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Friday, January 3, 2020

Basketball: End State Theory and Practice

"Whenever you can, begin at the end and work backwards." - Malcolm Gladwell

Understand the desired "end state" to work through "Commander's Intent." Read a piece critically to decide whether the parts support the conclusion. Judge whether editing has made the argument "clear and simple." 

Storlie writes, "Military planning begins with the Mission Statement that describes the who, what, when, where, and why (the 5 W’s) of how a mission will be executed."


From Globalsecurity.org

This schema is too complex for us but frames the big picture. "Commanders are the key to command and control (C2). They execute C2 by combining the art of command with the science of control." Find overlapping elements for our domain...planning, preparation, and execution...including tempo, time, "center of gravity" and so forth. 


Use checklists to reduce and simplify. 

Many developmental teams try to win with pressure to effect steals and score in conversion to transition. Malcolm Gladwell shares the blueprint in his chapter about Vivek Ranadive in David and GoliathWe want to be successful in our next game. What would that look like? Our girls will need to defeat the press, win defensive transition, and find quality shots


The desired end state (quality play leading to success) traverses a path of winning 'intermediate stages.' Our high school coach, Sonny Lane, preached winning quarters. Play always reveals flaws, as Kevin Eastman shared in Why the Best Are the Best. He explained how in an NBA Finals win, the Celtics allowed 32 points through defensive errors. So, expecting 13 year-olds not to have bad closeouts, lose containment, missed blockouts, bad fouls, and episodic transition defense failure is a fool's errand. But teaching core concepts to reduce mistakes over time to create better players and teams is everyone's process. 

How kids play a game or a season isn't the be-all, end-all. How they learn to live reflects our coaching. It won't be perfect. 

Lagniappe 1: Elite decision-making from @BBallImmersion



Lagniappe 2: when writing 

1) tell the truth
2) consider implicit biases 
3) advance the story
4) take away an enduring lesson 
5) don't be a jerk