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Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Core Basketball Concept: Improving Your Position

"Always improve your fighting position." - Jack Carr in "True Believer"

What does that mean for basketball players in theory and in practice? In battle, many factors go into "fighting position" - access for entry and egress, elevation, cover, vision, and field of fire are some. 

Our fighting position in basketball includes: 

Conditioning

Poorly conditioned teams lose both territory and resilience. 

Individual defense  

Stance, on ball versus off ball positioning, proximity to assignment, quickness, communication, anticipation and reaction, decision-making, and ability to cover yours and help (cover 1.5) separate a valuable defender from a jag - just another guy. 

Offense  

Spacing opens driving and passing lanes, makes double teaming harder, as well as providing headaches for help and recover defenses. 

"Basketball is a game of separation." Improve separation with technigue - urgent cutting, setting up cuts, using teammates (screens), alertness (is our defender a head turner?), and with the ball separation using footwork, change of direction (e.g. crossovers, between the legs) and change of pace (hesitation, extra gear). 

Rebounding

Excellent defensive rebounders leverage position and toughness. Offensive rebounders excel at anticipation and quickness to the ball. Rebounding prowess helps end an opponent's possessions and prolong ours. 

Transition

Teams create advantage with rapid conversion (offense to defense - defense to offense) and know how to get numerical advantage (offense) and prevent easy baskets by stopping the ball, protecting the basket, and delaying initiation of opponent offense.

The analogy is clear that the military mandate to "improve fighting position" applies equally to basketball, although with different stakes. An old saying goes that "Basketball isn't a matter of life or death. It's more important than that." 

Lagniappe. Zoom action into an elevator/sandwich screen. 

Lagniappe 2. Zoom stagger from Chris Oliver 

Lagniappe 3. Pro sports have embraced Stoic philosophy. Stoic principles...much suffering is self-inflicted.

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Tuesday, December 9, 2025

Basketball- Reducing Unforced Errors

“What you can do, however, is strive to make fewer unforced errors over time by using sound judgment and techniques to make the best decision at any given time.”
- Super Thinking, Gabriel Weinberg & Lauren McCann

Life is full of unforced errors - mistakes that aren’t caused by overwhelming pressure, but by lapses in judgment, execution, or preparation. They are often painful and sometimes game-changing. They separate success from failure more often than raw talent ever does.

We all know them:

  • Missing an exit on the highway

  • Leaving out or mis-measuring an ingredient

  • Misreading a test question

  • Missing a page on a standardized exam

  • A scheduling misunderstanding that means missing the bus

  • A breakdown in communication at the worst possible moment

Basketball is no different.

At its core, winning comes down to a simple truth:
Against good teams, you must score points and give fewer away.

Unforced errors are points donated.

Unforced Errors in Basketball

Unforced errors generally fall into three categories:

1. Decision-related errors

These reflect judgment.

  • Driving or passing into traffic 

  • Poor shot selection - not balanced, not open, out of range

  • Bad fouls - fouling bad shots and perimeter shots

  • Going for a steal when it’s not there

  • Decision-related turnovers (e.g. wing-to-top gift passes)

Good decisions don’t guarantee points - but bad ones almost guarantee losses.

2. Execution-related errors

These reflect skill and consistency.

  • Failure to pressure the ball

  • Poor free throw shooting

  • Exposing the ball to aggressive defenders

  • Bad blockouts

  • Poor transition defense - lackadaisical or "buddy running"

Execution errors shrink with repetition, focus, and attention to detail.

3. Behavioral errors

These reflect professionalism — and they matter more than we like to admit.

  • Poor academic habits including studying game planning

  • “Missed movement” (late for practice, missing the bus)

  • Violations of chemical health policy

  • Breaking team rules

  • Misuse of social media

These errors don’t show up on the stat sheet - but they always show up on the scoreboard eventually.

The Separation Point

Exceptional players - and exceptional teams - reduce unforced errors over time. They sharpen decision-making, improve execution, and hold themselves to standards of professional behavior.

Talent scores points. Judgment protects them.

The goal isn’t perfection. The goal is fewer self-inflicted wounds - today than yesterday, this season more than last.

That’s winning the hidden game.

Lagniappe. Bring "competitive joy" to the court.

Lagniappe 2. Selfishness distills to the "Holy Triad" of minutes, shots, and recognition. 


 

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Monday, December 8, 2025

Basketball - "Dare to Be Bad"

Excellence, both creative and critical, requires the will and discipline to l leave our comfort zone. 

Lifelong learning includes study both within our domain and outside of it. Aerosmith's "Dare to Suck" weekly meetings was their departure from comfort. 

What “Dare to Suck” is

  • “Dare to Suck” is reportedly a weekly (or regular) ritual adopted by Aerosmith. 

  • During the meeting, every member brings an idea they think is “probably terrible,” even embarrassing - the kind of idea they might otherwise hide or dismiss. 

  • The value lies in creating space for unfiltered creativity, “suck now, maybe shine later.” As lead singer Steven Tyler said, “nine times out of ten the idea is actually terrible - but one time out of ten you get something brilliant.”

In short: it’s a low-stakes container for letting bad, half-baked, or wild ideas surface - with the chance that one of them will spark a gem.

Why it matters

  1. Reduces fear of failure / embarrassment
    By framing “bad ideas” as part of the process, the group removes shame, hesitation, and second-guessing. Creativity often flows when the bar is low.

  2. Promotes volume over perfection - idea quantity breeds quality
    Many creative ventures hinge on quantity: the more ideas you generate, even crappy ones, the higher chance that one will hit. Dare to Suck leverages that math.

  3. Encourages divergent thinking and risk-taking
    When you allow and encourage “bad,” “weird,” or “half-baked” ideas, you open up creativity beyond the safe, incremental. That’s where originality lives (plays, novel drills, blog posts - whatever your medium).

  4. Normalizes iteration and refinement instead of expecting instant brilliance
    Real creative work often involves filtering, revising, throwing away big chunks. Dare to Suck underscores that the first draft, first sketch, first play may and probably will “suck.” 

  5. Fosters shared vulnerability and collaborative ownership
    In a group context - band, team, staff - this ritual builds trust, breaks down “self-censorship.” It signals: we value your voice, however imperfect. That creates freedom to explore limits.

How Dare to Suck could fit for us

A background of coach, educator, writer permits the Dare to Suck mindset to resonate strongly. Here are a few concrete ways to adopt it:

  • Team meetings (volleyball, basketball, business analogies): Start a “Dare to Suck” roundtable where players/coaches propose “crazy drill ideas,” “wild plays,” or “unconventional conditioning.” Chances are most will be tossed - but one might spark a breakthrough.

  • Writing / blog drafts: Draft first, then polish: write without censoring, get the ideas down, then refine. Take comfort with revision, editing, and “delete-key philosophy.”

  • Leadership / team-culture sessions: Encourage staff, assistants, or senior players to voice their worst ideas or biggest doubts - in a safe setting. Expose hidden friction, untested opportunities, or creative sparks.

  • Personal growth / experimentation: Use “Dare to Suck” internally when trying new habits - vertical jump drills, training routines, or coaching methods - allow growth to emerge organically. 

    Lagniappe. Passing/scoring drill. 

    Lagniappe 2. What stories are we telling our team? 

  • Control the narrative

  • Where are we vulnerable? 

  • What should we do? 

  • Try harder as 'trailing'. 

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Sunday, December 7, 2025

Basketball: Advice from a Mentor

Feedback looks backward. Advice looks forward. At a recent local Athletic Hall of Fame induction (I'm a board member not an inductee), my former coach, Ellis Lane described a conversation with a former player.

"He shows me this offense, incredibly complex, and says, 'I understand this perfectly'. I tell him that "your players aren't going to." Keep it simple.

This epitomizes the Don Meyer coaching evolution - blind enthusiasm, sophisticated complexity, and mature simplicity. As coaches mature, we look for ways to simplify. 

  • "Have a GO TO and COUNTER move." 
  • "Beat them with your first step."
  • "Cut urgently." Offense fails with lazy cutting. 
  • "Movement kills defenses."
  • "One bad shot." Make that the defensive priority.
  • "Contain the ball."
  • "Attack the ball." No ball pressure, no stops.  
I know that I made many coaching mistakes. Here are a few big ones:

1) Overaggressiveness before recognizing talent differential. With the talent edge, aggressive, fast play makes sense. Diagnose first, treat second. 

2) Overscheduling. Put our team in the top league, only to lose our top player (now at Richmond) for the season to knee surgery. That went badly. 

3) Undervaluing press breaking early in the season. Seasoned teams press young players seizing an advantage against less skill and experience. 

Make simplicity a core value and evaluate our simplicity daily. 

Lagniappe. High school ball is not the NBA. Or how the midrange game can separate you. 

Lagniappe 2. Get better matchups. 
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Saturday, December 6, 2025

Checking Personal Boxes of Winners

Checklists help in many domains - construction, air travel, healthcare, finance, restaurants, and more. 

What do you have on your checklist for "Lead without a Title?" I wrote a blog post with bullet points and asked Chat GPT Plus to convert it to a checklist. 

Use this daily. Leadership is not occasional. It’s habitual.

Team & Teammates

☐ I encouraged at least one teammate today
☐ I communicated clearly and positively
☐ I brought energy to practice or matches
☐ I celebrated teammates’ success
☐ I helped a teammate without being asked

Effort & Competitiveness

☐ I gave my best effort on every drill
☐ I sprinted in transitions (on and off the court)
☐ I competed without complaining
☐ I stayed engaged, even when I wasn’t in the spotlight

Coachability & Growth

☐ I listened fully when coached
☐ I responded to feedback with action, not excuses
☐ I asked at least one thoughtful question
☐ I focused on improvement, not comparison

Culture & Standards

☐ I was on time and prepared
☐ I was never a distraction
☐ I modeled positive body language
☐ I upheld team values when no one was watching

Service & Ownership

☐ I did a “dirty job” (balls, cleanup, help)
☐ I asked, “How can I help?”
☐ I put the team’s needs ahead of my own
☐ I left the gym better than I found it

Off the Court

☐ I represented the program with class
☐ I handled academics responsibly
☐ I took care of my body (sleep, nutrition, recovery)

Lagniappe. Coach Hacks shares 'scorer development' drills. 

Lagniappe 2. Want students to get better grades? Research from Professor Adam Grant... 

It's time to remove laptops from classrooms.24 experiments: Students learn more and get better grades after taking notes by hand than typing. It's not just because they're less distracted—writing enables deeper processing and more images.The pen is mightier than the keyboard. 
1
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2

The researchers estimate that over a semester, students who take notes by hand will be 58% more likely to earn As—while those who type will be 75% more likely to fail. (The obvious exception is students with disabilities that require a digital device.)


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Friday, December 5, 2025

Basketball - Mental Model - "Gray Thinking"

For many, the world is black and white. It's comforting to adopt our "truth." Unfortunately, life exposes us when the world turns gray. 

If there were one "best way," everyone should do that - teaching basketball, coaching basketball, practicing basketball. If the Princeton Offense were the best, shouldn't every NBA team run it? If it's all about the three, shouldn't everyone think like Joe Mazzulla?  

Gray thinking is a mental model (discussed in Super Thinking) that rejects black-and-white, all-or-nothing judgments. It’s the discipline of holding multiple possibilities at once, tolerating uncertainty, updating beliefs, and avoiding premature conclusions.

It’s a cognitive skill closely tied to:

  • nuance

  • probability

  • adaptability

  • learning

  • emotional regulation

It’s what high-level decision-makers and elite athletes need.

Below is a clean explanation of gray thinking and then a translation into basketball coaching, player development, and in-game decision-making.

What Is “Gray Thinking”?

Gray thinking shares several characteristics:

1. Avoiding absolute categories

Not everything is “good or bad,” “smart or dumb,” “success or failure.”
Most things fall along a continuum. 


Michael Mauboussin presented a Skill-Luck continuum with certain casino games pure luck and chess nearly pure skill. 

2. Holding competing ideas simultaneously

Believe:

  • “Our defense needs work.”

  • “Our defense is trending upward.”
    Both can be true.

3. Emphasizing probabilities, not certainties

Great decisions live in the world of likelihood, not guarantees. When Steve Kerr started Andre Iguodala over Andrew Bogut in The Finals to help beat the Cavs, he exercised probabilities based on film study. 

4. Remaining flexible and update-friendly

When the environment changes, gray thinkers adjust quickly - put ego on the back burners. 

5. Resisting emotional oversimplification

Fear and pressure push us toward black-and-white conclusions. Gray thinking slows the emotional brain and activates the analytical brain.

In short: Gray thinkers don’t lock in too quickly or too tightly. They think in a spectrum of possibilities.

How Gray Thinking Applies to Basketball

Basketball harmonizes this mental model because the sport is filled with noise, randomness, small samples, and partial truths. Players who see in shades-not absolutes-manage complexity better.

Here are five examples tied to coaching.

1. Evaluating Players: Avoiding “Always” and “Never”

Black-and-white thinking:

  • “She’s a bad shooter.”

  • “He's a turnover machine.”

Gray thinking:

  • “She’s an inconsistent shooter who improves when her base is stable.”

  • “He struggles with left-hand pressure but reads ball screens well.”

Why it matters:

  • Gray evaluation leads to specific, trainable improvement plans.

  • Players feel seen, not judged, leading to better buy-in.

2. In-Game Decision Making: Choosing the Best Probability, Not a “Perfect” Option

Black-and-white thinking wants:

  • The perfect shot

  • The perfect possession

  • Zero turnovers or mistakes

That doesn’t exist.

Gray thinking embraces:

  • “This is a good decision in this context.”

  • “A 36% catch-and-shoot 3 by our best shooter is worth more than a highly contested layup.”

  • “Our press is working 70% of the time, worth it.”

This leverages probability.

3. Handling Shooting Slumps: Multiple Causes and Solutions

Black-and-white:

  • “I can’t shoot.”

  • “My shot is broken.”

Gray thinking:

  • “My arc is good, but my balance is inconsistent.”

  • “I can improve my shot selection.”

A gray-thinking athlete:

  • Breaks down performance into components

  • Adjusts and believes improvement is stepwise and available

This aligns with Don Meyer’s idea: “Fix the misses, don’t fix the make.”

4. Conflict and Leadership: Understanding Multiple Truths

Black-and-white team culture reacts like this:

  • “She’s wrong.”

  • “He’s selfish.”

Gray leadership says:

  • “She’s frustrated despite trying her best.”

  • “He wants more minutes and cares about winning.”

This improves:

  • Communication

  • Empathy

  • Buy-in

5. Strategy and Adjustments: Nothing Works All the Time

Black-and-white thinking wants:

  • One defense

  • One ball screen coverage

  • One lineup

Gray thinking understands:

  • Matchups matter

  • Game flow matters

  • Fouls, fatigue, momentum matter

A gray-thinking coach:

  • Changes defenses

  • Uses dynamic lineup combinations

  • Teaches “If/Then” thinking:

    • “If they ice ball screens, we go to Spain action.”

    • “If they overplay, use more screens and back cuts."

This is optionality, dynamic choice, high-level basketball.

Much of life is nuanced not absolute. Basketball is no different.

Lagniappe. Cool action, a weave into a backscreen.   


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Thursday, December 4, 2025

Organizing Basketball Practice with a Generic Example

Everyone 'runs' practice differently. There's no Holy Grail, although there are principles.

  • Warmup
  • Fundamentals
  • Teaching Segments
  • Team offense
  • Team defense
  • Applying and managing pressure
  • Conditioning
  • Scrimmaging
  • Special situations
Goals:
  • Maximize efficiency
  • Competition 
  • Involve everyone 
  • Coaching without overcoaching 
  • Solve current problems
  • Implementation of offense/defense/specials
  • Simplification
Young coaches can benefit from having examples while they identify what works for their program. As LA Rams Coach Sean McVay says, "Everyone benefits from coaching." 

Spreadsheet of Possible considerations


Sample practice spreadsheet (conditioning in yellow)
Free throws are mixed into water breaks



Speed layups: 
Racehorse: We called this Racehorse and ran it harder
Get 50

Warmup - Warm up your shot early in practice. The Jay Wright, "Get 50" approach does that. 


3 x 3 x 3 Shooting

Condition within drills. Full court, full press scrimmaging, transition drills, "Argentina Passing," and others keep players running and practicing with a ball. 3 x 3 x 3 shooting gets both high volumes of shots and running. 





















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