Nobody can summarize player development, a process that takes years, in a brief article. Sharing ideas is possible.
1) Match enthusiastic instructors to eager learners for a chance at exceptional results. At elite levels think Chris Brickley and LeBron, Drew Hanlen and Jason Tatum, Tim S. Grover and Kobe.
2) "Make the big time where you are." Don't have an air conditioned, indoor facility or expensive equipment? Use what you have.
3) Seek to develop "three-level" finishers. I'm not saying that 5'9" guys should have a post game. They do need to finish off one or two feet, with either hand from either side.
4) "Repetitions make reputations" and "the magic is in the work." Make training realistic, under fatiguing conditions, with defense and decision-making part of the process. Add constraints of time, space, hand and footwork requirements.
5) Process > results and better process translates to better results. My daughters got to be top 30 in MA with Old Me (not so great) supplementing quality coaching from Shawanda Brown and others. Cecilia Kay (now at St. Joseph's) and Samantha Dewey (Richmond) became top five players in Massachusetts with better "Old Man" coaching during middle school development.
6) Study the game. Player development blends the mental and the physical. Because Bob Knight's principle of "the mental to the physical" is four to one, teach players to "see the game" with teaching clips and teaching video. "Get in your notebook."
7) "Basketball is a game of separation." Teach players to separate with and without the ball, setting up cuts, changing pace and direction, using screens and savvy (see "head turners"). Sometimes player development means extra physical effort and sometimes it's more mental.
8) Sport rewards athletic explosion. Learn or find training in strength, quickness, and conditioning. Jump rope is an inexpensive tool.
9) Be open to advanced thinking. Chris Oliver and Brian McCormick are just two player development experts emphasizing random over block training. What "time-honored" drills or 'core practices' have become outdated?
10) "Take care of the kid." Herb Welling shared a great point. When a coach gets the privilege of helping the "special player," then you have to take care of her. Help her become a "possession ender" who gets scores and stops. There's no "two-way player." Every player contributes, or doesn't as part of the whole on both ends.
There's much more, expecting excellence at home and in the classroom and teaching leadership. That's a joyful burden on the coach, until the player moves on to others who can take her further.
Player development goals:
- See (the game)
- Process
- Decide (make the best choice)
- Act
- Observe: Gain situational awareness via all your senses
- Orient: Contextualize what you observe based on everything you know
- Decide: Formulate the optimal course of action
- Act: Execute on your decision without delay
Lagniappe. Diagnostics. Players don't come with a "Check Engine" light. Relationships allow us to get candor from players, up to a point. Get another opinion on what's going on. There's a story about a player who was consider selfish, looking to score above all else. When coaches and teammates challenged her, she broke down in tears saying that her father wouldn't talk to her if she didn't score.
Lagniappe 2. We can't use everything but we can find something. NBA BOBs.
Best Baseline Out-of-Bounds (BOB) Sets from NBA Playoffs pic.twitter.com/F6wY2mvav4
— Sean Billerman (@sbill30) July 4, 2025
