Total Pageviews

Saturday, April 19, 2025

Basketball - What Is Wrong with this Picture?

Life is partly about creating advantage. Not taking advantage of others. The military times assaults for the opposition to be unprepared. "Every battle is won before it is fought," writes Sun Tzu in The Art of War. Reporters seek edges searching for Bob Woodward's "best available version of the truth." Martha Mitchell shared abandoned papers during the Watergate Scandal. And coaches seek to create advantage. Bill Belichick says, "Utilize strengths. Attack weaknesses," also from The Art of War.

Many decades ago, a patient was referred to hospital with diffuse lung disease of no apparent cause. I asked to interview the patient. "Do you have any pets?" "Yeah, I have some birds." The patient had Bird-Fancier's Disease, an immune response to bird proteins. The history was the edge. 

When we watch basketball games, ask "what is wrong with this picture?" Are there athletic, size, skill, or other mismatches not exploited? Sometimes good explanations exist. Others, not so much. 

I watched a college team that struggled mightily. I said to another fan, "do they ever score in transition?" He answered, "still waiting to see it." Edges. Find easy baskets in transition. 

Coach Dave Smart notes that every good team finds offense in the half-court. Edges come with mismatches, superior execution, and with hard to defend actions. If a team doesn't use ball screens, complex screening, or urgent cutting, they better be great shooters. 

Good teams adjust tempo to shorten the game (play slower) or lengthen it by playing faster to create more possessions. 

Florida used a complex screen (stagger) to open up a pivotal three. 

Teams create advantage defensively with a variety of tactics:

  • Superior on-ball defense
  • Pressure defense 
  • Changing defenses
  • "Junk defenses," such as box-and-1
Strong teams excel at executing the game close and late. Brad Stevens studied over a thousand NBA end-of-game situations to identify edges that could help win close games. Special situations like BOBs, SLOBs, and ATOs are prime examples.

 

Watch teams that struggle and recurrent "missing themes" emerge. 
  • Does the team create and execute advantages?
  • Do they exploit mismatches in speed, size, or skill?
  • Do they get and prevent easy baskets? 
  • Do they execute hard-to-defend actions in the halfcourt?
  • Do they run and defend the pick-and-roll?
  • How do they use tempo? 
  • How do they adjust defenses? 
  • What are their tendencies close and late? 
Yes, talent differentials matter. Self-assessment of "what is wrong with this picture?" can also help teams achieve. 

Lagniappe. Study and improve the quality of passing. 
Lagniappe 2. Superior thinking benefits from superior processes such as mental models. 



Posted by at

Friday, April 18, 2025

Basketball - Three Scorecards (Life, Rethinking, Values)

Joshua Medcalf (Chop Wood, Carry Water) was on a podcast, mentioning the value of keeping scorecards. That triggered thoughts about three "scorecards."

  • Scorecard for Life
  • Rethinking Scorecard (Adam Grant, Think Again)
  • "Values Scorecard"  
Scorecard for Life. What belongs on our scorecard and in what order? That reminded me of David Brooks and the distinction between 'resume' values' and eulogy values. They aren't mutually exclusive. 

Douglas MacArthur's speech to cadets at West Point emphasized "duty, honor, country," all noble virtues. Where does the citizen-soldier prioritize family?

My high school coach, Sonny Lane, taught us that taking care of business meant family, school, and basketball. Older readers may recall John McPhee's 1965 A Sense of Where You Are about Bill Bradley and his 1964 Princeton team. 


Each of us keeps our personal scorecard. Some of us seek transformational change while others in society practice transactional behavior. We have to trust that a divine scorecard views our eulogy virtues favorably. 

Rethinking Scorecard. What did we earnestly believe and later discover to be wrong? For simplicity, confine that to basketball. The saw "Defense wins championships" may never have been true. Russell's Celtics had an eraser, surrounded by other talented players - Cousy, the Joneses, Heinsohn, Havlicek. As the game evolved, offensive juggernauts led by Jordan, Bird, Magic, Kobe, and others provided a more nuanced view. At worst, "Balance wins championships." 

"Three pointers are overrated." The 1984-1985 Lakers won the NBA title making 13 three-point shots during the regular season (13/52). The three-pointer as a curiosity became replaced by the trey as the nuclear option for the Boston Celtics and others. Eight Celtics made over 100 three-pointers this season per StatMuse (below). 


"Basketball Values Scorecard." Team first attitude appears as the 'scoreboard is greater than the scorebook'. If selfishness, softness, and sloth lose, the opposites give you a chance. Developmental level (youth) basketball requires developmental thinking. Don't sacrifice kids on the altar of victory, as in "never be a child's last coach." 

Value the person greater than the player and care about the twelfth player on the team as much as you care about the stars. 

Lagniappe. Midrange mulligans? 

Lagniappe 2. Develop a variety of finishes.  

Lagniappe 3. Clear and screen BOB. Worth a look.  

View on Threads

Posted by at

Thursday, April 17, 2025

Basketball Media Training Matters

People judge us by how we present ourselves. That includes both verbal and nonverbal communication. Favor yourself with preparation. 

How do you improve? "How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice. Practice. Practice."

Practice in front of a mirror. Practice with a friend or a parent. Practice when you're tired. Have people ask you unprepared questions. Answer neither too fast or too slowly. If you get a tough question, pause and take a few seconds to think. You can say, "that's a tough question." If you don't know, it's okay to say, "I don't know." 

  • Thank the interviewer. 
  • "Don't be boring."
  • Practice helps avoid "like, you know, um, and er."
  • Be a credit giver not a credit taker.
  • Note that you were fortunate against a quality opponent. 
  • Credit your family for their help and sacrifice. 
  • Credit your coaches and their preparation.
  • Credit your teammates. "Deflection is perfection."
  • "Repetitions make reputations."
Lagniappe. Attitude. 

  

Lagniappe 2. Leave a mark. 

Lagniappe 3. Be aware of current trends. Changing defensive spacing. 

Posted by at

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Five Offseason Basketball Shooting Drills

Shooting is a highly perishable skill. Use it or lose it. Coach Bob Knight decried "free shooting" where a player just goes out and shoots.

1) When possible, shoot with a partner/rebounder, dragging both of you into the top 10 percent. More fun, more competition. 

2) "Be a tracker." Monitor your progress, seeking PBs - personal bests. 

3) Add constraints - "x number" of makes in a given amount of time, consecutive makes, or percentage (have to make 9/10)

4) Practice a variety of shots (e.g. catch and shoot, off the dribble, pump fake and shoot, etc.)

5) "Closer" shots. If you're the closer, what's in your bag?

6) Take a few minutes for emergency shots (fallaways, flyaways, one-footers) 

"Make shots not excuses."

Here are five specific ideas:

1) Warmup "Get 50" from Jay Wright 


An alternative - Curry Warmup If you walk out and start shooting threes, you're not a serious shooter. Whether it was Steve Nash or Steph Curry, warming up your shot improves form, results, and confidence. 


The greatest shooter of this (and maybe any) generation, Steph Curry, takes 5 shots from 5 spots at each 'radian'. 

2) Bueckers "grab and go" from Chris Oliver... 


3) Championship 38

Shooting drills like "Championship 38" (18 shots, including 3 free throws) are highly competitive and easily tracked. Add constraints like time or number of shots allowable to meet your goals.

4) Elbow shots on the move


Game shots, on the move catch and shoot... elbow to sideline, elbow to elbow. 

5) Pitino "quarters" - 84 shots, 168 possible points (42 points per quarter)


Competitive, volume repetitions won't guarantee you anything. Not doing them guarantees you nothing. 

Lagniappe. Find one band, one sound. From Eric Kapitulik, The Program, "If the head coach decides that the team must focus on their Core Value of selflessness, then an athlete is hearing that message from his head coach, his positional coach, all of his strength coaches, the athletic trainers, the director of football operations, and the head coach’s assistant too."

Lagniappe 2. Everyone can learn to cut. 

Lagniappe 3. BOB with options. "Learn how to play." 

Posted by at

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Basketball Survival

Everyone benefits from understanding survival in their unique basketball landscape. Survival shows (Survivorman, Dual Survival, Alone) inform viewers about the many physical and mental challenges. Derive analogical benefits. 

Shelter, fire, water, and food are the major challenges against the elements, predators, thirst, and hunger. On the survival shows, contestants or experts have (optional) tools to improve their odds - tarp, fire rod, cutting tools, primitive fishing gear, snare wire, paracord, pot, sometimes bow and arrow.

Sometimes the conditions are not survivable - the New York Jets of the NFL. 

And lamentable, effort may not be proportional to results. "Control what you can control." 

Ecosystem - facilities, practice, assistants

Predators - opponents (and competition for available talent - other sports)

Climate - talent, parents, community (extremes of desert, frozen tundra both non-navigable) 

"Nutrition" - thirst and hunger (training, resources)

You wouldn't choose a survival challenge without any experience or survival in survival. Ideally, the 'survivalist' (coach) would train at the hand of an experienced/successful coach.

Obstacles  

Ecosystem - One season I was offered two hours of practice a week. I countered that I was prepared to walk away without at least three. The tradeoff was practice 7:30-9:00 p.m. for middle schoolers. 

Predators - One area community has an elite field hockey program. The best athletes vote with their feet and win States every year. 

Climate - Prep and private schools cherry pick a lot of the best available talent. Make peace with reality. Coaching girls, I practiced total transparency and all communication went through parents. Parents got periodic emails re: progress and need areas. Any "hard" conversations should always have two adults present. 

Nutrition - offseason training is limited in suburban Boston by weather. May through September, hope for the best. The best players were always the most committed. Everyone, without exception, has at least occasional adversarial encounters with parents with the usual issues over minutes, role, and recognition. 

Lagniappe. I've read Deep Survival twice and I'm not an outdoors person.

Lagniappe 2. Curiosity is essential.  

Lagniappe 3. Numbers don't lie. 

Lagniappe 4. Become more with better habits. 

Posted by at

Monday, April 14, 2025

Basketball - Nobody Should Want My Opinion. Someone Will Benefit Anyway.

"Basketball is sharing." - Phil Jackson

Top coaches are lifelong learners who practice openness and flexibility. Are we among them or are we locked in to our beliefs? Bill Parcells reminds us, "you are what your record says you are."

What could we do differently that might impact winning? Think about creating a one page "go by" for each of these six areas. Do I expect young players to do the work? Only those who want to chase excellence.

My mentee Cecilia was on the Patriot League All-Rookie team and has been contacted by over forty schools in the portal. She hasn't made a decision to stay or to go elsewhere. 

1) Player development. Develop players with skills to attack the basket, pick-and-roll players, and shooters who can do more than make occasional open catch-and-shoot threes. How often do shades of "The Beautiful Game" emerge during high school?   

How often in generic high school games do you see players applying "box drills," "wing and jab series," and other individual attack moves? 

Here are some links I sent to my son for help my granddaughter (eight):

2. Compendium
Attack mentality. Choose from a 'menu' of improvements. Invest the time to review multiple videos. You don't need to develop every one. 
3. Box drills  (absolutely great drills) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwmyJF0s6gA&t=1s
4. Athleticism drills  (sport rewards explosive athletes)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szJXg72tyZ8&t=437s

2) Strategy 


4) Psychology/Resilience (mindfulness - includes slideshow links)


6) Community outreach - Be a "Say yes" guy.

Lagniappe. What's the purpose of youth and middle school basketball? Is it coaching ego support or player development? 

 Lagniappe 2. Start with the end in mind? 

Lagniappe 3. Whom do we become?  

Posted by at

Sunday, April 13, 2025

Basketball - Under the Radar Tips

"Good artists borrow; great artists steal." - Picasso

Sweat the details. Most readers have extensive basketball knowledge. Most players know less than they think. As legendary Coach Pete Newell said, "the coach's job is to help players SEE THE GAME."

British cycling won championships by focusing on minutiae to boost "marginal gains."

James Clear writes in his best seller Atomic Habits, "Brailsford and his team continued to find 1 percent improvements in overlooked and unexpected areas. They tested different types of massage gels to see which one led to the fastest muscle recovery. They hired a surgeon to teach each rider the best way to wash their hands to reduce the chances of catching a cold. They determined the type of pillow and mattress that led to the best night’s sleep for each rider. They even painted the inside of the team truck white, which helped them spot little bits of dust that would normally slip by unnoticed but could degrade the performance of the finely tuned bikes."

Consider these 1 percent better suggestions:

1) Start inbounds plays the instant the official hands the inbounder the ball, not on a slap. 

2) "Automate" inbounds plays silently using the clock for EVEN, ODD, or ZERO. Override with "CANCEL" to signal an alternative. 

3) Focus on self-care for players via sleep (eight hours), nutrition, hydration, and recovery. 

4) On our coaching "Game sheet" include our best two for:

  • Baseline out of bounds (BOB)
  • Sideline out of bounds (SLOB)
  • After timeout (ATO)
  • Set play versus man defense
  • Set play versus defense 
5) Have a set call for fronting the post to alert the on-ball defender and backside help. Maximal on-ball pressure makes post entry harder. 

6) Remember Coach Don Kelbick's advice, "think shot first." 

7) Be descriptive. Coach Mike Krzyzewski didn't teach pick-and-roll defense by "show" or "hedge." He chose the term, "fake trap." 

8) Dean Smith (two NCAA titles) worked to have three timeouts for the final four minutes. 

9) Superior teams close out games with well-tuned offensive and defensive delay games. 

10) With about a third of games decided by two or fewer possessions (think Houston and Florida in the Final Four), practice situational basketball regularly. The Navy SEALs remind us that "we sink to the level of our training." 

Lagniappe. Adam Grant's "Think Again" points out the value of 'rethinking'. He suggests keeping a "rethinking scorecard." 

Lagniappe 2. There are multiple ways to run "shell." 

Lagniappe 3. Top teams run hard-to-defend actions such as complex screening. Spain translates to "backscreen the roller defender." 

Posted by at

Saturday, April 12, 2025

Take a Different Attitude Towards Work - "Get To" not "Have To"

Every day tests our process. New White Sox infielder Chase Meidroth commented, "I try to win every at bat." Play present and put the last 'shot' in the rear view mirror. Don't let a previous experience bleed into this play. 

Process defines outcome. But it takes time, whether "10,000 hours" or something else. A trained medical specialist takes 12-15 years of college, medical school, and postgraduate training (4-7 years). Nobody picks up a basketball and is NBA-ready. The new normal is that many college coaches ignore high school players and compete for "known" commodities. A high school player might say, "that's not fair." That's reality. 

Plateaus and setbacks punctuate the journey. Disappointment and disaffection with outcome happen too frequently. Some people just quit. Quests become quixotic. "Win the moment, this possession." 

Serve your local community - home, school, team. If that's writing the best book report possible, do it. If it's "do five more" in the weight room, do it. Adopt the "get to" not the "have to" mentality. 

Love learning. Study harder. Whether it's watching games, clinics, or video, better study translates. As student or teacher, "explain it to me as though I'm a five year-old."

Embrace the grind. Ask better questions. "What if?" 

Experience joy in doing the work. The work pays you.  

Lagniappe. How many of you were three-sport athletes? Coach Dags weighs in.  

Lagniappe 2. Dan Campbell on Patriots new defensive coordinator Terrell Williams: “He understood the personality of players,” Campbell recalled this week at the annual league meetings. “To watch him, like, he treated every player differently, man. Some guys he prodded, some guys he loved up, some guys would just walk and whisper in their ear and watch them go. He’s got a knack about understanding how to make people go and understanding that not everybody’s the same. Unbelievable dude.” 

Lagniappe 3. Touch the line. Nobody regrets doing their best. 

Posted by at

Friday, April 11, 2025

Basketball, Less Is More

"Less is more." One of the great challenges in coaching is letting go of the familiar. We need a strategy. 

Let's start with a consultation to Marie Kondo. 

Love the "less is more" vibe. Marie Kondo’s philosophy fits that perfectly. Her method, the KonMari Method, is about more than tidying — it’s about intentional living. Here are her top three principles:

1. Keep Only What Sparks Joy
This is her signature idea. You physically handle each item and ask yourself, "Does this spark joy?" If it does, you keep it. If it doesn’t, you thank it for its service and let it go.

  • Coaching parallel: Evaluate drills, routines, and habits. Keep only those that energize your athletes or serve a clear purpose.

2. Tidy by Category, Not Location
Instead of cleaning one room at a time, you organize by category (e.g., clothes, books, papers) across the entire space.

  • Coaching parallel: Focus training by skill category (e.g., serve receive, blocking, transition offense) rather than "today we’re doing a little of everything." Concentrated work creates clarity and momentum.

3. Follow the Right Order
Marie Kondo insists on a specific order: clothes → books → papers → komono (miscellaneous) → sentimental items. Starting with easier decisions builds the decision-making muscle for harder ones later.

  • Coaching parallel: Build confidence and rhythm by tackling easier concepts first, then layering complexity. Early wins matter.

The value comes from the "effectiveness" or something else - an association or a memory. For example, I don't find 'yelling' as particularly helpful, so it was easy to eliminate. 

Make our metaphorical 'possessions' serve us instead of us serving them. 

What can we remove? Brian McCormick has the "no lines, no laps, no lectures" mantra. Don Kelbick simplifies the initial thought to "think shot first." Teach kids not to play in traffic. "Win in space." 

If we choose category, would it be drill, offense, defense, something else? A few defensive don'ts might include "don't help off the three" and "help across, not up." For many young offensive players, "don't put the ball on the deck as soon as you get it." 

What's the right order? Eliminate selfishness. "Fight for your culture every day." Nobody can get rid of everything, all at once. 

Lagniappe. Don't traffic in excuses. Be a champion of preparation. "Excuses hold us back from accomplishing our mission. Don’t make them. Instead, focus on your preparation. If you win, continue to prepare knowing that there is someone out there who is working r right now to beat you. If you lose, be that someone." - Eric Kapitulik in The Program

Lagniappe 2. Ready for your interview? 

Lagniappe 3. Can an outside observer reduce our system to its core?  

Posted by at

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Why You Shouldn't Read This Basketball Blog

Think backwards. In "Originals" Adam Grant shares how entrepreneur Rufus Griscom presented a slide show why investors shouldn't buy his startup, Babble.  

Grant argues that explaining limitations "disarms" evaluators who may reappraise their purchase options. 

Many readers have vast knowledge of basketball. They might not learn something every day from strictly within the basketball domain. 


Analogies teach. Van Gogh sold one picture during his life. I don't sell anything from blog posts and not many copies of my e-book, "The Simple Guide to Girls' Basketball." 

Best recent piece of advice. "Don't put in the time. Put in the work."


Don't be a "get off my lawn" guy. You don't have to live analytics to find some statistical measures that help - shooting percentage, turnovers, fouls and foul shooting. We can't pick and choose, saying analytics are useless, except for the ones we like. 

Old guys know nothing. Ask Geno Auriemma (71 years young). 


On average there are 500-1000 readers a day. The blog is over ten years old. The "social proof" is Feedspot's recommendation as a top 100 global basketball blog. 

Best offensive advice? "Space, cut, and move the ball. Take high percentage shots for your team." Don't apply NBA stats to high schoolers.  


There are over 4,000 posts and a 'storehouse' of over 1,200 drafts. In an 'open source' domain, there are always new questions needing new answers. 


Never confuse self-worth with readership. 

As of 7 PM today (4/10/25) here are recent Google stats. 

Joe's right. Each of us decides what to care about. 

Legitimate experts can be wrong. Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos both thought the Segway personal transport system would be the next new thing. 

Domain expertise varies. Even if we're "experts," we're not experts on everything. 

Hubris exposes "experts" to error because they believe they're "the smartest guy in the room." 

Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm can cause judgment errors. 

Lagniappe. You can't live off of "don't do that." "Discuss what you need to stop doing, but spend the great majority of your time communicating what to do." - from Kapitulik, The Program

Lagniappe 2. What matters is getting things done. "To understand the barriers that Carmen Medina (creator of DoD Intellipedia) encountered, we need to tease apart two major dimensions of social hierarchy that are often lumped together: power and status. Power involves exercising control or authority over others; status is being respected and admired." - From Originals, Adam Grant

Lagniappe 3. Repetitions and more. 



Posted by at

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Lessons from High School Basketball

Driving a country road, a coach saw a sign "Talking Dog $25." Curious, he asks the owner, can I talk with him? He asks the dog, "can you tell me your story?" "Sure. Early on, my master learned I had the gift of speech. Naturally, he sent me to the CIA, as I could go where other operators couldn't. I was legendary. But I got old, so they retired me." The coach said, "That's incredible. You're selling him for nothing? The owner said, "he's such a liar. He never did any of that."

Readers include former professionals, a National Player of the Year, state championship coaches, shooting champions, basketball savants. I never did any of that. 

What does high school sports teach? 

  • Keep priorities straight - home, school, sports.
  • Take care of business. Work before play. 
  • Be coachable. Coach said, "If I stop yelling at you. I've given up." Embrace the coaching and even the yelling. 
  • Surround yourself with great people.
  • Be positive. Nobody gets a positive life from a negative attitude. 
  • Be a great teammate. We're on many teams - home, school, sports, communities. Coaches see everything. 
  • Invest in yourself. Nothing brings a higher return on investment. 
  • Find a mentor. "Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." As Mr. Rogers said, "Look for the helpers." 
  • Move the ball. "Movement kills defenses." 
  • Take care of yourself. Hats and gloves. "You're no good to us if you're sick." Coach Wooden taught players the right way to don socks and shoes to avoid blisters. 
  • Sacrifice. Teamwork matters. Make the extra pass and make three people happy - the shooter, the coach, and yourself. 
  • "The ball is gold." Taking care of the ball earns minutes.
  • Never quit. Extra effort makes miracles. Be "The Cardiac Kids."
Lagniappe. "Leaders make leaders." 
Lagniappe 2. Study drop coverage reads and escapes. 

Lagniappe 3. A way to run Zoom Action from horns. 

Find balance. Yesterday my wife and I went to see the musical "Moulin Rouge" on Broadway. Appreciate the talent others have in different domains. Here's a youtube.com clip of the encore. 




Posted by at

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Basketball - Teaching Video, Five Plays That Made the Difference

Florida topped Houston for the NCAA National Basketball Championship in a one-possession game. "Every possession counts." Failed transition defense in the first few minutes counts as much as a missed shot at the end.

Film study shows you what to do and what not to do. What lessons were taught? 

1) Transition defense failures, early or late are critical. Protect the basket, beat your man downcourt, slow the ball, "shape up." 


2) When fronting the post, ball pressure and backside help are critical. Make the entry pass tough. Have a defensive call when fronting, "Red" or "Fire." 


3) Hard cutting wins. In 1986 it was Bird and Walton. 


Last night Florida used HORNS give-and-cut action multiple times. 

4) Use hard-to-defend actions. Florida uses a complex screen (stagger) to open up a late three. 

5) Win in space. Your parent tells you "don't play in the traffic." The spacing is poor and Houston drives into traffic. 

Lagniappe. "Nobody would fault Sam for making excuses. Instead of making them, though, he makes commitments - to be the best teammate and best team leader that he can be, on, and for, all of the teams of which he is a part." - The Program, Erik Kapitulik... Team member Sam Cila lost a hand in combat and required hospitalization at Walter Reed for over a year. 

Lagniappe 2. The magic is in the work. 

Lagniappe 3. Urgent cutting is a hard-to-defend action.  

Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)