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Friday, February 13, 2026

Basketball - How Not to Coach

Learning across domains can expose where we go wrong. Barry Ritholtz's "How Not to Invest" informs structurally problematic and beneficial thinking.

We can't enumerate everything in each category but we can discuss key areas that help define "How Not to Coach." We can’t list everything. But we can identify patterns. I've listed several in each category...

Bad Ideas

  • "Any idiot with a whistle can coach."
  • OJT and reproducing my coach's system
  • Five-year plans
What qualifies as "good coaching," according to players and parents? It likely sorts according to minutes, role, and recognition. It's natural that parents see through their parenting lens. 

Pete Newell decried coaches 'copying' the system they came up in. He said that often results in a "poor reproduction of the original." 

New coaches may promise to restore programs to respectability if not prominence. If you want a five-year plan, then align with the feeder system or you are doomed to failure. The trend toward losing your best players to private schools won't help either. 

Bad Numbers

  • DATU. "That doesn't apply to us."
  • Raw data. "She scores 15 points per game."
  • The Four Factors working against us. 
The player turned down a three-pointer and her dad screamed in frustration. She was 1 for 19 on the season, so she made a statistically valid choice. "Shooting" skill shows up in the stats not in opinion. 

Consider the denominator. How many times do you see "Susie led the Muskrats with 15 points," jacking up 25 shots? 

Shot charts and data reveal who we are. Turnovers, bad fouls, and bad foul shooting turn possibility into frustration. 

Behavioral Issues

  • Selfishness
  • Teamwork
  • Sportsmanship
  • Off-court issues 

Teens often struggle with "egocentric" (me first) behavior. That complicates shot selection, teamwork, and sportsmanship. At the varsity level, coaches worry about academic and substance (especially alcohol) issues. There's only so much positive counseling coaches can do, reinforced by parents. 

Good Ideas 

  • "Playing harder for longer"
  • Winning close and late (Offensive/Defensive Delay, Special situations)
  • Hard-to-defend actions
  • Star in your role

Close games are rarely won by highlight plays. They’re won by:

  • Executing late-game offense and defense
  • Avoiding bad shots
  • Valuing the ball
  • Making free throws
  • Avoiding unnecessary fouls
Most young people are great. They want to succeed, to be coached, and enjoy the experience. Positive coaching, understanding what wins close games (the dos and don'ts), and team spirit are contagious. Help players understand successful play - physical and mental toughness, good decision-making, and avoiding giving games away (bad shots, turnovers, blown assignments, and fouls). 

Practice situational (close and late situations) basketball and flourish. 

Lagniappe. Sacrifice means "giving something up and recognizing that you'll get something different back." 

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