I have been fortunate to partner with Kevin Eastman on my Coaching Toolbox project.
This link is to a previous video that I posted with: 3 Drills from Kevin Eastman.
Former D1 Head Coach and long-time Doc Rivers Assistant NBA Coach Kevin Eastman provides some principles to apply to your offensive attack as well as a little about your team culture.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- DIRECT DRIVES: Teach players that any move to the basket should attack directly toward the rim (not sideways or hesitant). This creates real pressure on defense — anything else is “false penetration” that looks active but doesn’t actually stress the defense, so don’t help off it.
TRUST AND “ONE MORE”: When a player calls “one more” (asking for one more pass because they’re open), teammates must trust and deliver it. If a player abuses that call, they lose the right to make it — it becomes “no more.” Violations of team trust/culture must be addressed immediately.
CORE CULTURE PRINCIPLES: Winning, personal sacrifice, and accountability. Truth-telling (living it, telling it, and being able to take it) is central to a championship culture.
SHOOTERS’ RIGHTS: If you give a shooter the green light to shoot, you must also accept they’ll sometimes miss. The coaching job is guiding them on shot selection — communicated differently per player — since a message only counts if it’s received and acted on.
WEAK-SIDE POSITIONING: The best scoring position is often on the weak side of the floor, but players tend to check out mentally when away from the ball. Teach them to stay engaged and ready (to post up, relocate for a shot, etc.) so that when the defense collapses toward the ball, they can capitalize — creating a “constant closeout” situation that wears down the defense.
