Lenny

Basketball legend Lenny Wilkens, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach, is the engaging and expert host of this pair of instructional videos. Each tape, one focusing on skills of offense and one on skills of defense, follows a no-nonsense format: a friend of Wilkens, NBA coach Dick Helm, presents a brief lesson on a particular skill (such as specific nuances of dribbling or passing), and young athletes are shown performing the skill the way it should be done. Then it's time for Wilkens to use his "chalkboard." The videotaped action is frozen while Wilkens draws on the screen with a "telestrator," literally highlighting particular points that require special attention. The coaches present a comprehensive set of skills, including ball handling, passing, and shooting on the offense tape, and pointers on stance, pressuring the ball, particular defensive maneuvers, and defensive rebounding on the defense tape. The camera work is professional throughout, and a booklet that accompanies the tapes serves as both a table of contents for the tapes and a workbook, as it contains pointers on the skills covered in the video presentations. This is an excellent set of instructional tapes and would benefit any players who seriously want to improve their game. --Robert J. McNamara