Ethan Khoza breaks down RK Ilagan, a Filipino guard who plays like Steph Curry at 6 feet or under. The keys: shoot from 35-40 percent range with a quick release, use low-to-high dribble moves to separate from bigger defenders, and play with active hands on defense. High basketball IQ matters as much as athleticism.
Questions this video answers
High 30s to 40% from three-point range.
Chapters
Foreign. So I've got something cool to show you guys today. You probably never heard of RK Ilagan before and neither had I before. I had a subscriber who asked me to do a video about him. Those of you who don't know this guy is referred to as the Steph Curry of the Philippines. The reason I want to break this guy down is because he's a great example of how to play as a smaller guard. He's not a big dude at all, but he's very, very effective. He does a few key things that as a small guard you want to be able to emulate if you want to be successful playing basketball as well. So we're going to go clip by clip. Let's look at this first one coming down now. You'll see it right here. Ball comes down, here he is out in the wing catch shoot. Now the first thing you need to understand about being a smaller guard is that you have to be able to knock shots down. A non negotiable. You got to be able to shoot the ball. You got to a very, very effective shooter. You got to aim to shoot high 30s to 40% from the three point line if you want to be an effective smaller guard. And the reason being is because obviously it's going to be harder for you to score inside of the three point arc if you're smaller. So you want to make sure that you can score from the outside. And R.K. elagan is really, really good at shooting from the outside. And the other thing that goes hand in hand with that is that you got to have a quick release. So RK Elagan has got a really, really quick release so he's able to get that shot off very quickly. And the reason that's important again as a small guy is because a lot of times you're going to have bigger guys guarding you. Guys who are longer and have a longer reach. And if you have a slow shot, they're going to be able to alter and block your shot a lot more. So you got to be able to get that shot off quickly. And RK Logan has a really, really quick shot which is why he's so effective. You'll see right here again he's super, super quick, really quick dribble move, quick shot. So as a little guard he's able to quickly create separation and get his shot off right there with that behind the back. And that's another thing you got to have if you're a small guard, you got to have some quick little separation. Moves that give you a little bit of space so you can get your shot off. Because again, as a smaller player, you can't just rise up whenever you want a la Kevin Durant and shoot it over people. You're gonna have to find ways to create space. So having a quick behind the back move like that, or a quick between the legs, or quick in and out, or hesi something you can use quickly to get a little bit of space, you can get your shot off is something that you got to have. You want to be effective. Boom. Quick behind the back. You being smaller allows you to get lower than your guy much easier. So you'll see this right here. So over the top, he's going to have a bigger guy guarding him. And as soon as the guy crowds him, RK Elagan is going to get low and blow right by him. So you'll see right here starts a crowded space. Boom. Gets low right up there, how it's done. He gets low, rips through, and now it's just a race. And because he's lower, he's able to use that to his advantage and get downhill and have a nice dump off for an easy layup. Thing to understand is that being smaller, you have to use quickness to your advantage. And quickness isn't necessarily just about athleticism, although obviously that helps. But it's also about the angles that you take and how well you know the game. So if you know that the low man wins and you're able to get lower than your guy every time, you're going to look a lot quicker than maybe you really are, because you're going to be able to beat your guy because you're lower than him. So if you're a small guard, focus on getting lower than your man every time, and I guarantee you're going to start beating your guy way more often. The farther back that you can shoot from, the farther out your defender is going to have to play you. Boom. He's going to get this ball at the top from the logo, knocks it down. That's a tough shot to make. But now the next time he comes down the floor, his defender is going to have to be conscious of the fact that he can shoot from there. And that's going to make it way easier for RK to be able to drive by him, because his defenders will be guarding him from so far out, there's not going to be a lot of help near him. All of a sudden, his defender is going to have to make a choice on what he wants to Do. So another thing right here, you'll see RK is going to get this ball in the corner for a spot up three. And we're going to watch this defender close out on him. Knowing that RK Ilagan is quick and able to get by his defender, but also is able to shoot. It's going to be a weak close up with his hand down, giving RK Elagan a wide open three. So you'll see this right here into the corner, weak closeout, hand down, bucket. So on the scouting report, they already know what he's capable of doing. They know that he can drive and shoot, so his guy is not sure what he wants to do, leaving his hand down. That's a bucket. So again, when you can shoot the ball, but also you're able to get low, beat your guy off the dribble, it doesn't matter how big you are or how small you are, you're going to be able to get buckets on people. They're going to have to guess and play timid defense and that's going to allow you to be very, very effective with the ball in your hands. Here we go again with a quick shot release. You're going to see RK get the ball right here. Boom. Right away, bucket. So again, now his defender, who honestly did a pretty decent job closing out on him too. Now that he knows that RK is willing to shoot the ball from that range, he's going to have to really, really play him out there. And that means that a nice little head fake, he's easily get his guy to raise up. And again, Arcade's gonna get lower than him and beat him to the basket or get a nice easy pull up jump shot because he can shoot from that range. So being able to develop that deep range is something that you guys want to be able to do if you're a smaller guard. So you can see RK right here trying to deny this inbounds pass. And you'll see he's gonna have active hands and he's gonna keep on moving. He's gonna be able to get a piece of this ball. Get a steal, dump off right here, layup. All effort, all energy. If you're a small guard, you gotta play with this sort of energy every single time. You gotta have a chip on your shoulder. On defense, gotta be incredibly active because you don't have the long arms that a lot of guys have. You don't have the size the guys have. So you gotta make up for it. This is something that real high IQ players are able to pull off in games. So Arcade's gonna have this ball on the break and it's really one on one. But he sees that he's got a guy trailing right behind him. So if he can somehow get this defender out of the way, the guy right next to him is going to have a wide open dunk. So he's going to bring this ball right down here. He's going to pass off right here. Now look what he does right here. He gets into number four to keep him out of the way so that his teammate has a wide open lane for a dunk right here. It's almost like a box out, but you got to be real slick with it so the ref doesn't see you do it. So you'll see he gets in his way. Holds him right there. Kimmy gets a wide open dunk. Here it is in slow mo. He's gonna come down, passes off. Look at this. Boom. Keeps him out of the way, Dunks it right there. Great high IQ play. Gets his team a bucket right there. Knowing the game well and having a high basketball IQ is such an integral part of being an effective player as a guard, especially as a small guard. When you think about some of the best smaller guards to ever play the game, guys like Chris Paul and Steve Nash, those are two of the smartest basketball players to ever step foot on the court. So you have to be a real student of the game. You have to know the ins and out of your team and the plays that you run and the defenses that you guys run and your teammates as well. You really have to be the quarterback on the court. And they talk about point guards being floor generals. Well, you as a smaller player, you have to be a floor general. You got to know what's going on at all times. And like I said before, being a student of the game, that's something that you gotta have if you want to be effective. If you guys found this video helpful, please give me a like and subscribe as well. I really would appreciate that. If you guys have any questions, leave them below in the comments. I'll do my best to try and help you guys out. You guys have any video requests, leave them down there too. And like I said, subscribe. Really appreciate it. Really helps me out. And that's it for me. Peace. Sam.
