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Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Basketball: The Tenth Principle (Stir It Up)



Amy Poehler's MasterClass informs nine principles of Improv. What's your tenth? 

Was it Coach Wooden who said, "It's what you learn after you know everything that matters." We all know people who can't listen because they believe they're omniscient. 

The tenth principle is UNLEARNING. What do we know...that's wrong or unhelpful? 

"Defense wins championships." Defense matters but you have to score to win. 

If you have to spend one hundred percent of your time on offensive fundamentals to develop a credible offense, do it. I watched a high school game recently where a team got shut out in a quarter. Why?

  • Shooting proficiency 
  • Turnovers (including 'shot turnovers' = airballs)
  • No offensive rebounding
  • East-west dribbling (no penetration)
  • Missed free throws 
Notice a pattern? Our friend the Four Factors (Dean Oliver) - SPCA
  • Shooting percentage
  • Protect the ball (turnovers)
  • Crash (rebound)
  • Attack the basket (north-south) and make free throws
Here are a few practice activities: 

1. Shooting 

Championship 37, 1 shooter, 1 rebounder. Make it competitive. 

Video. Championship 37. 

5 x 3p

t shots

5 x 3pt catch and shoot

5 x 2pt shots with left hand dribble pull up

5 x 2pt shots with right hand dribble pull up

2 free throws

37 point maximum


Spurs shooting (four groups of three)


Rotate spots. Reward winners by opting them out of pushups. 

2. Turnover prevention. 

4 on 4 half court, no dribbling. It's a pass-and-cut mandate with ten completed passes before scoring is allowed. Play starts with a SLOB formation. It teaches spacing, passing, cutting, and screening against maximal pressure defense. 

5 versus 7 full court, advantage-disadvantage. Constraint added is no dribbling. Turnover for the ball being deflected or hitting the floor. Continuous play, great for conditioning, too. 

3. Basket attack. 

Wing attack - Pierce series. 



Don't work on everything to start. Pick a few like blow by and one dribble pull ups. Definitely don't invest time on step backs before players master basic attacks. 

Box drills. Master footwork with drive or shoot off the catch. 

Of course, you might say, "I expect players to have many of these skills when I assume the job." I'll argue that watching a lot of girls basketball, few players have these skills when they first make high school varsity teams. Many have few. If we can't recruit, then we must develop.  

Lagniappe. Character. 
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