The High Set for Lateral Movement

As I have written previously, tennis movement and basketball movement are similar. A physical therapist sent me this video which examines the "high set" position and the Harvard University tennis team.

Now, basketball differs from tennis because of the presence of fakes and other aspects, so there is not a linear argument from tennis footwork to basketball footwork. However, they are related. If the high set works for tennis and improves movement economy and quickness in tennis, is the same true in basketball?

What is the best defensive position? Is it easy to move in a low stance? When I played, I spent hours at practices and camps with coaches yelling at us to sit lower in a stance. Did it make us better defensively? Did the lower position make us quicker?

The low set position is the norm in tennis. It is almost unthinkable to suggest otherwise, just as standard wisdom dictates an exaggeratedly low stance for defense in basketball. However, is that the most efficient stance? Does it produce the quickest movement?

Originally published in Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletter, Volume 4. For similar content, subscribe to the free weekly Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletter.