The Mother Sauces of Basketball: What Belongs in Ours? With Special Bonuses

Learn across domains to train 'top guns'. Chef Roland Henin taught that "cooks cook to nurture people." Coaches nurture people. Haute cuisine involves "high performance" sauces. The five French mother sauces are Bechamel, Veloute', Espagnole, Hollandaise, and Tomato. The core sauces become others with changes, such as Bechamel becoming Mornay sauce (the core for mac and cheese). 

MasterClass Korean chef Roy Choi shares his 'scallion dipping sauce' 

Refine basketball mother sauces. Consider offense, defense, conversion, and special situations.

Remember Roy Choi's required cooking equipment - simplicity works. What ingredients belong in our mother sauces? 

Offense.

• Spacing - initial and secondary (creating gaps)
• Player and ball movement ("movement kills defense")
• Attention to early offense (drag screens, pistol, others)
• Quality shots (find the shots we want - "Get 7s")
• Quality shooting 
• Daily player development and competition
• Limiting turnovers (the absence of ingredients can be critical)

Defense.

• No easy shots. 
• Ball pressure/containment
• No middle
• Deny penetration via dribble or passes
• Load to the ball/shrink space
• Contest all shots without fouling

Conversion (defense to offense and vice versa)

• Awareness at the moment of conversion
• "Zero to sixty" ("basketball is a sprinting game")
• Full mental engagement (no 'buddy running')
• Press the attack versus slow the attack
• Attack the basket versus defend the basket

Special situations. 

• Inbound the ball safely
• Same play different formation/same formation different plays
• Hard to defend (simple/complex screens) 
• Value in winning special situations
• Practice outperforms 'spontaneous' plays 

Find your own "mother sauces" with your unique ingredients. In fact, we choose philosophy and teaching to suit our tastes and experience. 

Summary: 

• Cooks and coaches nurture people.
• Find your mother sauces.
• Simplicity works.
• Spacing is offense and offense is spacing.
• No easy shots.
• "Zero to sixty"
•  Be hard to defend. 

Lagniappe. An NBA shooting coach reviews... 

Lagniappe 2. Separate with change of direction and change of pace. (Coach Hanlen)

Lagniappe 3. Cooking excellence takes a little more time. Last night's dinner used "salsa verde" (green sauce) for the rice base for the pork carnitas

For the cilantro rice

• 3 cups store-bought short-grain white rice
• Ice water (for blanching)
• 6 medium tomatillos (about 6 oz)
• 1 whole garlic clove, peeled
• Juice of 3 limes (about ⅓ cup)
• Kosher salt or coarse sea salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 bunch cilantro (reserve a couple of sprigs for garnish)
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley (reserve a couple of sprigs for garnish)
• ½ cup water
• 1 cup rendered pork fat (reserved from the carnitas), plus more to taste

Coaching and People Skills: Connecting Better

Coaching starts with better connection with our athletes, their families, and our assistants.

You Win in the Locker Room First by Mike Smith and Jon Gordon explores teamwork. "The more I have worked with teams over the years, the more I realize that a lack of connection between team members leads to below-average teamwork and sub-par performance and results...they have a bunch of young men or women who usually focus on themselves, their personal goals, their social media followings, and their egos. They also have family and friends telling them they should be playing more, scoring more, or getting more recognition. The message they receive from the world is that it’s all about the individual, not the team."

Note the triad of minutes, role, and ego at the heart of conflict. Defuse the tension by prioritizing teamwork and finding ways to recognize each player. 

Set guidelines and say it better. Consider establishing a twenty-four hour delay rule after games to address complaints or criticism. Most coaches won't discuss strategy or teammates with a player's family. When discussing players, the "sandwich" technique puts areas for improvement in between positives. Exceptional parents put the team first and their child next. 

Be transparent. Coaches decide how much access parents receive. Coaching girls, I favor full transparency, with parents welcome to attend pre- and post-game conferences and practices. Without secrets, most parents don't press oversight. Ideally, important messages to players about status, progress, or controversy occur with a second adult present. 

Know boundaries. We coach basketball. Although examples across disciplines illustrate leadership or excellence, choose subjects carefully. We're not teaching religion or political science. 

Be fair; fair is not always equal. In developmental basketball, all players need opportunity. That doesn't guarantee equal minutes or role. In over twenty years of coaching, I've had few players in the top one percent. Exceptional talents with extraordinary commitment earn more development. 

Choose privacy over public criticism. Create physically and emotionally resilient athletes. Coaching is correction not criticism. The best athletes want coaching to improve. Public shaming serves little purpose and compromises relationships and buy-ins. Some coaches and top players agree to criticism (e.g. at practice), to show that even the best players are coached (e.g. Red Auerbach/Bill Russell). 

Pictures are worth 1000 words. Video is the truth machine. Legendary women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance shows players positive highlights, believing women respond better to positive reinforcement. Psychologists agree. "I recommend watching at least 75% "highlight" videos of yourself playing well. Seeing and feeling your best performances allows your mind and body to absorb positive images and feelings." 

Summary: 

• Set guidelines.
  
• Be transparent.
• Know boundaries.
• Be fair.
• Choose privacy over public criticism.
• Pictures are worth 1000 words.

Lagniappe (something extra). In his MasterClass journalist George Stephanopoulos recommends the four C's - clarity, concision, curiosity, and candor.

Lagniappe 2. Offense works through advantage and involvement.

"Range" Our Learning to Become More Efficient at Problem Solving, Plus Offensive Rebounding

Summary:

• Consciously extend our learning and thinking range. 
• Grades don't predict problem solving.
• Expose young players to a range of experiences.
• Diagnose first, then treat. 
• Anticipate what can go wrong.
• Network with 'comps'.
• Invest time to study decision making.
• Build range to solve problems more efficiently.

In a world driven by specialists, generalists have edges. In Kurosawa's eponymous masterpiece Dersu Uzala, a woodsman thrives on the Siberian tundra. He overcomes every challenge, until Russian surveyors 'rescue' and relocate him. "Solving" problems that don't exist creates new problems. 

In Range, David Epstein explains how generalists and specialists matter. The book is worth study. Here are a few excerpts: 

Vast distances separate know that and know how. In many circumstances, "street smarts" beat "book smarts." Coaching and playing both require problem solving at the individual and team level. Free throw shooting is a specialty problem within the breadth of basketball. Defense demands application of multiple skills and effort. 

Exposing young players to more situations prepares them for higher level play. To excel, teach pick and roll offense and defense, transition offense and defense, and half court options on both sides of the ball. Apply and defeat pressure. Supplement installation with video study preceded by showing them how to watch video. 

"I wonder, what if, let's try." 

Problem solving requires "diagnosis" before treatment. Postmortem analysis studies why plans failed. Premortem analysis looks at why plans might fail. In basketball, we can't control injuries or illness. Academics, personal or family problems, and other issues can arise and we can't always predict who, what, or when. Does anyone remember when Dave Cowens walked away from the NBA to drive cab?

Network with 'next level' coaches presenting realistic appraisal of a player's abilities, areas for growth, and provide a 'comp' of whom they resemble. We have blindspots and biases to overcome. So do next level coaches. An introduction might get our player a look when otherwise they wouldn't. 

Consider a spectrum of possibilities, varying the results with various inputs. Unforeseen circumstances shift outcomes negatively or positively and unpredictably. My high school coach was under attack from a disgruntled administrator almost fifty years ago. An unexpected thirteen game winning streak saved his job and launched a New England Basketball Hall of Fame career. Focus is a superpower.

My wife admires part of Coach Lane's study on our fortieth anniversary.

We control our attitude, choices, and effort. "Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment." I've known physicians who catalogued every consultation (e.g. index cards) to supplement their "memory bank" of complex decision making. Find ways to build our database. Extract and apply key lessons as often as possible.

Learn every day. But not just about basketball. The more tools we add to our toolbox - communication, physiology, psychology, skill training, writing skills, and so forth, the better questions asked and answered. 

Lagniappe. Pascal Meurs on Offensive Rebounding with emphasis on positioning, hands, and own shot. 

Basketball: Introduction to Defending Off-ball Screens

Because basketball is a game of separation, defense denies or delays separation. Offenses can create screens in numerous ways, catching defenses in traffic. Well-set screens with cuts 'set up' and urgent cutting are hard to defend. Tight defense invites screening and back door cutting. 

Never think it's easy. See this 7 second nightmare for the defense from Basketball Immersion (above). 

Here's the full video from Chris Oliver's site, an argument for screening. 

Offenses establish off-ball screens in a myriad of styles. 

Core concepts: (introductory)

• There is no "one way" to do things. 
• Communication is essential. "Silent teams lose."
• Whatever "your way" is, get everyone on the same page
• Ball pressure matters. Don't make entry passes easy. 
• Help from the screener defender is also key. 
• "The ball scores." Off-ball defenders must be aware of the ball to give help when the ballhandler gets penetration. 
• Some teams switch everything, some switch "big on big" but offenses can create small on big situations to create mismatches
• On the "help" side, we can switch, go through, or "jam" and go under. 

On the low cross-screen, it's important for defenders to be on the high side to avoid the seal and post entry. With small screens on big, fighting through the screen is critical with x5 starting "high". It's not a given that 1 has the bulk to screen x5. If the situation is reversed and 5 is screening x1, x5 has to loosen coverage enough to get x1 through and be able to recover to 5 with hands high. 

When defenders are in "ball-you-man" position but NOT loading to the ball, they allow better screening angles and more space for offenses to operate. Good offenses "win in space" and good defenses "shrink space" and get offenses to play in traffic. 

Generally speaking, officials "allow" more physical play without the ball closer to the basket. That doesn't invite "dirty" play, but contact to divert crossers is essential. 

Coverage also depends on the skills of the players involved. x1 may try to body the screener and allow x4 to go under the screen, especially if x4 is less of a shooter. Or x1 can drop, allowing x4 to go "through" the space. It's a matter of coaching preference. 

Terminology is an issue. Some teams prefer the term "lock and trail" for some "catch up" screen coverage, especially on the ball side. 

Remember the maxim, "great defense is multiple efforts" because offenses are so good. Only extraordinary effort can slow them down. 

Understanding what offenses are trying to do (below) helps us understand why they can be almost impossible to stop at extreme NBA skill levels. 

It's so difficult to stop good execution that it's always a work in progress. 

Lagniappe (something extra). Develop the floater game. This video shares helpful individual improvement tips. 

Become a Persuader: Craft Your Arguments

(from MasterClass)

"I'm a salesman." - Chuck Daly

Everyone sells...retail, advertising, teachers, butchers, bakers, candlestick makers. Get buy-in for our ideas, messages, and teaching. What are we prepared to fight for?

"Don't be boring." Connect with our audience. Respect their intelligence and their time. Vary drills and practices to engage our students. Here's a sample:

Use the truth. Honesty creates trust. Trust earns loyalty. Don't make false promises regarding role or playing time. Check the facts; separate fact from opinion. Find teaching tools like graphs, charts, diagrams, and video.

Explain why our plan benefits them. "Ten thousand hook shots could make you ten million dollars." Adopt these study habits (spaced repetition, Pomodoro technique, self-testing) and get into a better college. Basketball scholarship needs acceptance and admission. An email or letter saying that a player isn't a qualifier take some life from us.

Use humor. Abe Lemons had a way with words, " When Lemons first contracted to play Miami he suggested to Coach Bruce Hale: "Let's play a home-and-home series, but let's play 'em both at your place." But he could be edgy. "Guard Dick Bagby came up to him recently and reported he had a cold. "That's probably a draft from all them ol' boys rushin' past you with the ball," Lemons said."

Spare the sarcasm. Proactive Coaching writes, "while it may be clever, it can be cruel. It can hurt and confuse kids because it is a message of contradiction. It is criticism without correction, and the criticism is often painfully harsh."

Serve the players, not ourselves. "How can you do this to me and your teammates?" Coaches often choose what's good for ourselves and our careers. Players are entitled to the same choices. Thank players for their contributions to the program and wish them well. Be the adult, even when it stings.

Have a track record. Share how graduates of your program have done. It takes time. Network to help them advance. Take pride in how players succeed professionally and personally. 

Remember:          ACHIEVEMENT = Performance x Time

Winners do extra. The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. Recall the most successful graduates of our programs. They always are the hard workers. Unrequired work distinguishes excellence.

Study communicators. Study influential speakers and methods of speech. Mark Forsyth shares specific rhetorical technique. "Become more to do more; do more to become more." 

Summary:

• Don't be boring
• Use the truth
• Explain why our program benefits them
• Use humor
• Spare the sarcasm
• Serve the players
• Have a track record
• Do extra
• Study communicators

Below are my notes from a MasterClass chapter

For example, briefly explain the greatness of Bill Russell. Invest time to make arguments shorter with stronger points. 

• 14 Championships in 15 years (2 NCAA, 1 Olympic, 11 NBA)
• First African American coach in major professional sports
• Winner-take-all games, Russell won...every time. 

Lagniappe. (via Paul Graham) There's a hierarchy to the quality of arguments, ranging from demonstration that an idea is false to name-calling. 

Lagniappe 2. Develop your portfolio. 

Lagniappe 3. "You don't get what you deserve in this life, you get what you fight for." - Richard in Workin' Moms

Basketball: Points of Agreement, Drills, Offensive Set, and Clips Showing a WNBA Player in High School

Where can we find consensus? Great basketball minds differ on tactics. Remember Rick Carlisle asking how many teams play Triangle Offense today?

In Think Again, Adam Grant says that we often fall into three categories - preachers, prosecutors, and politicians.

Preachers seek disciples. Google "Princeton Offense" and almost 4.5 million hits appear. Psst. Wanna get some diagrams of the chin or low series cheap?

Prosecutors vilify opposing people and ideas. "How long have you been beating your team, Coach?" Criticizing others may make us look worse not better. Most of us have been on both sides.

Politicians want adherents for the purpose of maintaining or growing power. 

Potential problems arise. Don't spend more time on ideology than on improvement. Seek consensus. 

1. Cultivate relationships. Humans became the dominant species not because of our physical attributes - speed, strength, sharp claws or thick skin. We differentiated ourselves through mental capacity and collaboration. Positivity, listening, praise, and the ability to communicate without judging help define extraordinary coaches. 

2. Focus on fundamentals. Teach the value of spacing, incorporate player and ball movement, and obsess the product - finishing skills at all levels - inside, midrange, and perimeter - and develop free throw shooting. Set parameters for good defense and accept only your standard of performance. 

3. Model sportsmanship. The tongue is a small muscle capable of inflicting irreparable harm. Be humble in victory and gracious in defeat. If others use our behaviors as examples of poor sportsmanship, we're doing it wrong. 

4. We cannot make everyone happy. There's an old story about who was the greatest teacher of all-time. "Jesus Christ." Well, even the greatest teacher ever had a team member who sold him out. People respect leaders who acknowledge mistakes more than those who proclaim infallibility. 

5. Change is inevitable. Coach Wooden said, "No progress occurs without change, but not all change is progress." The game evolves and "the gold standard" evolves. Court dimensions (the lane widened), shot clocks, three-point shooting, and rules change. When I played there was no shot clock, no three-point line, short shorts, jump balls on held balls, and no dunking (didn't impact me!). Now when we see tights and earrings pre-game, we know it's a boy's game. 

Drill: Develop offensive concepts with small-sided games with constraints (e.g. size of court available. 

Set play. Multiple cuts and screens. 

Summary:

• Cultivate relationships.
• Focus on fundamentals.
• Model sportsmanship.
• We cannot make everyone happy.
• Change is inevitable.

Lagniappe. We were fortunate to watch quality high school basketball locally during the 23-1 2006 season. This link shows clips from the season. Sheylani Peddy (#11) became A10 MVP and played for a WNBA champion. Many of the players showed athletic explosion and excelled at finishing. 

Lagniappe 2. 22 second opening possession clip of Franklin (white), the top girls team in Massachusetts on a 38 game winning streak. They have size, athleticism, and skill. Note the ball and player movement, paint touches and ball reversal. 

I only expect one absolute from my teams. Never quit. 

Learn from Failure, Plus Side-Step Threes

Become a student of failure. Put failure in perspective. In 1986, Angels reliever Donnie Moore surrendered a critical homer to Dave Henderson in the AL Championship series, which some attributed as the cause of Moore's suicide several years later. It's not that simple. 

Redemption is impossible without failure. Learn from and leverage failure. 

Screen capture from Terence Tao (MasterClass, Mathematics)

Detailed failure analysis allows corrections. One of the most celebrated failures was the Space Shuttle Challenger and the "O-ring" seals that failed in cold weather. It's a reminder that product tolerance varies under different conditions. The "O-ring" failed during a launch at 31 degrees. 

Failure has different costs. Not perfecting a lightbulb taught Edison to make a better one. But failure during bypass surgery can be fatal. Jesse Livermore oscillated between spectacular trading success and bankruptcy. Ultimately, he killed himself. 

We choose to accept failure, to learn from it, and to overcome it. 

What is our decision process? 

LeBron took heat for this pass to Danny Green, but I'll argue that the angle and "contestedness" of the shot made the pass a better choice. "Resulting" (grading outcome not process) isn't the way to gauge decisions. 

Talent drives fortunes. Larry Bird's arrival in Boston after the 1978-1979 season added 32 wins to the Celtics, from 29 to 61. That coincided with Bill Fitch being named Coach of the Year. The Trailblazers won 11 more games during Bill Walton's first, injury-plagued season. Michael Jordan's Bulls improved from 27-55 to 38-44 in his first year. Kevin Pelton rates impact of draftees on championships since 1989 using "wins added" metric. 

Skill and luck drive results. Chess and basketball are on the higher end of skill. Gambling is on the low end. Supreme skill reduces the chance of luck. Tiger Woods finished each practice making a hundred consecutive eight foot putts. That PGA season he missed nothing inside four feet. Woods used work to reduce failure.

Buddhist koans are 'conversations' that help us understand the nature of being. Here's an introduction from Elegant Failure: A Guide to Zen Koans

Yen-kuan’s Rhinoceros Fan 

If you attain the fundamental point, then you understand that the horn on the top of its head is sharp. 

If you don’t stop there, but move past, then it becomes clear: Wind blows, pinetree shakes. However, these two are not yet complete. 

What is it that completes these two? Haahh!! In winter it chills to the bone. In springtime it caresses the skin.

What does it mean? I choose to think it means, "accept the nature of things" yet realize things change. The nature of competition is that success and failure are residue. And that winning and losing are not unchangeable. 

Sometimes we promise ourselves not to be fooled again.

None of us want failure, but adversity is our companion, our teacher. What have we reviewed this week?

1. All possessions are not equal. Points per possession are substantially higher off steals than from dead balls or defensive rebounds. Reducing turnovers (as one of the Four Factors) helps get statistics on our side. 

2. Price is what you pay; value is what you get. As the NBA trade deadline approaches, remember there will be different interpretations. A trade that improves a team may not play well on social media if a popular player leaves. Care more about what helps our teams than the public perception.

3. "Win this possession." Small changes may have profound effects (the Butterfly Effect). Because about a third of games are decided by two possession or less, every possession matters. A couple of turnovers, missed free throws, or defensive errors and mistakes may have large repercussions.

Lagniappe. "Success is practiced." 

Basketball: Attention to Detail (Obsess the Product)

What does 'attention to detail' mean? Having read Dr. Fergus Connolly's Game Changer, I have a different interpretation - that which impacts individual or collective performance to change outcome. In other words, lifting weights matters to the extent it improves game metrics (rebounds, ability to screen, hold position, extend shooting range, etc.). 

Attention to detail occurs in many areas.

• Academics - "no ability without eligibility" study habits, organization
• Planning - practice planning, scouting, game planning
• Practice - team development, offensive/defensive integration, transition O/D, PnR O/D
• Study - general and specific basketball knowledge, playbook, film breakdown
• Training - athletic, skill development
• Game management - game sheet, timeouts, fouls, tempo, timeouts, etc. 
• After action review - what went well, poorly, enduring lessons

Focus the most time and effort where it will produce the most yield (Pareto Principle).

Generating lists is "general" not specific. For example, we finished practice with "specials" - 12 to 15 minute segments of 3 possession O-D-O games (offense-defense-offense) starting with BOB, SLOB, ATO, or free throw. These scrimmages teach situational basketball and improved in-game execution of special situations. And it was probably the players favorite practice segment. The 'granular' approach explains why we chose each type of action. "I chose this BOB because the opposition focused on a star player, and slipping a screen for her was likely to free the screener."

Study. Detailed study of subjects includes, for example, time outs. 

• Why and when do we use them? 
• How do we 'line up' /organize players?
• What's our information transfer philosophy during TO - 1 or 2 ideas?
• Can we improve timeout impact? How do we measure that?
• Can we measure listening during timeouts? (Timeout 'testing' during practice with index cards and pen...what did I just say?)
• Have we considered filming timeouts?
• Do we change defenses/anticipate defensive changes?
• I seek to 'save' three timeouts for the final four minutes (Dean Smith mode).
• Examples of poor use of timeouts (all five used to prevent held balls in the first half, not used during a 10-0 run with a star player at the table, Michigan)

Training. Most players benefit from an organized program. 

• Reach out and find a mentor/coach. 
• Ask your coach where you need improvement and how to earn a role.
• Develop four ways to score (minimum). Specifically explain and demo yours. 
• Track frequency of activities, activities and progress.
• Get a partner for competition and rebounding.
• Use cellphone video. 
• Alternate higher intensity and lower intensity activities (e.g. free throws)
• Plus, minus, equals. Play better players, teach lesser, and compete with equals
• Build your shot first and then secondarily expand range. 

Mechanics. Video is the truth machine.

• Are you able to create and restrict separation?
• Do you pivot to 'face up' and separate?
• Are you shot ready on the catch?
• Do you finish off either or both feet? 
• Is your shot form consistent, consistent arc, release point with the elbow above the eye? 
• Defensively are you pressuring the ball, loading to the ball, moving on the pass and in proximity to the offensive player on the catch? 

Attention to detail is a mindset. When we don't know are we curious to seek and apply answers? Can we explain and demonstrate the proper way to perform a skill? Are we willing to repeat the skill to mastery without becoming frustrated or bored? 

Summary: 

• Attention to detail is a precursor to excellence.
• Apply detailed analysis to each area of study.
• Find a mentor. 
• Find a partner. 
• Track progress. 
• Video is the truth machine.
• Be curious. 
• Attention to detail is a mindset. Obsess the product. 

Lagniappe. Develop GO TO and COUNTER moves. 

 

Player Development Wheel (18 Actions for Player Development)

Tuesday is innovation day. Every day is player development day. Separation and execution define extraordinary players. 

Suggestions:

• Become your own coach.
• Build your own workouts. 
• Practice with a partner.
• Include skill building, conditioning, and combination drills.
• Track progress. "Winners are trackers."

Urban Meyer taught a 10-80-10 distribution of players on a team. He demanded that top 10 percenters bring a partner to workouts to "drag" the middle class upward. 

Here's a "spinning wheel" of development options. 

References (drill descriptions and/or video):

Box drills

Blind man pickup (practice picking up the ball off the dribble eyes closed)

One on one

Five minutes "closer" practice (game winning individual actions)

"251"

"Beat the Pro" a.k.a. Bill Bradley (not just stand still shooting) 

One dribble finishing from the arc (include side-step threes)

One dribble jumpers from triple threat

Mikan regular and reverse

Dog Drill

Quarterback layups

Speed layups

Pitino quarters (168)

Championship 37

Small-sided games

Paul Pierce Wing Series

Curry Radians

Get 50 (Villanova)

Lagniappe: when "diagnosing" a team or a player, look not only at what we see, but what we don't always see. What are some examples? 

• Communication
• Offensive and defensive organization, spacing and proximity (color on color)
• Energy giving or energy taking
• Toughness/ hustle plays
• Ball movement
• What is the frequency of pick-and-roll?
• If there is pick-and-roll, is it ball handler or roller dominant? 
• How effectively does the defense load to the ball? 

Lagniappe 2. Targeting...stay or go?