Friday, January 22, 2021

Basketball Friday. Coaching: What Do You Want? A Drill, Concepts, and Set Plays

"What do you want?" Fulfill existential and practical needs. 

Celtics' coach Brad Stevens says that we get more out of coaching than we give. Coaches shape lives. For today, share a drill, three concepts, a set play, and a few extras (lagniappe).  

Drill. "Villanova." Drive, pivot, and pass. 

"Penetrate and pass" actions open perimeter shots. 

Concepts. 1 In stock trading "mean reversion" is an important observation. "Overbought" stocks can work off extended conditions via "price" (falling) or "time." The chart of Tesla (TSLA) shows this phenomenon as time works off high prices. 


We see something similar in training and in games where "plateaus" occur before advances. There is a natural tendency to "let up." 

2  Academics. "There is no ability without eligibility." Set high expectations for learning both on the court and in the classroom. Model lifelong learning and study for our players. 

Teach study methods like the Feynman Technique. Name, explain, research, and simplify the topic. This applies whether it's Newtonian physics or defending the pick-and-roll. Teach process and details

Basketball's Newtonian equations, ACHIEVEMENT = SKILL x TIME

Play with more force. Newton's second law, FORCE = MASS x ACCELERATION.  To play with more force, apply more explosive play. 

3 Sleep. Young people require at least eight hours of sleep each night. Sleep extension improves both speed and shooting skill, verified experimentally. Short-term sleep deprivation increases our susceptibility to cold viruses and decreases antibody responses to influenza vaccine. 

Set Play. Attack the defense at every opportunity. 


This SLOB uses a cross-screen for entry, then a DHO with a second screen to set up an open three. 

Lagniappe. Avoid the "Killer S's - sloth, selfishness, softness."

Lagniappe 2. Another set play. Horns, "Cinderella" (Glass Slipper) 


Lagniappe 3. Review. Hubie's absolutes.