Coach Pete Newell used to say, "they're not cattle." Players function best when they know both what to do and why they're doing it. What are the fundamentals and principles underpinning a given basketball action?
We tell players a lot, "do more of what is working and less of what isn't," as well as "do well what we do a lot." Make yourself hard to play against at both ends.
We don't practice playing zone defense, because that's not how we play. Translating practice into game action is what matters. We scrimmage a lot in "3 possession blocks", which may begin with a free throw, BOB, or SLOB. Why? I feel that's more helpful than a lot of interrupted and 'static' drilling. It also gives everyone reps on the special situations.
Our dribbling warmup happens around the 3-point line. Why? The 3-point line is critical to maintain spacing.
I discourage 'free shooting.' Why? In a game, how often do the players get stand and shoot or worse...take a standstill dribble and shoot? Be aware of the ROBOT - range, open, balance, one-motion, and teammates - when shooting.
I don't teach players to work from standstill "triple threat" position. Why? The game is about catch and act (attack, shoot, pass). You are most open when you catch the ball. Two-second rule - the ball should be moving within two seconds. In Brian McCormick's "Fake Fundamentals", he asked how often do you see someone 'triple threat' in an elite college game?
We work a lot on 1 or 2-dribble moves into separation, ideally for a great shot or a layup. Why? Nobody on my team has "four ways to score." Make the dribble take you somewhere.
Pass and cut, pass and cut. Why? "Movement kills defense." You stand around, you sit.
Condition within practice. Why? Running sprints isn't teaching anything about the game.
Use Dean Smith values. Why? Coach Smith demanded punctuality, shot quality (even scrimmaging with scoring based on shot quality), and execution. Coach Smith wrote, "I don't coach effort, I coach execution."
If we want our players to be special and our team to be special, then we have to teach better and play smarter than the next guy. Ideally, if we all do that, the general quality of the game rises and we don't have to watch bad basketball. That's why.
