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1. Attentiveness to Detail You must prepare to win in order to be a winner.  Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.
2. Impartiality This is a must, but you must remember that you must not treat everyone alike as they are all different.  Give each one the treatment earned and deserved.
3. Teaching Skill It isn’t enough that you know the game, you must be able to teach it.  Follow the laws of learning.
4. Discipline Most essential for proper concentration and group organization.
5. Affability The coach must be of an affable disposition because of the various groups with who he must associate.
6. Forcefulness You must be firm without being bullheaded.
7. Alertness Constant observation of all going on around and about are necessary for improved learning and decision making.
8. Optimism The pessimist isn’t likely to produce a confident team that will play near to their full capability.
9. Desire to Improve Lack of ambition will result in complacency and laziness.
10. Vision A Picture of the possible must be shown to your players to provide a goal for them.
11. Consideration For Others You must be truly considerate of others if you expect them to be considerate of you.  You must listen to them if you want them to listen to you.
12. Resourcefulness You must be ever ready to make necessary adjustments according to the situation and the personnel that you have available.
13. Cooperativeness An essential for all who work with others and are dependent on others in various ways.
14. Leadership Trust be commanded, not demanded.  Others are working with you, not for you.  Be interested in finding the best way rather than having your own way.
15. Industriousness There is no substitute for work.  Worthwhile things should never be easy to attain.
16. Enthusiasm If you are to stimulate others, your heart must be in your work. Enthusiasm brushes off upon those with whom you come in contact.
17. Sympathy You must be truly interested in those under your supervision and be sympathetic with their problems.
18. Self-control Good judgment must be exercised in your decisions and they must be made through reason not emotion.
19. Sincerity Insincerity can be spotted very quickly and cause loss of respect.

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 is the second part of  an article that was written by Rick Majerus several years ago.  The focus is what he looks for when recruiting, but some of these concepts can be taught and others can be improved upon through work.

Here is a link to the first part of the article:  Evaluating Basketball Players Part I

Passers that appeal to me are those who pass the ball away from the defense.  Outstanding passers have that snap on the ball that you can’t coach.  They deliver it quickly and effortlessly by using their wrists.

I’m continually looking for those players that dribble to improve their passing angle (a lost art and a hard to teach concept).  It is easy to find players that can pass in the open court, difficult to find players that can penetrate and pitch effectively in the paint, but next to impossible to find people who can feed a stationary or flash post by ball faking and dribbling to improve the angle of the pass.  A good passer takes the ball up to the defense and that’s a trait often overlooked by most.

On a break, I try to find a man who will come to a controlled stop, let a wing fill a lane and be patient enough to give the wing the ball at the most opportune time so the play is made by virtue of the precision pass as opposed to the wing having to execute a difficult move off the dribble because the ball was thrown to soon.  Good passers have poise and patience above all else.  They anticipate, see the court and read the defense. (not only the defender covering the receiver but the “off the ball” help as well.)

Finally, a really smart passer doesn’t put the ball in the corner unless that man has a shot and he never passes to a man who has begun to cut away from the hoop.  The great passer recognizes the difference in those players who are open for a shot or to better position the ball within the confines of the offense.

Good ball handlers are easy to spot.  They are at least adequate with both hands.  A great dribbler is one who can go full speed up and down the length of the court with either hand and come to a stop under control.  A super dribbler is one who can change direction with the ball, head and shoulder fake and change pace accelerating rapidly by the defender.  When I see this happen, I know the kid’s a keeper.

A real test of a ball handler comes when he encounters full court pressure.  An average guard turns his back against pressure or goes with the playground “spin move.”  A heady guard uses a pull back crossover dribble so as to maintain vision up court thus eliminating the likelihood of a double team or trap.  And last of all, a great ball handler can back up with the ball.  He’ll do it to reset the offense, or perhaps to avoid a trap, and this is an indication to me that the young man is a bright player and can handle the ball.  A player who can do all of the aforementioned in addition to shoot the ball is really a find.

It is difficult to appreciably improve someone’s shooting in college.  You may be able to make a small change but a complete overhaul is next to impossible.  Players revert back to the habits of a lifetime making it extremely difficult for collegiate players to improve on technique.  A good shooter has range and there’s a correlation between effective range and leg spring. I’m not as concerned if his elbow is in or out as I am with release and follow-through.  A player who can shoot usually has good rotation on the ball, little wasted motion, and an exaggerated follow through.  He exudes confidence and can shoot without having to take a rhythm bounce.  Those that can shoot it know their range, lack of indecision, and spot up according to the penetration of the ball.

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 is the first part of an article that was written by the late Rick Majerus several years ago.  The focus is what he looks for when recruiting, but some of these concepts can be taught and others can be improved upon through work.

There are three major areas of consideration which I address in my evaluation of a prospective athlete.  Those areas of concern evaluated are attitude, athletic ability, and basketball skills.

The profession being what it is, one is often pressed to find an area in which unanimity of opinion prevails.  However, no matter how diverse our philosophies and the styles of play that we employ, I think every coach wants to recruit or coach players that enjoy playing hard.  Each of us has our own criteria whereby we assess selflessness, aggressiveness, poise, and many other personality traits.  Hence, I will not belabor the point but suffice to say we’re all in pursuit of the player who best demonstrates those personality characteristics that compromise having a good attitude.

Athletic ability is the measure by which many players earn spots on a team and often fill complementary roles.  I look first of all for a player with an explosive first step.  Quickness can sometimes compensate for a lack of fundamentals and skills.  An especially high premium is placed on lateral quickness because this single facet enables you to excel as a defensive player.  Anticipation can somewhat compensate for a lack of quickness, however, there is no real substitute for someone who is not endowed with innate quickness.

After assessing the quickness of an individual, I try to determine how good his hands are.  Can he catch a bad pass and make his own next pass a good one?  Does he come down with the ball in traffic under the boards?  Is he able to pick the ball up off the floor and convert in a transition game?  It is especially important that you ascertain the quality of hands in a pivot prospect.  Being able to catch it in a stationary post situation should be a given.  However, when sliding from the high to low post or when flash posting, can the man catch the pass amid other players and on the move?  These situations more than most others will illustrate his ability to catch the ball.  A well-coached player is one who meets the ball and locates the defense before making a move.  He knows or looks for the defender and moves accordingly.

Body control is another facet I look for and that doesn’t necessarily involve being able to make the circus shot.  Rather, it is a facet of play that can better be evaluated by watching for a man who pulls up in balance and squares to the hoop off an explosive dribble.  Or you can look for a guard who’s able to come to an abrupt stop at the foul line on a 3 on 1 break.  It is most apparent when playing defense because a man without good body control has a tendency to commit fouls by “reaching in.”  When challenging a shooter, I’m particularly interested in seeing if the defender can rise vertically, arm extended straight up, and not drift into the man taking the shot.

Last of all in my assessment of athletic ability, I look for the leaper.  I’m most impressed by those who can jump off two feet in a crowd.  Some players need a step to jump and others a run, but the athlete who can go up “right now” is someone who really possesses talent.  Then I watch to see if he can stay with the action by continuing to jump a second and third time.  When they go airborne for a layup, I’m looking for an individual who goes up with no fear.  I think a great athlete is best evaluated on a layup in traffic because if he’s quick, he’ll pull away from the pack, if he has good hands and jumping ability, he won’t lose the ball, and finally he will finish the play off strong.  This is what I feel the ultimate in athletic ability entails.

Here is a link to the first part of the article:  Evaluating Basketball Players Part II

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 are some ideas from Rick Carlisle that he presented at a Florida basketball coaching clinic in August 2009.

When you make a mistake be honest with the players.  Coach Carlisle felt that when he started with the Mavericks he made an error in judgment and installed an offense that was not conducive to their talents.  He told them that they were either going to have to stick with it or make adjustments, but that either road would be tough for them.

At some point, players will complain about their roles.  Carlisle uses laminated cards.  For an example, here is what Jermaine O’Neal’s said: “Leader, scorer, rebounder, defender, game closer.”

Some ideas while you are watching film:  To keep players on their toes, ask them questions.  Make players accountable to know their game assignments.  Break films into three segments 1) How bad we were 2) What we did well 3) How we want to do it–if you don’t have a lot of your team for this segment–substitute another team.   Many times you need to be more positive than negative.  Show them how close they are to winning.  Show them mistakes that change the outcomes of games.

On losing:  You find out more about your team (and yourself) when you are in the middle of a losing streak.  Losing gives you a sense of urgency to make changes.  At the beginning of the season, talk about winning and losing and how they both can cause problems so that you will be prepared for either as the season unfolds.

On stretching:  When teams do it well, it is the springboard to a great practice.

On communication:  Tape yourself talking to your team.  You probably won’t like what you see.  Pause mid sentence when you speak–  less is more.  Pausing keeps the audience engaged, generates anticipation, and helps you to become a clear thinker.

These are some notes I wanted to share from an article written by Coach Don Hawkins of Nashville (IL) High School.  The article was sent to me by Coach Ken Sartini.  The red text are my additions to what Coach Hawkins presents.

Basketball is situation specific and how a teams handles those situations often makes the difference between winning and losing.

Coach Hawkins uses a “special teams” concept much like a football team and looks to find the players who are best for each situation.

He finds that it has been a confidence builder for his substitutes because he feel that he can find situations in which most of them can be successful.

He allocates time in each weekly practice for offense, defense, and special teams.

His Specialty areas are:

1)  Sideline inbounds (“pecking order” of players to inbound the ball, plays for end of game or period, defending sideline inbounds)

2)  Underneath inbounds (“pecking order” of players to inbound the ball, plays for end of game or period, defending sideline inbounds)

3)  Jump Ball (hold, rotate, defend) This is an area that makes a difference to start an overtime

4)  Delay (purpose, pattern, defense)

5)  1-10 seconds left in game (full court, back court, half court, front court, baseline–all of these offensively and defensively

6)  End of period both offense and defense

7)  Free Throws (ahead and behind by one, two, and three)

8)  Time Situations (60 seconds, 90 seconds, two minutes)

Early in the season he covers when and what they will do in each situation and what the roles needed for success in each one are.

Weekly practice breakdown:

Monday:  (10 minutes of practice time) End of game situations ahead and behind by one, two, and three points.   Involves as many players as he can.  After two or three weeks will settle on the best players in each situation and then work those players as units.

Tuesday (10 minutes of practice time) Two minute situations.  ahead and behind by different point spreads.  If the first unit that starts out ahead and loses, they must repeat the process.  I would add to this to  make sure to define the number of fouls for both teams and individuals, possession arrow, and time outs remaining.  This is a good time to practice how to foul by taking the ball away and possibly being called for a foul to stop the clock as opposed to getting called for an intentional foul.  You can also practice fouls to give in this situation.

Wednesday (10 minutes) End of period.  Delay game to get the last shot of the period and transition into the last shot.  You can execute this at the end of a game without having to call timeout if it is practiced. Again, work both sides of the ball. I like to start our play at 12 seconds and shoot at 5 seconds in the first three quarters. I like to shoot with 3 seconds at the end of the game and have found that if you expect that to happen and practice it, players will execute it in a game.

Thursday (15 minutes of practice time) Specialty review.  Reviews all of his specialty items and emphasizes the ones he feels will be significant in their next game.

Coach Hawkins usually uses 8 to 10 players each game and looks for where each one can be successful.  The special teams approach encourages player participation.   Having practiced the areas that come up in a game he can tell his players that “we have a plan and have been here before,” which is a confidence builder.

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!