Monday, April 8, 2019

Basketball: Offseason Wish List (MUST, NEED, WANT)

Mike Lombardi, author of Gridiron Genius wrote about Bill Parcells in The Athletic. Parcells began the offseason with a blank sheet that he divided into three columns - MUST, NEED, and WANT. He focused on personnel.

That worked well for Parcells, authoring a pair of Super Bowl titles. 

Be objective. To have better players, build them, coach them up. 



Tailor individual and team programs to your situation. Alternatively, apply this framework to budgeting, fundraising, personal growth, time management, diet, or other areas. 



Through the offseason, monitor progress. 

The best way to teach ball containment is one-on-one. 1 v 1 also teaches offense, ideally with constraints (e.g. allow two dribbles from the spacing line/3 point line). 



Kevin Eastman's "dog drill" has merit (the cones are imaginary). I don't want anyone tripping over cones.

There's no "one size fits all" shooting drill. Everyone benefits from finishing skills. Here's an older post on "site specific shooting" drills. 

Basketball IQ seems nebulous. It's knowing what to do and doing it. But it starts with your process, performance focus, and playing possession by possession. Film study helps. Great hitters don't give away at bats and successful pitchers know lost concentration leads to hittable pitches ("wild in the strike zone"). 

Chris Oliver emphasizes basketball decision training (video below).




Lagniappe: ZAP (Zipper Away Postup)...ideal if you have a mismatch at a position. The Celtics like this to set up Gordon Hayward.