, it was John Paxson who got the pass to nail the title down. On his own, Kerr’s not going to scare you. He can’t beat you on his own. His value is complementary–and in his own understanding that that was his role.

Got it? So if we put this into volleyball, you get:

Top Gun: This is your go-to hitter, the kid who wants the ball in-system, out-system, doesn’t care about the block–they are scoring. This is the kid who pushes a libero out of the way on serve-receive to take more of the court…and can do that because they are that good. Just as important–everyone on the team knows this.

The 2nd Banana: This is the kid who can REALLY dominate in aspect just not all–this is the opposite who will hit .500 if you focus on the top gun, the middle who can block alone when that Top Gun reads tip and may/may not have got that right. As a hitter, this person will get a majority of the sets when the Top Gun’s in the back row…kinda the nature of being ‘2nd’, right?

The Role-Players: These are the people who sub either front row or back row, the setters in a 6-2, etc. You’re there for a very particular set of skills. The role-players fill in all the cracks, they know what to do and totally nail down their role without worrying about anything else. DS? Don’t get any digs, no problem because I kept them from even trying to tip. Hitter? I took a fast approach, was loud, and sold it so they only got one blocker up on the Top Gun AND 2nd Banana.

You get the idea.

The thing is–since I coached college the past billion years–I learned that you can’t really have success with two Top Guns. You can really only have one (probably why there’s only one prima donna, right?…if you have two, you don’t really have any) You can only have one truly dominant player and personality on a team. I think you can have 2-3 2nd Bananas, especially with specialized positions–having a 2nd Banana hitting, another at setter or libero–I think that works just fine. Everyone else falls into the role-player category.

So when I would recruit, a question I’d ask my assistants was “Are they Jordan, Pippen, or Kerr?” And given everyone knows Jordan’s temperament, this was something they could judge beyond hitting strength or passing ability.

The problem though is– what happens on a team that has two people insisting they are Jordan? What happens if you have no one? So…I went looking at my teams through the years. Other than ones that will be blatantly obvious, I’ve moved the order around to protect the guilty 🙂 A: One Jordan but who struggled under pressure. Two Pippens who wanted to get set but NOT when it was tight/match point. You could also put a setter here in the Pippen category personality-wise but without the work ethic. Region Title Game B: Wanted to be Jordan but not when there was pressure. A legit Pippen forced to try and be Jordan (almost…almost…she worked really hard at it). A couple more with Pippen physical skills, not mental. We had a couple players unhappy being role-players who affected attitudes negatively. Region Title Game C: *LEGIT* Jordan (unfortunately) wasn’t with us–academic ineligibility. Sigh. Jordan attitude but tried too hard under pressure. A legit Pippen. Couple negative personality role-players who wanted to be more than RPers. Region Title Game D: No Jordan–had ability, not the mentality but got there the following year. Had one Pippen, two who reached that level the following year. We had bench issues with a couple players and their playing time. E: No Jordans (that was killer), 3-4 who could/should have been Pippen level. Two cancers on the bench destroyed what SHOULD have been a trip to Nationals… F: No Jordans but previous coach made a couple believe they were, couple Pippen level players. Rough chemistry to start…got good, then former coach started talking to players and…down the pooper it went. 1st Rd Post-season G: One Jordan attitude on the court and ability (just not in practice…), a genuine Pippen, a couple who had the right Pippen-sort of attitude, just lacking a bit in ability. Beat a Top 5 team (first in school history), made Region Final Four. H: No Jordan, but three Pippens who tried hard during crunch time…they just weren’t quite that sort of ability level. A couple issues with role-player self-evaluation of their playing ability. Region Title Game I: Three Pippen level kids in terms of ability (great team-first attitude). We didn’t have a Jordan and that hurt us in the Region title game. Region Title Game J: No Jordan, couple of Pippen level kids. Some issues on the bench about playing time. Three Pippen level kids in terms of ability. Region Title Game K: Jordan…attitude…three of them. A Pippen. Lot of chemistry problems–people putting playing time over the team. Region Title Game L: Jordan at OH*, Jordan-level setter/hitter, couple Pippens. Couple bench problems…(see Jordan’s asterisk) Region Title Game M: Jordan at libero, Pippen-level hitting from a middle and setter…and bench issues–if I don’t get playing time, then I need to party nightly. Region Title Game N: Jordan at libero (the greatest libero in JuCo history)…this is Emily Orrick**. We had a Jordanesque hitter anywhere along the net, a Pippen, and because of the link, this is obviously 2012, the first trip ever to Nationals for LLCC in 2012. O: Jordan, wanna-be Jordan (see P), 2-3 Pippens. Bench always ready when called on. Lost National Title Game. P: Two Jordan-level players (hitter, setter/hitter), 2 Pippens. Solid roleplayers everywhere. Lost National Title Game Q: Jordan at setter/hitter, 3-4 Pippen-types happy to defer to Jordan but more than capable of kicking butt on their own. Solid roleplayers across the board. 3rd at Nationals R: Legit Jordan, Pippen-level setter and libero. We had a Pippen situation where a kid quit a week before the National Tournament because she wasn’t named 1st-team all-Region…faked an injury to not have to be on the court with others selected all-Region. 8th at Nationals (our best MH had a kid come under the net in the first round and gave her a 2nd-degree sprain…we have that kid, we’re in the Final Four. Life, y’know?)

*Sadly, Jordan decided the night before the Regional that the clock read 4:20 all night….y’know? WHYYYYY????

**In thirty years of volleyball, Emily is the only person I’ve seen who could dominate a match without ever seeing the front row. My comment about best JuCo libero ever is not hyperbole.

So–I’m using Jordan/Pippen/Kerr as a reference, something back before many coaches were born now, but you can do the same sort of categorization with Curry-Thompson-Green or other sports you watch, perhaps something like Brady-Mayfield-Darnold??? Regardless, it’s really about trying to organize your thoughts on your players, creating a framework for your team’s success during the season and for developing upcoming players.