Basketball Post 3400: Coaching Obligations

"Leaders make leaders." How? 

Use the Warren Buffett idea of generating a big list, then hone in on your top priorities. Other ideas aren't neglected but prioritized. Here's a starting point. 

1. Model excellence. 

"Your actions speak so loudly I cannot hear a word you say." Kevin Eastman says that "you can't fool dogs, children, and basketball players." Excellence shows itself in preparation, teaching, and communication. Rod Olson encourages us to "speak greatness." Set the bar high. Some coaches constantly seek to manage expectations.  

2. "Always do your best." - Ruiz, "The Four Agreements"  

Our best may not be the best and it's a moving target. Tennyson wrote, "that which we are, we are, and if we are to be any better now is the time to begin." Bringing our best dismisses the need for regret. 

3. Help players "see the game." - Pete Newell   

Coaches provide a scaffolding of understanding to build upon. Especially with young players, the ball has magnetism, corrupting spacing. Combine spacing, player and ball movement, to create high quality scoring chances. Teach the symmetry of basketball, with great defenses looking to shrink space, deny player and ball movement, and limit quality chances to "one bad shot." 

4. Share. "Basketball is sharing. - Phil Jackson  

Excellence follows shared vision, shared sacrifice, and shared results. Give and get feedback. Share and distribute credit. Star players get plenty of credit, so spread it around to be inclusive. 

5. Add value.

Everything at practice should impact winning. Adding constraints of space and time increase performance. Track results to foster a culture of achievement and 'personal bests'. "Every day is player development day." 

6. Earn "buy-in" from players. 

Always make it about the players. Loyalty lasts. I spoke with my high school coach Sonny Lane on the fiftieth anniversary of winning the Massachusetts top division sectional title. The New England Basketball Hall of Famer always points out that 'the players win the games'. 

7. Improve our teaching.

Education changes behaviors. "What is not learned has not been taught." Study authors like Doug Lemov and Teach Like a Champion. 

Great teachers: 

a) Progress from unit planning to lesson planning. b) Refine and perfect the lesson objective based on the degree of mastery from the day before. c) Plan a short daily assessment to determine whether the objective was mastered.

Imagine we want to reduce turnovers. Where do most of our turnovers arise, decision-making or execution? If it's execution, is it mostly footwork -related, such as traveling or mostly passing? If it's passing, show video of the problem - throwing through hands or into traffic or errant passes. too high, too low, too wide? Or receivers not coming to the ball (shortening the pass) or have the dropsies. 

Play "ten passes" or "twenty passes" half court action where scoring can't happen before a minimum amount of passes. 

8. Be fully engaged, fully present.

Coach K reminded players, "Next play" to encourage full focus on now. 

9. Work on communication skills.

Verbal and nonverbal communication matters. "That was good BUT" and "That was good AND" carry different connotations. Great communicators have a high ratio of positive to negative interactions.  

10."Keep the main thing the main thing." - David Cottrell

Don't let distractions defeat us. Stay focused on process, player development, and strategy to execute. 

11.Radiate energy. 

Be an energy giver not an energy vampire. The coach and the point guard cannot have bad energy days. 

12.Be prepared. 

Preparation is a choice. "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail." - Wooden

13.Dot B. "Stop and take a breath." 

Think before responding. Remember Abraham Lincoln's "Hot letters" that allowed him to vent but the letters were "never signed, never sent." Widen the space between receiving and sending messages. 

14.Be humble in victory and gracious in defeat. 

"Thinking less about oneself doesn't mean thinking less of oneself." 

15.Be positive. 

"Catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Relationships go better with at least a 3:1 positive to negative ratio. For marriage, it's 5:1. "Do I look heavy in this outfit?" "I like the blue one better." 

16."Look for the helpers." - Mr. Rogers

Most coaches are more than willing to help enthusiastic and committed players who want help. "Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." Find a mentor and be one. 

17.Do the right thing.

Excellent players in sport and life "do the right thing at the right time."  

18.Look for the "enduring lessons" from victory and defeat. These are questions from Michael Useem in The Leadership Moment. 

• What went well?
• What went poorly?
• What can we do better next time? 
• What are the enduring lessons this game taught? 

19.Put the program first. 

"Are we building a program or a statue?"

20.Ask better questions. 

"What does our team need today?"

21.Respect. 

Respect the game, players, assistants, opponents, officials.

22.Keep sportsmanship a priority. 

Sportsmanship costs us nothing. People remember extremes of sportsmanship. 

23.Treat everyone fairly, not equally.

"How does it feel to be coached by me?" And "never be a child's last coach." If the star players love us and the bottom of the roster hates us, then is it us or them? 

24.Show empathy. 

Put ourselves in the other person's position. 

25.Say "thank you."

"Thanks is the cheapest form of compensation." - Robert Townsend, Up the Organization

26. "Have the soul of a poet and the hide of an elephant." -Mira Nair

Coaching exposes our ideas and choices to criticism. Critics will fault our philosophy, practices, and decisions. Sometimes they will be right because nobody is right all of the time. Astronaut Chris Hadfield says, "competence is the antidote to fear." 

27."The director is the keeper of the story." - Ron Howard   It's our job to keep the organization moving forward, to edit our what isn't working and make sure the great scenes make the picture. 

I'm sure there's a better list, a more comprehensive list. Be on the lookout for ideas to steal and areas to improve.  

Lagniappe. Simple action to free a shooter.

Virginia Tech
5-out zoom
Trying to sell that the action is going to happen at the opposite side? pic.twitter.com/nsmcRa9Qil

— MaxFrontini (@MaxFrontini) March 8, 2023

Lagniappe 2. Four low BOBs. The devil made me do it. 

6 Flat alignment BLOBs (and 9 more in the link)https://t.co/8VM8ZsmooF pic.twitter.com/wbHK2Z7Bew

— Matt Hackenberg (@CoachHackGO) March 10, 2023

Basketball Post 3399: Ideas to Help You Win Today

Playoffs are well along. Find an edge to win today. Is there anything available to make a difference, here and now? 

There's no Insta-Pot player development, no changing the shooting fork versus index finger, hop versus 1-2 that happen immediately. We never know when one action can change a game. 

1. Timeout usage. I've seen teams exhaust their timeouts avoiding held balls IN THE FIRST HALF. Sometimes we HAVE to use timeouts to stop runs, substitute, or fix specific issues. Ideally, I want the Dean Smith three timeouts for the final four minutes. That allows for rest, strategy or potentially late ball advancement to set up a half-court versus full-court action. Because we practiced "special situations" each practice, I felt that gave us an edge.  

Timeouts don't grow on trees and I've never suggested a player "fake an injury" or 'accidentally' kick the ball to the corner. 

2. "Win this possession." The first and last count the same on the scoreboard. Rewrite Pete Newell's mandate as "get more and better possessions than our opponents." Here's the Kenpom possession formula via Dean Oliver. Great movies have great scenes; great games have great possessions. 

3. The Pledge. It's only good once. Have a clipboard statement for every player to sign:

"I promise to do everything possible today for the benefit of the team. I'll play my best defense, take quality shots, share the ball, and be the best teammate I can." 

4. Simplify basketball symmetry.

We take care of the ball. We force mistakes on defense.

We take quality shots. We allow "one bad shot." 

We attack pressure with movement. We pressure the ball. 

5. Rely on "possession enders." Possession enders are winners, 'guys' that get stops and scores. Get more chances for your best players. 

"Possession enders" finish offensive plays with assists and scores.  They finish defensive possession forcing turnovers, rebounding, and contesting shots without fouling.  

6. Get clarity '1'. Be great at a few things (examples)  

• Play great half-court defense. 
• Excel at the pick-and-roll. 
• Control the defensive boards. 

7. Get clarity '2'. Keys to victory, dos and don'ts (examples). "Attack weaknesses; utilize strengths."

• Leverage our size advantage in the paint.
• Take care of the basketball. 
• Keep opponent off the free throw line with disciplined defense.
• "Shut down transition."  

8. Talk on defense. PTRW (play the right way).

• ELO. Early, loud, often. 
• "Silent teams lose." 
• "Talk intimidates." 

9. Identity. "This is who we are." Remind the team about identity. If you're the Miami Heat, you're the toughest, nastiest team in the league. Play to our identity. Without an identity, you're not in the playoffs. 

10.Be intentional. 

• "This is where our points arise, our best offensive actions."
• "Stop theirs - transition, take 3s, live ball turnovers. 

Lagniappe. Teach your history. 

Lagniappe 2. 

Original Celtic drill is individual drill where player needs to make 2 in a row at 10 spots in under 2 min.

I tweaked it into a team shooting drill. 2 in a row is still what I do for HS+College. For younger groups it’s making 5 total at 6 spots. But you can make it what you want pic.twitter.com/jfmeTtpnI4

— Sean Strickland (@Coach__Strick) March 8, 2023

"The Devil Made Me Do It" - Basketball Ethical Dilemmas, "Feed a Man a Fish"

"In good conscience, I can't do that."

Tension exists between doing what someone wants and the right thing. It's 'easy' not to buy alcohol or cigarettes for minors. Basketball ethical dilemmas arise, too. Be empowered. 

Borrow from the original 12 Step Program?

The following are the original twelve steps as published by Alcoholics Anonymous:

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Mike Allen explained how he couldn't help a coach of nine year-olds who wanted zone press installations. If we don't believe in the process, we shouldn't participate. 

"Please, Sir, may I have some more" playing time? Everyone wants more minutes, more role. Understandable. And under the gun of 'user fees', there's a financial imperative. "I paid for this?" The battle between playing time and winning gets played out every day. Articulate a clear philosophy.

"Pssst. I've got some Princeton offense diagrams for you." Should we teach what we know or move the goal posts? There is always another offense or defense over the horizon. The grass is not always greener on the other side. 

In 1985 UCONN sought a new coach. The AD told the players, "we'll get you the best woman coach we can find." The players pushed back arguing for the best coach available. UCONN found a young coach, Luigi "Geno" Auriemma. Do you find the best coach, the best schoolteacher coach, the best woman coach, the best young coach?

Take care of the kids. Have a walkaway position. Years ago I volunteer coached and school hours changed. Practice time was to be chopped from four to two hours a week, not enough to teach or develop. I went to 'the authorities' and said that was insufficient. They ultimately found a way to get three hours a week. But if they had insisted on two, I would have walked. 

"Technique beats tactics." - Gregg Popovich   There's nearly irresistible temptation to add more to win today at the expense of player development that helps forever. We've all done it. "Feed a man a fish" stuff. 

Who eats first? Does the skilled and promising young player eat the minutes and role of the older player? One coach explained, "this is not a union job." And new coaches may feel pressure to appease older players and their families who play the "I paid my dues" card.

Find balance. Success can be an all-consuming mistress. Find balance between work, play, and family. High school basketball coaches aren't getting rich while staying late with teams and missing meals with family. 

Character is job one. - Etorre Messina  Coaches and programs rationalize keeping talented problem players on their teams. According to a Bill Belichick confidant, Aaron Hernandez was his "best football player." Hernandez was also a killer. Do you keep the talented low character on your team? Does a university discipline players who constantly go over the line? 

How do we fight the demons? First, be aware of them. Second, be willing to write them out and think about them. Third, know the politics. It's easier to be right with a barrel of ink than in a pond of piranha. 

Lagniappe. It's always worthwhile to watch Kevin Eastman teach.

 

Lagniappe 2. Look the past for answers today.

 

Basketball: Whatever It Takes, Jumping*

* Cross-posted and revised from my volleyball site 

"The only place 'success' comes before 'work' is in the dictionary." Remember the improvement template:

• Technique
• Tactics
• Physicality
• Psychology

To jump higher, you don't need a lot of fancy equipment to get started. In the video, the "equipment" includes a jumprope, box jumps (a low wall could substitute), and a mat. 

"Winners are trackers." Track progress over time. The coach recommended that you track 'antenna touches'. Seek your personal best. That works for school, jobs, sports. 

Find your catch phrase, also part of sport psychology (parameter four) of your "performance statement." Make it personal. 

"Champions do extra." 

"I do the unrequired work." 

"Repetitions make reputations."

"Competence is the antidote for fear." 

"I don't cheat the drill."  

Coach Sonny Lane reminded us fifty years ago, "I'm pleased but I'm not satisfied."

Play some inspirational workout music in the background, whatever your playlist is. 

Basketball: Support Group (Clip and Save)

"Hi, my name is Ron and I'm a basketballic." "Hi, Ron."

Many people are too proud to ask for help. They could need spiritual help, emotional help, money, technical help. Maybe they need a mentor or a friend. Has any coach ever sincerely come to you with a question or asking for help and you refused? 

If a player stops growing, they won't succeed. It's the same for coaches.  

Everyone benefits from coaching. The same categories of improvement for players apply to coaches:

• Technical (skill development)
• Tactical (strategy)
• Physicality 
• Psychology 

Be specific with recommendations. Mr. Rogers said, "Look for the helpers." Where are they? As coaches, are we supporting or chastising each other? 

Skill development. At some point, every coach says, "I don't have enough good players." Remember what Coach Wooden said, "Don't whine, don't complain, don't make excuses." Use available resources to improve our skill development. YouTube has a wealth of resources:

• Drew Hanlen
• Don Kelbick
• Kevin Eastman 
• Chris Brickley
• FIBA videos from around the world. 

Do our players 'buy-in' to the process? That's on us. What separates the most successful from the others? "Champions do extra." 

Strategy. Xs and Os, analytics, "countermeasures" are all part of the game. 

• Study topics. BOBs, SLOBs, ATOs, early offense, transition offense, whatever. 
• When watching games, "play along." What would I do here? Take a timeout? Foul? What actions are working or not working? 
• Study video. Break down successful teams' actions and study why other teams fail. Turnovers, poor spacing, poor shot selection, defensive mistakes and errors. 
• Compile written and mental actions that work in your notebook or other "commonplace book."  
• Apply more "hard-to-defend" actions (PnR, staggered screens, screen-the-screener, screen-the-roller (Spain PnR), back cuts, DHOs, etc. 

Physicality. Are our players in optimal condition? What's our plan to train them and to assess the training response? What's their nutrition and hydration plan? How much sleep do they get? If we don't ask, then we can't know. 

You snooze, you win. Study showed sleeping more increased performance.

At the end of the sleep extension period, the players ran faster 282-foot sprints (16.2 seconds versus 15.5 seconds) than they had at baseline. Shooting accuracy during practice also improved: Free throw percentages increased by 9 percent and 3-point field goal percentage increased by 9.2 percent. Fatigue levels decreased following sleep extension, and athletes reported improved practices and games."

Psychology. Each of us comes with different hardware (cognitive capacity) and software (knowledge, learning and study habits). What's our plan to upgrade the hardware (neuroplasticity) and software (what's in brain storage?).

Mindfulness training improves focus, grades, and standardized test scores, lowers stress hormones and blood pressure. Use these free guided meditations. 

Sports psychologists advocate for "positive affirmations" and visualizations. Have a mental "highlight reel" of proven success. 

Lagniappe. "Locked in."

 

 

Basketball Changed Me. A 50 Year Anniversary of a Sectional Division Championship Explains How

Our basketball journeys follow unpredictable paths. 

March 6, 1973 brought unexpected joy to an unheralded Wakefield High School team. Eight seniors played together since Junior High school. Five were at least 6'5". First, some background...

An arsonist torched the old part of Wakefield High, leading to double sessions, upperclassmen 7-12 and underclassmen 12-5. Practice was at night. "Wear your hats and mittens home. You're no good to us sick." 

Playing in a bandbox with an antiquated scoreboard, we had a 'new era' coach, Sonny Lane who believed in game film, detailed scouting reports, shot charts, and statistics. He was a twenty-something disciple of Wooden and Dean Smith. He knew how to teach and motivate kids. 

The ancient team room smelled of sweat and Tuf-skin, but had a large framed poster of the Pyramid of Success. 

Starting from scratch, Coach Lane's first two seasons hadn't gone great, 3 and 17 and 8 and 12. The latter closed with three wins. We played in the tough Middlesex League that spawned Rollie Massimino, the top Massachusetts division State Champion two years running, and a pair of NBA first round choices, Ron Lee and Bob Bigelow. 

Expecting a lot for 1973 was unrealistic against strong competition and lacking a winning tradition. The team elected me "Captain," a kid who had  never started a varsity game. I changed the title to "Team Representative." 

Our league opener yielded a controversial 90-89 loss as our star player's hoop at the buzzer was disallowed. The buzzer was broken on the clock.  Coach Lane had no sympathy. "Greatest game ever in Wakefield? You gave up 90 points." 

But maybe there was a 'there' there. Note that pre-shot clock, pre-3-point shot, we scored 35 points in a frenetic final eight minutes. 

Meanwhile, politics simmered in the background amidst a School Committee investigation. School Committee members evaluated the purpose of athletics, participation or winning. They arranged a series of hearings, questioning coaches favoring winning over playing time. Just two and a quarter years earlier the football team won the State Championship and winning wasn't an issue. 

Late in the season, The Wakefield Daily Item editor Robert Dolbeare postulated, "If victory is not the goal, then why put forth the effort?" Winning mattered and the coach stayed. 

We headed into the playoffs sporting a nine-game winning streak and a 17-3 record, having lost three games by a combined four points. We still went into the "Tech Tourney" unranked. Nine of the twenty past sectional finals featured two Middlesex League teams. 

The first round matchup opposed the local vocational school. It wasn't competitive as we won 76-23, not a true test. 

The quarterfinals matched us against perennial power Andover and their seventeen game winning streak. We dispatched them 57-37, shooting 23-42 with our ball control offense. 

The semifinals moved to Boston Garden against the top seed, St. John's Prep, 22-0, averaging 89 points per game. Their top player, Dave Winey, eventually became a Celtics draft choice after a career at Minnesota. We fell behind 26-12, but had a stunning 23-0 run over 8:35, including a 17-0 run to close the half. We won 47-41. Coach said that when you play defense, you can get back into games. 

That brought us to March 6, 1973 at the Garden, against the twice defending State Champions Lexington. Their coach had called us, "a three quarters" team that would fold in the fourth. Cub reporter Peter Gammons had the beat. 

I'll never forget the final play. 

The shot misses, I jump and literally do not come down as a teammate catches me in the air. 

Basketball creates unforgettable moments. I was blessed to live through one fifty years ago today. 

   

Crunch Time Highlights from a Titanic Upset, Winchester #16 Tops #1 CM

Follow the underdog blueprint. One seed Catholic Memorial takes a four point lead into the final frame. Sixteen seed Winchester takes care of business. 

1. The first play of the quarter serves as an ATO. Coach John Fleming cooks up a beauty with baseline double stagger for a three. "Putting your team in position to win." Note how Winchester is taking the crowd out of the game. 

2. CM isn't going 'quietly into the night'. Attacking the basket is still an important part of the contemporary wisdom of threes, free throws, and layups. 

3. Elite spacing, filled corners, "drive and dish" and shot making with brilliant multiple actions. And the bench is into it.

 

4. "Stops make runs." Notice how Winchester converts seamlessly to defense, fully engaged, not celebrating but playing both ends. "Force to tape" action leaves the driver with no place to go. The defense was elite with the 'help side' in great 'shrink spots'. 

 

5.Fundamentals carry the day. Winchester sets up a wing exchange out of the 1-4 high and the defense initially shuts down the drive. But a wing ball screen opens the pick and pop and more shotmaking gives the underdog the lead.

 

6. "Never bring a gun to a gunfight. Bring a tank." CM powers inside and Coach Fleming is unhappy about the lack of a charge.

 

7. "There's no restricted area" or is there? As a matter of practice, I think there should be. But again CM gets the call.

 

8."The defense never rests." Set play with fast break off the free throw and Winchester shuts it down. Note the time and score. CM has 55 with over four and a half minutes left to go.

 

9. Coaches teach "no direct drives" but stopping it is another matter. You decide. 

10."Great teams don't beat themselves." Don't underestimate the importance of reliable inbounding. Here's a "what was that?" moment that's a wasted possession.

 

11."Great defense is multiple efforts." Winchester stops transition, contains the ball, contests the shot, blocks out, and ends the possession on the glass." That is textbook execution.

 

12.Excellent teams are opportunistic. They convert from offense to defense and defense to offense. "Chance favors the prepared mind" and Winchester exploits the Golden Moment. 

Video Breakdown: 1/16 Matchup in the Massachusetts State Tournament

Learn from the "Truth Machine." As per previous film breakdowns, I stick to a thirteen clip limit. 

1. "Basketball is a game of matchups." Catholic Memorial immediately finds their 6'7" center in the post.  

2. Every possession matters. Winchester falls behind 11-0, but takes advantage of a defensive mistake to get an icebreaking three. The defenders didn't switch or stay.

  

3. Ball containment, there is no substitute. Explosive drive off of a "load step/negative step." 

4. There are no small plays. The defender does "enough" to stop the back door cut which helps result in a stop. We never know when multiple efforts will change a game. 

5. Current basketball in one play. The dribble gets an edge and the help ends up freeing up an open three. 

6. Crafty BOB pindown, double screen slip gets defense tangled up. 

7. "Thinking in Bets" by Annie Duke discusses probability in decision-making. The big guy is working hard and the guards like a 22 footer better. The shot is not close. It's easier in hindsight. 

8. Develop versatile finishes. Learn to attack from either side and finish from either side off one or two feet. 

9.  A dribble handoff is coming and the defense isn't fully alert AND the driver again uses the load step to accelerate to the basket. 

10.BOB set up with the low box popping. I see this and immediately think, "America's Play" with the inbounder popping to the corner. The defense seems alert to it and fights hard to disrupt the play which ends with a bad pass. 

11.Key sequence... SLOB, ATO for Winchester. They run Iverson Action into a high ball screen and get a Corner 3 as the defender loses his man. Good action from the driver. "Great offense is multiple actions."

12.Another key play as the defense again gets confused as to whether to switch or stay. As a result they are forced into a longer closeout and Winchester nails a three.

 

13."Threes are wild." Winchester made more threes than twos in this game (12 vs 10). It's hard for defenses to adjust and have shorter closeouts and you have to give 'shotmaking' credit, too.

 

Winchester achieved that rarest of all birds, the 16 takes out number 1 and did it by outplaying the top seed. 

End of-Quarter and Other Automatics

Coaches "automate" actions. Don't automate too much though or some players get overwhelmed. Get feedback. "What do we do in this situation?" 

Examples:

• Pressure defense after a made free throw, e.g. '14', full-court man. 
• Different pressure defense after a made basket, e.g. '83' three-quarter court 2-2-1 trap. 
• Clock-determined BOB (a specific play for even, odd, or zero). If the clock shows 2:21 left, run the "odd" BOB play, if 2:20, run the 'third' play for zero at the end. 
• End-of-quarter 
• ATO portfolio (have a small group of 3-4 actions, helpful to have something held back)
• "Base offense" e.g. spread, horns sets

Matt Hackenberg shares this tweet for an end-of-quarter action. 

Point guard clear outs are a solid option for end of quarter situationshttps://t.co/ti0KAro0Cz pic.twitter.com/3tsNN7Fe9o

— Matt Hackenberg (@CoachHackGO) March 4, 2023

Prioritize clock management as we've seen games turn on poor clock management allowing an opponent an extra possession that changed momentum and foreshadowed defeat.

Of course, we "automate" many other types of coaching, too. 

• Practice schedules
• Practice and pre-game warmups
• Timeout organization (including organized seating, positions 1 through 5 left to right)
• Game lineup and play sheets

Lagniappe. Billy Donovan calls it "The 95," the 95 percent of the game played without the ball in your hands. Becoming skilled without the ball, playing both ends, making teammates better is highly underrated.  

Basketball Coaches Learn from Football

Learn from other sports. Here's a quote from new Ravens Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken:

"Balance isn’t run-pass; balance is, make them cover all five of your guys; make them defend the field; make them defend the depth of the field. So, I think it’s all those things. That’s the way the college game has gone; that’s what they’re used to. They’re not used to anymore being under center, five-step drop; that doesn’t exist. They’re used to being in [shot]gun, RPOs [run-pass options], spreading the field, using space players; that’s what they’re used to. So, I think that’s the style they want to play.”

Monken's keys to a successful offense:

• Don't turn it over
• Be explosive
• Score touchdowns in the red zone
• Be good on third down
• Don't have lost yardage plays
• Have an athletic quarterback who can make off-schedule plays

- from Boston Sports Journal

Apply to basketball:

1. Offense is spacing. Every good NBA and FIBA team has elite spacing. Most poor high school teams have bad spacing. Spacing extends the defense, opening basket attack and perimeter shots off help. 

2. "Win in space." Don't drive into traffic. Don't pass into traffic. Great players get separation and can "draw two" and make teammates better. 

"A game of separation..." Doncic gets separation and draws help.  

3. Don't turn it over. 

• Excellent teams don't give away games. 
• Giving away games starts with giving away possessions. 
• Bad decisions, bad execution, bad shot selection = turnovers.

4. Be explosive. Sport rewards explosive athletes.

 

5. "Have an athletic quarterback." Excellent "quarterbacks" and point guards share decision-making and execution. 

With more teams in a "switch everything" mentality, decision-makers spend more time creating mismatches they want.

Lagniappe. Sometimes we see "things we never see." 

 

This "screen the screener" action created multiple options and a good finish. 

Bala

Basketball: Maximize Fun and Productivity Practices

Brian McCormick says, "Avoid the three L's - laps, lines, lectures." Make practice fun and productive. 

Here are some ideas for consideration. Some help inject a little extra fun into practice. 

Warm up

Jumping rope... a great conditioner and helps build timing and coordination. In young boys, rope jumping increased VO2max (oxygen utilization, purest measure of aerobic fitness), leg strength and speed.  

Dribble tag inside the arc. Add additional constraints such as forcing non-dominant hand dribbling, crossover or hesitation every three dribbles, or combinations. It's another form of 'random' practice and helps all players. 

Capture the flag involves quickness, agility, and strategy. 

It's another form of 'random' practice and helps all players. 

Favorite drills with competition

Shooting (30 buckets). Allot 2 to 3 minutes depending on skill levels with teams of three shooters and three rebounders. For example, start a player at each wing and free throw line. Each team aims for 30 buckets within the allotted time and shooters rotate to a new spot with each make. 

Frito-Lay

Spurs shooting has four groups of three, a shooter, rebounder, and passer. It goes quickly. Start the shooter wherever you like (e.g. an elbow) with a ball and the passer has a ball. After the shot, the passer reloads the shooter and the rebounder retrieves and passes to the shooter. A team 'wins' when each shooter has made five or a team makes eight in a row. (San Antonio Spurs drill).  

Competitive free throws - many different ways to do this. Our HS team (1973) had four rounds of ten with tracking. Daily winner faced off against the coach, sometimes to prevent suicides. Winning usually took a minimum of 38/40. 

Simulating and playing the game - conditioning with drills

Defeating pressure: "Ultimate." 

The ball can never touch the floor. When it does, it's "live ball" to the opponent. It's a pass and cut, fast-paced competition, game to FIVE successful advances into the end zone. 

Scrimmage...can vary the type, including 4-on-4-on-4. Offense starts in the backcourt and attacks. After the possession, the defense becomes offense and the third group at half court has to pick up an assignment and defend. The first offense group goes to the 'holding' area to become the next defensive group. Track score for each group. 

O-D-O (offense-defense-offense). We spent 15 minutes per practice on three-position games which practiced offense-defense-decisions-conditioning, and competition. Game would start with an ATO, BOB, SLOB, or free throw (especially for free throw defense). Over the years we got many comments about our efficiency on special situations, plus the players loved the "Specials" practice. 

Lagniappe. Multiple options out of horns. 

horns back screen to hand-off pic.twitter.com/2Bd3wWuDQ8

— United Basketball + (@unitedbballplus) February 28, 2023

Basketball Layup Progression

We want to win basketball games. Make layups. Develop a progression of activities to 'harden' players taking layups. Choose to agree or to disagree, but here are suggestions, obviously not every layup drill. 

Many coaches know all of this. Few players do and fewer have invested the time to raise their game. If you can't recruit, rely on player development. 

Skill progression isn't 'gifted'. It demands hours of work, investing sacrifice when your peers and friends spend time. Better to practice with a partner and if you have the ability, to record progression with cellphone video. "Repetitions make reputations."

1. No dribble layups. Start with the left foot forward, right back, near the first peg. Step RIGHT, LEFT and lay the ball up, extending to the basket. Remind the player, "Eyes make layups," target the square. Rinse and repeat. 

2. Mikan drill. Alternate right and left-handed layups, practicing the layup footwork. Learn to make ten consecutive from each site. 

3. Reverse Mikan drill. Back is to the basket and the player lays the ball up back over her head. This is good preparation for reverse layups. 

4. Lithuania "speed layups." I prefer that the ball not hit the floor. 

Speed layups for warm-up via the Lithuania team at the #JonesCup. I like it because most of warm-up IMO is about getting shots as we shoot more than we get layups in games...the other part is a short burst of energy & enthusiasm so this would take care of that. pic.twitter.com/UQXy7w1Ozg

— Chris Oliver (@BBallImmersion) July 29, 2018

5. "Quarterback layups." Maybe this is too high on the list. This adds defense and I don't recommend above 7th grade because I didn't want injuries. Competitive players will figurative kill each other. 

Key point. Raise the bar: Basketball rewards explosive athletes. By high school, players should score with one dribble from the three-point line. The offensive player rips the ball out of the defender's light hold and attacks the basket. The defender cannot foul but pursues aggressively. Note, also didn't recommend this drill on asphalt/outdoors.

6. Box drills. Initially without defense. Develop elite footwork and learn to finish with either hand off either foot (and two feet) from either side. For example, start at the right elbow, back to basket with left foot pivot foot. Sweep the ball low (out of a defender's 'strike zone') with a reverse pivot (back side leads). One dribble to score off left foot. 

Run through a sequence of drop step, front, and reverse pivot from either side into basket attack, shot, one dribble shot. Develop footwork and a lot is possible. 

7. Add a defender to the box drills. 

8. Warmup, reverse layups off the catch (via Tufts Women's BB)

Emphasize urgent cutting, crisp passing, and strong finishing. 

9. "Stampede." Attacking off the catch for layups, floaters, or short jumpers. 

10.Float dribble into attack. "Basketball is a game of separation." Some call it "hang hesitation" or "hang hesi." Get separation off the dribble. 

11. "Negative step." The video is self-explanatory. Some call it a "load step."