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Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Basketball: Easy If You Know It

"A good coach or teacher can make the hard subject matter seem easy." - Jim Harbaugh, in Seth Davis' Getting to Us

Simplicity tests us. The Feynman Technique (teaching) simplifies the material. Great coaches purify. Pete Newell taught, "get more and better shots than your opponent." John Wooden preached the details. "Little things make big things happen." 

Reduce basketball to executing core tasks. Teach players the big picture. Small phrases share big ideas. 

"No easy baskets." Make the opposition work for everything. Have players define easy.

"Fall in love with easy (shots)." Player and ball movement make easy. 

"Win individual battles." (Contain the ball, block out, separate.) No team succeeds without winning the small battles.

"Scoreboard over scorebook." The scoreboard is about team. The scorebook is about you. 

"Exploit your edge." Do you have superior size, athleticism, skill, or basketball IQ? Use your tools to advantage your team and yourself. Without an edge, we cannot succeed. 

"Space the floor." Have players explain why. Make the defense cover a larger area. Players should explain that space opens driving and passing lanes, reduces deflections and chances for double teams. 

"Share better." Share energy and enthusiasm. Talk. Share the ball. Coach Pete Carril described "being a light bulb."




"Be here now." Urban Meyer preaches, "A to B, 4 to 6." Each play you go from point A to point B in 4 to 6 seconds. 



"Possession and possessions." Turnovers are coach killers. Get possession and don't give away possessions. "The ball is gold."

"Ring the strings." Whether basketball or guitar, you gotta ring the strings. 

Lagniappe:
Hakeem Olajuwon, the master of footwork and finishing. 

Lagniappe 2: 
Boston College transition drill