"It's that kind of pride and joy in defense that builds a winner. It takes hard work and teamwork and everyone knows it. Champions have been willing to pay that price. And so it must continue to be true that champions at all levels will have enough players on the team that commit to defense … Continue reading Winning Defense: Traps & Rotations
What Loses Games
Many times, it is easy to talk about what wins games. We put such a premium on this, that we sometimes fail to talk about #WhatLosesGames. In many cases, these can be direct opposites. As I break down what loses games in this article, we will take a look at on & off the court … Continue reading What Loses Games
Winning Defense: Defending Set Offenses
Key Takeaways: Preventative Post Defense 45 Degree Bump & Release "5 Strong" on Weakside Help Post touches are scoring threats beyond making a move to score; it tends to force perimeter players to sag or ball watch which leaves the threat of basket-cutters or inside-out shooting. So, the best post defense is preventative in nature … Continue reading Winning Defense: Defending Set Offenses
What Wins Games
Don't spend too much time looking for the recipe; the biggest ingredient to winning more games is talent. As much as coaches want to play the role of fixing the flawed like your favorite rom-com flick; there has to be a foundational skill-set to work with to facilitate competitive balance. But, when talent is equal … Continue reading What Wins Games
Inverted Offense
Offensive execution is schematic point-conversion - manufacturing shot-selection into points on the scoreboard. With the increasing value for analytics in today's game, coaches are being trained in the comprehension of high-value scoring coming from free-throws, lay-ups, and three-point field goals. Consider today's style of play, 'Pace & Space' or 'Drive & Kick' being the universal … Continue reading Inverted Offense
Winning Defense: Defending the Disadvantage
"Regardless of how diligent the defense may be, the offense will beat the defense at times and the defenders will find themselves having to scramble to recover to stop an offense that has them outnumbered in transition." Key Takeaways: Big-In & Little-Out Concept "I Got Two" Build the Wall 2v1 "...(G)ood defenses would prefer to … Continue reading Winning Defense: Defending the Disadvantage
Post-Season Preparation
This will be the second consecutive year where we will not be competing during the postseason. It is not where we want to be, however, it provides polarizing experiences from a coaching standpoint to learn from comparing the first two seasons as a head coach competing on a higher level. The best teams have one … Continue reading Post-Season Preparation
Winning Defense: Rebound
"The best defense is to be on offense. The opponent cannot score when our team has the ball, unless we're called for a technical foul. Therefore the team that goes after every rebound and loose ball is a better defensive team because they do the best denial defense of all - they get the ball … Continue reading Winning Defense: Rebound
Season Part Two
I consider the playing season to be broken up into three segments: preseason/out-of-conference, conference, and postseason. Progressively there is a narrowing focus to incrementally grow as a team in preparation for the next. The early part of the season is the installation and integration phase. Depending on the level, each basketball calendar works differently; here … Continue reading Season Part Two
Alumni Connections
Connecting with the alumni of a basketball program should be one of the top priorities of the athletic administration and head coach. Naturally, over the years, there are athletes that come and go through a program, that in one era or another, has captured the true essence of that school's culture. With this culture sometimes … Continue reading Alumni Connections
Coach's Climb 