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Friday, May 24, 2019

Basketball: Game Planning


"Have a plan, be ready to make mistakes...document your mistakes. You only learn how to make good barbecue by making bad barbecue." - Aaron Franklin, MasterClass

 Principles translate across disciplines. Act for the greater good. Franklin explains that when trimming meat, a piece (fat, cartilage, whatever) goes if it's "for the greater good." That translates to tryout strategy, selection, practice planning, practice, and games. Act for the greater good. 

But what is the greater good? In high school varsity and above, it's winning. In youth basketball, everyone likes to win and wants to win, but it's development. That means opportunity, teaching, and repetitions...the Wooden EDIRRRRR...explanation, demonstration, imitation, and repetition times five. 

 Location, location, location. If I were coaching high school varsity with experienced players I'd developed, I'd play to the personnel. With the players I have now, that would mean, winning the middle over the ends (speed game). If we had elite size, then dominating the ends (power game) would play better. Every team should want the shots they make. 

 Defensively, I believe in multiple defenses, trapping, and rotation. Create harder decisions for offensive players. That's not appropriate (in my view) for middle school, because of limited practice time. We play almost exclusively man-to-man, except defending baseline out of bounds. I'd want to play full court man-to-man pressure full time if I had twelve players with enough speed and doggedness to do so. We're working on it.

 And anyone who wants to be good has to score in the half-court because so many teams play zone and the better teams won't give up too many scores in transition. And I want to implement offensive concepts as part of development...spread offense, ball screens, isolation, off-ball screens (simple, staggered, elevator, screen-the-screener, screen-the-roller) and so on. 

 Film and prior experience with teams helps.

We had game film on a team that ran this "primary" sidelines play to set up corner 3s and had scored twice on threes against us. Young players won't counter with an "over-the-top" pass to the opposite corner. We simply cheated over the screen and took that away. 

 Another team had a player that had scored almost 30 points against us the previous year and dominated us. We forced other players to beat us. They also used "America's play" on the BOB and we switched and took that away. 

Last year they still beat us, but their 'star' had seven points and we led by two at halftime. Their 1 made a bunch of 3s in the second half, credit to her. 

 As players learn the game, they should make sight adjustments. 

It's not so easy...the Pistons ran a cross screen for Drummond against the Celtics early in the year. Drummond against Kyrie is two points for Drummond. 

 Lagniappe: Defenses make mistakes at every level. 

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