David and Goliath, Get the Odds on Our Side

"You have people walking around with all the knowledge of humanity on their phone, but they have no idea how to integrate it. We don’t train people in thinking or reasoning." - David Epstein, Range

Resources limit us but imagination shouldn't. Find ways to differentiate ourselves from the competition.

First, notes from a Richard Branson MasterClass chapter about his fierce battle with British Airways during Virgin Airways startup.

Create a short list of better ways than yesterday. 

1. Share better. Share ideas. Share successes. Share failures. During medical training, a third of trainees develop CLINICAL DEPRESSION. That doesn't mean a little sad. That means. "Dr. Smith should be on medication for his problem." In my second year of residency training, I worked 185 consecutive days, including usually being on call in hospital every third night. Average sleep, one hour. I'm not asking for sympathy for forty year-old history, just saying that's no way to train young people in empathy. 

Failure is part of basketball maturity. Recovery from failure is part, too. Success and failure stories inform those struggling that they are not alone.

2. Communicate better. Hemingway said, "writing is easy; all you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." He often wrote short sentences using small words. His words inform emotion. 

"He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish." 

After a two-point home loss to the thrice defending State Champion, Coach said, "you lost because it said, "Lexington" on their jerseys. You're better than they are and you won't lose to them again." 

3. Prepare better. We practiced five versus seven full court press, no dribble, every day. Pass and cut. Repeat. Repeat and finish. We won the rematch by eighteen in their gym. Their All-State guard scored ten. You could hear a pin drop at the end. We won the rubber game in Boston Garden in overtime. 

4. Give and get better feedback. President Reagan said, "Trust but verify." Get everyone on the same page. Check.

• How do we defend the pick and roll? 
• How many do we send to the offensive boards? Who gets back? 
• What is our "gotta have it" BOB, SLOB, ATO, set versus man and versus zone? 

Coach Bob Knight would call a "practice timeout" and then hand out pencil and paper and ask players to write what they heard and diagram the play he diagrammed. You better know.

5. Be more specific. You remember from Alice in Wonderland, "“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’" That doesn't work with players. Define and share examples of playing hard, quality shots, containing the ball, denying the post, help and recovery. 

6. Make fewer mistakes. Another Knight saying, "Basketball is a game of mistakes."

• Make the easy play.
• "No easy baskets" from mental mistakes, fouls, and bad transition.
• No "shot turnovers" 

Make more positive "possession ending" plays. STOPS make RUNS. 

Pete Newell said it best, "get more and better shots than our opponents."

Lagniappe.  Spurs concepts... worth the trouble.

 

Horns Everything Including Delay Game Plus Double Extras

I've argued that horns allows teams to run anything. It's great to setup mismatches against "switch everything" teams. 

It plays against the 2-3 zone with a variety of options, especially against an aggressive front (above, right).

Would it work as a delay offense? Delay offenses run clock but also present scoring chances. 

This creates post-entry, opposite backscreen, but also has obvious backcuts, preferably on the side the ball was entered. It has continuity and opportunities for back cuts with the baseline players as well. If defenses overplay the top, slips are there and if help comes off the corners, there's the 'short roll' pass equivalent.

Of course, at any time you can change it up and run a high ball screen to either side. 

Lagniappe. Sandwich screen off a SLOB 

Ball State EOG SLOB - Pindown Cross Elevator pic.twitter.com/Pbz7Wsbb9Z

— 𝙸𝚍𝚘 𝚂𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 (@IdoBasketball) August 28, 2022

Lagniappe 2. "Every day is player development day." Base moves for everyone's arsenal... 

Reverse Pivot Jab Series Progression

1. Rip & Go
2. Jab & Go Opposite
3. Jab Shimmy & Go
4. Jab into Shot
5. Jab, Shot Fake, Attack pic.twitter.com/4cawbMOFfN

— Colby Lewis (@colbylewis20) August 29, 2022

Blue Skying - Low Pressure Brainstorming, Take Time to Imagine Possibilities

"This is a really fun sandbox to play in." - The Duffer Brothers, writers and directors of Stranger Things

You've got it (your job). What next? As coaches, our job is to advance the story. Attention to detail defines us in the search for getting the most skill, athleticism, and resilience from our teams. Here are a few suggestions:

Philosophy. Have a written core philosophy with clear values and expectations. "This is what we do and how we do it here." Make it understood that every decision is for the good of the program.  

Basketball Core. What's our offensive, defensive, and conversion approach? At a minimum excel at defensive transition, handling pressure, defending the pick-and-roll, and half-court offense and defense. Players do not have the luxury of playing 'tilted', playing only one end of the court. 

Winning. What are you willing to do, sacrifice, and celebrate? Share vision, share sacrifice, share results.  

Assistants. "Look for the helpers." Find assistants who understand the role of being the assistant they would want if THEY were the head coach. 

Off-season program. What is permissible in your area? Some states (like Massachusetts) limit off-season coaching. "Every day is player development day." Inform players of their strengths to consolidate and their need areas to improve. 

Booster club. We've witnessed boosters who were phenomenal in support and others where ego led to dysfunction. Fortunate are they who have parents who can put the well-being of the team at least equal to that of their children. 

Characters. The narrative has a diverse cast with varying needs and desires. Bills' coach Sean McDermott expressed it well, "That's what it gets back to in terms of earning the right to win. How we meet, how we talk, how we workout, how we practice when we do practice, how we play - that's the standard we're trying to get to every day." 

Respect. Here's an excerpt from an overheard conversation from Anson Dorrance. He tells a story about a conversation he overheard between a player and her parent about playing time. The parent implied, "Anson doesn't like you." The player, getting frustrated finally said, "Don't you understand, Mom? Kristine is just better than I am." Players know when they are treated fairly and respected. 

What if? It's great to brainstorm about possibilities. "What if we run 'delay game' from XYZ?" That's an idea for a future post or a future offense.  

Lagniappe. Here's a table from Jon Gordon's The Hard Hat:

Lagniappe 2. Get penetration and separation. 

The ability to get 2 feet in the paint is important

The ability to be patient and score in the paint is even more important

The step through is one for the best and most effective footwork in basketball pic.twitter.com/o0trw9zn0i

— Anthony Pugh (@Anthony_Pugh2) August 28, 2022

 

Better Listeners Make Better Teams, Plus Several Options Off Screens

Soft skills define winners. Listening, teamwork, and culture matter. Teams lose championships when communication fails. It's too late for 'sorry'. 

The airline industry shares a safety culture. A high percentage of accidents comes on a crew's first day together. In some cultures, junior officers historically deferred to senior pilots. Junior officers culturally hesitant to correct seniors can result in tragedy. 

“We have two ears and one mouth for a reason.” Nelson Mandela went with his father to meetings and noted his father always spoke last. He absorbed others’ viewpoints and addressed them in a more nuanced way.

Have a professional attitude about listening. Stephen Covey reminds us, “Listen to understand not just to respond."

“We learn only when listening not speaking.” Listening allows us to escape our personal echo chamber. When an assistant (or spouse) makes a suggestion, often the best answer is, "let me have time to think about it and get back to you." 

“Paying attention is the first price paid for success.” Mindfulness is proven to improve attention even in students as young as first grade.

Richard Branson believes listening to be part of his success. He advises asking the questioner her opinion after your answer both to show interest and get their opinion. Branson also says to take written notes as point of emphasis after a meeting or key conversation. 

Listening is important throughout our lives. Impaired hearing contributes to memory loss. And hearing aids reduced the rate of memory loss. 

Coaches discuss a player's coachability. That presumes listening skills and ability to transform them into performance. 

Key points:

• Take a professional attitude to listening.
• Paying attention is the first price paid for success.
• Make better attention and listening a priority. 
• Mindfulness is one easy way to improve attention. 
• When fielding questions, ask the listener's opinion. 
• Make note-taking a priority in our listening experience. 
• Give and get feedback to assure players get the message. 

Lagniappe (something extra). The Seven Habits

Lagniappe 2. Slipping screens often creates major separation. 

Lagniappe 3. Rejecting ball screens is another screen gem. Coach Hanlen provides a workout for elite players. 

"Win the Morning, Win the Day" with a Better Routine

Have a "Go to" routine to get going in the morning. Find what works for you. Make your list and then refine. As our job is player development, share winning habits with players. How am I going to be better today? 

Select great habits. PICK, STICK, and CHECK. As James Clear, author of Atomic Habits writes, "don't miss twice." 

Here are considerations; mine are highlighted. We can't do everything. 

Wordle, a wake up free game on the New York Times site. It activates the mind, gets you off to a mental fast start and only takes a couple of minutes. 

MasterClass, educational video, subscription. Currently, I'm working through Richard Branson's class on Entrepreneurship and the Madeleine Albright/Condi Rice class on Diplomacy. There are over 150 classes including sports-related classes from Steph Curry, Geno Auriemma, Wayne Gretzky, Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Tony Hawk, Lewis Hamilton, and more. Professors take us 'under the hood' and include former Presidents Bush and Clinton, a Nobel Laureate, and celebrated directors and authors like Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Malcolm Gladwell, James Patterson, and Bob Woodward. 

Gretzky shares that even he didn't always have success. As a six year-old, he only scored ONE goal that season. But his teammates were eleven...

Cardio, weights, and/or stretching 

Reading. Currently I'm reading Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me with David Baldacci's The Target in the queue. Reading 30 minutes daily is not a big ask. Here's a sample of Coates:

"I came to see the streets and the schools as arms of the same beast. One enjoyed the official power of the state while the other enjoyed its implicit sanction. But fear and violence were the weaponry of both. Fail in the streets and the crews would catch you slipping and take your body. Fail in the schools and you would be suspended and sent back to those same streets, where they would take your body." 

Writing/Journaling. I'm approaching 3150 basketball blog posts. The focus centers on applying technical, tactical, physical, and psychological training. Today's piece belongs in the latter.  

General study. Playwright/author David Mamet reminds us to "do one thing for your business and one for your craft every day." 

Video study. As part of my blog posts, I review basketball video every day and usually include video as something extra. 

The best I've seen? Watch the Pitino Clinic. 

Mindfulness/meditation (the UCLA free site is excellent) in over a dozen languages and American Sign Language. Mindfulness improves focus, grades, standardized test scores, lowers blood pressure, and improves mood and sleep. In Tools of Titans, Tim Ferriss writes that among highly successful people, about eighty percent have a meditation practice. I should do better. 

Musical instrument practice. Music activates the entire brain. 

Language study. Training may decrease progressive memory loss. 

Gratitude practice. Practicing gratitude increases happiness. It only takes a few moments to identify a few items to be thankful for daily. Gratitude applies and alters a mindset of abundance.

Lagniappe. Trae Young featured in shooting off the dribble. 

Lagniappe 2. BOB STS (Screen-the-screener) Lob. 

Maine Celtics BLOB | Box Double Cross Pindown Lob

This great action + a bunch more are a part of the Maine Celtics BLOB Mini-Playbook, now on sale at: https://t.co/8dJCe1PSyb
Get your copy for ONLY $3!

Want more? https://t.co/S8PhtinAzK
BLOB Academy: https://t.co/H3hXBoqvwq pic.twitter.com/ScUHf5MZUB

— 𝙸𝚍𝚘 𝚂𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 (@IdoBasketball) August 25, 2022

Lagniappe 3. REPOST Play with purpose. Don't go through the motions.

   

 

Pitfalls of Picking Players and a Truth Tweetstorm

You're the new coach, charged to explain your process. What's the worst thing that can happen? You're done before you're even started. 

We can't do blind auditions. Abbie Conant auditioned blindly as a trombonist for the Munich Philharmonic. She literally blew people away, but the judges were horrified when it was revealed she was a woman. The orchestra literally spent a decade trying to undo their choice. It wasn't about ability, only gender. 

How do we proceed? 

• Established players have an edge.
• Seniority system...older players get first consideration. 
• Meritocracy. Every job is open. 

Parents of established or older players prefer systems favoring their children. It's not about fairness but DNA. 

When you don't, "you'd be killing yourself." 

Why presume that older  players have paid their dues? Young players sometimes bring more size, athleticism, and skill. 

The Girls' 2-20 growth chart explains why young players can be ready early, because most achieve their height by age 14-15. 

Coach Brian Williams explains, "this is not a union job based on seniority."

Coach Carl Pierson in The Politics of Coaching, conducts tryouts including measures of speed, strength, and jumping ability. "Why didn't my daughter make the team?" Pierson can respond, she finished in the bottom five percent of all measured standards. 

The AD warned the coach that he should conduct more days of tryouts. Why? Because the son of a School Committee member would be trying out. The politics of parenting led to a kangaroo court which the coach survived. 

Parents sometimes exclude younger players from summer programs, trying to avoid both development and exposure. 

"Life finds a way." You can bet Jurassic Park on that. 

Lagniappe. Tweet storm... 

Athlete Advice Pt. 5

1) If you are struggling in a class, GET HELP. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and get a tutor

2) Like it or not you are a leader on campus and in the community, behave accordingly.

3) When trying to improve your game, focus on mastering the FUNDAMENTALS

— Khalil Shakir 🏀 (@CoachKhalilS) August 25, 2022

The perception of how players score versus how players actually score is crazy at times..

What players think
•ISO, ISO, ISO

What actually happens
•Catch and shoot
•Shot fake drives
•Rip drives
•DHOs/PnR
•Lifts/Drifts
•Craftiness at the rim
•Off ball screens

— Anthony Pugh (@Anthony_Pugh2) August 25, 2022

Pass fakes are one of the most underutilized “skills”

Pass fakes shift defenders

•Pass fake to score
•Pass fake to open up another passing angle/lane - especially on post entry passes pic.twitter.com/D3R7zmHUNf

— Anthony Pugh (@Anthony_Pugh2) August 25, 2022

3: cont’d “A player has to be selfish in the pursuit of the development of his skills, but he cannot be selfish when it comes time to blend them in with what's good for his team.”

🔹 Be selfish in the OFF-SEASON, but UNSELFISH during the IN-SEASON.

— Greg Berge (@gb1121) August 25, 2022

The Most Overrated and Underrated Statistics in Basketball

"Measure a thousand times, but cut only once." - Turkish proverb

We know from Dean Oliver's Basketball on Paper and follow-on, that the 'Four Factors' of shooting percentage differential, turnovers, rebounding, and free throws define outcomes. SPCA isn't just about kindness to animals. Score, protect, crash, attack.

Tracking stats is labor intensive. Go to the trouble (and expense) if there's return on investment. 

Why bother? Tracking might change behaviors like shot selection, trend performance, and improve outcomes. 

Tracking sees contributions outside short box scores - steals, forced turnovers, hustle plays. The player who hustles back in transition to stop a fast break by saving a layup doesn't get box score points. 

Tracking sees efficiency. The sentence leads, "Miller scored twelve points to lead the Coyotes." It didn't say that she took eighteen shots and committed eight turnovers or that her defensive assignment scored twenty-five. Tracking finds content and context. 

Underrated.

Assists. In general, we underrate "possession ending" plays, actions that lead to scores or stops. Assists make passers, scorers, and coaches happy. 'Simple' plays like 'one more' passes matter. 

Steals and forced turnovers. Sometimes they seem invisible. A player steps into a passing lane forcing the passer to lift a pivot foot or throw an errant pass. 

Drawing a charge. Charges get possession and add fouls to opponents. They may help get you into the bonus or get an opponent star player in foul trouble. Not every player has the will to give up her body.

Points per possession. Efficiency matters. Five decades ago, pre-shot clock we won a playoff game 58-38, shooting 23-42 from the field. Twenty-two passes led to a wide open mid-range shot on the opening possession. 

Screens leading to scores. A great screen freeing up a driver or cutter may not be appreciated by ninety percent of observers. 

Overrated.

Subcategories of rebounds. Ten rebounds aren't always an enormous achievement, especially off missed free throws. 

Margin of victory. Some coaches leave starters in to increase the margin of victory or decrease the margin of defeat. Pressing up big or taking a timeout late in a blowout for an extra hoop? "Sport doesn't build character, it reveals it." 

Publicity. Chuck Daly said, "never get in an argument with someone who buys ink by the barrel." Don't judge yourself by your statistics or what you read online. Seek positive contributions to the team and to make players around you better. A coach told me the other day that the biggest change in sport over time has been parents. 

Lagniappe. Coach Hanlen shares tips for comfortable, consistent, confident shooting. Note he uses the shooting fork as opposed to the ball leaving the index finger. Find what works best for you. 

My 'tip' - when I thought mechanics were off, take a knee near the basket and practice shooting. If mechanics are poor, you won't have a chance. 

Ticking All the Boxes

Build an anti-fragile process that churns out competent people. Make it about the program not the director. "Tick all the boxes."  

1. Make excellence the standard. Bill Walsh promoted performance from those answering the phones to striping the field to playing on Sunday. The Score Takes Care of Itself details the 49er process. Excellence demands character and competence. Together they play on and off the field. Don't lower standards. This is a book for every coach in every sport.

2. Get the odds in our favor. In the player development world, leveling opportunity (e.g. playing time) impacts results. If winning were the primary object, choose a different process (shorter roster, uneven playing time, unequal roles). What process accelerates the growth mindset? Work. Unrequired work is the separator. 

3. Offseason development is key. For years, we conducted Tuesday and Sunday afternoon training sessions during the offseason. Skill and concept building separated players and teams. When interest drops, performance drops. "Repetitions make reputations."

4. "Look for the helpers." If you want it to be all about you, your show, then go for it. If you have expertise in all areas from organization to development, game management, offensive and defensive strategy, and so on, go for it. But if it's all about you...and fails...point the finger inward. Mr. Rogers shares a powerful message. 

5. Develop an improvement curriculum. Make it reflect:

• Technique, the individual skills needed
• Tactics, understanding and integrating game strategies
• Physicality, strength, conditioning, agility, explosiveness
• Psychology, focus, positivity, resilience

For example, two useful shooting drills. Chest to the basket, flip the ball over your head, catch on the bounce, turn and fire. Outside the three-point line, shot fake, one side-dribble three. 

Make it real. Attack on the move. Practice from both sides of the court. 

6. Coaches solve problems. Apply analytics (statistics) to the problem at hand. For example, is poor shooting the problem? Assess:

• Passing. "The quality of the shot relates to the quality of the pass."-Carril
• Shot types, distance, defensive proximity via film study...are we taking too many "tweener" shots, e.g. neither short jumpers or layups but six-foot leaners?
• Who is shooting? Are the best shooters getting the most shots? 
• If shot clocks used, how many shots are 'bail out' late clock shots?

In other words, if quality shots relate to the range, openness and balance of shooters, what does that show? Are the right shooters taking the right shots under the right conditions? 

7. Measure the right things. Why is the Titanic sinking? 

• It's the captain of the ship... coaching/leadership
• It's the ship... the composition of our team 
• It's how we're operating/executing... turnovers, defensive mistakes/errors, shot quality 
• It's the environment... are there icebergs in our waters...fatigue, injury, inattention?

8. Improve our teaching. Consider pick-and-roll defense.

• What are our primary defenses? Show, switch, drop, ice, blitz? Are we choosing too many?
• Are our players on the same page? If asked, how do they answer? 
• How are we teaching? Coach K taught hedge or show as 'fake trap'
• What are our points/possession allowed by defense type? 

Lagniappe. Whatever we say, reality is that our shot tends to change depending on distance. 

Lagniappe 2. Quote from "Russell Rules" - "You had to be willing to give yourself up- to make yourself invisible- if you wanted success...But Red was all over Cousy because too often those (fancy) passes would catch teammates by surprise and they wouldn't be able to handle them. A good pass...had to be caught. So Cousy nearly always delivered the ball so that players could do something with it." 

Lagniappe 3. From the "Boomerang" mindset. 

UTEP BLOB - Box to 4-Low Lift Rip pic.twitter.com/JL6qAmK6sU

— 𝙸𝚍𝚘 𝚂𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 (@IdoBasketball) August 23, 2022

Breaking Down the Four Agreements (Part 1) Plus Core Concepts

Build a philosophical fortress. Coaches build teams with technique, tactics, physicality, and psychological strength and resilience. Today's blog focuses on the latter. 

Examining The Four Agreements is one place to start. The author transitioned from Neurosurgeon to philosopher-author after a serious accident. 

The first agreement is, "Be impeccable with your word." Practicing number one helps us stick to the others. The four agreements intersect.

From Blinkist

Ruiz calls it the most important and hardest to follow. Words cure, change behavior, cut, and kill.

Self-talk imposes tens of thousands of ideas daily. It matters when we say, "I'm stupid" or "I'm worthless." Don't hurt yourself. Tennyson recognized, "That which we are, we are, and if we are to be any better, now is the time to begin." We inhabit the world that we own. Ergo, Dr. Pangloss was partly right in Candide, "all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds." 

Coaches create. If we tell our team they are lazy or unfocused, they believe us. Our job isn't to demean but to elevate, to take teams where they can't go alone. 

Be cautious in our speech, especially when sharing praise and criticism. Words carry context and tone. "You're great" can boost ego or as sarcasm can cut deeply, undermining confidence. 

As player or coach, "obsess the product" and our first product is ourself.  

Caring for ourselves more doesn't equate to caring for others less.

Lagniappe. Kevin Eastman is one of the best teachers in the game. 

Lagniappe 2. Core move, "rip through." 

• Key point - get early advantage
• Keep the ball out of the defender strike zone
• Practice a variety of finishes
• Caution - I don't teach the high rip without elbows close to the body. Some players use the elbow to contact the defender's head. If you choose to do that, you are inviting payback and it won't be pretty. 

Best Pieces of Advice Gleaned from Coaches

"There is nothing cheaper than free advice."

Filter the firehouse of information into practical pieces. Coaches share advice in communications, clinics, podcasts, interviews, books. Ask whether it makes sense and can be taught.

1. "Every day is player development day." - Dave Smart 

Take advantage of every opportunity for growth. You can't have too much skill. Have a daily plan for improvement whether it's film study, practice, physical training, reading. 

Applications: Scrimmage with consequences for reserves to move up. Competition drives performance. There's no 'one size fits all'. Work:

• Jab series
• Back to basket pivots (e.g. box drills)
• Off the bounce - float dribble, negative step, hesi-cross-combos

2. Everything has to impact results. - Dr. Fergus Connolly

At higher levels of play, winning matters. Make practice matter. As Prem Watsa says, "don't major in the minors." Don't spend a lot of time on less important stuff. 

Application: Focus on what changes games - skill, scoring and defending in the half court, executing and stopping transition, and handling the pick-and-roll. 

3. "It's not rocket science." - Brad Stevens 

Don Meyer emphasized "mature simplicity." Especially with young players, simplify everything. "Fall in love with easy." 

Application: the simple play is often the best one, e.g. spread offense or Iverson actions

4. "Respect is only determined by results." - Mikel Arteta (Arsenal manager)

In the development world, results show up first as individual achievement. Brad Beal and Jayson Tatum improve through their effort and the training of Coach Drew Hanlen. LeBron James pays a million dollars a season for total training. 

Application: If we want more, then do more. 

5. "The ball is gold." - Coach Sonny Lane

Turnovers are literally zero percent possessions. 

Application: Analyze turnovers by decision-making or execution. Train to reduce by category such as passivity, poor passing, traveling, etc. Against the Warriors, the Celtics often failed to get into their offense until 11-12 seconds left on the clock. That forced rushing and bail out actions leading to turnovers in my opinion. 

6. All defense begins with containing the ball.

Poor ball containment means help and rotation. When it doesn't work, layups ensue, or during 'draw 2' the drive and dish, often for open threes. 

Application: drills to improve quickness may help, but training one-on-one tests both the ball handler and defender. 

7. "Top teams play harder for longer." - Dave Smart

Good teams have an executable plan how they intend to win. 

Application: You should sub a player out when you see a player not going full-speed or playing selfish basketball. - Dean Smith

8. The fastest way to improve is taking better shots.

Track shots by player and location. Higher level play allows tracking by defender proximity as well.

Application: when we reviewed team shooting percentage, we found better shooting as we held players accountable. Share Jay Bilas's quote, "it's not your shot it's our shot."

9. "Sacrifice." 

Coach taught us shared vision, shared sacrifice, shared results. 

Application: Prioritize value as making teammates better. Coach Bob Knight reminded some players, "just because I want you on the floor doesn't mean I want you to shoot." Have one band, one sound. 

10.Manage tempo well in both practice and games. 

Time is valuable and limited. Set efficiency as expectation. Maximize efficiency. No cutting corners. 

Applications: Name drills. Sprint from drill to drill. During games, change tempo to shorten the game when leading and up the pace to lengthen the game when trailing. 

11.Find or make possession enders.

Positive possession enders: 

• Score 
• Rebound 
• Assist 
• Get defensive stops
• Steal 
• Force turnovers  
• Take charges

Application: It comes full circle back to player development. Finishers get attention. 

Lagniappe. From Pete Carril, "The Smart Take from the Strong." 

Can He Pass?

"The first thing I look for in a high school player is, can he pass? If he can, he's the same guy who can cut, and can defend. He's the guy who sees everything, the man he is passing to, the players around him, the opportunities for creativity." 

Lagniappe 2. Underrated activities that change games -

• Review court boundaries, conditions, and lighting before the game. Players should never catch the ball out of bounds through ignorance on boundaries. I've seen five catches out of bounds by one team in a game where boundaries were asymmetric with the stands.
• Use timeouts well for momentum change, substitution, strategy changes, and rest. 
• Invest time in "close and late" situations including BOBs, SLOBs, ATOs, and offensive and defensive delay games. 

A Special Visitor to Coaches (Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe)

Blessed are those receiving special visitors, those who inspire greatness, wisdom, or fear. 

I received one, didn't catch his full name, but I caught Prince...Dark. As many in his profession are, he bore exceptional height, carried a long staff, wore a dark cloak, and heavy boots. He shared snatches of conversation with great coaches, all of whom won championships. 

He offered mentoring for an all too familiar price. He shared a few of his favorite coaching moments. 

 

He declined a bottle of Merlot, explaining his preference for champagne. I accommodated him. He volunteered to share advice and tips.

When Pat Summitt heard that players stayed out late partying, she remembered his advice. "Bring them in early, 6 A.M. and set up barrels at each corner of the court. Run them until those barrels start filling up. Call it 4 Corners." 

I had my notebook out, excited for the opportunity. He added that where he lives, finding good officials is hard. "We don't have a big community of referees, but we have the baddest of the bad, guys and gals who take bribes, that sort of stuff." 

He told me, "The Shark was one of my favorite guys. I ran into him accidentally in a tough neighborhood. He gave a lot of guys a chance they might not have gotten otherwise. I respect that. Haven't seen him in decades."

"Did you know Coach Wooden?" "Absolutely. Met him about '63. You know that 'Don't whine, don't complain, don't make excuses.' I gave his father that. And I warned him about that Sam Gilbert dude."

"Did you ever meet Coach Obradovic?" "Love that guy. I suggested he teach bigs to set some screens back to half court, so they can see the play in front of them. I gave shooting tips to his clubs. How do you think so many guys are 40% from three?"

"Do you have any favorites?" "Well, I think of a couple fondly like Pacino and DeNiro. That would be Ricky P and Coach Cal. I suggested the shooting drill "quarters" to Ricky P and I've know Cal ever since he was at UMASS. He goes to Mass every day. Only the penitent man shall pass."

"What do you think about Geno Auriemma?" "Fantastic restaurant. We go way back, too. I've suggested some great drills and set plays. I even advised UCONN to get a third of their points off sets, a third in transition, and a third on three-point shots. Every coach should know where their points come from and where opponents points arise. But I also believe in Karma."

"Are you going to miss Coach K?" "Miss him? Are you kidding? We're like Goldilocks and porridge. Have you seen their mascot? K used to hammer Cal for "One and Done" and then becomes Coach One and Done. Grayson Allen, My Man. And what about Zion? I gave K the Elbow Series, hehe." 

Duke Elbow Series

I grew ever more riveted by the tall stranger. "Did you know Coach Carril?"

"You mean the guy from USC and the Seahawks?" 

"No, the Princeton rumply guy." 

"Barely met him. But I slipped a suggestion to him about backdoor cuts in an offense. Sneaky and effective." 

"Is there anybody you're afraid of?"

"Please don't tell anyone. He's old, he reads a lot, he's terrifying. George Raveling. He's like Eleven in Stranger Things." 

"What do you think about the NCAA?" 

"You can't be serious. I am all IN as in Indianapolis, IN, baby. Get free labor. Haul in bazillions in TV money. NCAA and HELL are both four-letter words." 

"Are you upset about NIL, then?" 

The Stranger replied, "Not at all. Put serious money in young, immature people's pockets. Imagine the havoc that can wreak. I'm practically giddy just thinking about it. The love of money is the root of all evil. Delicious."

"Do you have a claim on all their souls?"

"A gentleman never tells." 

"Thanks for stopping by. Where you headed next?" "Love roundball, but that's not my jazz. Off to Georgia. Politics is where I do my best work. See ya, Doc." 

Lagniappe. Ido Singer shares a wealth of BOBs. 

Notre Dame BLOB - Double Turnout Reject Slip pic.twitter.com/9R2fmINWC8

— 𝙸𝚍𝚘 𝚂𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 (@IdoBasketball) August 20, 2022

Lagniappe 2. Choose five qualities for your team leader. 

• Character
• Commitment - team-focused, does 'unrequired work'
• Skill - "possession ender" via scores, stops, boards
• Relentless - Does. Not. Quit.
• Charisma - radiates energy and positivity to the team

Lagniappe 3. Learn to play with force against force.