"We don't do traditional conditioning...we play five-on-five...full court, face guard, man-to-man, trap" in the offseason.
Three part process, "see the game, analyze it quickly, react." He finds this a logical progression of their process.
"How often do I hit the whistle?" Many issues to question (spacing, cutting, stance, etc.) so it's unique to your approach.
He does less drill work than other programs within the pieces...very transition oriented.
Can't avoid playing a certain percentage of half-court offense...maybe 50-50 for them.
They have an extremely quick conversion into pressure defense (Coach Knight says three phases of the game - offense, defense, conversion). They do not have to score to pressure. He doesn't want ebb and flow of intensity. He coached high school with more traditional diamond-and-one and 2-2-1 pressure.
"Everything is charted..." re: winning and losing and point spread during practice. Some guys win during practice and that matters. Sometimes losers have to bring a cup of water to the winners during practice...increases effort.
He admired Pitino's teams with Billy Donovan and Delray Brooks...random pressing, chasing guys down. He's not a reader but watches a lot of basketball.
Ask who are you trapping, leaving, how good is your rotation? A bad trap leaves guys open in high risk (e.g. under the basket) scoring positions.
Uses video to critique (negatively), especially effort. "When it's on tape, it's hard to deny." (Tape doesn't lie.)
Emphasis in transition...1) immediate attack, 2) run in lanes, 3) space properly, 4) screen in transition, 5) cut better. He doesn't think it's ever good enough. He doesn't believe in using the shot clock...get a high percentage shot early if it's available. Oliver mentions that it requires giving players freedom to create advantage. Closest guy takes the ball out. "Players migrate to their strengths." Few rules...space, make yourself available to score.
He said the book published about his West Liberty offense showed all kinds of mistakes in their offense.
Oliver notes that it's hard to maximize possessions with maximum freedom. Crutchfield says that their style wears down already tired defenses (we all need a strategy to wear down opponents).
He says that they take relatively few bad shots. He subs more when he sees a player not giving maximum effort.
"Don't settle" (for low quality shots). Half of his players are coaches' sons (smart players).
What the impact on workload management? They have stoppages in the game for media timeouts (he doesn't know why in Division 2). Stoppages in practice are brief, usual practice about 90-105 minutes plus ten minutes of tape.
Of practice, "they're playing hard but having fun."
In the Final Four, they're all playing the same defense (Pack Line, limit gaps). He feels transition creates better gaps. Players are getting more athletic, longer, and more experienced playing gaps.
"If you can attack from the elbows (elbow to elbow)...there's not much weak side defense" relative to the wing attack. Don't throw the ball to the corner unless you think you can score from there. He doesn't use a traditional postup to avoid congestion.
Oliver points out that more scripted practice doesn't reflect how the game is played (for me, with youth players, they need more instruction first).
Lagniappe: 4 on 4 shell screening (Brandon Bailey) FastModelSports.com
Lagniappe 2: Zone Offense key and cut
Take advantage of your players' strengths by putting them in position to succeed.
Lagniappe 3: Darwin on survival...
