Sunday, October 13, 2024

Basketball: How Listening More Gets Us More

Patients teach me. One explained how he interfaces with customers using questions. His most important one, "How are you doing things today?"

Ask about some of the following: 

  • Teaching players to watch video 
  • Developing individual offense and defense
  • Building man-to-man offense
  • Implementing zone offense
  • Press and press breaking
  • Offensive and defensive delay game
  • Special situations (BOB, SLOB, ATO)
  • Game winning situations
  • Teaching, analyzing, and reporting analytics
One example, who taught us to watch video? Big picture - look at spacing and initial deployment, player and ball movement, including the help side, and how the "scoring moment" unfolds.

Defensively, what is the defense, how do they defend ball and off-ball screens? How do they shrink space, who are the stronger and weaker defenders? 

Does the opponent's offense use a lot of individual actions, two-man game, ball and off-ball screens, DHO, back cuts, complex screens (e.g. staggers, screen-the-screener, backscreen the roller - Spain)? Does ours? 

If our players struggle, watch and learn. Watch one-on-one, two-on-two, three-on-three...the game within the game. 

Usually it's less complicated. Watch practice and/or film. 
  • Transition defense
  • Individual battles - offense and defense (e.g. ball containment)
  • Turnovers 
  • Shot selection - bad teams take and miss good and bad shots
  • Fouls - giving opponents the easiest shot
  • Rebounding - extending and ending possessions
Coaches are a lot like doctors - they evaluate and manage problems. If they can't, good kids on bad teams stay limited. 

Lagniappe. Read and beat. 
Lagniappe 2. The best players "win in space." What's our plan? 
Lagniappe 3. Are we getting enough from practice? 

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