I was watching a game on TV and saw them run something similar to the way this one evolved — I was never sure how they decided which way the in bounder was going to go so I just had my kids read his moves.

We had one of those All Star practice players ( I’m sure we all have had one or two )
and I wanted to teach him a lesson while seeing IF this play would work… IF it was going to work in games it would have to work against HIM.

I took the five to the side and showed them what I wanted on my Posey board… it was not that far from what we were doing at the time.. it was just adding another back screen. We back screened Jim…. as he spun off of that he ran into another screen and once he defeated that he was screened by another player on the back side.. a triple staggered screen ending with the 5 because most defensive 5s do NOT want to help out and leave their man. He looked at me after we ran the play and just shook his head and laughed… as we all did. The kids loved the play and then named it
“PIN BALL” This play became a permanent part of our in bounds plays for the rest of my career.

Pinball Inbounds Play is a post from: HoopClinics

Play starts in this set.

#2 Dribbles the ball to the wing on the high side of the stack.
#3 breaks to the top and #1 breaks to the wing.

#2 quickly reverses the ball to #3 and #3 passes to #1. 
When #1 receives the pass, #5 pops out to the short corner, unless he’s open.

#4 screen’s #2s man as #2 cuts to the ballside block.

#4 immediately goes to screen for #3, who cuts to the basket looking for a lob pass.
If #3 does not receive the lob pass, he clears to the wing.

After setting the second screen, #4 comes to the ball and reverses it to #3.  Player #2 then backpicks for #5.

Finally, #4 downscreens for #2.  Now the floor is balanced to go into motion or another offense.

If the Defense switches, #4 rolls back to the ball.

Basketball Playbook

Quick Hitter is a post from: HoopClinics

I was reading an article from Reader’s Digest regarding Life-Changing Advice.  Some of the points they made were:

These were made by three different people.
“Ask yourself, what are my strengths, my passions and where do they meet?”
“When others say your goal is too risky, rise above the negativity.”
“Consider your key skills and how they’re transferable to a new job.”

When I talked to my players and  students about careers and where they were going with their lives I tried to point out several things.  I used myself as an example of course.

We talked about the fact that they might change careers 6 – 8 times in their lifetime… (this was back several years so that number might be higher now)  Years ago people got into a career and stuck with it… even if they didn’t like it.  Loyalty was big then,  now, you don’t see as much of that in the world.  Employers and employees both think about #1 and #1 alone.  Right or wrong, that’s just the way it is.

I explained that you need to have a goal, find something that you love to do and then use that towards a career.  IF you do that, you will never work a day in your life.  It took me a long time to find myself and get into teaching and coaching as my life long career.  (It cost me a lot of money in retirement but just maybe that helped to form who I am)

I told them that they need to write their goals down on paper, otherwise its just a wish list.  I also explained that it was important to have a Plan B.  Things don’t always work out the way we plan them for whatever reason.

I always told my students to have a dream, something to strive for.  One student told me what he wanted to do.  ( His dream/goal was unrealistic – his academic abilities would not allow him to be successful there ) I tried to explain that his goal was not realistic.. and of course he pointed out to me that I had always told them to have a dream and then strive to achieve it.  I then reminded him of having a Plan B…. everyone needs to have a Plan B.  I gave him the example of a professional athlete who had achieved his goals to make it to the Pro ranks.. and in the first month he blows his knee out completely and his Pro career is over.  He needs something to fall back on…. the Plan B.

I wanted my students and players to be successful in whatever endeavor they chose to work towards.  I also told them that they might achieve their dream only to find out that it was NOT what they thought it was going to be.  Plan B again.  Have a dream, work towards it but be prepared to shift gears somewhere along the line if things don’t work out.

Isn’t that what we do as coaches all the time?

Basketball Coaching

Life-Changing Advice is a post from: HoopClinics

I always felt like I was a pretty good teacher of shooting mechanics — and then I went to a neighboring school and saw George Lehmann hold a clinic.  He was amazing, I think he missed one shot the entire time he was there.  Now I know that there are a lot of good shooting coaches out there who can really break things down…  I am just saying that this is what worked for us.
 
What I really liked was that he broke it down to a very simple form…
he called it BEEF.
 
B- Balance
E- Elbow under the ball
E- Eye on the target
F- Follow through
 
George talked about footwork and planting your inside foot as you square up to the basket.  (either dribbling a certain way or meeting a pass)
 
The next summer we started holding shooting camps… for players of all ages.  I will take you through our progression of how we taught this skill.  I had our Varsity players attend also… free,  since they were going to help teach this.. we had two gyms side by side with 12 baskets.  My philosophy was:
 
“IF they can teach it, they can do it.”  (they did enjoy working with the younger kids and those kids liked having the Varsity players work with them)  I would walk around the gym as would my assistant and talk to every kid in the camp.
 
We started out with what we called BEEF Check.  We shot from 3 spots close to the basket… block – middle – block. 
 
1- We had the players take one dribble with their shooting hand, bring the ball up, then take shot and hold the follow through. Their non shooting hand was behind their back.
2- Then we had them do the same thing from the 3 spots only they could have their guide hand along side of the ball but not touching it.  We had them hold the non shooting hand in the position that they would have it when they finally could have it on the ball.
3- Then they took 3 more shots with their guide hand on the ball, but we emphasized that hand had nothing to do other than keep the ball steady on the shooting hand.
 
This was how we taught the fundamentals of BEEF.  After the BEEF check, we moved them back to maybe 8 feet and they went through the same process, 1, 2, &3.  After that we moved back to about 10-11 feet and used #3 only.  We ALWAYS emphasized the correct technique.
 
We moved to the free throw line (closer if the kids were too young and didn’t have the strength to shoot fundamentally correct)  and shot some free throws. We were constantly checking their form.
 
The next step was about footwork, he used what we called the ” Flip Drill “
We would have each player with a ball at one free throw lane line and the free throw line.
They would flip the ball out in front of them, plant the proper INSIDE pivot foot, square up and take the shot.  They would go both ways, right to left and left to right, this way they would get into the habit of planting the proper foot.  The reason we did the Flip Drill was so each player could go at his own speed and be comfortable.
 
The next thing we did was to have them use the dribble using the same technique as above…. again at their own speed. 
 
AFTER they got comfortable with the two drills above, we added a passer, making a V cut and going to the ball at a speed they are comfortable with utilizing the same techniques.  Passers on both sides of the court, shooter becomes passer and passers become shooters.  We started with bounce passes and after they got comfortable with this, we used chest passes.  We always emphasized that a GOOD PASSER will make a good shooter better.  ( I showed them that by purposely making bad passes to my Varsity players – I would get dirty looks at first until they understood what I was trying to teach – it was a good learning moment for them too )
 
We also taught different types of passes, dribble moves, pivoting at the end of the dribble moves, and a back pivot.  We had them come to a jump stop on the side line, back pivot into a triple threat, and I would call out shot fake a couple of times. The would make the shot fake and come back to the triple threat position.
 
At different times at the camp, we would have different shooting contests… I tried to break them up into groups where they could be successful and win a treat which was usually a freeze pop.  This was one of high lights of the camp.
 
We would play full court ( side to side in the gyms, could play 3 – 4 games that way if need be )  The game was to six, EVERY player had to score before anyone could score the game winner.  This promoted team work and leadership, they worked very hard to get that “one” kid his shot.  Sometimes I would choose who had to shoot the last shot, just to make things interesting.
 
At the end of camp we all got together, talked a little bit and gave out the awards (freeze pops)  We always made it a point to see that every one got a treat (by winning a contest)  by the end of the week.  The camp ran for six weeks at first but I found that it became a little long for what we were doing… even though the kids always showed up.  We brought it down to three weeks which seemed to work fine.

Basketball Coaching

Shooting is a post from: HoopClinics

When I took over the program the school, I wanted some continuity in the program to make the switch easier so the players would be comfortable and play with some confidence.

Some people might come in and try to make wholesale changes, they have to make that decision… but in this case the past coach and I were certainly on the same page defensively… Man to Man! This was the basis of our program…. I did add the match up zone that year… playing around with different fronts before finally deciding on the 1-3-1 match. We continued to use m2m on the lower levels as our base defense. I told our coaches this…. I want you to teach the fundamentals of m2m at every practice, IF you want to switch to a zone late in the game to ensure a victory that would be fine with me…. (at that time we were zoning inbounds plays anyway so it wasn’t like they weren’t familiar with it.)

I wanted every level to teach the standard 3 out 2 in motion…. teaching the kids to set screens, set their man up, read the screen and make the appropriate move.

As far as set plays I gave them the freedom to add anything they might like, thus allowing them to grow as a coach and put their own touches on their level. My head coach allowed me to do that and I felt that was important.

We met as a staff three times in the pre-season.

1- to discuss the rules of the school district, uniforms and equipment, Parent Permission slips and a Doctors permit. Under NO circumstances was any athlete allowed to try out without those two forms. (this was more of a get together BBQ sort of thing.)

2- offenses
3- defenses
We had a lot of give and take in the 2nd and 3rd meeting… brought up problems and how we were going to solve them – any suggestions that might make the offense run more efficiently along with different situations defensively, especially our match up Zone. We solved a lot of problems with these meetings. At one point I was lucky to have 3 coaches that were head coaches at other schools so I wasn’t afraid to give them some input.

Listen to your coaches people, you never know when they will come up with a great idea to help your program. Our school wasn’t the type where you could just say we are going to be a m2m team and run every time we touch the ball…. our talent level changed from year to year. By the time I retired 40 different countries were represented with roughly 57 different languages spoken in the building.

Basketball Coaching

The Program Philosophy is a post from: HoopClinics

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” – Seneca

Have you ever been in a situation late in the game where you were up by three and  the other team was going to get ONE shot? Have you ever had a decent lead that you knew that the other team was going to have to shoot three’s to get back in the game?

Are you prepared to defend that? NOT giving up a good look for the shot that ties the game or brings them back quickly?

There are a few options… one is to ring the arc matching up with their players… switching every screen… allowing any shot inside, giving up the two and NO fouls……….  two, you can foul and give the other team 2 free throws.. but you had better be able to rebound a miss (making sure that it does NOT look like it is intentional– going for the ball and stripping his arm) three, IF you have fouls to give, you can let them inbound the ball going away from the baseket, let him take a few dribbles and then foul.  You can repeat that until they get into the bonus.

I like the first option and IF you are not prepared for this… having a defense in place that your players had worked on even a little bit, the pressure of a game can cause them to chase someone inside the arc ( a mental error )  and open up a perimeter player for the 3…… Regardless of which one you like…. its like every other “situation”… it is something that needs to be addressed in practice so that everyone is on the same page.

Coaching Basketball

Defending a Late 3 Point Lead is a post from: HoopClinics

When I was interviewed for the position of Head Coach, one of the questions they asked me was … ” How are you going to handle the press? “  I knew what they were referring to, the coach before me used to say things about his players to the press and they would print it.  My reply to them was. ” What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.”  ” One or two kids don’t win or LOSE a game, it’s a team effort and that includes the coaching staff. “  ” I will not air our dirty laundry in the press! “  That seemed to make them very happy since I got the job.

Be careful what you say to reporters.. sometimes they don’t hear you correctly and they will print something you didn’t say.  That can come back to haunt you quickly.

I always talked pretty slow and made sure they understood what I was telling them.  IF there was something they asked and I didn’t want it printed, I would say “OFF the record?”  They knew I wouldn’t say anything if it would make one of my players, the team or the program look bad.  AND when they interviewed any of my players I expected them to treat the kids the same way… do NOT make them look bad in the press.

I had a pretty good relationship with most of the reporters and there was one that was always looking for human interest stories when the season was over.  He had a column in a local paper along with sports reporting.

That’s what amazes me about some of the radio talk show hosts.  They cant understand why the coaches don’t call out their players in the press…… I say, its none of their business or ours what they say to their players behind closed doors.  They protect their players if they possibly can…. there is NO need to embarrass them in front of the public.  That can be counterproductive!

Basketball Coaching

Dealing with the Press is a post from: HoopClinics

Most coaches, myself included hated turnovers.. so, how do we decide to play the game?  Run, run, run, or walk it up the floor?  OR, do we use a combination of the two?  The answer? It depends on the talent.

IF you have the right kind of players you can press and get some points off the turnovers by pushing it up the floor when you have the numbers.  But be warned, your team may see an increase in turnovers and that’s OK as long as the end result is positive. If the turnovers are more than the points scored, you need to slow it down.

I had one EXCELLENT Sophomore team who went 19-2 (lost two game by four points total – two coaching errors of course  )  Our strength was pressing and we were especially good at having one guard spinning the dribbler just over half court and the other guard coming from behind setting a trap — then we had a  small forward who would rotate up anticipating the pass and  making the steal for a lay-up … heck, he knew how to get easy points…. he was our leading scorer.  We played great half court defense…. but our “bigs” got lazy A LOT!!

SO, one day,  I reversed their roles in a practice… made the big men play D at half court and told the guards to let their men have the ball.  They got the idea real quick… they begged me to stop the drill.     They understood how hard the guards were working and neither the guards or I appreciated them allowing their man to be an easy outlet from that pressure.  Here is a comment from one of the players from that team, we e mail each other every day.

“Twenty-five years later I still think about that day from time to time. No coach that I had played under had done anything like it, reversing the roles to see how the guards play the game. I remember one big man looking at me after Coach Sartini stopped the drill and saying “You guys run too much!” No words could describe what the guards did up front, that short experience was the teacher.” Andy M
We ran a primary break with that group and they were good at filling the lanes… not a lot of turnovers even though we handled the ball more than if we were walking it up just because we scored more points.

The following year I had a bigger and slower group, we zoned pressed more and we ran a secondary break.. we pushed the ball up the floor and filled our lanes well.  We didn’t cause a lot of turnovers but we did control what the other team wanted to do. While we had a few more turnovers the number was certainly acceptable.  Our Varsity coach hated turnovers ( as we all do ) but I felt that we got a lot more than we gave.  I had this team again when I became the Varsity coach… we ran the same secondary with some very good results.

IF we played teams that were far superior to us, meaning they were a lot quicker, we would control the tempo a lot more.  Later in my career I had less talent, smart kids who could  handle the ball well, read the defense and react properly.  Oh yeah, and we could really shoot the three…. so if they sagged we nailed it.. if they overplayed… we went backdoor.  We were a nightmare to play because we dictated how the game was going to be played.  I had several coaches come up to us after the game and compliment us on how we controlled the tempo… in THEIR house, win or lose.   We seldom ran but IF they saw the opportunity we would.  These teams brought the ball up under control and got into the offense quickly.

You have to decide what type of team you have for the current year and play to their strengths… some coaches want to force their philosophy on their players regardless of their abilities … and that’s ok IF you have the players to fit what you want to do… other than that.. you have to adjust.

So, sit back and evaluate your players and decide what is best for THEM.  Then build your system around them.   JMO

Basketball Coaching

Up Tempo or Ball Control? is a post from: HoopClinics

I think I really learned how to sub when I had my own team at the high school level.  It was my own team at the Sophomore level.  We all pretty much know to sub when a player gets in foul trouble or is tired…. but there is a lot more to it than that.

We were playing this one very good team… it was in the second half that I figured I needed to stop their fast break from the free throw line.  So, when the ref handed the ball to my shooter for the second shot, I sent a sub to the scorers table…. when the shot went in, the play got stopped and my sub entered the game.  IF we missed the shot I brought him back to the bench.

I did this from that game on because it allowed me to set up our press or whatever defense I wanted to be in at the time.  I also learned that you can sub a good defensive player or offensive player when the situation called for it.  Certainly you can do that at any time during a game but it really helped after a made free throw.

We weren’t necessarily blessed with a lot of great athletes…. don’t get me wrong, we had some very good players, especially this team.  But everybody has those great shooters that cant even spell DEFENSE let alone play it.  AND, we all have the great defensive guys that couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean from the shore.  So, there is a time and place for those types of players.

I was a firm believer of this philosophy….
Control the Tempo,
Get a GOOD shot every time down the floor,
Limit Turnovers,
At least, Break EVEN on the boards,
Challenge every shot,
and play GREAT Defense…. allow only one shot at the basket.

Subbing at the right time in a game allows you to control the tempo and get the right player in the game at the right time.

Basketball Coaching

Substitutions is a post from: HoopClinics

#1 enters the ball to #5 who steps out on the perimeter to receive the ball.
After passing, #1 cuts down to the ball side block.
Both #2 and #3 move down toward the baseline as #1 makes his cut.

#4 steps out and receives a pass from #5.
On the pass from #5 to #4, #1 sets a back screen and #3 runs a flex cut to the rim.

#5 makes the pass to #4 and then down screens for #1 in a screen the screener action.
#1 uses the screen and cuts up toward the elbow.

If #4 does not make a pass to #3, he will pass to #1.
On the pass from #4 to #1, #2 cuts on the baseline and receives a screen from #5.
At the same time #3 moves up and sets a back screen for #4.
#1 will look over the top to #4 and then to #2 down at the wing.
If #1 passes to #2, he will screen for #3 and then fill the back side wing.

If #3 does not have a scoring opportunity, or cannot feed #5 in the low post, he
will dribble out and pass to #3.
#3 will swing the ball to #1 and then screen down for the back side post, #5.
#5 will flash up to the ball side high post.
#1 will look low to #4 and then high to #5 and if #5 is denied the ball he will look
to throw the diagonal skip pass to #2.

If the pass is made from #1 to #5, #2 will back cut to the rim and #3 will fill the
back side guard spot.
In this situation, #5 makes a pass to #3, which keys the back screen by #4 for
#5.
#3 will look to #5 on the back cut to the rim, and then to either #4 stepping to
the ball or to #2 at the wing.

Basketball Plays

1-4 Charleston Set Play is a post from: HoopClinics

This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart…..

Most of the more seasoned coaches understand this already, the new guys might or might not, but they have so much on their plate already it might not be first and foremost in their minds.

I learned early when dealing with school staff to be humble and understanding to their needs.  I treated the custodial, secretarial and support staff with the utmost respect.  I tried to make sure that they knew that IF there was a problem with ANY kid in my program that they could come to me and I would deal with it.  Believe me, IF you DON’T, the word will get around quickly and the things you want or need will be not be attended to with much haste.

I had a great relationship with our custodial staff.. and when I needed something for my program or classroom I usually got it done… that was because IF they needed to set up my floor for another activity a few minutes early (at the end of my practice) I would let them start at the other end.

One year I had a pretty good post player ( we didn’t get many of them ) he didn’t come to summer camp or summer league play… and when tryouts started he wanted to come out… my assistant convinced me that I should give him a chance.  Well, he didn’t have his physical or parent permit so he couldn’t try out.  He went down to the AD’s office and gave his secretary all kinds of grief using some profane language… he had her in tears.  The word got back to me and when he came up the last day of tryouts I told him to take a hike and when you grow up and learn how to treat people you can come back… next year.

The word got around the school quickly,  the AD’s secretary thanked me…. and every secretary in the school that I saw for a few weeks smiled and thanked me.  So, trust me, the word DOES get around.

The same thing goes for the other teachers in the building, they need to know that you are there to help them with the STUDENT / athlete.  IF you do that they will more than go out of the way for you and your players.  IF a kid is on the bubble they will go the extra mile to help them stay eligible.  What more can you ask?

IF you put yourself on an Island and come across as “better than thou” you will find out that the rest of the school staff will find out and you will be hard pressed to catch a break or get any help.   JMO

Basketball Coaching

School Staff is a post from: HoopClinics

I think that one of the most important aspects of coaching is planning your practices.  There might be times when you run a drill (or whatever) just for the sake of filling in time.

Several years ago when I met Dave Stahnke in a coaching group we were discussing some of the drills I used to run and the ones he was running. I made this comment to him…. “Ask yourself WHY you run a specific drill.  Is it teaching something pertinent to your philosophy or are you just running a drill to run the drill?”

I know that I learned this as I became more “seasoned” as a coach….. don’t waste time on a drill that isn’t going to teach something you need in your program.  Ball handling, passing, screening and shooting are things every program does.  Make your shooting drills specific to the offense(s) you run.

Use your imagination and design what you need.

An example of this is: (we were pretty small and teams liked to trap us, an over the head pass was what I called an I T pass… or instant turnover.)
So, we tried to attack that trap this way,  When the defender on the ball was playing us tough and we saw the next defender come up to trap, we attacked his inside shoulder and looked for a little contact…. maybe we get the foul (or not) but we split the trap and avoided a turnover which was best for our teams.  We just set up the drill that way.  Defender on the ball, another defender coming up hard to trap from either direction and the player with the ball would attack his inside shoulder.  Very simple.

Defensive drills are the same…. drill for the particular defense that you run… if you play on the line up the line m2m and are looking to deny the first pass, run the point wing drill a lot, if you are a pack style team you don’t need to run that, you would be more interested in being in that help position early.

Use your practice time wisely, use drills that are important to your philosophy and the next team you are playing.  Make sure your team is well prepared for what you are going to see and your chances for success will improve greatly.

Just ASK YOURSELF WHY.

Basketball Coaching

Ask Yourself Why is a post from: HoopClinics

I know that I have written about how we prepared for our opponents…. but this is more about the mental preparation.

One year we were having a good season, and a reporter asked me what I thought about a team that we were playing a couple of weeks from then.  I told him that I don’t even know who we are playing then…. we are preparing for THIS game.  I know its a cliche but we played one game at a time.  I think that’s the only way you can be successful.

What good does it do to prepare for team X if you cant beat the team (s) before them?

Several coaches used to say that when we played them it was like OUR Super Bowl.  While that is probably an off hand compliment…. they were way off base!  We prepared for every opponent the same way.  I always felt that our practices were well planned and we prepared them for what they were going to see from that particular team.  One coach in our league said that there were no easy Friday night games (when our league played)  he told me that they never got any easy shots against us and they earned every basket they got. (or any other team for that matter)

We didn’t talk about winning to our players as much as we talked about what we needed to do to be successful.  We made our practices harder than the game was going to be.  There were times we used 6-7 defensive players to make our players more conscious of protecting the ball, finding the open man and being active offensively to get open.

We never had to talk about playing hard, it was expected all the time.  They dove for loose balls, took charges at every opportunity and looked to deflect as many passes as they could to disrupt the flow of their offense.  I NEVER had to get on them about NOT playing hard.  They did it every day in practice. IT WAS EXPECTED!

I think they did this because we did a good job of selling our philosophies — they bought into our system and they had pride in the way they played.  IF you can sell your program you will have a lot of success during the season and I am not referring to Ws or Ls.  Its about the way they play, the way they carry themselves ON and OFF the floor.

Basketball Coaching

The Mental Part of Game Preparation is a post from: HoopClinics

When I first joined the high school ranks and the basketball program, there were good coaches on every level.  I was the assistant varsity / JV coach at the time.  We had a great team then.  That summer the Freshman A coach left and the Varsity coach called me and asked me IF I would stay with the Varsity one more year because we were going to have a good team, he promised to give me my own team the following year… of course I agreed.  Two weeks later he called me again and said the Sophomore coach had left also… and he said that he wanted me to have that team and not the guy that was the Freshman B coach previously.  I offered to help him during games so we had the best of both worlds.. we won 21 games that year and won the Conference championship.

That was just a little background for my thoughts.  The program was very solid because of the coaches at every level.  THIS is very important so that there is a solid progression of teaching the system.  It took a couple of years and again we had a very good staff.

When I took over the program we had a pretty solid staff also…. and the program flourished for the talent we had at our school.  Then I lost the Sophomore coach to a sister school, he became the head coach there.  Then they took my Freshman A coach and made him the girls varsity coach… he didn’t want  that job but he took it as a temporary fix for the school… they told him that he could get back into the boys program soon.  THAT never happened.  He then became the Head coach at the other sister school in the district… so I lost two very good coaches.

I had a lot of problems filling those positions for a few years and the program suffered.  Then I got very lucky, the Catholic school right down the road let their Head coach go.  I saw him at the State tourney (he was sitting right in front of me with his wife)  I offered him a job as my assistant he turned me down.  Well, I was a salesman before I got into teaching and I wasn’t about to take NO for an answer.  I bugged him the entire tourney, I got his phone number and called him when we got home.  Turns out he lives 5 minutes from me.  When I told him what the stipend was he took the job.  He was really good with on the line up the line defense,  I was a pressure m2m guy too so it was a great fit…. even though some of his friends said he and I would never get along.  We coached together for 8 years… a pretty good run.

Then I got two more guys that were head coaches at other schools…. we were up and running again.  THAT was the best staff I ever had since my other two assistants left to be head coaches at other schools.  Four head coaches on one staff…. amazing… I was the luckiest guy in the world.  They were loyal and NOT yes men.  Our meetings were (not really heated) great for bouncing ideas around.

It is very important to have a good staff if you are going to have a program that flourishes, you need people who are LOYAL to a fault, knowledgeable of the game and how to teach it…… people who relate well to kids and will abide by the rules of the district.  (even if you don’t like some of them) People who think more about the kids well being and help them to grow as individuals… not just basketball players.  You need coaches that are good solid citizens and good role models.

This is my belief … ” IF kids know that you REALLY care about them as people and NOT just as basketball players, they will do anything for you. “

Coaching Basketball

Coaching Staffs is a post from: HoopClinics

Part 2 was answering these two questions.

1- What must we do to beat them ( we would list at least 5 things )

2- A checklist of things to cover in practice before we play them

3- Possible m2m Matchups  and a little note on “what will it take to stop your man”

My philosophy was that IF we could CONTROL the TEMPO,  hold our own on the boards, get a good shot every time down the floor and limit turnovers, we would have a good opportunity for a win.We had two defenses, our base was M2M on the line and up the line… and we used a 1-3-1 Match up zone… this gave our opponents two entirely different looks. We also utilized a 1-2-2 pressing system, from full court, 3/4 court and 1/2 court trapping.

We were never very big so most of the time we ran what we called our 70 press, this was more of a floating type press, just keeping the ball in front of us UNLESS we got them to dribble just over half court – sideline, THAT was an automatic trap.  This was pretty successful for us.  IF we really had to get after them, we played m2m full with complete denial.When all was said and done, I felt like we were going to “Pick our own Poison”  We would decide who we were going to let beat us IF he could.  We were going to decide at what tempo the game was going to be played.  (if we could)

John Jenkins saw a few tapes of our games and he told me that he would never let me do that, slow the game down etc. He said I would force you to take a lay up before I let you do that to us.   But then he said, I saw that those teams tried to press you and force the tempo but your teams went about breaking the press methodically and IF you got the chance for a lay up, you took it, and you sure weren’t bashful about taking a three.  (Many teams thought we were holding the ball all the time… we just made sure that the shot we took was the one we WANTED- NOT the one they wanted us to take.)

Basketball Coaching

Game Planning and Scouting is a post from: HoopClinics

I had breakfast with an old friend of mine, we went to high school together… she also works for a school in Human Resources.  Our conversation turned to why some teachers take this as their calling.  I am going to give you some of my thoughts knowing full well that its easy to talk about all this once we retire.

There are times when I wondered why some teachers ever got into this as a career.  I always believed that the reason we did this was FOR the KIDS!  There is more to teaching and coaching than just teaching subject matter or winning games.

To my way of thinking the are several reasons.. certainly academics being one of them.

They come into high school (especially) as young kids and are probably a little overwhelmed.  Its up to us to help them adjust to the big school and the new system that is probably a lot different than what they have been used to.

They are young and immature and need guidance to help them get to the next level of their educational experiences.  They need help finding their way towards a career.

In many cases they need a mother / father figure to guide them through difficult situations.

This career is like being a teacher, coach, parent figure, guidance counselor, social worker and sometimes just a friendly face to be able to talk to and share any problems they might have.  This is NO different when you have an extracurricular responsibility likes coaching, (along with many other options that are offered in the school)  we need to be able to get them to buy into what we are selling, in and out of the classroom or playing field.

The first thing we need to do is to make sure that the kids know that we care about them… as people, not an athlete or a means to a pay check.  One of the greatest feeling is having someone call you many years later and tell you that you made a huge difference in their lives, or that you saved their life.

There were times that I wondered why I was put on this Earth…. and after a phone call like that, I know the reason why.  I am sure that there are a lot of teachers and coaches like that out there… for the ones that are having trouble with some of this, its time to sit down and evaluate WHY you are doing this.

Basketball Coaching

Why We Teach and Coach is a post from: HoopClinics

Football Coach John McKay said, “Coaches have to watch for what they don’t want to see and listen to what they don’t want to hear.”  One area that I have always applied that to is keeping an eye on our players grades. We have always made it a rule that on days when progress reports or report cards are issued, our players must show us the report before being allowed to practice or play in the game that evening.

The follow up is that if you don’t practice because of that reason, you will miss the next game.  But, we have not had to enforce that because we always see the reports.  It has made me late to practice at times (while the assistants start practice) having to address some poor grades, but I would rather know about those issues as soon as possible to give me a better chance to deal with them. It helps in the area of progress reports because we can see not only who is failing at the time, but also who is struggling.  As for the report cards, if there is someone who is going to be academically ineligible, I would rather know immediately rather than waiting for the report from the athletic office.

The third benefit is that I can see everyone’s grades in all of their classes–not just the failing grades.  That way we can work with the players not just to keep them from failing, but to work to their potential.

Watch for What You Don’t Want to See is a post from: HoopClinics

I think that any team that runs sets exclusively is going to have a hard time… just as many set patterns as they become easy to scout and defend.  JMO

I feel that you need a good combination of a continuity type offense (s) and some sets to compliment your style.  I got several good sets off of videos, watching games on TV, and coaching magazines.  ( I wasn’t fortunate enough to know about what was out there on the internet )  I made up a few of my own as I progressed in my coaching career too.  Some of the sets I got from magazines showed certain players in specific spots… 3s or 5s etc.  I would change the play to enhance my players abilities.. put them in spots where they could be successful or make the play successful… for my team.

We had a lob play that was designed for a post player, one year I only had one kid that could jump well… that was my point.  We ran the play for him.  All it takes is a little imagination and willingness to adapt to your situation.  When designing a set, make sure that it has more than one option or it will be easy to stop.  The sets I liked to run had multiple screens, maybe some pick the picker action with it, but with every play our 5 man set the last screen.  My favorite play was a triple staggered screen, that puts a lot of pressure on the defense…. by the way, we defended plays like this by chasing the player and forcing him to curl, taking away the look for a three.

Steve Pappas told me this.. ( God rest his soul )

” We use our 5 as the last screener because most defensive 5s do NOT want to leave their man and help out. “ Now the really good coached teams the 5s will help, but that allows your post player to open up, seal the defender and ask for the ball.

When I started coaching at the high school level and I wasn’t very knowledgeable with continuity type offenses but I learned quickly thanks to the Varsity coach.  While I wasn’t crazy about what he ran, he knew it and taught it well.  It taught me how important it was to run something that didn’t need to be re-set all the time.  From that point on I learned as much as I could about those types of offenses.  Got the Flex out of a coaching magazine when I was the Sophomore coach… I ran that along with what the Varsity coach wanted.  We were the first team in our area to run it and we gave teams a lot of problems because it was something new to them.

With every set / play that we ran, we made sure that it would go right into our continuity offense, either 3 out 2 in motion or our Open Post offense called Double Up.  I used that same philosophy with our secondary break, the finish of the secondary went right into those offenses… and it could go very easily into a 4 out motion also.

Basketball Coaching

Offensive Philosophy is a post from: HoopClinics

There is an old saying…YOU PLAY LIKE YOU PRACTICE. Your team will play their games almost exactly like you practice.  We always told our players that other teams might be better at times but they WILL NOT outwork us.

We purposely made our practices harder than any game we might play.  We would utilize 6 or 7 defenders at times… especially against our Open Post Offense and our Press Offense.  This forced our players to read the defense, utilize pass fakes and keep their dribble live until they needed it, 1- take the ball to the basket 2- improve a passing angle 3- start a new 5 second count 4- or a dribble entry when needed.

I did a few things that I called “Character Building” segments in practice… I didn’t say this to the players but they figured it out pretty fast.  We would scrimmage and I would purposely make a bad call or a no call to frustrate them… (to simulate a bad call by the ref in games)  The purpose of this was to keep them from getting a technical foul in games and to have them work hard though adversity and stay focused.

We also ran two – three ”Situations” at the end of every practice and two of those were when they were behind on the scoreboard.  Again, this forced them to stay focused on what was needed, twos or threes or a combination of.  Foul if necessary and who we wanted to foul, getting into a press quickly after a score or call a time out.

I didn’t spend a lot of extra time running at the end of practice, I felt that IF we had a good practice plan, several hard drills and then a shooting drill that they would be in good shape.  Running or defending our Open Post Offense for 15 minutes was a great way to get them in shape.

Spend a lot of time thinking and planning how you are going to make sure that your practices are going to get the most out of your players.  Always think on paper or at your computer–it helps to organize and clarify your thoughts and it leaves a record for you of your work. Make notes on your practice plan after each practice. Keep a notebook of every team you play so you can go back to see what you did to prepare for that team the next time you play them.  Make any adjustments as needed for your next practice.  Keep your scouting reports in there and keep that notebook until they change coaches, when they change, start a new one.

Basketball Coaching, Basketball Practice

Planning Basketball Practice is a post from: HoopClinics

Some coaches talk to their players and explain to them what their role is during games.  As for myself, I was never comfortable with that approach, I took the approach of doing certain things in practice that helped define their roles, WITHOUT coming right out and saying it.

IF certain players never practiced shooting threes it was a given that they didn’t shoot them in games.   IF certain players weren’t allowed to take the ball to the basket for whatever reason ( I had a few of these ) it was a given that they didn’t do that in games.  I think you are getting the idea how I approached this issue.  The one rule I gave them was — “Don’t surprise me in games, don’t do things you don’t practice….. but that rule goes out the window if you have the ball in your hands and time is winding down on the clock.”

In my first year as head coach, I had brought up a sophomore point guard…. he was probably the second best guard, if not, very close.  In one game he was taking some “questionable” shots….. I looked at my assistant and said,  “what’s he doing?”  He told me that I allowed him to do that in practice.  Needless to say, that changed the next day.  That’s where I formed my philosophy regarding different players and their roles.

This same player walked into my office one day, closed the door and sat down.  I didn’t let him talk first,  I just said that IF I start you, we lose the other kid mentally.  His mouth dropped open,  he asked me how I knew what he was going to say…..  I told him that I wasn’t stupid, I know who is better right now, but IF I start you, we wont be a better team, we will take a step back.  The team needs all three of you to be successful.  Then I said to him, “who is in the game at the end?”  He smiled and thanked me for my time.  He left a happy kid.

JMO

Basketball Coaching

Defining Basketball Players’ Roles is a post from: HoopClinics

Contributed by Coach Ken Sartini

First of all I think that there has to be a natural progression from what is taught at the lowest level in your program and the Varsity.  I suggest a meeting with all coaches before the season starts to map the direction you want to take the program and what will be taught at each level.  I think you have to use the KISS method with Freshman…. a lot of them are coming in with little or no knowledge of how to play m2m correctly… they just don’t get the fundamentals.  (I do NOT mean to say that this is happening with every middle school, I am sure that many of the coaches are doing a good job)  A lot of them do not get the necessary practice time to teach these skills.

Basketball Coaching

We believed that our Freshman should know and understand how to play m2m correctly.  My assistant would go down there and assist the freshman coach teaching those kids the basics of On the Line / Up the Line man defense.  There were times I was there also when the Varsity had the later practice.  We started with a drill we called: GUARD STEER… and our thoughts were to take the ball to either side (so we didn’t try to force to a particular side and open up the middle to much). Our frame of reference was to force the ball to the free throw line extended.

The next thing we covered was DENYING the WING…. we wanted the wing defender ON the line between the ball and his player with a hand in the passing lane. We demonstrated this by rolling a ball between the point and the wing.  I know this sounds simple but to younger kids that were not taught this defensive system, they needed see it to understand it better.

We were looking for deflections or way to disrupt the flow of their offense. IF his man got the ball then he would force him baseline looking to shut him off in the short corner area.  I found that giving them a frame of reference on the floor helped them to visualize where they wanted to push the ball.

We felt that the next thing we should teach them is the SHELL DRILL so they understand just what HELP defense is.  Good teams play GREAT on the ball defense… the really good teams play GREAT defense one pass away….. The GREAT TEAMS play great help defense.  These were the top three and we wanted the coaches to build on them.

• From there we taught Post defense and we were a dead front team.
• Off the ball screens – see man and ball and go ball side
• Horizontal Help and Recovery was next (some like to switch which is fine, it just  wasn’t our philosophy.)
• On the ball screens – help and recover
• Reverse help on back screens – help and recover
• Defending multiple screens  – going ball side or chase to take away a particular strength.
• Closing out on shooters.
• Boxing out
• Taking charges
• The importance of Deflections
• COMMUNICATION…. this is not last or the least so much… this is probably the hardest thing to get your players to do.

This is pretty much how we taught our defense at every level….we believed in the theory that you couldn’t HELP too early….. what our point of emphasis at practice had a lot to do with what the other team ran.  Our lower levels taught m2m exclusively in practice… Freshman and Sophomore teams…. at the Varsity level we added the Match Up Zone.

Basketball Coaching

Simplifying Your Defensive System… is a post from: HoopClinics

At the beginning of every season, one week into the season, we had a mandatory meeting with all players and parents.  We had what we called a Blue-White game before the meeting.  We had two referees come in and discuss any new rules with the players… then had a short question and answer session.

Then each level got some playing time with the referees officiating the game.  This gave every player to get some playing time on the Varsity floor in front of parents and show the coaches what they learned and what areas they needed to improve upon.

Every player watched the other levels, we wanted to promote a family atmosphere from day one.

From there we went into our auditorium and I introduced each coach and then I discussed the important rules of our school and the district.  Most parents and players are not aware of many of them…. like going to games and coming home from games on the bus.  You may not go home with your parents UNLESS it is an emergency… and a written note is required…. and you may not take another player home with you.  We explained that IF your son was going to miss practice that we wanted a phone call to inform us of the fact… if they don’t, it could effect their playing time.

We discussed eligibility and how we kept track of it on a weekly basis… and the rules of the district and conference for eligibility.  I explained that this was no longer a park district program and that playing time is earned.. it is not a right, its a privilege.

We as coaches would not discuss your son’s or another players playing time.  We know that everyone thinks their son should play more and we know that there will be times after practice that they will come home and complain.  We are with them 6 days a week and you see them on game day… we make our decisions from working with them all week.

I also explained that I wouldn’t discuss my philosophy with them either.  We did discuss the fact that we were always available to talk with you if your son has a problem… please pick up the phone and make an appointment with me.

After that we had a short question and answer session to alleviate any problems before they might come up.

Basketball Coaching

Pre Season Meeting with Baketball Parents and Players is a post from: HoopClinics

I am not sure when I started telling my players about this, but I do know it was when I was coaching high school players.

As we all know, most, or at least many of our players NEVER fouled anyone.. it was a BAD call.  Of course, as coaches we felt the same way   Now, if you ask the referees we were always reaching in or our feet were not set taking a charge etc.

No one is ever happy about the call, one team is NOT going to be satisfied.

I decided to take a different approach with my players so they could understand how fouls are called during a game.  I told them the following:

1- It’s all about the angles the refs have and us as coaches, there are times we just don’t see the play the same way.  Of course our opinion is a little “tainted.”

2-  You are going to get at least one BAD call against you in a game, live with it and play through it.

3-  YOU will do something stupid and pick up a foul that way, reaching in, going for an ill advised steal etc. Usually these fouls occur after missing an easy shot or a bad pass… they try to make up for that error and that just compounds the problem.

4-  THAT leaves you with 3 fouls to play with… use them being aggressive.

5-  IF you can eliminate the dumb fouls, you will have 4 to play with, you will still get the bad call once in awhile.

In our practices I would make a “touchy” call to simulate a bad call during games.  At first they would give me this look and want to argue it… and I started to raise my hands as if to give them a Technical Foul.  They learned very quickly NOT to over react to a call.  This helped us a lot during our games, we seldom got technical fouls because of this approach.

I guess you could call this another “situation” that we used to run in our practices… but we did this throughout all of our practices.  I called these “Character Building” calls.  I wanted our players to learn how to play through these calls, play harder and turn it into a positive for our teams.

I remember in my first year of Varsity coaching,  I questioned a call and got a T… I think I said that the call was terrible….. as the ref walked by he asked me how that one was.  I laughed and said, “now that one looks pretty good.”  He also laughed after my reply…..I never had another problem with him.  I’ve had a few referees tell me after the game that they had made a ball call on that play.  One even apologized for costing us the game, he gave the team the ball out under our basket with 3 seconds left when it should have been out on the sideline.  I respect officials like him and I am sure they respect us when we treat them right.

So, my philosophy was to discuss fouls with every team and try to avoid the frustration from a “bad call.”  Remember, most of the time its about the angle.  The refs see it from one angle and we see it from another.  I remember saying to most of the refs… ” I guess I had a different angle “  That always got a smile.

Coaches, take the time to talk to your players and explain fouls and I think you will have a lot less problems with your kids playing through a bad call.  JMO

Basketball Coaching

Dealing with Fouls During Basketball Games is a post from: HoopClinics

If you take the time to listen to the entire webinar you’ll walk away with a lot of great information.

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HoopClinics Webinar: Coach RB is a post from: HoopClinics

This is the time of the year that some coaches dread and can you imagine how the players are feeling during these times?

We had some where between 7-8 days of free play before we held tryouts.  My AD accused me of using this time for tryouts… well, not exactly but we did sit in the stands and watch the kids play.   As the varsity coach I had all summer to look at my kids that were going to try out…. I pretty much knew who was going to make the team.  What I looked for in those free play and tryout days was for any new kid, a transfer, someone who really grew over the summer, height wise and basketball wise.  My job was pretty easy as was the Sophomore coach’s job.

The incoming Freshman were a different story.  Some of them came to camp but many did not, so it was like starting all over.   Here are some of the things that I looked for… some of my other coaches had their own pet things.

1- Quickness

2- Being able to handle the ball well with both hands

3- Can they shoot the three

4- Can they take the ball to the basket

5- Do they have a pull up jumper

6- * Will they get on the floor for a loose ball — (IF they will do it in free play they will do it in games)  It shows a toughness in a player

7- * Will they attempt to take a charge

8- Do they try and play tough defense

9- Do they understand help defense

10- Do they shoot off the proper foot

11- Do they pass the ball well

12- Do they make other players better

13- Hates to lose but exhibits good sportsmanship all the time

14- Is he a good kid, does he get along well with others, does he show respect to the staff and other adults in his life

15- Do they box out on shots

Remember now, this was for Freshman, so while all these things are important… some of these will make you sit up and say… “woah, he does this in free play?”  Like diving for a loose ball or attempting to take a charge— shoots well and plays great defense.

THIS KID CAN PLAY FOR ME.

Some of the above you might not see…..

Tryouts become a little more complicated…. you have to keep track of how they do on certain drills, how they look in scrimmages and do they do some of the little things.  They might be good fundamentally but do not understand the game.  They are great in practice but are not gamers.  This is a difficult time for everyone… all we can do is to make out best decision with the information we have in front of us.

When choosing the last few kids for your squads, its more about being a team player, someone who will work very hard in practice to make others better and cheer them on.

Its about having a kid that you can get along with well…. and the other players also.

When I was the Sophomore coach I heard the head coach tell someone that he (meaning I) has an uncanny knack of making every player feel important.. even the last few. To me, that was easy, just treat them all the same.. and maybe have a few more kind words for those last few kids.  It WILL make their day.

Basketball Coaching

Free Play and Basketball Tryouts is a post from: HoopClinics