Social Media websites like Facebook and Twitter are a way of connecting and communicating with both friends and strangers alike. For at least one basketball coach at Villanova, however, social media is just another tool of the trade.
On Saturday night, Villanova's associate head coach Billy Lange used his Twitter account to do a little bit of coaching. After seeing a particularly good hustle play during the evening's Elite Eight match-up of Syracuse and Ohio State, he found a link showing the highlight of that play and sent it in a tweet addressed to Tyrone Johnson — the presumptive starting point guard next season.
"[T]hese are the type of plays #villanova guards make," he wrote. "Let's keep pushing that motor!"
Courtesy of SBNation.com
The play in question was a hustle move by Ohio State's Aaron Craft, to strip the ball and keep it in-bounds. Craft charged off the court, kept the ball in play, and took out a cameraman and barrier in the process. It had shades of Scottie Reynolds diving out of bounds and taking a sideline table and television equipment with him as a senior.
Villanova's coaches clearly expect young players like Johnson to earn their keep by making heads-up plays and working harder for the ball.
In all fairness, it isn't just Lange that is coaching on Twitter. Villanova football assistant Brian Flinn also sends occasional reminders to players about good technique. Most of his tweets are directed at nobody in particular, however.