Many authors recognize the paralysis induced by fear. In Dune, Frank Herbert's hero said, "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
Wilferd Peterson's 1961 masterpiece "The Art of Living" expresses his and others' thoughts on a variety of topics.
I plan to share some quotes from this work, a book that had a lot of meaning to Coach Wooden. One of the early chapters discusses fear.
Players succumb to their fears against pressure defense, teams with 'reputations', and in situations where they abandon fundamentals and make poor decisions. We have to immunize them against fear through practice adversity.
"Fear is a wild horse that needs a tight rein, for it is both friend and foe, both good and evil, and to live effectively a man must learn to master it..."
"By using the fear of insecurity, defeat and failure as a lash and spur to high achievement."
"By accepting the fact that old age and death are natural and inevitable, that to fear them is futile, and that they can best be faced with a calm and quiet mind by ignoring them and gallantly living a day at a time."
"By facing fear boldly and practicing the precept of Emerson: "Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain."
"By beholding the power of faith to work miracles, as expressed in these inspiring words: "Fear knocked at the door. Faith opened it. And lo, there was no one there!"
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Role Reversal
Last night I accompanied my long-time friend coaching partner, Ralph to a pair of his games as an assistant at a holiday tournament. When I got to the gym, I spent some time with some of the parents trying to get a sense of how they were feeling. Ralph is very experienced and demanding and always plays his team against the best competition he can find, which is tough with a heterogeneous level of skill.
Assisting also allows one to ponder, "what would I do?" which I generally keep to myself in this setting with a very experienced coach.
Ralph's team is also very perimeter-oriented because the interior players are very much a work in progress and need a lot of work on finishing and interior defense.
I thought I'd share some of the comments that I made generically to the kids during the two games (I wish I had written them down).
"Don't make a simple game complicated. Space, cut, screen, and pass."
"Shooting percentages are higher off passes than off dribbles. To get better quality shots, you need better passes."
"The best scoring teams are the best passing teams."
"Against the zone, you (shooters) need to space to the corners which will open up lanes for your penetrators as well as give you space."
To one player: "You cannot get beaten four times to the strong side in one half off the dribble. Don't run with the player; beat her to a spot."
To another player, "As a coach, it's easier to live with a bad pass that has a high reward (a layup) on the other end. I see what you saw."
"If you want to be a scorer, then you need four ways to score. Some of you are only looking at one (three-point shooting), and when that's not there, what do you have?"
"You're a good shooter, but there's no need to force lesser quality shots when you're turning down some good ones."
"We're getting in foul trouble because we only start defending the post after ball entry. You make your life easier when you deny ball entry, then you don't pick up as many fouls."
To one player, "don't bail out on the drive. Draw the contact and get to the line."
To another, "I like what you're doing, really getting after it."
"We need more energy. No matter what, do not quit."
To a ballhandler, "Get to the middle on the fast break. You open up your options."
Constantly, "run wide in transition" (to improve spacing and passing angles).
What were the results? The first game was a rout, something like 47-22 that just reflect a mismatch against a weaker team. The second game was something between a nightmare and a revelation. The team played erratically, trailing 25-20 at the half and fouling in the backcourt with 1.7 seconds left in the half to yield a pair of free throws. The girls trailed by 18 with about ten minutes left, and then got really hot (6-13 overall on threes) to lead 53-50 with about 90 seconds left. An opponent then hit a three from over 25 feet to even the score after a turnover and our team got outplayed inside, leading to fouls and lost 60-56.
I go (I'm crazy?) because there's always something to learn and when I'm assisting, I can 'see the game' better because I'm less distracted by primary decision-making and substitution. Assisting allows me to give more individual time to players on the bench and I also get to track the development of players that I have coached in the past. Does it add any value? That's really not for me to say.
Assisting also allows one to ponder, "what would I do?" which I generally keep to myself in this setting with a very experienced coach.
Ralph's team is also very perimeter-oriented because the interior players are very much a work in progress and need a lot of work on finishing and interior defense.
I thought I'd share some of the comments that I made generically to the kids during the two games (I wish I had written them down).
"Don't make a simple game complicated. Space, cut, screen, and pass."
"Shooting percentages are higher off passes than off dribbles. To get better quality shots, you need better passes."
"The best scoring teams are the best passing teams."
"Against the zone, you (shooters) need to space to the corners which will open up lanes for your penetrators as well as give you space."
To one player: "You cannot get beaten four times to the strong side in one half off the dribble. Don't run with the player; beat her to a spot."
To another player, "As a coach, it's easier to live with a bad pass that has a high reward (a layup) on the other end. I see what you saw."
"If you want to be a scorer, then you need four ways to score. Some of you are only looking at one (three-point shooting), and when that's not there, what do you have?"
"You're a good shooter, but there's no need to force lesser quality shots when you're turning down some good ones."
"We're getting in foul trouble because we only start defending the post after ball entry. You make your life easier when you deny ball entry, then you don't pick up as many fouls."
To one player, "don't bail out on the drive. Draw the contact and get to the line."
To another, "I like what you're doing, really getting after it."
"We need more energy. No matter what, do not quit."
To a ballhandler, "Get to the middle on the fast break. You open up your options."
Constantly, "run wide in transition" (to improve spacing and passing angles).
What were the results? The first game was a rout, something like 47-22 that just reflect a mismatch against a weaker team. The second game was something between a nightmare and a revelation. The team played erratically, trailing 25-20 at the half and fouling in the backcourt with 1.7 seconds left in the half to yield a pair of free throws. The girls trailed by 18 with about ten minutes left, and then got really hot (6-13 overall on threes) to lead 53-50 with about 90 seconds left. An opponent then hit a three from over 25 feet to even the score after a turnover and our team got outplayed inside, leading to fouls and lost 60-56.
I go (I'm crazy?) because there's always something to learn and when I'm assisting, I can 'see the game' better because I'm less distracted by primary decision-making and substitution. Assisting allows me to give more individual time to players on the bench and I also get to track the development of players that I have coached in the past. Does it add any value? That's really not for me to say.
Monday, February 15, 2016
Defeating TONTO - 28 Special (Run the Gauntlet)
I introduced the acronym TONTO (Turnovers No Toughness) recently. I can't speak for your team, but my team needs to reduce turnovers and improve toughness against pressure. The idea is to make practice hard so games come easily.
Here's a drill from USA Basketball. I call it 28 Special. It's a demanding pass and cut four zone drill that creates a 'gauntlet' for players to defeat. Defenders must stay in their quarter-court zone and the offensive pair must advance the ball to the end, ideally to score. In its purest form, there's no dribbling allowed. Pass and run the gauntlet.
Discovery Arcs of Success - Some Will Eat
I'm reading a book, Failure: Why Science Is So Successful by Stuart Firestein. Its merit comes from fleshing out the reality that failure drives success and generally in nonlinear fits and starts.
Consider the development of basketball players and teams. Very often the most successful have humble enough origins. We hear the stories of Bill Russell or Michael Jordan and realize that the narrative didn't proceed with unadulterated success. They were not Botticelli products.
Botticelli's "Birth of Venus."
Which forces the question, what drives success, figuratively and literally? Brett Ledbetter has advanced the conversation with What Drives Winning.
Consider the development of basketball players and teams. Very often the most successful have humble enough origins. We hear the stories of Bill Russell or Michael Jordan and realize that the narrative didn't proceed with unadulterated success. They were not Botticelli products.
Which forces the question, what drives success, figuratively and literally? Brett Ledbetter has advanced the conversation with What Drives Winning.
The book is far more than this graphic...
The rags to riches story of team development has elements of "The Hero's Journey" within.
But the alchemy of success demands a lot of elements - leadership, followership, community, and intangibles including health, preparation, money, and luck. You need to get a few bounces along the way.
We hear a lot about bootstrapping, but sometimes you have no boots. Having a mentor or a champion along the way can help you immeasurably because they may know someone who can and will open a door for you...in basketball or elsewhere.
But I digress. What absolutes would I want in my Panglossian program?
Commitment. I want to be surrounded by people who want to succeed as badly as I do. But commitment seldom thrives in isolation. Commitment implies meaning and purpose. I regularly remind people that passion derives from the Latin "passionem" or suffering. Passionate people willingly suffer in pursuit of excellence.
Persistence. Talent is necessary but not sufficient.
Tempo. We have to prepare and practice at an accelerated pace. Most of the time we won't get the 10,000 hours, so we must make up for lost time. Practicing at a high tempo requires unusual concentration for young people.
Culture of success. Maintaining a culture of success requires a "why" factor.
Simon Sinek's "Golden Circle" explains internal drive...and it's relationship to brain structure and function. The neocortex (our newest brain) suffers slavery to our oldest, emotional, core limbic brain.
Teaching excellence. That's obvious but implies exceptional competence, communication, simplicity, AND inspiration. Usually, that mandates unusual curiosity on both the instructors and the students.
We cannot force our students to 'believe' in themselves, embrace our program, or care about basketball. But when we model a process leading to 'discovery arcs', then we create the nourishment that grows excellence. Some will eat.
The Virtue of Failure
"Victory has a thousand fathers and defeat is an orphan."
Successful teams embrace adversity. Failure is our teacher, our companion, a necessary mentor.
As a high school player, I remember losing (by two) against the three-time consecutive State Champions. We lost because of turnovers and a lack of mental toughness against their suffocating press. Painful...maybe that's redundant. But our coach lambasted us for about forty-five minutes after the game. He didn't accept mediocrity, which is how we played that night. "We will never lose to that team again." I believe that transformative tongue-lashing turned our season around...plus practice.
We practiced against man-to-man pressure, 5 against 7, initially without dribbling allowed until pressure became only opportunity. It led to a thirteen game winning streak including an eighteen point victory later, on their court.
Court-storming isn't exactly new (1973).
I remember film study, of one particularly bad closeout by our center, the grainy 8 mm film being run forward and backward, over and over. "That's $#!7bird defense." Later, that center would outplay a high school All-American and Celtics' draft choice in the tournament. Failure repackaged, served as a springboard for success.
Failure becomes Jim Collins' "Brutal Reality" in the epic Good to Great. Failure isn't final unless we allow it to be.
We cannot wish our way to success. We cannot feel sorry for ourselves or look for sympathy. We have to look in the mirror and see who we are and whom we want to become.
Before the game I discussed that height accounts for about fifty percent of rebounding. But that also means that another fifty percent belongs to anticipation, aggressiveness, desire, and toughness. We can leverage the other fifty percent.
I told the players yesterday that we have to ignore what's "outside our boat." We need a great attitude, better decisions, and total effort if we want to be our best. We need better coaching and better play, not better players.
Ultimately we choose how to use failure. Hope is not a plan.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
How's your team? Compared to What?
Former Congressman Barney Frank referenced an old Henny Youngman joke, "How's your wife?" "Compared to what?" Which reminds all of us of our teams.
As coaches, we face a constantly changing landscape. One weekend, our team executes and looks promising if not world beaters. The following weekend, we're asking whether we belong in another field. That recalls Emerson's quote, "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
After a frustrating and poor performance today, I reminded the team, "we don't have to make a simple game complicated. When we play poorly, we don't deserve to win." When considering development of young people or young players, we cannot let disappointment become discouragement.
We seek principled achievement. Restating that, "we must know how to get things done" but do that appropriately. I thought of the Spanish word, "TONTO", meaning "foolish" or "an idiot". In basketballese, "TONTO" means, "turnovers (TO), no toughness (NTO)." We shouldn't confuse poor play with poor intent or poor players. That's attribution bias not accountability.
That returns us to the question, "what does my team need now?" As John Wooden said, we need to be "quick but don't hurry." But at the same time, school is out for vacation. Maybe some time off the court makes more sense.
So, if you ask me about my team today, I have to answer, "compared to what?"
As coaches, we face a constantly changing landscape. One weekend, our team executes and looks promising if not world beaters. The following weekend, we're asking whether we belong in another field. That recalls Emerson's quote, "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
After a frustrating and poor performance today, I reminded the team, "we don't have to make a simple game complicated. When we play poorly, we don't deserve to win." When considering development of young people or young players, we cannot let disappointment become discouragement.
We seek principled achievement. Restating that, "we must know how to get things done" but do that appropriately. I thought of the Spanish word, "TONTO", meaning "foolish" or "an idiot". In basketballese, "TONTO" means, "turnovers (TO), no toughness (NTO)." We shouldn't confuse poor play with poor intent or poor players. That's attribution bias not accountability.
That returns us to the question, "what does my team need now?" As John Wooden said, we need to be "quick but don't hurry." But at the same time, school is out for vacation. Maybe some time off the court makes more sense.
So, if you ask me about my team today, I have to answer, "compared to what?"
Saturday, February 13, 2016
SLOB with Multiple Options
Haven't used this but it has some potential
1) The 5 action fakes the screen for the zipper
2) 3 then fakes to the ball looking for back cut, if not there she clears
3) 1 then has possible DHO pick-and-roll action
4) Could modify to have 3 backscreen 4 for basket cut
1) The 5 action fakes the screen for the zipper
2) 3 then fakes to the ball looking for back cut, if not there she clears
3) 1 then has possible DHO pick-and-roll action
4) Could modify to have 3 backscreen 4 for basket cut
Second Law
"I'm young. I know about fun."
They say, "youth is wasted on the young."
Players want to know how to succeed. Coaches realize that there are a thousand ways to fail.
The Second Law reminds us that nature favors randomness and failure. Chaos rules. The success of Golden State has us convinced that Pace and Space, "3 and D", or "Chuck it from the Street" is the future. As long as you have Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green et al. that may be true. But economics teaches us about the allocation of limited resources. Finding lightning in our bottle won't come as easily.
We're playing a non-league game against a talented and very tall team. I'm presuming they play a lot of zone. Imagine that somehow we're ahead by four with five minutes to play and they're sitting in a passive 2-3 zone and we're not in the bonus. Should we go 'retro' (absent shot clock) and hold the ball out? Is it more important to shorten the game and potentially enhance our chance of winning or play it out as though (high school rules) we have a shot clock? The latter strategy brings "Second Law" (entropy) randomness into greater relief but what lesson does it teach?
Should the fact that my best post player is unavailable today make a difference?
That brings me back to the "Main Thing." What does the team need now? Is it better to foul leading by three on the final possession or will major rebounding disadvantage that approach on free throws?
Sometimes it's vanilla versus chocolate ice cream. You can't really go wrong either way. 99 percent of the species ever present on earth have become extinct. Randomness hasn't proven itself a survival story. And situations matter. If this were the State Championship with no shot clock and I can shorten the game and get it down to our best free throw shooters in the last minutes while overmatched, then I'd stall. But today, I think my players want to play ball.
They say, "youth is wasted on the young."
Players want to know how to succeed. Coaches realize that there are a thousand ways to fail.
The Second Law reminds us that nature favors randomness and failure. Chaos rules. The success of Golden State has us convinced that Pace and Space, "3 and D", or "Chuck it from the Street" is the future. As long as you have Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green et al. that may be true. But economics teaches us about the allocation of limited resources. Finding lightning in our bottle won't come as easily.
We're playing a non-league game against a talented and very tall team. I'm presuming they play a lot of zone. Imagine that somehow we're ahead by four with five minutes to play and they're sitting in a passive 2-3 zone and we're not in the bonus. Should we go 'retro' (absent shot clock) and hold the ball out? Is it more important to shorten the game and potentially enhance our chance of winning or play it out as though (high school rules) we have a shot clock? The latter strategy brings "Second Law" (entropy) randomness into greater relief but what lesson does it teach?
Should the fact that my best post player is unavailable today make a difference?
That brings me back to the "Main Thing." What does the team need now? Is it better to foul leading by three on the final possession or will major rebounding disadvantage that approach on free throws?
Sometimes it's vanilla versus chocolate ice cream. You can't really go wrong either way. 99 percent of the species ever present on earth have become extinct. Randomness hasn't proven itself a survival story. And situations matter. If this were the State Championship with no shot clock and I can shorten the game and get it down to our best free throw shooters in the last minutes while overmatched, then I'd stall. But today, I think my players want to play ball.
Fail Better
"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett
"Basketball is a game of mistakes." - Bob Knight
We got invited to play on the road today against one of the top teams in the state, a tall and pretty talented (I imagine) group. We need to fail better.
Before games, most teams have layup lines. We don't.
Player 1 passes to the wing, sprints to ball screen. Player 4 must score on 2 dribbles or less, pass to the rolling 1, or make an elbow jumpshot. After the pass is made, the same action begins on the other side - screen, drive, pass, or shot. At this point, I ask them to drive or pass to the roller, simulating game action. Layup lines, as commonly practiced do not. We must insist on failing better.
"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?" - Robert Browning
A few times a game, I see one of our players drive baseline and either pass to the corner, pitch the ball out, or turn it over. "Score the basketball." Every practice we practice reverse layups from the corner or the opposite elbow, asking players to use either the dominant or non-dominant hand, and one or two-footed finishes. Usually, it's an oxymoron - pretty ugly. But we need to fail better.
As coaches, we demand that players leave their comfort zone...and fail unconventionally.
Failing better means getting separation and missing a perimeter shot, instead of getting it blocked absent separation. Failing better means missing a floater for the same reason. Failing better means getting beaten off the dribble because you accepted the challenge to pressure the ball. Quality shots fail better. An errant pass forward fails better than eschewing a transition opportunity.
Failing better happens when we are "warm and demanding." Maybe the casual observer can't distinguish between failing better and failing conventionally. But failing better outstrips the tortoise defeating the hare.
Our mission means getting our teams to fail better.
"Basketball is a game of mistakes." - Bob Knight
We got invited to play on the road today against one of the top teams in the state, a tall and pretty talented (I imagine) group. We need to fail better.
Before games, most teams have layup lines. We don't.
Player 1 passes to the wing, sprints to ball screen. Player 4 must score on 2 dribbles or less, pass to the rolling 1, or make an elbow jumpshot. After the pass is made, the same action begins on the other side - screen, drive, pass, or shot. At this point, I ask them to drive or pass to the roller, simulating game action. Layup lines, as commonly practiced do not. We must insist on failing better.
"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?" - Robert Browning
A few times a game, I see one of our players drive baseline and either pass to the corner, pitch the ball out, or turn it over. "Score the basketball." Every practice we practice reverse layups from the corner or the opposite elbow, asking players to use either the dominant or non-dominant hand, and one or two-footed finishes. Usually, it's an oxymoron - pretty ugly. But we need to fail better.
As coaches, we demand that players leave their comfort zone...and fail unconventionally.
Failing better means getting separation and missing a perimeter shot, instead of getting it blocked absent separation. Failing better means missing a floater for the same reason. Failing better means getting beaten off the dribble because you accepted the challenge to pressure the ball. Quality shots fail better. An errant pass forward fails better than eschewing a transition opportunity.
Failing better happens when we are "warm and demanding." Maybe the casual observer can't distinguish between failing better and failing conventionally. But failing better outstrips the tortoise defeating the hare.
Our mission means getting our teams to fail better.
Friday, February 12, 2016
Changing Player Behavior - "That's Not How We Play"
I've talked about an AAU coach (whom I respect highly) who counseled players, "that's not how we play" when she noticed poor shot quality, unwillingness to pass, or lazy defense. If our rubric is "play hard, play smart, and play together", then we can't accept "soft" play, poor decision-making, or selfish play.
The S Word. Being labeled "soft" defines the biggest indictment of a player or a team. I remember "going off" on a previous team that mentally succumbed, allowing their opponent to run at will and literally push them around with no response. Sometimes softness is physical, sometimes mental, and sometimes a combination.
Jay Bilas discussed in "Toughness" his humiliation at Duke when he didn't go to the floor for a loose ball. Rajon Rondo quit on the Mavericks in the post-season last year allowing an 8-second call and then failing to cover Jason Terry who promptly drained a three.
Admittedly, as coaches we need to be solution-focused. But to paraphrase Kevin Eastman, it's four words "#$%&, it ain't working." We have to "do it better, do it harder, change personnel, and then change strategy." The well-being of the team comes first. As coaches, we can't lose our team to appease one player.
Poor decision-making. The only way never to err in decision-making is never to decide. I believe in the saying, "one mistake, bad decision; two mistakes bad player; three mistakes, bad coaching." Even professional players make terrible decisions. Boston shooting guard Avery Bradley habitually fouls jump shots AND three-point shots. He fouled a perimeter shot in Milwaukee with one second to go and a tie score and then committed consecutive perimeter shot fouls in overtime the next night against the Clippers. Brad Stevens gave him a pass publicly. I doubt that's what he said behind closed doors.
Selfishness. Nobody wants to be branded selfish. Finding the balance between shooting and distributing is a struggle for many players. "Do more of what's working and less of what isn't." Future Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant has worn the label of 'selfish' player, despite winning five NBA titles.
This video briefly examines Bryant's selfishness label.
How do you define selfish? Is self-interested (aren't we all?) and selfish the same? Bleacher Report calls out selfish players in sports. Seldom are poor players accused of being selfish. You be the judge.
Bill Parcells had a saying, "Coaches are the most selfish people in sports. We put the players on the field whom we think give us the best chance to win."
I suspect that if asked about selfishness, most of us would say, "I know it when I see it." Recently, I counseled a player that she needed to be MORE selfish and look to score consistently when she has opportunities in the paint. But Bilas' admonition also regular applies, "it's not your shot, it's our shot."
We should regularly remind players that being a great teammate "doesn't mean thinking less of yourself; it means thinking about yourself less." But it's generally best done privately.
The S Word. Being labeled "soft" defines the biggest indictment of a player or a team. I remember "going off" on a previous team that mentally succumbed, allowing their opponent to run at will and literally push them around with no response. Sometimes softness is physical, sometimes mental, and sometimes a combination.
Jay Bilas discussed in "Toughness" his humiliation at Duke when he didn't go to the floor for a loose ball. Rajon Rondo quit on the Mavericks in the post-season last year allowing an 8-second call and then failing to cover Jason Terry who promptly drained a three.
Admittedly, as coaches we need to be solution-focused. But to paraphrase Kevin Eastman, it's four words "#$%&, it ain't working." We have to "do it better, do it harder, change personnel, and then change strategy." The well-being of the team comes first. As coaches, we can't lose our team to appease one player.
Poor decision-making. The only way never to err in decision-making is never to decide. I believe in the saying, "one mistake, bad decision; two mistakes bad player; three mistakes, bad coaching." Even professional players make terrible decisions. Boston shooting guard Avery Bradley habitually fouls jump shots AND three-point shots. He fouled a perimeter shot in Milwaukee with one second to go and a tie score and then committed consecutive perimeter shot fouls in overtime the next night against the Clippers. Brad Stevens gave him a pass publicly. I doubt that's what he said behind closed doors.
Selfishness. Nobody wants to be branded selfish. Finding the balance between shooting and distributing is a struggle for many players. "Do more of what's working and less of what isn't." Future Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant has worn the label of 'selfish' player, despite winning five NBA titles.
This video briefly examines Bryant's selfishness label.
How do you define selfish? Is self-interested (aren't we all?) and selfish the same? Bleacher Report calls out selfish players in sports. Seldom are poor players accused of being selfish. You be the judge.
Bill Parcells had a saying, "Coaches are the most selfish people in sports. We put the players on the field whom we think give us the best chance to win."
I suspect that if asked about selfishness, most of us would say, "I know it when I see it." Recently, I counseled a player that she needed to be MORE selfish and look to score consistently when she has opportunities in the paint. But Bilas' admonition also regular applies, "it's not your shot, it's our shot."
We should regularly remind players that being a great teammate "doesn't mean thinking less of yourself; it means thinking about yourself less." But it's generally best done privately.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Teaching Concepts - Dribble Handoff and 2-on-2 Off the Pass
Even though we have 13 players, it seems we often practice with 12 because somebody is sick or can't make it. All of which is fine. With three hoops that creates an ideal situation for 2-on-2 actions.
This is still plenty limited because there's one of me and three groups working, so the divided attention dynamic rules.
If it's going well, then I add the weak side post, that can come into play on the drive, on relocation for a shot, or setting a ball screen (which becomes really hard for the defenders). Reality: it's often ugly.
Left, basic dribble hand off.
Right, 2-on-2 initiated via pass.
It can run as a 'stand alone' offense, by just adding in a "mirror" image on the left. But teaching young players to "see the game" is still our core responsibility. Execution comes with repetitions.
This is still plenty limited because there's one of me and three groups working, so the divided attention dynamic rules.
If it's going well, then I add the weak side post, that can come into play on the drive, on relocation for a shot, or setting a ball screen (which becomes really hard for the defenders). Reality: it's often ugly.
Left, basic dribble hand off.
Right, 2-on-2 initiated via pass.
It can run as a 'stand alone' offense, by just adding in a "mirror" image on the left. But teaching young players to "see the game" is still our core responsibility. Execution comes with repetitions.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Izzo Zone Quick Hitters
Tom Izzo is one of the great regular and postseason coaches in college basketball. He shares some of his zone offense approaches. We spend the "lion's share" of our zone offense efforts on shooting because it makes no difference what you do if you can't make shots.
First, a set offense for a quick hitter for the point guard or the high post person. It uses ball reversal and a screen on the low defender.
This is self-explanatory with coaching choice on whom the play is designed for.
In this video, he shares additional concepts with a lot of motion and screening.
Here's his base 'Horns' zone set.
This is my favorite Izzo zone attack. I apologize that I couldn't find video this morning for it. The dribbler moves the zone and then the 'bigs' X screen the defenders to establish a middle attack with shot or tight pick-and-roll options. 3 relocates for possible penetrate and dish. We're too young to run this stuff right hardly ever but I will show them some of it tonight. Simple is better for young players.
First, a set offense for a quick hitter for the point guard or the high post person. It uses ball reversal and a screen on the low defender.
In this video, he shares additional concepts with a lot of motion and screening.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Defining Moments
7 Moments that Define Excellent Leaders from Samantha Johnson
Highlights:
"Hard work is the best predictor of excellence."
"Never, ever give up."
"Embrace lifelong learning."
Know your NOS. (Absolutes)
"Give your life and wisdom away."
"Define what's 'inside your boat'?"
Cultivate relationships assiduously.
Share recognition freely with employees.
Control your own thoughts.
"Why do we do what we do?"
"Live your foundational values."
"Be more specific than you think you need to be."
What drives you?
"Keep it simple."
Place 80 percent of the focus on the most important 20 percent of the task.
Highlights:
"Hard work is the best predictor of excellence."
"Never, ever give up."
"Embrace lifelong learning."
Know your NOS. (Absolutes)
"Give your life and wisdom away."
"Define what's 'inside your boat'?"
Cultivate relationships assiduously.
Share recognition freely with employees.
Control your own thoughts.
"Why do we do what we do?"
"Live your foundational values."
"Be more specific than you think you need to be."
What drives you?
"Keep it simple."
Place 80 percent of the focus on the most important 20 percent of the task.
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