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Sunday, April 4, 2021

Deliver a Handful of KEY MESSAGES to Our Teams


The Four Factors (shooting, turnovers, rebounding, free throws) decide who wins and who loses. We can't stay a "get off my lawn" guy. Invest in information not disinformation. The above video links concepts to results. Numbers tell the story of our coaching decisions. 

Leaders deliver focused messages. "It's the economy, stupid." Coaches around the world repeat the same few key messages.  Watch excellent teams. Shared themes resonate. "No easy baskets. The help can't get beaten. Take quality shots."  

Hammer home indelible core concepts. 

1. "Make the simple play." Sounds simple, but it embeds three critical concepts:

  • See the play
  • Decide the preferred option
  • Execute (invest heavily in skill development)
"The Four Factors are the POSSESSION ENDERS of basketball." Did your decision (coaching or playing) improve or reduce our chance of success? 

2. "Basketball is a game of mistakes." - Coach Bob Knight   Success parallels our reducing mistakes. Good players aren't mistake machines. Good teams don't give away games. You have to beat them. 
  1. "Take care of the ball." Turnovers are killers. As Wayne Gretzky said, "You don't score on 100% of the shots not taken." Turnover equals no shot. 
  2. "Take better shots." Find higher percentage shots for higher percentage shooters. One of the Four Factors, EFG% reflects shot quality and accuracy. 
  3. Stop bad fouls. Fouling bad shots, jump shots, and bad shooters rewards them.

Great players impact the game through their ability to impact the Four Factors.

3. Winners play harder, smarter, and longer than losers. Good teams have an identity and clear methods to achieve success. What is your plan to wear down your opponent? 
  • Spacing, ball, and player movement wear out defenses. 
  • Ball pressure, contested shots, and aggressive rebounding wear down opponents. 
  • "Technique beats tactics." - Gregg Popovich
4. Become more efficient in space and time. 
  • Force defenses to cover more area and make long closeouts. 
  • Praise on time and on target passes. 
  • "Run wide" in transition. 
  • "Beat your man to half court in transition defense. 
Lagniappe. Player development message...



Every coach here knows this...but our players DO NOT. I want them to get the Malcolm McDowell Clockwork Orange forced viewing.

Lagniappe 2. X's and O's still matter...


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