Basketball - Developing Frameworks

"Good artists borrow; great artists steal." - Picasso 

Coaching is problem solving. Benefit from "frameworks" that successful people share for problem solving. Find or develop parts that work for you. Adopt and adapt. 

Here are some examples: 

Michael Useem, "The Leadership Moment" 

• What went well?
• What went poorly?
• What can I do differently next time?
• What are the enduring lessons? 

Application: Post-game review/after action review

Kevin Durant. "How can I improve today?"

Application: Becoming a "learning machine" 

Steve Kerr. Focus on mindset, culture, mentors. 

Application: Applying growth mindset, mentoring

Bo Seo, World Debate Champion, "The RISA Framework"

• R - is it real or a misunderstanding?
• I - is it important enough to discuss?
• S - is the issue specific enough to discuss?
• A - is there "alignment" about objectives in having the conversation?

Application: Solving disagreements

Tren Griffin, "Charlie Munger" - "what works, what doesn't, and why?"

• Principles (understanding)
• The Right Stuff (execution)
• Variables (what factors impact outcomes?)
• Value - "The Graham value investor's job is to recognize mispriced assets when he or she sees them." 

The NBA Draft, 2017, from Basketball-Reference.com

Application: reducing complexity

James Clear, "Atomic Habits"

• Make good habits easier to do.
• Make bad habits harder. 
• Track habits and outcomes. 
• "Don't miss twice." (Everyone misses sometimes.)

Application: "Our habits are votes for the type of person we wish to become."

Mental Models (Charlie Munger and others) are legion.

• Inversion (turn a decision around and test it)
• Sample size (avoid premature judgments on limited data)
• Circle of competence (some act outside their experience and training)
• Probability (know whether the odds are in our favor)
• Force multipliers (e.g. military and other applications)

Application: Use across a breadth of life and sporting decisions. "The more you know..." 

Lagniappe. Sport rewards athletic explosiveness. 

We haven’t done resisted sprints all year due to logistics (lack of sleds per athlete, shenanigans w/ bands), but our times still continue to get better. Here are some sprint start variations we do for accel work. Add any that you do that I’m missing. pic.twitter.com/hMRQyPWaL9

— Tyler Franklin (@Tyry202) February 21, 2025

Lagniappe 2. Do some teams avoid the pick and roll because they haven't taught it or have players who can't make reads? 

Reading screens

1. Fade when the defender disconnects and shoots the gap
2. Straight when the defender gets stuck on the screen or with a big lead at the screen
3. Curl when the defender stays connected and chases pic.twitter.com/pbKjXr0MMT

— Matt Hackenberg (@CoachHackGO) February 22, 2025

 Lagniappe 3. Some say our players are undertaught and overcoached. 

Great coaching isn’t about giving constant feedback—it’s about making meaningful interventions. Players need to learn self-correction and adaptation, just like in a game. Try practice segments where coaches step back, allowing players to develop problem-solving skills on their… pic.twitter.com/e3kowCSpSI

— Transforming Basketball (@transformbball) February 22, 2025