Strong Defensive Foundations

"I think you always give yourself a chance in any professional sport if you defend well." - Aaron McKie Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images/NBAE

Everybody has heard the expression, "Defense wins championships," yet, so few teams actually follow this principal.

It's no wonder 76ers coach Jim O'Brien has focused on defense, a staple of his overall system. O'Brien entered camp preaching a defensive scheme that, while it may be simple, will keep other teams frustrated and hopefully raise the Sixers to that elite level that every NBA team hopes to be at. O'Brien has the players buying into his new scheme quickly.

"This one’s real fun, and not even on the offensive end but on the defensive end trying to learn this defensive scheme that he has," said Allen Iverson after the first day of this year's training camp. "We play the same way regardless. We’re gonna play the same way night after night. We’re not gonna change up our defense. So, it’s just important for everybody to learn it ,and I think once we learn the defense and once everybody trusts each other, it’s gonna be hard to score on us.”

While emphasizing defense may be new to some, it's second nature to two of O'Brien's leaders. Aaron McKie and Marc Jackson, who both hail from Temple University, have noticed similarities between the Sixers' defensive plan and the way they used to play under Hall of Fame Head Coach John Chaney.

“Coach’s system is not really different for me from Coach Chaney's system. He’s just teaching basketball. Nothing different," quoted Jackson. "We’re not doing anything fancy, he’s just playing basketball, and he just wants you to do the best you can on the defensive end. That’s what he’s doing. Aaron and I and other teammates are ready to get better and keep an open mind about everything."

"Coach’s system is not really different for me from Coach Chaney's system. He’s just teaching basketball. Nothing different." - Marc Jackson Issac Baldizon NBAE/Getty Images

Jackson and McKie both grew up in the Philadelphia area and went through a Temple system that has always been known for its match-up zome defense. Temple has had seven of the top 10 seasons all time for team defensive scoring in the Atlantic 10 Conference history.

“I just think our whole approach was, since I was in college, and even when I was growing up watching, Temple was always in the top five in defense," said McKie. "If you look statistically at some of the teams that win in this league, they do it at the defensive end. I think you always give yourself a chance in any professional sport if you defend well. You don’t have to have the best offense but if you defend well you can create offense from your defense and you always give yourself a chance every night.”

In 1998-99 Sacramento led the league with an average of 100.2 points per game. Last season Dallas averaged a whopping 105.2 points per game. Neither of these teams won the championship. That's because in 1998-99 Sacramento came in last in the league in points allowed per game at 100.6, and last season, Dallas was second to last in the league with 100.76 points allowed per game. San Antonio in 1998-99 went on to win the Larry O'Brien trophy and was third in the league in defensive scoring by allowing only 84.7 PPG. Similarly, last season, Detroit went home champions after tying for the league lead in defensive scoring by only giving up 84.3 PPG.

McKie has attributed much of his success in the NBA to his prior coaches, especially Chaney.

“I credit all my coaches from high school on up. My high school coach, Bill Ellerby, who’s at Temple, is now an assistant coach to Coach Chaney. I’ve been fortunate to have great coaches in my life, guys who teach the game, who know the game, and who understand the game. It's a credit to all my coaches. All the principles that we’re doing now I’ve been learning since I was in grade school. So, I just keep it with me, and I just continue to try to strive and do it.”

Chaney has been recognized many times as a great basketball coach. He has coached Temple University to a 468-210 record since 1982. Over the first 21 seasons he coached the Owls, he led them to a postseason berth 20 times. He has won more games than any other coach in the history of the Atlantic 10 and on January 28, 2004, became just the fourth coach ever to record 700 wins in college basketball. Chaney was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach on October 5, 2001.

Through their time under Chaney as well as the years that they've spent in the NBA, both McKie and Jackson have become leaders themselves, as well as good citizens. Both players were recipients of the NBA's Community Assist Award for November 2003. They keep involved in the Philadelphia community that helped them become the people that they are today. Their character and leadership ability has been impressed upon O'Brien in the short time that he's been with the Sixers.

"I think Aaron is a great leader, a quiet leader, he just gets it done. Guys have a real sense that they’re around a pro ... I think Marc Jackson’s a leader because he has been so verbal on the court," said O'Brien. "I said to the staff (during camp) Aaron and Marc Jackson know everything as far as what we want offensively. They know how to make everybody better on the court. These guys know how to play basketball. I mean the subtle things are just eye-popping. And you don’t really see the subtle things until you go back and you watch the tapes of practice and you get a chance to slow it down. They’re two guys that really understand the game of basketball.”

Not light praise from a fomer St. Joseph's University star and Big 5 rival as O'Brien tips his hat to the preparation they got under Chaney. Both of the Temple grads also take pride in being able to be leaders and have influence on the team to the younger players.

“There’s probably a couple of definitions as far as being a leader. We don’t want to come out here and verbally beat these guys up. We try to just come out and lead by example. When coach is talking, he only explains things once. So, you really have to be focused and pay attention. So I tell these guys a lot of times, 'watch what the guy is doing ahead of you. Listen to the coach, but watch what the guy is doing ahead of you.' It makes practice run a lot smoother and it helps these guys pick up things a lot faster. It’s all new for me too, so I’m learning things as I go, but at the same time I’m trying to help these guys too.”

McKie and Jackson have spent time traveling the league with other NBA teams, but their paths have led to a similar destination. They have both been brought back to Philadelphia, the city where they were raised. The place that they learned not only the ins-and-outs of life, but also of basketball. Whether it was Chaney at Temple or O'Brien here with the 76ers, they have taken what they have learned and become leaders both on and off the court.