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Do not waste timeouts early in the game to save possession on a loose ball. The timeout is too valuable at the end of the game to waste in that way. When your team makes the second free throw and you have a 3 point lead, not when you make a basket with the clock running, but when you make a free throw and the clock is stopped call time out to set your defense. It has been my experience that a set half court defense is much tougher to score against than conversion defense. You are converting to defense on a made free throw. You can also put some slight full court pressure on the dribbler bringing it up to eat up more clock.

This is part one of a five part series for the next five days. There is no doubt that 10 seconds can change the memories and opportunities that the players take from even a regular season high school game.

Those rewards increase dramatically when there is a championship of any kind on the line. In my opinion, every coach should have a written plan on how s/he is going to handle every late game situation that can be thought of before the season starts and going over those situations must be a part of the every day practice plan. Coming up with something as the game unfolds is not the best way to handle it.

No one is thinking or communicating clearly at that time. The time for coaches to think clearly is in the off-season and the time for players to learn and practice those situations is every day of the season. If your team executes your plan under pressure at the end of the game, that is all you can ask.Here are some opinions I would like to offer to at least consider when formulating a plan to end the game. My message is not to use my plan, but to think for yourself and decide how you are going to handle these situations.