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TEAM USA – GOLD STANDARDS

(Developed by the players on the 2008 USA Men’s Basketball Team)

I received this from Coach Steve Smiley.  Steve is the head men’s basketball coach and athletic director at Sheridan College in Wyoming.  He played for Coach Don Meyer at  Northern State University.

I hope it has some value as you develop your team’s standards.

There is a download link at the end of this post for you if you would like to download it as a word document.

1.  No Excuses
a.  We have what it takes to win

2.  Great Defense
a.  This is the key to winning the gold
b.  We do the dirty work

3.  Communication
a.  We look each other in the eye
b.  We tell each other the truth

4.  Trust
a.  We believe in each other

5.  Collective Responsibility
a.  We are committed to each other
b.  We win together

6.  Care
a.  We have each other’s backs
b.  We give aid to a teammate

7.  Respect
a.  We respect each other and our opponents
b.  We’re always on time
c.  We’re always prepared

8.  Intelligence
a.  We take good shots
b.  We’re aware of team fouls
c.  We know the scouting report

9.  Poise
We show no weakness

10.  Flexibility
a.  We can handle any situation
b.  We don’t complain

11.  Unselfishness
a.  We’re connected
b.  We make the extra pass
c.  Our value is not measured in playing time

12.  Aggressiveness
a.  We play hard every possession

13.  Enthusiasm
a.  This is fun

14.  Performance
a.  We’re hungry
b.  We have no bad practices

15.  Pride
a.  We are the best team in the world and we represent the best country

Click here to download this list as a word document

The Coaching Toolbox has hundreds of resources for basketball coaching including basketball practice, basketball plays, basketball drills, basketball quotes, basketball workouts, basketball poems, and more!

I am not sure where I found this, and don’t agree with all of it, but I think that there are some good thoughts that basketball coaches can use for themselves and their teams.

A leader…

1. has to have ABSOLUTE INTEGRITY, or it does not matter what else he or she has.

2. has to be WILLING AND ABLE TO DO WORK, or it does not matter what else he or she has.

3. has to be OBJECTIVE.  If an executive could be described in one word, this would be it.

4. has to have LEADERSHIP, which is hard to define, but may be described as that quality in a person which makes others want to do what the leader wants them to do.

5. has COURAGE . I don’t want to get courage and bravery mixed up.  If a neighbor has a mean dog and you are not afraid to go in his yard, this is bravery.  If you are afraid but go in the yard anyway, this is courage.  Courage is what makes someon buy natural resources for the company’s use in poor times when acreage,or leases are cheap.

6. has IMAGINATION.  Most of the good things civilization has achieved are the result of somebody’s seeing, in his mind’s eye, how to do something better, or make something better.  Without imagination an executive cannot foresee the good things the future may hold.  Without imagination he is not able to put himself in another man’s place, which he must do.

7. MUST DELEGATE AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY if he does not do this, there is not enough time to accomplish a great deal.

8. MUST CHECK, AFTER THIS DELEGATION, TO SEE THAT RESULTS ARE OBTAINED.   The leader must have progress reports not only for his own information but also to gauge personnel in preparation for his next delegation of authority.

9.  MUST EVALUATE HIS TIME.  A busy person does not have time to explain carefully a directive to a subordinate, and in most cases tell him the reason why he wants it done.  Otherwise, it is likely to get all snarled up and have to be handled twice which a busy person does not have time to do.

10.  DOES THE IMPORTANT IN MOST CASES, INSTEAD OF THE URGENT. It is so easy to decide and handle the easy ones.  So often the temptation is to put aside a difficult decision until the easy ones are finished, in the hope that some additional easy ones come up to further postpone the important.

11.  MUST PLAY NO FAVORITES.  Anyone can do what they want with their own money.  With the company’s money,  there is no right to play favorites.  The person who should be promoted is the person who is doing the job at the time better than others are doing theirs.  If the word gets around that the executive plays no favorites, the  personnel will naturally take pride in doing their jobs well, no matter how rarely they come in contact with the boss.

12.  RECOGNIZES HIS/HER OWN WEAKNESSES AND SEEKS OR EMPLOYS ASSISTANCE IN THESE RESPECTS.  The Great Creator has rarely produced a man without weaknesses.  What often make a strong corporation is people of different but special talents accomplishing together and with the assistance of each other, more than any individual could accomplish alone.

13.  TRIES TO HELP OTHERS OVERCOME THEIR WEAKNESSES AND COMPLIMENTS THEM ON THEIR GOOD TRAITS.  The success of an organization is based to a large extent on loyalty and cooperation.  A man might be the best coxswain in the world, but without the cooperation of the other men in his crew, the race could not be won.

14.  IF SOMETHING TURNS OUT ESPECIALLY GOOD, THE LEADER FINDS SOMEONE IN THE ORGANIZATION TO SHARE THE CREDIT, IF SOMETHING GOES ESPECIALLY BAD, THE LEADER FINDS SOME WAY TO SHARE THE BLAME, You tell me who takes the responsibility for the errors and I will tell you who IS the boss,

15.  MUST BE A GOOD LISTENER, I have a prayer “Oh Lord, let me know that I do not have to speak on every subject that is broached.”

16.  MUST NOT TAKE HIMSELF or HERSELF TOO SERIOUSLY.  I have never heard a leader criticized for taking  their business too seriously.  If the leader can do this, and not take himself or herself too seriously,  she and her associates have a happier life.

17.  MUST NOT ALLOW HERSELF TO BECOME DISCOURAGED.  Even the inevitable can change from day to day, and persistence often accomplishes the seemingly impossible.

18.  DOES WHAT HE SAYS HE IS GOING TO DO, EVEN IN A CASUAL STATEMENT.  I know people who, if they told me casually, “I will write you a letter about that tomorrow,” and I didn’t receive the letter, I would send flowers.  I would know they were dead.

19.  MUST NOT MAKE AN UNQUALIFIED STATEMENT UNLESS SHE IS SUFFICIENTLY INFORMED ON FACTS.  A statement may often be the basis of important action.  If based on incomplete information, results may be disastrous.

20.  MUST LET HIS STAFF KNOW THAT HE MEANS WHAT HE SAYS WHEN HE TELLS THEM THAT HE WANTS THEM TO DISAGREE WITH HIM WHEN THEY DO.  Nearly every executive tells his staff he wants them to speak out when they disagree.  He must convince them that he means what he says when he makes this statement for it is their duty to give him the benefit of their best judgment and experience.  At the same time, disagreement does not absolve a man from giving his best efforts once a course of action is decided upon.

21.  LIMITS HER NUMBER  OF REASONS.  One reason for a decision is better than several.  If  several reasons are given, and one of these, though not controlling, is disproved it can make awkward or tear down her whole presentation.

22.  MUST NOT GET MAD UNLESS HE DECIDES TO.  There are times, like a boxer working himself  up to a fighting pitch, when an executive has to show a flash of fire to carry or arouse people out of their apathy.  But this must be a deliberate, and not impulsive, action.

23.  RECOGNIZES THE UNUSUAL FROM THE ROUTINE, AND HANDLES THE UNUSUAL IN A SPECIAL MANNER.  Many leaders adequately handle the routine every day, and the business gets along all right.  Sometimes even a casual request, due to its source, merits uusual handling.

24.  MUST NOT BE OVERLY SUBJECT TO FLATTERY.  Star dust blinds more people than sand.

25.  MUST STEEP HERSELF IN THE FACTS, BUT MUST RECOGNIZE THAT A TIME COMES WHEN SHE MUST DEFER RESEARCH AND MAKE THE DECISION, So often voluminous research is acquired.  For what purpose?  To acquire additional voluminous research.  The difficult, the decision, is postponed.

26.  MUST LIKE PEOPLE.  A man who does not like people multiplies his work and minimizes his effectiveness.

27. SHOULD HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR.  Without this I doubt if a leader can endure, with good grace, the rugged path that accompanies accomplishment.

The Coaching Toolbox has hundreds of resources for basketball coaching including basketball practice, basketball plays, basketball drills, basketball quotes, basketball workouts, basketball poems, and more!

RESTRICTIONS FOR DEVELOPING YOUR OFFENSE

This article is from Bob Starkey.  Bob is the associate head coach for the LSU women’s program.  You can check out his blog at http://hoopthoughts.blogspot.com

We really like the use of restrictions to both emphasize and correct in terms of our offensive play.  Your team is not getting the ball inside enough: “No perimeter shots until we have two low post touches.”

Your team doesn’t look to set re-screens after setting back screens: “We can only score off of a back screen with a re-screen.”

Your team is not reversing the basketball: “Two ball reversals before a jump shot.”

Again, what you do with your restrictions is limited only to your imagination. We usually apply a restriction daily to our offense for at least one drill and it is usually derived either from something that we didn’t do well in our last practice or game, or it is something that we want to emphasize for our next opponent.

A great example of this is playing 3/3, 4/4, or 5/5 against a switching defense while using the restriction that you can only pass the ball to a screener. This is a great way to “adjust your player’s vision” against this type of defense. How many times do you see a team come out and pass the ball in the waiting hands of a defender who switched a screen and didn’t have to move?

We teach our team that against the switch, the screener has a better chance of being open than the cutter. Now it is easy to tell your team this – it is quite another to prepare them for it. If you are use to passing to cutters it is not necessarily all that natural to switch and pass to the screener. That’s why this drill is so effective and important.

Not only do you put the emphasis of the passer to look for the screener but also you now have put pressure on the screener to make a good second cut toget open for a pass.

The Coaching Toolbox has hundreds of resources for basketball coaching including basketball practice, basketball plays, basketball drills, basketball quotes, basketball workouts, basketball poems, and more!

This list is from 100 things I’ve learned from coaching at the college level

By: Phil Beckner, former Boise State Assistant Coach

This is the third  part of three parts of this project.

Here is the link to Lessons 1-37 from this same article

Here is the link to Lessons 38-66 from this same article

Basketball:

67) It hard to make time to work on situations but always keep your last second plays the same and have them rehearsed regularly

68) Keep your ballscreen defense simple. Have a game plan, but be ready to adjust

69) When you plan to “hedge” ballscreens, bigs want to “hide” behind the screener and then jump out to hedge—teach “inside hand to screeners outside hip” This allows bigs to show chest and not be late on the hedge

70) Have a plan for FT blockouts.  Where you put each guy and which side you double with.

71) If you play man and zone during games and you’re not sure which is best, ask players how they want to guard- it keeps them aggressive, and it puts it on them! They buy in to guarding more!

72) Penetrate and kick is the best offense in college basketball

73) If you are a set play team and do not want to “dummy” every set during practice then emphasize                  A) Great pace and B) Great Screening

74)If your post players aren’t great at scoring at the block: “cut and fill” instead of “stand and space” keeps the help defenders occupied w/movement

75) Do not let players throw back on a 2on 1…most times it ends up as a charge!

76) Take 2 to 3 min to emphasize a core principal when warming up.  We closeout, and stay down on shot fakes before we shoot in post/perimeter EVERYDAY.

77) In scouting: players care more about opponents personnel than the actions the team is running.  They will remember other player’s tendencies because they want to be better than that player! Be detailed about this.

78) Practice “bluffing” or “stunting” (quick/fake help) every week in a variety of ways/situations.  Players will start to see more opportunities to do this during live action.

79) Some of the best UOB actions have multiple options once the ball is thrown in (double screen, single double, etc)

80) It’s important to drill defensive principles/defensive actions every day! “Practice what you emphasize”

81) 3 keys to be in every game: transition defense, rebounding, turnovers!

82) Work on transition defense everyday…our mindset is: “we run-they don’t”

83) “Simple plays are great plays”…you don’t need a homerun to be successful

84) Work on blockout situations: it is the end of the shot clock and bigs have had to help on penetration, who blocks out who? (Situations: scramble mode, switching screens, transition, etc.)

85) You have to DRILL “help the helper” all year long.  It has to become habit and instinct.  Drill it in a variety of ways.

86) Teach players every detail for your sets.  They need to know exactly what you want, when you want, and where you want! (screening, cuts, passes, operational area’s, timing)

87) Going for shot fakes will result in points or fouls almost 90% of the time.

88) “Shooting Passes” against a zone are a must.  Make sure players are throwing passes players can shoot off of, you can’t have a poor pass take a guy out of a shot.

89) Look for common “themes” in scouting opponents.  Use this for team prep.  Players understand it better, and will identify the “giveaways” ex: dribble lead to wing: screen under/screen down, a guard sitting at the block: stagger screen action, last 15 seconds of shot clock: random ballscreen

90) When guarding motion: tell players to engage in the entire action, not just guarding their man

91) Post players need to be “active defenders”.  Do more than one thing in a possession! ex: hedge ballscreen, recover to man, bluff help on penetration, discourage post entry pass, then box & rebound!

92) Rebounding-the more you chase the more you get.

93) Post Players can not just watch the shot go up while getting back in transition defense, teach them to box the players running into offensive glass-this is where we give up a lot of offensive rebounds!

94) Teach “ready for the next play” do not let players stand after passing, SPACE for the “next play”.  This is harder to guard, and gets players more shots.

95) Find common terminology for your entire staff and players to use.  Different terms/teaching points can result in confusion.

96) Have a counter play or 2^nd option for your best play

97) Make sure to have a “come from behind” plan.  Even if you are not a pressing/trapping team, you have to have something for the last 2 minutes if you are behind.

98) Individual workouts: It’s a great time to send the same message your head coach tries to send to specific players. Ex: driving the ball more vs. shooting more, shot selection for shooters, finishing w/the weak hand etc.

99) Practice and emphasize “game changing plays”.  Ex: Taking a charge, Offensive rebound kicked out for 3, chasing down a wide open lay-up, offensive rebound at the FT line.  FIND momentum changers!!!

100) Always look for a new “competitive” drill (keeping track of time or score) late in the season.  It helps keep practice fresh and players look forward to it.

Thanks for sharing Coach Beckner!

Here is the link to Lessons 1-37 from this same article

Here is the link to Lessons 38-66 from this same article

The Coaching Toolbox has hundreds of resources for basketball coaching including basketball practice, basketball plays, basketball drills, basketball quotes, basketball workouts, basketball poems, and more!

These drills came from the Arizona Basketball Coaching Newsletter.

If you are interested in downloading the newsletter, here is a link to do so:  Arizona March Newsletter

Manager 1 on 1:

2 Managers/coaches (or chairs) stand 35 feet out from the baseline with one about 7 feet away from the sideline and the other 8 feet inside of that.

On coaches “Go”. the defensive player sprints to run around the chair/manager closest to the middle of the court while the offensive player runs dribbling the ball around the outside chair (closest to the sideline).

Once around the chair, the offensive player attacks the rim and the two play 1 on 1.

Inside the Three 1 on 1:

Two players begin underneath the hoop. The defensive player begins with the ball and he dribbles to any spot inside the three point arc to place the ball down. Once the ball is placed down, the offense runs to pick it up and the two play 1 on 1 live.

You can control where you want this drill to happen if you make the defense put the ball only in the paint.

Turn and Run 1 on 1:

Drill starts like a zigzag ball handling defensive slide drill but the defense allows the offensive player to beat him off the dribble up the sideline. The defensive player works on his speed and recovery to get back in front and square up the offense. Once the defensive player gets in front of the offense, the ball handler throws the ball to a manager/coach at the top of the key. The defensive player jumps to the ball in Help side and  when the offensive player catches it again, the two play 1 on 1 live.

Baseball:

This is a 1 on 1 drill that uses two teams playing 1 on 1 vs members of the opposing team counting the score like a baseball game. Start from the top of the key with a member of team 1 guarding a member of team 2 – if the defense gets a stop. then that’s 1 Out. If the offense scores than they get 1 run and there are no outs. On the first foul, you re-check the ball.  On the second, the offense gets a point. When three outs are up. You switch offense defense. When each team has gone for 3 outs, then you have just played one inning. You can do this drill from any spot on the court and can facilitate post players by allowing coaches to feed them w the post instead of playing 1 on 1 from the perimeter.

The Coaching Toolbox has hundreds of resources for basketball coaching including basketball practice, basketball plays, basketball drills, basketball quotes, basketball workouts, basketball poems, and more!