Basketball Coaching Coach Says

By Brian Williams on September 14, 2012

Found this in one of Creighton Burns’ newsletters and really like it.

It was written by Eric Musselman. He no longer actively blogs on this site, but there is more great content at emuss.blogspot.com

Over the last 10 years, I’ve tried to make a note of every time a player said, “Coach always says…”. I’d see an article, highlight it, and toss it in a file.

During that time, I’ve come across hundreds of examples across every sport. It’s a simple reminder of what messages players retain and recall, sometimes years after they’ve left the field or the gym.

Here’s a selection of them.

Coach always said…

“Nobody is going to outwork us, but nobody will have more fun either.”

“You have to go out and find the best competition.”

“If you are not doing it the right way, why are you doing it. Learn how to do it the right way and practice it the right way.”

“If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.”

“You’ll be remembered by your last performance.”

“They can’t cut you if you hustle.”

“It’s not about how many times you get the ball, it’s what you do when you do get the ball.”

“Toughness is a skill.”

“Don’t let anyone know that you’re frustrated.”

“The only rankings that matter are at the end of the season.”

“You can’t think you’re good. If you think you’re good, you’re never going to get better.”

“Referees can’t help you play the game, so don’t change your style just to please the referee.”

“You can’t make chicken salad out of chicken s–t. You need the athletes and the horses to win.”

“If you do the little things right you’ll win.”

“The more things you can do, the longer you’ll be around here.”

“What you put in is what you get out.”

“You’re six inches away from success.” [Six inches is the distance between your ears.]

“Winning isn’t like a light bulb. You can’t just switch it on when you need it.”

“You don’t improve during the playoffs. You improve at practice.”

“If you look good, you play good.”

“If you want to be a champ, you have to surround yourself with champs.”

“Let them have the excuses for losing. Let us offer the reasons for winning.”

“The season is a marathon not a sprint. What matters is that our team gets better with each game.”

“Fix the small problems and the big problems correct themselves.”

“Don’t leave the court on a miss. Always finish with the result you want.”

“Life is a journey, not a destination.”

“We either get better or we get worse. We never stay the same.”

“Hesitate and you’re dead.”

“Offense sells tickets; defense wins championships.”

“You have to go hard on every play because it could be the difference in the game.”

“An excuse is the easiest thing in the world to make.”

“Smaller players have to play meaner.”

“I don’t want excuses. I want results.”

“What’s a mismatch one way is a mismatch the other.”

“Rest on offense. Use all of your energy on defense.”

“In every crisis lies opportunity.”

“The game doesn’t teach character, it reveals it.”

“You’re a play away from starting.”

“Games typically come down to five plays. You either make those plays or you don’t.”

“Find somebody you admire and try to make yourself like him.”

“Keep your mouth shut and keep working.”

“If you can’t be creative on the basketball court, you should be a chess player.”

“You have to rise to the occasion.”

“The mental is to the physical as 4 is to 1.”

“Just get better every game.”

“You never have a rebuilding year, you rebuild within yourselves.”

“Concentrate on effort; the results will take care of themselves.”

The Disease of Me

By Brian Williams on September 13, 2012

This was written by Alan Stein

…Many kids today don’t understand that basketball is a we game – not a me game. They play for the scorebook, not the scoreboard. Am I allowed one more cliché? They play for the name on the back of their jersey instead of the name on the front. OK, I think 3 overused coaching clichés should suffice in getting my point across.

Kidding aside, there are 3 symptoms of the ‘disease of me’ – each of which severely stagnates a player’s growth and development. Having worked a ton of camps and events this summer, I have seen each of these symptoms from players of every age and every level:

1. Too cool

2. Too good

3. Too shy

Too cool:

This symptom is rampant… in fact it is a borderline epidemic. Players are too cool to listen when a coach is talking, too cool to show enthusiasm during drills, too cool to warm-up properly, too cool to get on the floor for a loose ball or take a charge, and too cool let the people around them know that they don’t understand something or need some help. Players are often more concerned with ‘how they look’ then ‘how they perform.’ To paraphrase Woody Harrelson in White Men Can’t Jump – players that are too cool would ‘rather look good and lose than look bad and win.’

Too good:

This symptom is tricky… because it is actually an illusion. The players who think they are too good – actually aren’t! They aren’t anywhere close to being good enough, much less too good! They are so hypnotized by their ranking, or brainwashed by their entourage, that they won’t admit they have areas of their game that need improvement. They are too good to work on their left, too good to work on their footwork, or too good to work on their mid-range game. Who needs to be able to do those things when you can dribble between your legs 19 times in a row or dunk the ball with ease? Players that are too good are often shoot 1st, pass 2nd type players. Actually, they are usually shoot 1st, shoot 2nd, and don’t pass type players. They never bother with making those around them better. If a teammate can’t hold their own on the court… that is their problem.

Too shy:

This symptom is complicated as well. I don’t know if I would go as far as to say that being too shy is selfish per se; but being shy does stunt improvement. You have to be assertive if you want to get better! You can’t be too shy to ask questions. You can’t be too shy to reach out and ask for help from your coach. You can’t be too shy to verbally communicate on offense and defense. Most kids aren’t shy when it comes to texting, Twitter, and Facebook… but they quickly go into a shell when expected to speak face to face.

If you are trying to be the best player you can be… to maximize your potential and play at the highest level possible… you can’t be too cool, too good, or too shy. You need to find a cure for the ‘disease of me.’

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

Basketball Drills Butler

By Brian Williams on September 11, 2012

These basketball drills are from Butler Men’s Coach Brad Stevens.

They were sent to me by Coach Steve Smiley as a part of some notes from the Florida Basketball Coaches Clinic.

These drills go with notes from our blog post that contains the outline of Coach Steven’s presentation: Butler Defense Notes

3 plus 2 on 2 plus 3

Goals for the drill and for transition defense:

Stay in front of the ball
Protect the basket
Pick up the ball
Find good shooters

3 on 3 Free Throw Line to Free Throw Line

1 ball is being moved among the three offensive players. The defense is either:

Guarding the ball
1 pass away (faking at the ballhandler)
2 passes away (lower and ready to give help)

Jump to the Ball Drill

All players line up in the middle of the floor.
Coaches (under the basket and two on the sidelines) move the ball and all thirteen guys jump to the ball on every pass.
Simple and easy, but a great way to build and reinforce good habits.

Jump to the Ball Series

Defense starts with the ball under the basket. The offense is at the top of the key. Three coaches are on the floor (two on the wings and one on the elbow).
Defender throws the ball out to the offensive player and closes out.
Offensive player throws to the coach on the right wing (defender jumps to the ball)
Offensive player runs off a UCLA screen (defender stays on the top side and does not allow a face cut)
Offensive player posts up (defender plays post defense. Butler fronts the post “post up the post player.” But, you can play the post however you teach post defense.)
Coach on the wing passes the ball to the coach at the top of the key. (defender jumps to the ball)
Coach at the top passes the ball to the coach on the opposite wing (defender jumps to the ball)
Offensive player follows the ball and looks to post on the ball side block (defender battles him for the position; trying to make him post off the block)

Basketball Plays North Carolina Lob

By Brian Williams on September 10, 2012

Coach Vonn Read has submitted several plays from his playbook series The Basketball Encyclopedia of Plays to the Coaching Toolbox.

Vonn is currently serving as an assistant coach in the Women’s at Houston.

He has also served as an assistant coach in the WNBA with the Phoenix Mercury, Orlando Miracle, and San Antonio Silver Stars.

He was an advanced scout for the Orlando Magic as well as The Charlotte Sting.

Use this play against a 2-3 zone

1 passes to 3 and exchanges with 2.

3 passes to 2 at the top.

2 reverses the ball to 1 on the wing.

4 sets the screen on X4, and 5 sets the screen on X5.

3 cuts hard to the rim for the lob pass–doesn’t have to be a dunk–can be a layin.

Coach Read has also put together The Basketball Encyclopedia of plays. You can check them out here: The Basketball Encyclopedia of Plays or read more about the books:

Any coach looking for the latest and innovative plays from the Professional, College, or High School levels can stop looking. With a compilation of over 7,700 different plays, you will never need to purchase another basketball playbook again. These playbooks can be used as a great reference tool for years to come. This 2 Volume Book includes plays from 19 different play categories, and they are the most extensive playbooks on the market.

The Basketball Encyclopedia of Plays (Platinum Series) contains over 7,700 Plays (Both Volumes combined) from the NBA, WNBA, USBL, and College levels from someone who has worked as an Advanced Scout or Coach on each level!!! This book has been intensely compiled over the last 21 years, with plays taken from a lot of NBA Coaches (past and present), WNBA coaches, and College coaches (Men’s and Women’s) from around the country.

Any coach that is serious about improving their knowledge of the game from an X and O standpoint will benefit tremendously from these books. These Books can be used to discover New Quick hitters, add a New Package to your playbook, or develop an entire Offensive System. There are a lot of new ideas and concepts in these books to study, and the Basketball Encyclopedia of Plays can be a great resource for coaches on all levels!!! This book is definitely for those X and O junkies who are always looking to improve as a Coach.

“THE GAME IS ALWAYS CHANGING? ARE YOU?” Vonn Read

Here is the link: The Basketball Encyclopedia of Plays

Basketball Drills Full Court 3 on 3

By Brian Williams on September 5, 2012

From the Xavier Basketball Newsletter

By Mike Dunlap, Loyola Marymount.

We use the 3 on 3 full court game to tell us who can play and who cannot. It gives us a truthful look into our future because this game exposes players in a meaningful way. Moreover, the coaching staff and players can see who is fit and knows how to win!

The game also improves cardiovascular fitness quicker than any track specific work that I know. Why? Because we are doing anaerobic and aerobic work without the players really having to look at it as conditioning”. In other words, we get to sing while we work, or should I say “play.”

The players like this game mostly because it emulates the game itself.

We use heart monitors during this game. This is an objective measurement. Our players heart rates are normally above 190 beats per minute. Ouch. We want to be as objective as possible when evaluating our players. This takes the guess work out of what you are doing. The more criteria/tests we can use the better. Yet, we do not want the players to think it is all an exam. If you asked me what one competition/game we use to assess our players, 3 on 3 full court is the game- the best of the best.

1) The accurate measurement;
2) The easy evaluation of the who (i.e. which players and combinations know how to win by charting each win/loss);
3) The ability to see who can pass, cut, and score by eliminating the dribble completely;
4) The elimination of the dribble also creates “team first as the 3 players must assist each other to get the ball up the floor; this immediate adversity pushes the players toward each other;
5) The coaches can see which players want to play defense, and actually know to move;
6) The games are played to 2 points (i.e. one point/basket) because this allows you to quickly observe who knows how to win and play under pressure
either offensively or defensively.

I do not know any salient disadvantages to this game. While the players do not like 3 on 3 full court without the dribble initially, they eventually ask to play this game. You can add the dribble by saying that this will be a 1, 2, or 3 dribble day: you will be a hero–enjoy.

The Rules

1. No Dribble

Forces players to pass the ball
Cut-and-replace action by necessity
Fitness level improved
Footwork improved by necessity
Quick ball movement required

How? Tell players there will be no dribble until they learn that this is a team game.

2. Game played to 2 points

Quick games
Coaching staff can evaluate wins and losses
Who makes frequent game winning passes/shots under real game pressure
Who can get stops and/or defensive rebounds
Who is mentally/physically tough

3. Fouling

Defense calls fouls
The second foul by defensive team on the same possession results in a loss by that team.
Keeps the games moving and does not let games get out of hand.

4. Taking a charge

If defense takes a charge the game is won by that team.
Puts emphasis on taking the charge.

5. The long outlet

When the winners court has a team win they call over the team leading or who has won from the losers court. If there is a tie on That court then next point scored determines the winner.
The winning team may set up under the basket to inbound the ball with the other two players al half court ready to go as the winners. From the losers court sprint over to play. The winners may outlet the ball to half court but not over the half court line. This allows the other team time to get set. However, the winners from the losers court must sprint over and once the first playlr has entered the court the ball may be thrown to half court, but not over. This really keeps the game moving.

6. No cherry picking

Serves no real purpose.

Once the ball has crossed half court, either with pass or dribble, all three players on the offensive team must cross half cort as the ball is scored–period.

7. Ball must be picked up by three quarters court

Allows coaches to see who can play defense.
Exposes the individual and the team.
Exposes players and ultimately assists players to improve their fitness level.

If the defensive team does not pick up at three quarters court, they lose a point and, if it happens a second time, they lose the game.

Structure

1. Winners Court/Loser’s Court

Emphasize the “King of the mountain” cocept. You win and your team stays on the winner’s court. Hence, every team is looking to beat you as the wins accumulate.
Call it what it is–winner’s court and loser’s court
All teams waiting to play come here from the loser’s court. There is never an overflow on the winner’s court.
If the winners from the loser’s court finish before the winner’s court has completed their game, they will wait until the winner’s game is decided, and this happens very rarely.
The losers from the winner’s court goes immediately to the loser’s court to play. They do not go to the end of the line and wait to play.

2. Running Time

Put 20:00 on the clock for the first week you play this game.
The game will exhaust you players. You can add 5:00 per week. You wil see you players physically adjusing quality vs. quantity.

3. Changing Rules and Empahsis

You can add the dribble as time passes.
You can change certain rules per session or weeks. For example, the ball must go inside befoer it is shot. Or, we want one screen and roll before the bal is shot.
This allows the coach to see things and foces players to incorporate different situations.

In conclusion, the “try it, you’ll like it,” statement applies here. The 3 on 3 winner’s/losers’s court game is on the best instructional games we do in our pre-season. This game allows you to objectively evaluate your team.