a year-round conversation contributed by coaches at all levels across the country. share the climb!
Fighting Over Top Of Ball Screens
Getting over top of ball screens is a mentality as much it is a physical ability. When players are expected to fight through ball screens; it may be one of the hardest actions to defend when considering how much ball-pressure is tightly officiated. Going to share a few tactical guidelines that I’ve applied in the…
Out Of Bounds Plays & Philosophy
When it comes to BLOBs and SLOBs, are you a one-shape fits all or an assortment of favorite plays regardless of how it starts? If you’re of the opinion to just throw it to halfcourt and get it in to run offense, then this conversation will be of no interest to you – and we…
Tunnel Vision Coaching
Going back to the tape always shows a missed opportunity. It’s tunnel vision coaching, and how sometimes getting locked in on the game get’s you beat. Observations from previous experience as a head-coach to how I’m still learning as an assistant.
Conceptual Offense Trending In The NBA
For whatever reason using the term conceptual offense gives me this negative connotation. It probably doesn’t help that following a recent segment with Bam Adebayo giving an on-court demonstration of the Miami Heat’s revamped offense he says, “It’s literally AAU basketball.”
Will Rule Change Lead To More 1 Foot Finishes?
W.W.J(W).D. The NCAA’s new rule for the 2025-2026 season allows continuous motion of one step or pivot in shooting, potentially shifting coaching strategies to favor teaching two-foot finishes over single leg takeoffs. This change raises the question, “What Would Jay Wright Do?”
Early Exhibition S.W.O.T. Analysis
Despite everybody’s playbook being thin and rotations yet to be determined these pre-season games offer significant early evaluation opportunities for coaching staffs. More or less, coaches are gauging the (S)trengths – (W)eaknesses – (O)pportunities – (T)hreats of their team based on initial performances against outside competition.
College Basketball Learning Curve
Discussing three concepts that tend to show the steepest learning curves for high school players transitioning to competing at the college level.
Shooting Philosophy
Let’s get #52WeekCoaching back for the upcoming season. What is your coaching philosophy when it comes to shooting the basketball?
Coaching Staff Retreat
One of the final elements during the off-season is the coaching staff retreat. Try not to get caught up in the word retreat, it’s not likely as luxurious as the connotation. Whereas some may have the budget to find a remote cabin in the mountains; most will embrace a reserved room at their local sports…
Developing The Next Generation of Basketball Players
Let’s try not to get ahead of ourselves here. Coaching the next generation of hoopers doesn’t imply dismissing all precedent for what has contributed to the talent level we witness today. Versatile defenders capable of switching multiple matchups 3-level scoring: finishing, efficiency between perimeter to paint, and extended range Ingenuitive footwork (pressuring the refs to…
Becoming The Best Assistant
There are a variety of directions to take the notion of “Becoming The Best Assistant.” At the end of this post are notes on the very same topic from Larry Shyatt while speaking at a coaching clinic a few years that is worth the read. Written below is the #1 attribute from an assistant during…
Building A Winning Staff
Any thriving organization is often driven by its employees; however, it is the decision-making from executive leadership that can derail any potential for sustainable competitiveness. There are too many instances to count where a superior product or an enviable team of talent fail to meet expectations because of a lack of direction, discipline, or collective…
Coaching Burnout
It is mid-January, you just lost to the cross-town rival by a last-minute bucket. To make matters worse you play the number one team in your conference tomorrow night. As you drive home you remember your principal is coming to observe your classroom tomorrow for your last observation of the year. Then to top it…
Life As A Graduate Assistant
First and foremost, life as a graduate assistant is not easy, I know this might not sound tempting right away but trust me it’s worth it. Late nights working on the film for your next opponent, coding the morning’s practice in order to get stats for the coach, and then working on homework for the…
How We Handle Exit Meetings
Similar to style of play, or anything coaching; every program has their own approach to handling exit meetings. Following the last game of the season with time built in between to decompress, the staff will begin scheduling exit meetings in the Spring. For underclassmen, it is an opportunity to identify a progression plan between the…
Going From Competing To Coaching
First off, I’m not proud of the title of this topic given that it somehow insinuates coaches stop competing after hanging up their jerseys. There is, however, a different mentality preparing to compete as a coach versus a player, and unfortunately, in my experience harder to forget afterward. It has been ten years removed since…
My First Year As A Head Coach
I got the most unlikely call from my AD in April 2020 while going through quarantine just like everyone else in the world. The school where I had played HS ball at and been an assistant coach at for the past 2 seasons had just offered me the Head Men’s Coaching position at the age…
52 Weeks of Coaching
The first season of #52WeekCoaching is a wrap. What started as a project to challenge my own ability to follow-through on personal objectives, transpired into an opportunity to share weekly stories about a variety of topics that occur throughout the course of a given year in coaching. Intentionally, the topics were prepared to align with…
Triangle Concepts Today
With little to no live sports to engage the millions confined to their homes; #TheLastDance has captivated the country. And for us coaches desperately seeking scheme to steal or scrutinize, the Triangle offense has emerged as a relevant conversation starter. During the 1991 to 1998 seasons, the Chicago Bulls won 6 NBA championships under the…
Positionless Basketball
Ten years ago, the basketball world watched a player by the name of Anthony Davis reap the rewards of Guard skills in a Post body. All too often, adolescent players are labeled and locked into positions determined largely by their height and handles. Davis is a beneficiary of an uncommon idea known as Positionless Basketball. …
Off-Season Focus
When dealing with off-season focus, there are a number of things that need a coach’s attention. These items can range from things that need to be improved on the court as well as things that need to be improved off to court. As a coach approaches the off-season, the goal at the end of the…
Coaching Carousel
As they say, “So you want to get into coaching?” If you click on the thread below there is a collection of coaches giving 280 character snapshots of their journey. Every spring flooding into the summer there is a “Coaching Carousel” that has given prominence to accounts, such as HoopDirt or AtticusFinch. The landscape, particularly…
Exit Meetings
Exit meetings are one of the most important things that you can do. This is a critical component that bridges the season that you are concluding, with the next season that you will be going into. As a Coach, this a time that you can give your assessment on the performance of your players and…
Team Banquets
#FinalFour is a wrap and all the #StateTournaments have crowned champions. There is likely one more opportunity where that particular team can get together as a group for the final time. #TeamBanquets are an opportunity for everyone involved in the program to reflect on the season. Some schools create a mini-awards ceremony on campus to…
Final Four
The Final Four is one of the best weekends of the year. Unfortunately, there will be no Final Four this year. This, like a lot of other things currently going on, is unprecedented. Ever since I can remember I have been captivated by the Final Four. As a kid I wanted to play in the…
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