Nick Saban reminds us to "clear the clutter." The coaching notes contain far more detail, but I hope these resonate clarity and simplicity. I've added a few annotations...
2009 Clinic notes from Zak Boisvert
"Develop an approach based not on what you want do run, but on what your players can do."
"You will get more open by screening than you will by cutting."
Always remember to set up your cuts when screened. (One of the Jay Bilas core Toughness concepts..."set up your cuts.")
Knight's players shoot three minutes of free throws every twenty minutes.
"Thinking is a better weapon than shooting." (Everyone can think; not everyone can shoot.)
"The key to good offense is to run things you know you have difficulty guarding."
Distort the zone with the dribble; drive into gaps.
Championship Video Notes from Ben Guest
Practice should be tougher than games.
Playing without the dribble in practice forces movement.
Practice against 7 defenders (5 on 7 no dribble is my favorite pressure drill.)
3 on 3 work every practice.
Against zone, think "draw 2" by forcing two defenders to cover one.
"The zone is designed to play the pass."
Don't return the ball to the player who passed it to you (unless you dribble away).
The screener should always have a chance to score ("screen selfishly")
Texas Tech Notes (from Coach Larry Jackson)
"Free shooting is the worst thing." (Major Knight theme)
"All kids have limitations; stay away from what you can't do." The corollary to this is, "just because I want you on the floor doesn't mean I want you to shoot."
"You cannot allow sloppy passing at any point in practice." (No sloppiness ever...)
When the ball is reversed, automatically backscreen from the post.
"Teach players to see not look, to listen not hear." (The first price you pay is paying attention.)
Against the zone, align quicker players against slower zone defenders to create mismatches. They decide how to play; you decide where and whom to attack.
Let's Get a Good Shot
"The defense will tell us what cut to make."
(What is obvious to coaches is often NOT OBVIOUS to players.)
A coach needs to understand the strengths and weaknesses of every player who plays for him, and make them understand too.
On offense, your players don’t take bad shots. They don’t throw the ball away. They move without the ball. They help each other get open.
If it is a pressuring man-to-man, we have got to take the ball to the bucket- catch the ball, face, fake, and drive. Do that, do it well and you’ll be on the foul line. (Answer attack with attack...this is at the core of OODA military strategy...observe, orient, decide, act)
"The defense will tell us what cut to make."
The pinch post like action reduces to PnR, give-and-go, and 5 isolation. This reminds us of Coach Belichick breaking down the Joe Gibbs' Washington offense to three basic runs and ten passes regardless of the myriad formations and shifts.
A coach needs to understand the strengths and weaknesses of every player who plays for him, and make them understand too.
On offense, your players don’t take bad shots. They don’t throw the ball away. They move without the ball. They help each other get open.
If it is a pressuring man-to-man, we have got to take the ball to the bucket- catch the ball, face, fake, and drive. Do that, do it well and you’ll be on the foul line. (Answer attack with attack...this is at the core of OODA military strategy...observe, orient, decide, act)
You are trying to get players to understand that how they play is a hell of a lot more important than whether or not they win. Winning is a by-product of preparation and work at practice.
Reasons why a team loses—sloppy ball-handling, poor defensive effort, lack of blockout, poor shot selection. (The most immediate step to better play is better shot selection.)
