Never Confuse "Simple" with Easy or Unimportant

"Everybody knows that." I assure you, that is untrue. 

Don Meyer is among the greatest coaches whom many do not know. He described  coaching progression from blind enthusiasm to sophisticated complexity to mature simplicity.

Simple doesn't mean useless or easy. In fact, many 'biddy basketball' lessons translate to the highest levels of basketball. Constantly remind players about core concepts. Say it, say it again. 

"Layups and free throws win games." Basketball enthusiasts with any empathy had to feel something for Nic Claxton who missed ten consecutive free throws on a national stage. "You cannot defend free throws" got lost in translation. 

"Movement kills defenses." The most fundamental movement plays are:

• Dribble penetration blow-bys (defense starts ball containment) 
• Give and go (jump to the ball)
• Back cuts against overplay 

With a new group of sixth graders years ago, I noticed our opponent align in a spread offense (5 out, 50, Spread, Wide, Texas, whatever) and yelled, "give and go" and I might as well have called the play for our opponent. Two points.

"Cut urgently." Lazy cutting is a major cause of failed execution. Jay Bilas' Toughness advice to 'set up your cut' is another pivotal execution mantra. It's part of Billy Donovan's '95' of what you're doing during the 95 percent of the time you don't have the ball. 

"Don't play in the traffic." Great players win in space. Great players win in space. Traffic creates turnovers and low percentage 'contestedness' shots. 

But "draw two." LeBron drew a crowd and hit an open Danny Green who didn't knock it down. That doesn't make passing a bad decision. 

"The ball is gold." I don't miss hearing, "I know, I know" or "my bad" or worst yet, "it's okay." Turnovers and bad shots are not "okay." In a sport where roughly a third of games at most levels are decided by two possessions or less, giving the ball and easy shots away are mortal sins. 

"Technique beats tactics." As Pascal Meurs says, the big shares on the basketball Internet are plays designed to get open shots. Don Meyer asked, "would you rather have two better players or two better plays?" Dave Smart admonishes us, "every day is player development day." 

"Basketball is sharing." - Phil Jackson   Excellent teams have shared vision, shared goals, shared sacrifice, and distributed leadership. Share the ball. Nobody loves a ball hog. Nobody wants to play with a selfish player. And nobody cries when the lazy employee quits. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out." Everyone can't be a great player, but everyone can be a better teammate. 

"Be good at what you do a lot." Dave Smart also reminds coaches to be good in transition (defense), in the half court (offense and defense), and at pick-and-roll (offense and defense). See the corollary below.

"Kill your darlings." If it doesn't increase our chance of winning, dump it. Brian McCormick says, "no lines, no laps, no lectures." 

Here's a repost of his Table of Contents from Fake Fundamentals.

Lagniappe. Two simple horns actions...Horns elevator drive. This action creates either a 3 off the elevator screen or a pick-and-roll. 

Lagniappe 2. Horns DHO (simple but effective) and occupy weak side defenders