Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Basketball: An Overview of Commitment to Quality for New and Old Coaches

"You like bugs." "I do, they're perfect. They always do their jobs." - CSI

Seek excellence not validation. Entrepreneur Sara Blakely preaches, "obsess the product." The players are the product. 

Dave Smart is among the finest coaches anywhere. Echo the key Smart concept, "every day is player development day." NBA legend Kevin Durant owns a similar philosophy, asking, "how can I get better today?" 

Better systems produce better results. System development counts. 

Be intentional with specific growth plans daily (skill, strategy, physicality, psychology). 

  • Refine position-specific skills. Have a shooting plan (finishing at the rim, mid-range, threes).
  • Watch video of your technique...reading defenses, footwork, separation, shot selection. 
  • Build strength and explosiveness. 
  • Practice mindfulness. 

Be prepared. 

  • Maintain and revise a drill book.
  • Maintain and edit your playbook.
  • Have a teaching file of clips.
  • Maintain a notebook or blog.
  • Develop practice schedules using all of the above.
Teach better. 
  • Be specific.
  • Be detailed.
  • Demand hard cutting and on time/on target passing. 
  • Study teaching techniques (e.g. Teach Like a Champion).
Develop concepts and execution. 

  • Concept dependent - spacing, player and ball movement, finishing. We use three-point line as 'spacing line'.
  • Track turnovers by type and cause (decision or execution problem?).
  • Develop 'possession enders' (scores, assists, rebounds, stops). "The quality of the pass relates to the quality of the shot"-Pete Carril
  • Track shot quality (no 'shot turnovers'). 
Impose 'one bad shot'.
  • Excellent defense starts with ball containment. 
  • "One bad shot" = "hard twos"
  • Contest shots without fouling. 
  • Goal 372 - 3 consecutive stops, 7 times/half, 2 halves
  • Zero missed assignments 
  • No more than three transition baskets/game
  • "Same page" mentality (e.g. coverage and protection on PnR, etc.)
Summary:
  • Be intentional.
  • Plan and practice preparation.
  • Teach better.
  • Improve quality of possessions.
  • Define and teach individual and team technique. 
Lagniappe. Form makes function. 

 Lagniappe 2. Player development minute.  

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