“We can’t afford to not pay attention to the details, especially when you play a good team”
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) December 17, 2024
This sentiment is what coaches at all levels are telling their teams right now
People say defense wins championship, but really DETAILS win championships
pic.twitter.com/tF9A1RaBwL
Think about important games you've seen, played, or coached where inattention to details changed outcomes.
The Chris Webber timeout (1993). Who tracks timeouts on your team?
Transition defense. Do you send two or three to the offensive boards? Do other players understand their role in stopping the ball, slowing the offense, protecting the basket?
Missed assignments. How many times have you seen an open player and two defenders looking at each other?
Forcing weak? We lost a game in high school when we forced a player to their strong hand, another form of missed assignment.
Delay game/situational basketball. A team lost a sectional championship, leading by one with 13 seconds left, 12 on the shot clock, when a player inexplicably took a jump shot. Everyone was not on the same page.
Auerbach's worst loss. As a high school coach with a one-point lead, his inbounder threw an inbounds pass turnover, a behind-the-back pass.
Never allow a score off a tap play. Sure, people will make open perimeter shots. But layups? It's a pet peeve. We used to score off this "lonesome end" play.
Make timeouts count (1). Have one or two points of emphasis. We've all seen games lost coming out of a timeout.
Make timeouts count (2). Dean Smith tried to save three timeouts for the final four minutes. If it's good enough for him...
Constantly apply pressure. Assert a mentality of scoring off BOBs and SLOBs. Yes, ball entry safely is the first priority. Don Kelbick says, "think shot first." Think "attack."
Lagniappe. Find ultra-committed guys.
“You have to try to get some guys who will run to a place with high expectations of winning, and they actually have the humility and self-awareness to know they need to get better. We try to attract those guys.” - Mick Cronin
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) December 16, 2024
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Lagniappe 2. Optionality.
The Iverson Over action is so common that running actions off of it is an effective way to make the defense think one thing is coming and then hit them with something else as in this example. pic.twitter.com/B4Jk43f5wq
— Chris Oliver (@BBallImmersion) December 18, 2024
