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Friday, December 28, 2012

John Brady: Offense vs. Box-and-1 Defense

Here are some good ideas Coach Brady uses against a Box-and-1 defense.  I really like the simplicity of his attack and the number of scoring opportunities it provides.

Hope it helps.

John Brady: Offense vs. Box-and-1 Defense

Alan Stein: Measure of a Great Program - 2009 Vegas Clinic

Here is a great set of clinic note from Alan Stein from the 2009 Vegas Clinic.  Coach Stein is one of the best out there when it comes to strength training and injury prevention for basketball athletes.  He has a number of videos and I highly recommend them all.  We use a number of his dynamic warm up drills, ankle drills and in-season workout drills.  We have a seen an increase in core strength, injury prevention and muscle fatigue recovery.

Alan Stein 2009 Vegas Clinic

Coach K: Practice Planning Process

I got these great notes on practice planning from Alan Stein at Stronger Team.

Ask yourself these questions yearly and most importantly, daily:
  1. Who am I coaching?
  2. How old are they?
  3. How much experience do they have (Not just playing, but in your system)?
  4. How many players do I have?
  5. What do I coach? How do I coach my system?
How do I teach it?
  1. Develop physical habits that fit your system
  2. You need intelligent, intensive, persistent work
  3. Drills should be intelligent
  4. Drills should make sense
How much time do I have?

  1. Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly
What resources do I have to help me teach? Facilities?
  1. How many baskets
  2. How many coaches
  3. Use of managers is the key to the program
  4. Some of the smartest
When do we practice?
  1. Use time effectively
  2. Make weekly practice schedule and adapt beginning and ending times accordingly based on events-personal or school
  3. Do a weekly practice plan, but make a daily practice plan each day!!
  4. Keep yourself current based on your teams needs on a daily basis
  5. Be flexible within the practice sessions
  6. Be organized, but…"Do Not Be A Slave to Your Practice Plan"
Pre-Practice Meeting with Coaching Staff

  1. Practice plan is already written; Discuss who will do what
Pre & Post practice Work
  1. Have organized pre-practice work
  2. Ex. Practice might be at 3:00, but you have the facility from 2:30 to 5:00; You would have from 2:30 to 3:00 for pre-practice work
  3. Pre & Post Practice work on individual or small group work that individuals might need to work on
  4. Can get lots of shooting in
  5. Can review a drill a player didn't understand
  6. Have an organized stretching routine
Practice

  1. Should be no longer than 2hrs (Not counting Pre & Post Practice)
  2. Eliminate as much standing time as possible
  3. Allocate all of your resources to get players as many reps as possible (Especially on individual drills Ex. 1 on 1 Denial Drill)
  4. Good physical habits are not developed without reps
  5. Match-up players for drills so they don't end up going with the same person every time
  6. Throughout practice, let players sub for each other…If you want a definite group…then call for them
  7. Make drills and practice situations…Game-Like (including instructions)
  8. Don't walk and talk players through drill instructions (Not Game like)
  9. Have a 10 minute period where you have a "Sprint Practice"
  10. Change things a bunch
  11. Continually alter what you are doing on the run (Like in a game)
Practice Game Situations

  1. End of quarter, End of Game, All Game Situations
Simulate Halftime
  1. Vary the places and times you talk to your team (limited attention span)
Videotape everything that is 4 on 4 and 5 on 5

  1. You might focus on an individual player or specific drill
  2. Remember: HEAR-SEE-DO
Do Pressure Free Throw Drills

Post-Practice Meeting with Staff - Critique Practice

  1. "We did a good job with this"
  2. "I think we need more work with this"
  3. "Let's come back tomorrow with this"
  4. "I was going to come back tomorrow with this, but I think it is better that we do this"
  5. DO NOT BE A SLAVE TO THE PRACTICE PLAN

Coaching Quote #22: Game Conditions

"How do your players respond under game conditions?"

--- Coach K

Friday, December 21, 2012

Attacking a Box-and-1: Dragan Sakota

  1. Best attack is for an attacker to dribble penetrate the gap between the two defensive guards, opening room for a pass to a wing
  2. The “scorer” should always set up outside or near the baseline to give space to teammates
  3. If it is the point guard, switch positions with another player

My Favorite Drills #11: Transition Shooting Series

Being that we are a team that plays an uptempo style of basketball, it is vital that we do a lot of shooting in transition situations.  One drill that I particularly like is what we call Transition Shooting Series.  It allows us to focus on footwork, balance, triple threat and finishing in a transition setting.

Transition Shooting Series

Basketball Lettering: A Unique Approach

Lettering in basketball can be very rewarding for players.  There are a variety of different standards used by coaches when it comes to lettering.  Some coaches will set a specific number of quarters that a player needs to play in order to letter, which is the most common approach in our area. 

When I was coaching high school girls a few years back, I used a different approach.  It did involve a lot of work on my end, but I felt it was worth it because any of our players, regardless if they played varsity, could letter if they wanted to put in the effort.  In fact, one year, one of my starting seniors did not letter because she did not reach the required elements.  Her mother was not to happy, but I had clearly explained the lettering requirements to the parents and the players the year before and had sent home consistent updates on their progress.  On the other hand, I did have a number of non-varsity players letter because they had met the requirements.

I am not sure who the creator of this type of lettering process is.  I got it from our wrestling coach, after he attended a wrestling clinic.  The whole premise is for players to accumulate 50 letter points in a year.  There a wide variety of ways to accumulate points, which are all described in the files listed below.  I must stress, that it takes a lot of organization and attention to detail.

Basketball Lettering Requirements
Basketball Lettering Spreadsheet
Basketball Fitness Goal Sheet
Basketball Lettering Athlete Record Sheet

Coaching Quote #21: Will

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will."

--- Vince Lombardi

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Team Perception Test

As you may have gathered, I am a huge fan of Don Meyer.  To this day, I am amazed at how he ran his program.  One of the things that Coach Meyer would do is give his players a Team Perception Test.  He would use this to get a feel about the team from his players point of view.  To my knowledge, he wouldn't show the results to the players.  Instead, it would give the coaching staff all kids of information on the team's perception.

I used this when I was coaching girls, and I found it very valuable.

Team Perception Test

Lend Me Your Ears: William Safire

"The greatest teacher makes a few simple points. The powerful teacher leaves one or two fundamental truths. And the memorable makes the point not by telling, but by helping the students discover on their own. Learning takes place through discovery, not when you’re told something, but when you figure it out for yourself. All a really fine teacher does is to make suggestions, point out problems, above all, ask questions, and more questions and more questions…teaching encourages not only discovery, but initiative.”

2012 Olympic Playbook

Just Release ---- 2012 Olympic Basketball Playbook

My 2012 Olympic Playbook has now been released.  I recorded all of the Olympic Men's basketball games and analyzed the different offensive actions and compiled them into 1 resource.  It amazes me how the International game of basketball is played and coached.  There are so many great International coaches out there.  They are so creative with their offensive schemes.  I have even implemented some of the actions used in International basketball into our high school playbooks.

2012 Olympic Basketball Playbook

John Wooden: The Coaching Profession

Here is a great thought on the coaching profession from Legendary Coach John Wooden.

"The coach must recognize that his profession places him in the public eye, and he will at times receive both unjustifiable criticism and undeserved praise. He must not be unduly affected by either. He must also realize that much of his work is being done under circumstances that are likely to be of an emotional and excitable nature involving many immature individuals."


Goals By Lamar Hunt

1. Determine what you REALLY WANT.


2. Find out what it will COST.

3. Decide if you want to PAY THE PRICE.

Coaching Quote #20: Leadership

"The followers who looked to these leaders learned from them, and so can we. As you explore their worlds and words, remember that it takes time to become worthy of followers.
Leadership isn't learned or earned in a moment." --- John Maxwell

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Roy Williams: UNC Transition Game

UNC is well known for thier transition game.  Not only do they have great athletes, but they also have a great system in play as well.  Here is an in-depth look at their transition game.

Roy Williams UNC Transition Game

10 Things to Make Yourself a Better Coach

Chris Kusnerick, head basketball coach at St. Anthony High School, Effingham, Ill., provides us with 10 ways that we all as coaches can improve. 

Be a Better Coach

Coaching Quote #19: Insipiration

"When I reflect on my life, I find that the people who stand out are the ones who challenged me with words and inspired me with action."

--- John Wooden

My Favorite Drills #10: Toughness Drills

The next set of drills that I want to share are Ball Toughness Drills that I got from NDSU Men's Coach, Saul Phillips.  He shared a number of drills that he uses to teach his players how to be tough with the basketball because they are typically less athletic than most teams they see.

At practice we do guard and post positional development.  I generally work with the guards, and it is during this time that we will work on these drills.  The drills that we use the most frequently are:

Move and Counter
2 vs. 1 1/2
3 Straight Lines

NDSU Ball Toughness Drills

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Kevin Eastman: 10 Ways To Defend A Ball Screen

1. Hedge

2. Soft

3. Catch - a little futher up than soft

4. Weak- not an option coming off the side the screen is set -when screen is set in the middle of the floor

5. Spread right or left - sending the ball back to strong side

6. Switch it

7. Ride the screener - push the screener.

8. Blitz or trap it - committing two defenders to the ball you better have an impact because your eliminating a defender

9. Early blitz - blitz before he gets to the screen

10. Ice it- push it to the side - take away the middle

Ball Line Defense

Here are some diagrams of the Ball Line Defense used by Tubby Smith.  Mutch like the PACK defense, this defense strives on getting defensive players into help positions in relation to the placement of the ball.  It is ideal for teams who want to plug up driving lanes while also being in great rebounding position. 

Ball Line Defense

Boston Celtics Playbook

Here is a playbook I put together a couple of years ago after watching some film on the Boston Celtics.  Doc Rivers is one of the best X and O coaches in the NBA.

Boston Celtics Playbook

My Favorite Drills #9: Nail Cut Rip and Drive

Here is a drill we use in our middle school program as a build up for our open post motion offense.  We even use this in our high school practices as well.  It allows us to teach a number of things such as:

1. Change of speed change of direction
2. Nail cut reads
3. Triple threat
4. Ripping the ball
5. Finishing

Nail Cut Rip and Drive

Coaching Quote #18: Committment


"Be committed to what you want to do well.”

--- Tom Crean

Monday, December 17, 2012

My Favorite Drills #8: Full Court Passing

This drill is a very simple drill, but it is great for teaching a wide variety of topics and can be a great drill to start off practice with.  I got the drill from Don Meyer.  It is flexible enough where you can modify it to fit your own coaching philosophy.  It is because of fundamental drills like this, is one of the reasons that Coach Meyer is one of the greatest basketball minds out there.

Don Meyer - Full Court Passing 

Wooden Observations

1) Why is it so hard for so many people to realize that winners are usually the ones who work harder, work longer, and as a result, perform better? 2) Why are there so many who want to build up the weak by tearing down the strong?
3) Why is it that so many nonattainers are quick to criticize, question, and belittle the attainers?
4) Why is it so hard for us to understand that we cannot antagonize and positively influence at the same time?
5) Why is it so much easier to complain about the things we do not have than to make the most of and appreciate the things we do have?

Coaching Quote #17: Promise

"Promise to give so much time improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others."

--- John Wooden

Friday, December 14, 2012

Todd Lickliter:8 Ways to Use a Ball Screen

1. Turn the corner (no hedge by defender) -- Guard drives low and tight.


2. Hesitate and go (soft hedge) – At level of screen, hesitate, eyes on rim. Key to make the hedge man relax.

3. Split the hedge—The most under-utilized part of offensive ball screening. After clearing the screen low and tight, explode on the split. Dribble below the knees.

4. Fake the split then inside/out dribble to the paint.

5. Reject the screen (Guards man completely blocks the path of the driver, screener’s defender is at block area zoning up.

6. Shooting behind—The on ball defender goes behind the screen. Shot must come directly behind the screen.

7. Re-screen – when screener’s defender shows big, flat hedge. Drive over the sreen, then crossover and use the screen again toward the baseline. Screener turns to the inside on second screen getting you closer to the basket.

8. Early slip—Guard’s defender jumps low (toward baseline), driver splits between his man and the screen. Counter is to fake the split.

Youth Shooting Packet

Years ago, I used to put on shooting clinics for youth players.  It was usually a 2-3 day workshoop that was solely focused on shooting mechanics and development.  I developed a packet for each of the kids so that they could remember the teaching points when shooting, as well as some shooting games / drills they could do.

Youth Shooting Packet

My Favorite Drill #7: 5-on-5 Catch-Up

Another drill that many of us have seen before or at least some variation of it is 5-on-5 Catch-Up.  This version of the drill uses 10 players.  I have used it with in a 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 setting as well.  I like drills like this because in allows you teach multiple aspects of the game, it is competitive, it is intense and the kids like it.  Being we are a team that likes to push the action offensively, it is a great way for us to simulate a game like fast break situation.

5-on-5 Catch Up

Coaching Quote #16: You're To Good

"If something works for another school, use it.  Don't act like you are too good to use other ideas."

--- Hubie Brown

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Thad Matta: 11 Defensive Musts

1. Transition D (You don’t have a man in transition!)

2. Guarding the Ball
3. Awareness
4. Defending Screens Away from the Ball
5. Defending Screen the Screener Actions
6. Defending on Ball Screens
7. Defending the Post-Up
8. Rebounding & Boxing Out
9. Defending Shooter’s w/ Great Range
10. Defending O.B. Actions

My Favorite Drill #6: 5-on-4 Rotate and Communicate

5-on-4 Rotate and Communicate is a great defensive drill to teach communication and rotational defense in scramble situations.  I got the drill from head women's coach, Amy Williams, down at the University of South Dakota when she presented her transition offense at a clinic here in Sioux Falls, SD.  She did a great job of presenting her transition offense. 

5-on-4 Rotate and Communicate

Double Pump Clinic Notes

Here is a great set of Double Pump notes.  You will find lots of good coaching ideas in here to help you learn the game. 

Double Pump Clinic Notes

Coaching Quote #16: Feet

"Good shooters prepare feet before they catch."

--- George Karl 

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Lou Holtz: 3 Rules for Success

Number 1. Do what's right. Be on time, be polite, and be honest; remain free from drugs; and if you have any questions, get out your Bible.

Number 2. Do your best. Mediocrity is unacceptable when you are capable of doing better.

Number 3. Treat others as you want to be treated. Practice love and understanding.

--- Lou Holtz

My Favorite Drills #5: Circle Trapping

I got this drill from Larry Shyatt, head coach of Wyoming, when he talked about his defensive philosophy at the Sanford Power Clinic a few years back.  He did a great job of presenting and justifying his defensive philosophy.  One of the drills that he showed was called Circle Trapping.  Being I am an aggressive defensive minded coach, this is a drill that I really like to teach proper trap techniques, as well as how to properly throw out of traps.

Circle Trapping

Ettore Messina: My Favorite Drills

Here is a great collection of notes and drills from Ettore Messina who is one the the best International basketball minds.  I think there will be something in these notes that you will find useful.

Ettore Messina: My Favorite Drills

Coaching Quote #16: Great Shooters

"Good shooters take the shots, the best shooters take the most of the shots."

--- Billy Gillespie

Monday, December 10, 2012

NBA / NCAA / High School Sets and Quick Hitters Playbook

Here is another playbook that I compiled a while back that gives a variety of offensive sets and quick hitters from the NBA, NCAA and High School level.  I hope that it gives you some variety to add to your playbooks.

NBA - NCAA - High School Playbook

My Favorite Drills #4: Progressive Fastbreak

One of the next drills we work on to teach transition offense and defense is a Progressive Fastbreak.  I got this drill from Mike Neighbors who is a great assistant coach for the University of Washington's Womens basketball team. 

The Progressive Fastbreak is a team drill that is very competitive and allows you to teach multiple aspects of the game, including time and score situations.  I hope it is something that will help you and your team.

Progressive Fastbreak

Coaching Quote #15: Greatness

"Men who achieve greatness do not work more complexly than the average man, but more simply In dealing with complex problems, with the simplicity that is natural to him he goes directly to the point, unaffected by the confusion of details in which another man would have lost himself."

--- Dick Bennett

Saturday, December 8, 2012

My Favorite Drills #3: Sideline Break 3 Man Warm-up

The next drill that we use to teach our sideline break is another drill that I got from Tom Izzo.  We call it the Sideline Break 3 Man Warm-up.  It is an extension to our Sideline Outlet Progression.

Sideline Break 3 Man Warm Up

Coaching Quote #15: Attitudes

"Everyone can chose a positive attitude in even the toughest of circumstances."

--- Jerry Krause

Friday, December 7, 2012

Head Coach Evaluation Form

For those coaches who like to be evaluated at the end of each season, here is a great resource to use.  You could also use it as a self-reflection on your performance as a coaching staff.

Coaching Evaluation Form

May Favorite Drills #2: Sideline Outlet Progression

I have talked before about how my approach to transition offense has changed over the years, largely due to my conversations with Wayne Walters (SWARM Enterprises).  Since then, I have become a big component of a sideline break.  The sideline break has improved our overall transition game these past few years.  At practice, we have even used a stop watch to time how long it takes us to get the ball advanced up the floor, and we have found that we advance the ball up the floor 1.5-2 seconds faster (from the inbound pass to the first scoring action) when using the sideline break approach rather than a dribble break.  When we get the ball advanced up the sideline, it forces our bigs to run the floor faster.  They have to in order to beat or stay level with the advancement of the ball.  Last year in a game, we were in a free throw situation.  Our opponent made the free throw and they started running back to get set up in their defensive set.  However, we had already advanced the ball up the sideline and had a lay-up before they even turned around to locate the ball. 

One of the first drills that we use to teach this is very simplistic in nature, but probably the most critical as well.  We call it the Sideline Outlet Progression.  I wish I could say that I came up with the drill myself.  However, I actually modified it slightly from a drill that Tom Izzo uses to teach his number break.  We simply modified to be more a sideline approach.  Next week, I will post some other drills that we use to teach the sideline break as well. 

Sideline Outlet Progression

A Reflection on Coach Wooden

Here is a collection of thoughts from former players of Coach Wooden onhis 95th birthday.  It is a true testament to how Coach Wooden approach the game.

Wooden's 95th


Coaching Quote #14: Practice Planning

"I would spend almost as much time planning a practice as conducting it."

--- John Wooden

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Zone Attack Principles

1. Develop an inside/out game (Post Touches)


2. Flash middle pockets and short corners

3. Basket cuts and fills to make defense rotate

4. Screen and seal in the post

5. Utilize pass fakes, misdirection passing, shot fakes and change of direction

6. 2/1 weak side board coverage

7. Use angled penetration from perimeters

8. Allow post to establish seals and flash gaps

9. Get two players to guard one player

My Favorite Drills #1: Punch and Space

I am going to start a new theme on the blog where I share my favorite drills that I have used over the years.  Some drills I used when I was coaching high school girls' basketball and others are one's that we have used with our boy's program.  Most of the drills are ones that we have borrowed from great coaches.  Sometimes, we have modified the original drill to fit what we do at our school. 

The first drill that I want to share with you is a defensive fundamental drill that I got from a Mike Dunlap video.  We use this drill frequently, usually for a couple of minutes at the beginning of practice, to teach defensive stance fundamentals.  We have seen some great improvements at our on the ball defense because we can easily transfer the elements of this drill to the other defensive drills we to build our match-up zone.

Punch and Space

The Don Meyer Way

Here are some more notes that I took during one of the modules in the Don Meyer class I took a few years back.  No matter how many times I hear Coach Meyer or read any of his material, I always seem to catch a new teaching point that I can apply or alter to fit my coaching philosophy.

The Don Meyer Way

Vince Lombardi: Coaching Matters

Today, I am sharing some great thoughts on coaching from Hall of Fame Coach, Vince Lombardi.  Coach Lombardi is well known for his ability to motivate athletes.  Even though this is not basketball specific, there are still a number of philosophical elements that we can apply to our teams.

Vince Lombardi Coaching Matters

Coaching Quote #13: Success

“Success in life is a matter not so much of talent or opportunity as it is concentration and perserverance.”

--- Vince Lombardi

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Purdue Drills

Here is a collection of Purdue drills. I am not sure which Purdue team or who was the head coach at the time when these were used, however.  Either way, there are still a bunch of good drill ideas for us all to incorporate into our own systems.

Purdue Drills

David Preheim: Man Box Sets Playbook

In the off-season, one of the things that I like to do is put together different playbooks based on a particular theme.  In this playbook, I brainstormed different quick hits and sets out of a box set.  I really focused on particular actions that would give hits for guards and hits for post players.  I hope they help those of you who like running hitters and sets out of a box set.

Man Box Sets Playbook

2010 5 Star Basketball Notes: Zak Boisvert

Zak Boisvert, assistant coach at Ion College, does a great job of sharing basketball ideas and resources.  He is great about sharing ideas with other coaches and contributing to the basketball community.  Coach Boisvert put together this collection of notes from a 5 Star Clinic which feature great coaches such as John Chaney, Tom Moore, Mitch Buonaguro, Tom Pecora, James Jones, and Jim Ferry.



2010 5 Star Basketball

Coaching Quote #12: Speeds

"The game of basketball is played in a change of speeds: fast to slow, slow to fast."


--- John Chaney

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Lon Kruger: UNLV Playbook

Here is a great resource of some offensive plays that Lon Kruger ran when he was at UNLV.  Coach Kruger is currently coaching at Oklahoma and just recorded his 500th win against Northwestern State.

Lon Kruger UNLV Playbook

Tom Izzo: Special Teams

Tom Izzo is one of the greatest coaches out there when it comes to designing offensive plays. Amazingly, he applies some football organizational concepts to his basketball philosophy.  Coach Izzo stresses that there are many games that are lost by 6 or less points.  Therefore, he has come up with 5 focus areas that he calls "Special Teams."  He feels that if his teams can get 15-20 points per game, they will be in a good position to win the game.  He breaks his Special Teams into the following categories:

1. Jump Ball Situation (Get the game started right): If you know you can control the tip, come up with 2 different quick hitters to start the game.  If you feel you cannot get the tip, set up a play that will allow you steal the tip.

2. Baseline Out of Bounds (Attack when they relax): You will be pleasantly surprised at how many baskets you will score if your team develops the mentality that they have a great offensive advantage when taking the ball out along the baseline.

3. Sideline Out of Bounds (Get an open 3): Many teams defend SLOBS by flattening their defense and we have found great success in screening this defensive set and bringing our shooters to an open area for a high-percentage three-point shot.

4. Free Throw Situations (Turning a miss into points): the best teams only shoot 75 percent from the free throw line, we decided to also emphasize attacking the offensive glass during a free throw situation.

5. After Time Out Plays (Execution and discipline): There may be nothing more frustrating for a coach than to call or diagram a play during a time-out only to have it improperly executed on the floor.  To combat this problem and to increase the focus and execution of our after-time-out plays, we will periodically call time-out during practice to diagram and set up a play.

Hubie Brown Techniques and Strategies

Here are some great thoughts from Coaching Legend Hubie Brown.  I always like how Hubie challenges you to think about what you do and why you do it.

Hubie Brown Techniques and Strategies

Coaching Quote #11: Key to Key

"The difference between great teams is often the time it takes to advance the ball from top of the key to top of the key."

--- Hubie Brown

Offensive Efficiency Sheet

I am in the process of designing some efficiency sheets to track some specific things during basketball games that our stat software does not record.  Therefore, I thought I would start sharing different evaluation forms that you can all use throughout the season to help analyze your players and your program efficiency.  A fellow coach shared this efficiency sheet with me a while back.

Offensive Possession Efficiency Play-by-Play

Stressing the Little Things

One of the ways that we stress a particular skill in drill work is by using a ball rack.  We will place X amount of balls on the rack.  When a specific skill is executed properly, we take a ball off of the rack.  For example, we do a daily drill called 3 on 4 Rotate and Communicate.  The basic set-up of the drills is there are 4 offensive players, and 3 defensive players.  Our defensive rules are:

1. Have to have a defender on the ball applying ball pressure
2. Have to have 1 defender in the high hole (high post)
3. Have to have 1 defender in the low hole (rim)

The offense works the ball around the perimeter working on triple threat, ball rips and passing.  When a defender is on the ball, X1 for example, and the ball gets passed to another perimeter player, X1 CANNOT guard the next pass.  The next pass needs to be covered by either the low hole or high hole defender.  This forces the players to communicate and rotate.

When players do not communicate, have a poor closeout, do not apply good ball pressure or do not fill the high and low hole, we will take off a ball from the rack.  When the rack has no more balls, we do some form of conditioning.  It has been something that has worked great for our team in terms of focus and effort.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Don Meyer: A Playbook for Winning Basketball

These notes I took while watching a Don Meyer video called A Playbook for Winning Basketball.  As always, Coach Meyer provides a wealth of basketball information in a simplistic form that any coach can apply to his/her system.

Don Meyer: A Playbook for Winning Basketball

Rick Majerus: Rules For Dribbling

When teaching players to dribble, Coach Majerus used these 3 rules.
  1. To acquire balance (spacing)
  2. To go somewhere (passing angle, scoring...)
  3. To break a 5 second count

Rick Majerus: Beating Teams That Switch

Here are some ideas from Rick Majerus on how to attack teams that switch screens.

1. Continue to pass and cut
2. Get a big on little switch and then post up the big
3. Tight curls, slips, back cuts and drives off of flares

Rick Majerus: 4 Out 1 In Motion Offense

Rick Majerus is widely known for his 4 out motion offense.  He was a very detailed motion coach.  Here is a good resource that breaks down his motion offense.

Rick Majerus 4 Out Motion Offense

Coaching Quote #11: Best Seat

"Those to whom defense is not important will have the best seat in the game."

--- Rick Majerus

Offensive Post Play: Rick Majerus

The coaching community lost a great teacher of the game this weekend with the passing of Coach Majerus.  I was fortunate enough to listen to Coach Mejerus talk at clinic a few years back at a Don Meyer Coaching Clinic.  He was a great presenter and was very particular on the little things to teaching offensive post play.  I have attached my notes that I took at the clinic.  Hopefully you can learn a little more about this great coach.

Rick Majerus Post Play

John Beilein Coaching Thoughts

Here are some great thoughts from John Beilein who has really done great things at Michigan.

John Beilein Quips

Coaching Quote #10: Practice

"You can do anything you want in practice but not everything you want- simplify"

--- John Beilein