Unfortunately it seems that as many teams are defeated from within their own program as there are teams who are defeated by actual opponents. It only takes one or two “cancers” on a team to completely destroy a season and sometimes an entire program! The following list was put together from a series of tweets posted by Pure Sweat. Hopefully none of them sound familiar.

Players that care about individual rankings more than they care about improvement shouldn’t be on the team. #cancers

Players that don’t cheer on their teammates and don’t celebrate their teammates’ successes shouldn’t be on the team. #cancers

Players that care more about stats than wins shouldn’t be on the team. #cancers

Players that complain about playing time but refuse to put in extra work to earn more minutes shouldn’t be on the team. #cancers

Players that are more concerned about their image instead of doing what it takes to win shouldn’t be on the team. #cancers

Parents that tell their kids everything they WANT to hear instead of everything they NEED to hear are #cancers

With such a great emphasis being placed on getting to the rim it is more important than ever to have a wide variety of finishing shots at your disposal. The following drill can be done as a team or in your individual workouts. Youth and middle school players could easily work on this drill every day.

1. Start by standing on the baseline and flipping the ball out in front of you to the opposite elbow.
2. Catch the ball, square up and then drive down the lane line and shoot an underhand layup.
3. Rebound the ball out of the net and the flip it out in front of you to the other elbow.
4. Again, square up, drive down the lane line and shoot an underhand layup with your other hand.
5. Repeat the sequence until you have shot 6 different layups with each hand for a total of 12 layups.

Suggested layups:

1. Underhand
2. Overhand
3. Reverse
4. Jump stop and cross over
5. Baseline crab step and power dribble
6. Floater down the middle.

If you do this drill with your team, start in your regular two- line layup formation and play “follow the leader.” Every time the first player in line changes shots then everyone else changes as well.

Here are the 5 defensive “MUSTS” that current Florida State’s Head Coach, Leonard Hamilton, preaches to his team:

1. Must Prevent Easy Transition Baskets

a. Take care of the basketball

b. Sprint back & get into “attack stance & mentality”

c. Communicate, find & stop ball

d. Establish position in relation to ball

2. Must Keep Ball Out of the Red Zone

a. Stop dribble penetration

• Guard ball
• Shrink the gaps (up line principles)
• Early help and recover
• Execute closeouts

b. Take away the post pass

• Pressure ball
• Front post: take away flashers and cutters
• Swarm to help on lob

3. Must Contest Every Shot

a. Defeat screens

• Communicate
• Man guarding screener responsible for stopping ball
• “Fight Like Hell” when screened
• Eliminate penetrate and pitch
• Contain dribbler

b. Shrink gaps (help and recover)

c. Execute closeouts & pressure the ball

4. Must Allow Only One Shot Opportunity

a. Block out at every position

b. Eliminate penetration into “Red Zone” which weaken your block out schemes

5. Must Create Offense with Defense

a. Ball pressure

b. Develop a “Swarm to Help” mentality

According to authors Don Shula and Ken Blanchard in their book “Everyone’s A Coach,” there are four main ways to respond to nearly every situation involving the actions of others: (For those of you too young to remember Don Shula used to coach the Miami Dolphins where they appeared in six Super Bowls and won two of them.

Shula also holds the NFL record for most career wins by a coach and coached the Dolphins to the only perfect season in the history of the NFL.)

Praise. What gets praised gets done! It’s been said that some extrinsic rewards have little value to some people but those same people will crawl a mile over broken glass in order to hear just one sincere compliment.

Redirection.  We in the profession call this “coaching” – all the instruction, encouragement, reasoning, etc. given with the goal of getting the athlete or team to change or improve performance.

Reprimand.  While redirection is basketball related, reprimands are behavior related. Lack of effort, refusing to follow directions, and bad attitudes would all call for a reprimand.

Silence.  This is a common response when a coach becomes frustrated but unfortunately it is usually interpreted by the players as acceptance. For example, If one of my role players continues to take bad shots and I don’t say anything, he will think that I am fine with his shot selection. When it comes to behavior issues, silence can be interpreted as apathy.

All four of these responses are necessary at various times, but coaches should make a conscious effort to use Praise and Redirection much more than Reprimand and Silence.

It’s hard not to root for Mark Jackson and his Golden State Warriors. I also love watching Steph Curry shoot the ball.

With that said, I’ve always been a big fan of Denver’s long time coach George Karl.

He doesn’t try to control every possession, is not boastful when he wins and is always gracious when he loses.

I was really hoping the Nuggets would complete their comeback last night and force a game 7.

After losing in the first round I’m sure there will be some who will want to see the Nuggets get a new coach but I hope that doesn’t happen.

Here’s some timeless advice from Coach Karl that was published in The Ultimate Coaches’ Career Manual by Pat Williams:

1. Communicate and connect. There is a difference. If you can connect you have an edge over just communication. Connecting involves a heart to heart relationship. It involves the human side of your involvement with your players.
2. Associate with people who will make you better.
3. Have a positive attitude every day. Forget what happened the day before and focus on the new day. All of your players are members of your family and they will be whatever your attitude is

Dealing with parents, especially at the middle school level, is something that every coach must face. Often times dealing with the parents is more challenging than coaching your players. There are so many personalities clashing together and all of them want the same thing, their child to play.

It can become a very frustrating and stressful part of the job. Some coaches tell the parents not to interfere and try to minimize the amount of time they have contact with the parents. Nowadays that philosophy is more detrimental than helpful.

Instead, be proactive with your parents and educate them on how you do things, what your expectations are of the players and the parents, and appropriate methods of communicating with you.

First things first…

One of the first things a coach should do is have a parent meeting at the start of the year. It can be very helpful, especially to new coaches. It will help minimize potential problems in the future by answering questions on the front-end instead of having to answer the same question later.

It may seem like a lot of extra time, but it will lessen the discussions you have to have with individual parents. The topics of the meetings should be planned out and followed. When planning the meeting, be sure to set aside ample time for a question and answer session for the parents.

Making the meeting productive

The key to having a quality Q&A session is to be honest with the parents and promote an environment of fairness. It’s important that parents understand that the parent meetings are not a time to discuss playing time, game plans, or other players. It also needs to be understood that questions should be asked in a proper manner in regard to language and conduct.

Finally, every parent should exhibit emotional control and be willing to listen to the questions of other parents and the responses from coaches. The first meeting of the year should lay out your team rules, your coaching philosophy, and inform the parents of their expectations and responsibilities in regard to themselves and their child. The following are the responsibilities that you need to make each parent aware of and explain in your first parent meeting.

Parents’ Responsibilities and Expectations

1. Be a fan of everyone (other players, cheerleaders, etc.)

2. Respect the officials and everyone on the other team

3. Talk to your child if they have questions

4. Don’t create conflicts with your child and their coaches and teammates by your conversations

5. Address your complaints to coaches at an appropriate time

6. Understand the goal is to make each player better and not to win every game

7. Be supportive of your child

Everyone’s reputation is on the line

It’s vital that the parents realize that they are not only representing themselves and their child, but also the community and the school. Therefore, you need to be proactive when addressing parent and fan behavior during games. It is a lot easier to create a bad reputation among other schools and officials than it is to build a good reputation.

Fans and players are often a reflection of their coach and his behavior. If you complain to referees and blame them for loses then don’t be surprised when your players start blaming other people and your fans begin to disrespect the officials and eventually you.

Summing it all up

If you choose to conduct parent meetings during the year, be prepared for a lot of parent questions, especially if you are struggling in your season at the time. Remind the parents that you will not answer questions about playing time, game strategy, or other players and every question needs to be asked in an appropriate manner.

You will inevitably have a parent that questions everything you do, challenge you, and try to create problems with you and other parents. It’s best to deal with them in a one-on-one discussion rather than at a parent meeting. It will allow them to voice their opinion to you and will allow you to answer their specific questions.

Parents are going to disagree with you and talk about you to other people, but if you offer an atmosphere where they can voice those concerns then at least you know what they are saying and can defend yourself. Being questioned in an honest manner can be a growing process for coaches. Coaches that try to avoid potential disagreements from parents are missing out on an opportunity to learn and become a better coach.

Coaching youth basketball can be one of the most rewarding experiences life has to offer. Don’t let difficult parents keep you away from the enjoyment of helping kids accomplish their goals. Instead confront the issue head-on and demand that parents respect your boundaries, for the betterment of all the kids on your team.

Like many other basketball fans across the country I was glued to my television set all weekend watching both the men’s and women’s Final Four games.

To me the most interesting matchup was on the women’s side between UCONN and Notre Dame.

For about the last twenty years UCONN has been in the forefront of women’s basketball, winning 7 National Championships and being in the running for several others.

However, up until Sunday night Notre Dame had beaten UCONN in seven of their last eight games including three straight this year.

As I watched the game Sunday night I couldn’t help but notice how much better UCONN looked (after a slow start) than they did earlier in the season.

Do you want to know who was responsible for their improvement?

Notre Dame! If it wasn’t for Notre Dame and their recent dominance of UCONN, the Huskies would not be playing as well as they are now.

I guess this can best be explained by the words on a plaque that I saw while in Florida a few years back.

My competitors do more for me than my friends do.

My friends are too polite to point out my weaknesses but my competitors go to great expense to expose and exploit them.

They make me search for ways to improve and they motivate me to stay away from complacency.

If I didn’t have any competition I would be lazy, complacent, and average.

I need my competitors and the discipline they force me to acquire. God bless my competition!

I have no doubt that after each of their previous losses to Notre Dame the UCONN women went back to the practice gym with a renewed determination to improve and prepare.

Each loss ultimately brought them just a little bit closer to the big win.

I don’t know if UCONN will play well enough tonight against Louisville to win the National Championship or not.

But if they do, they just might want to thank their competitors at Notre Dame!

Failing doesn’t make you a failure.

Failing makes you a competitor.

Every competitor fails.

If you lay it on the line, you will come up short at times.

Failure is a part of competing and embracing that fact is an important component of toughness.

Tough people fail but tough people are not failures.

The only failures are those who give up or give in.

- Jay Bilas 

In the Final Four being able to win the last four minute segment of the game is often the difference between being named National Champions and being disappointed for life.

To win this segment of “crunch time” and ultimately the game it is always extremely helpful to have at  least one timeout remaining at your disposal.

Because of this fact, there are several situations during the course of a game when players should NOT call a timeout – even if their mom is screaming for them to call one from the stands.

Players should not call a timeout in the first 90% of a game  -

1. When they are tired
2. When they are being trapped
3. To “steal” or prevent a possible jump ball situation
4. To prevent a 5 second violation
5. As they are trying to save a ball from going out of bounds

Several times I have seen teams call a timeout in the first minute of a game to prevent a jump ball being called only to find themselves a timeout short in crunch time.

Granted, every possession is important but at the end of the game there is usually more pressure and more emotion involved and so having a minute to get everyone back on the same page is often invaluable.

Timeouts need to be called for a specific reason and to make specific adjustments. Instead of using one of your irreplaceable timeouts to protect a possession early in the game, get the ball back by playing great defense.

Essentially this will allow you to “save” the possession while still saving an all important timeout.

The three point shot is one of the most exciting things to watch in basketball. There is no denying the fact that it’s a very powerful weapon for a team to possess. Like anything though, too much of even a good thing can sometimes result in negative outcomes. A good basketball coach knows the right balance and uses the shot to their advantage as opposed to their detriment.

How the Game of Basketball Has Changed

Since the 3-point shot was introduced it has provided more parity in the game of basketball. It has helped good shooting teams win games they may not have in previous years and has assisted in a lot of late game heroics. It can be a good weapon, but at what point is it a detriment to your team. Every basketball coach should analyze their teams and determine if the 3-point shot is helping or hurting their team.

Here is a simple formula to help you find how the 3-point shot is affecting you team.

Adjusted Percentage Formula

1.) Divide 2-point makes by 2-point attempts to get your 2-point shooting percentage and do the same to get your 3-point percentage.

2.) Take points made by 3-point shots and divide by 2 to get the 2-point value of your made 3-point shots. Take the number of made 2-point FGs and add the 2-point value of your made 3s.

3.) Divide that number by the total number of FG attempts to get your teams Adjusted Percentage

4.) Compare your 2-point shooting percentage to your Adjusted Percentage. If the Adjusted Percentage is better than your 2-point percentage then the 3-point shot is helping your team. If the Adjusted Percentage is lower than the 3-point shot then it is hurting your team.

The Following is an Example of Where the 3-point Shot Has Hurt a Team

1.) 2-point makes/attempts – 20/45 = 44%
3-point makes/attempts – 4/15 = 27%
Total makes/total attempts = 24/60 = 40%

2.) 4 made 3-point FGS = 12 points 12/4 = 3 (2-point value)
20 (total made 2-point FGs) + 3 (2-point value) = 23

3.) 23 /60 (total FG attempts) = 38% (Adjusted Percentage)

4.) 38% (Adjusted Percentage) – 44% (2-point percentage) = – 6%

Interpreting the Data

The Adjusted Percentage should be used as a tool to determine the effectiveness of your 3-point shooting rather than the sole criteria that decides if you are an efficient 3-point shooting team. The stats need to be measured throughout the season to make an accurate measurement of whether there is a pattern that can help you determine if your team is shooting too many 3-point shots.

Situations may be different for each game depending on the opponent’s defense, the type of FG attempts, and who is taking the shots. In order to get more precise data, eliminate any FG attempts that may come toward the end of a quarter or shots that the shooter is fouled. If possible, the Adjusted Percentage should be calculated for each player. It will provide you with solid evidence that proves to players that they need to be shooting less 3-point shots and be more aggressive.

Also, you may want to get even more precise and calculate your team’s Adjusted Percentage against zones and recalculate it against man-man defenses to find a pattern in how defenses affect your shot selection. You need to decide what percentage difference from Adjusted Percentage and 2-point percentage you are willing to live with to determine whether you should encourage your team to attack the rim more. For some teams, you may be alright with being a few percentage points below your 2-point percentage.

Also, statistics may be misleading if you have a high 2-point percentage or if you get a lot of 2-point opportunities because the defense is on the perimeter guarding against the 3-point shot. In that case, the 3-point shot has been effective because it has allowed you to get more quality 2-point shots. The purpose of the Adjusted Percentage is to provide a tool for you to use to make a decision on 3-point shots for your team as well as individual players.

Summary

One of the worst things a basketball coach can do is direct their team by “gut feelings” as opposed to what the unbiased statistics show evidence of. Take control of your team’s future by calculating whether or not you need to be creating more 3-point shots for your team or if you need to work the ball inside more and look for easy buckets.