The following ideas came from a clinic presentation given by Jerry Wainwright who is currently an assistant coach at Fresno State University.

1. To calm the players
2. To motivate the players
3. To run a special play
4. To reinforce individual assignments
5. To stop your opponent’s momentum
6. To quiet down the crowd
7. To ice an opposing free throw shooter
8. To let your players rest
9. To make an immediate offensive or defensive change
10. To stop the clock

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Let’s be honest – for the majority of players shooting the basketball is the most fun part of the game. But it’s also safe to say that shooting the ball is even more fun when it consistently goes in the basket. There’s just something addicting about watching the ball rip cleanly through
the net! For  true ballers there’s nothing like it!

Here is some sound shooting advice written by long time NCAA Div. 1 assistant coach Randy Brown:

1. Good Shooters spend time each day on proper shooting technique. Good Shooters use a chair to “form shoot” for 10 minutes before taking their first shot at the basket.
Poor Shooters spend time on their shooting technique when they “have time.” Poor Shooters grab a ball and go to the three point line to begin launching shots.

2. Good Shooters work on moving without the ball and “prepare” the shoot the ball before ever catching it.
Poor Shooters wait for their turn to shoot then think about getting a shot off.

3. Good Shooters start close to the basket and make 5 straight before moving back.
Poor shooters shoot from all areas of the floor “hoping to make it.”

4. Good Shooters study other good shooters and follow their habits
Poor Shooters shoot the ball the same way without any help from others.

5. Good Shooters study the path of the ball and where the ball hits the rim. They make adjustments based on where the ball hits the rim; long/short, right/ left.
Poor Shooters judge their shooting accuracy solely on whether the ball goes in or not.

6. Good Shooters square up to the basket before shooing, called “Ten Toes.”
Poor Shooters are not concerned with alignment they just want to quickly get their shot off.

7. Good Shooters shoot from an athletic position known as Triple Threat position. One quick movement from triple threat produces a solid shot.
Poor Shooters catch the ball in an upright position then take time to bend their knees before shooting. Poor Shooters do not play in triple threat.

8. Good Shooters use their whole body to shoot the shot. They know that their LEGS make shots with good form.
Poor shooters shoot the ball with their upper body only and throw the ball at the basket instead of shooting it.

9. Good Shooters follow through consistently by “throwing their hand into the basket.”
Poor Shooters are inconsistent in their follow through resulting in inconsistent results.

10. Good Shooters understand the importance of BALANCE before, during and after the shot! The feet are always under their head.
Poor Shooters shoot off balance from all different kinds of angles. Their feet are rarely under their head.

Key Questions:

1. How many of these describe YOU as a shooter?

2. Your goal is to accomplish all 10 of the “Good Shooter”
characteristics as you grow and develop as a basketball player.

3. What is your score out of 10 and how badly do you want to be a Good Shooter?

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Long time basketball coach JD Barnett developed a well deserved reputation as being an outstanding defensive coach and mentored both Tubby Smith and Tom Izzo.

Here are Coach Barnett’s Defensive Rules given at a coaching clinic when he was at the Uniiversity of Tulsa:

1. Contest every shot
2. Retreat quickly to the ball line which is the line parallel to the endline at the point of the ball
3. Allow no penetrating passes lower than this line
4. Allow all non penetrating passes
5. Always see the ball and your man
6. Try to intercept any lob or bounce pass
7. Jump to the ball on every pass
8. Maintain proper weakside position
9. Always trap the ball in the low post
10. Keep pressure on the ball at all times
11. Never foul a man who is not an offensive threat
12. Do not give up layups
13. Do not give up second shots

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Few people in the country get to see as many college basketball games each year as television sportscaster Jimmy Dykes. Before getting into broadcasting Dykes was an assistant coach at several major college programs including Kentucky, Arkansas, and Oklahoma State and so he definitely knows his basketball. The following are some his thoughts on the game:

1. Coaches want ‘everyday’ players. (Play hard every possession, Go to class every day, Do the right thing all of the time)

2. Coaches must look at themselves first after game. (What did I not get done to prepare?)

3. If you are not tough, you will not win consistently!  (Get loose balls, Refuse to get screened, Don’t let one mistake compound)

4. If you can’t talk it – You can’t execute it.

5. You must score consistently from these three areas: 1. Free Throw line 2. Around the basket 3. Open shots

6. Quality of our shots vs. quality of our opponent’s shots determines Wins vs. Losses

7. Cut with a purpose. Cut like you are going to get the ball!

8. Must shoot 30% or better from the 3-point line. (Shot selection, Who is taking the shots?)

9. It’s not the number of plays you run, it’s how well you run them that matters. (Execution is everything!)

10. Great players embrace contact and get through it. They make plays regardless.

11. Protect against straight line drives to the basket. (Guard your yard)

12. Contain the ball in middle third of the floor.

13. Communicate on all ball screens.

14. Any form of selfishness must leave. It can’t be tolerated! (On the court and off the court)

15. Substitutions (Trust their effort, Trust their memory, Trust their talent)

16. Emphasize who you are every practice and every game. (Create and maintain an identity!)

17. Everything in your program is either taught or it’s allowed.

18. Fix problems immediately. Don’t let something small turn into something big.

19. Work them as hard as you are willing to love them.

20. Hold everyone in your program accountable for everything they do.

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The following practice outline is attributed to Coach Lisa Bluder at the University of Iowa. Coach Bluder has been named the Big 10 Coach of the Year three times.

10 min – Stretching, conditioning

5 min – Ball handling and passing

5 min – Full court drills (work on passing, shooting, running the court hard. set the tone for the rest of practice)

10 min – Rebounding

35 min – Defensive drill work

10 min – Free throws/Drink

15 min – Shooting

20 min – Half court scrimmage, and/or new plays

20 min – Full court scrimmage

20 min – Extra time to work on press, press break, special situations

15 min – Film

30 min -Weights and or conditioning (2-3 times per week)

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Mike Dunlap is the Associate Head Coach at St. John’s University and has taken a much larger role in all aspects of the program as Head Coach Steve Lavin recovers from prostate cancer. He has won two NCAA Divsion II National Championships at Metro State and has also coached at Arizona, Oregon,  and with the Denver Nuggets. The following is a list of 10 items that Coach Dunlap feels are often neglected or overloooked by many coaches:

1. Take time to explain what we want from our players.
We must strive for clarity first.

2. Demonstration after we tell our players what we want; there must be a demonstration each time.
We need to give our players a picture demonstration before we get into repetition.

3. Building blocks are the only way to develop a player.
For example, if we do not address a players feet and be specific about how we want him to pivot then it will cost us down the road. Do not rush your teaching. We should do one thing at a time.

4. Teaching your team to be physical takes technique, sequential instruction, and patience.
It is easy to call a player a “nutless wonder” without considering that most players have never been taught the finer points of hand to hand combat. If we would spend a little more time with football coaches we would figure out how to teach our team to be physical.

5. Be objective about an all out effort.
We demand that a player go at 100% effort. What is 100% effort and has there ever been a player who knew what that meant. Probably not? For instance, put a heart monitor on a player and measure their heart rate. The instructor can be more objective about individual effort this way. Yet, we talk and sometimes yell at our players about going “all out” all the time. What a stupid statement when you really think about it. How can a player read and think? For example, a good offensive player must learn how to changespeeds with cutting and ballhandling. This requires that the offensive player control his body and NOT play at 100%. Too many times we buy into the myth of the 100% effort and forget about going after a player’s intellect before asking for a quality effort.

6. Demanding perfection.
What a bunch of crap! The more a person chases perfection the less they can enjoy each act. How can a perfectionist be happy with anything? The least enjoyable person to be around is the perfectionist; I find a lazy dog to be just as unpleasant. Demand that people do the right thing, yet do not fall into the trap that nothing is ever good enough. If you are always chasing perfection then how can you teach a player to enjoy a job well done? As Coach Wooden stated, “A man must find balance, be it emotional, physical, spiritual, or intellectual.” Why is it that certain coaches will say that they were devastated by the loss at the end of a 33-1 season? If you believe in your preparation and teaching process then how can any loss devastate you? In other words, losing is part of sports; you learn from it and move on. A disciplined mind comes in many different forms and being mentally tough also requires that you must accept the brutal reality that no one is perfect and a quality effort is a joy in and of itself regardless of outcome.

7. Follow through.
If you want discipline in your organization then follow through with consequences for actions. Our discipline breaks down when we do not quickly punish the transgression. How come so many coaches fall prey to this area? Because it could hurt the outcome of your season if you lose a certain player. My experience tells me just the opposite. For example, George Gwoldecky, head hockey coach at Denver University, benched his best player for the national championship game. Coach Gwoldecky made a statement for all time- period.

8. Take care of ourselves first.
Whether it is our mental and physical health (i.e eating, exercise, prayer, reading, etc) daily schedule, finances, family, and other personal matters, we need to address those things first. Why? Because if you are not in order how can you fully give to your team, staff, and school? You cannot.

9. Apologize.
We demand so much from others and we want them to see their mistakes and fix them. In short, we set ourselves above our own vulnerabilities; we should openly admit our errors. Once you have done this in front of your team it will be much easier for them to acknowledge their mistakes. This is an imperative act by the head coach if you want quality communication.

10. Allow for failure.
Part of learning is the margin of failure and sometimes you just have to let the players fall flat on their rumps. This is difficult but necessary.

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As a coach, there is a temptation to consider oneself preeminent and look at players as pieces of the puzzle who enable the coach to achieve his goals. When I viewed myself as a servant of the other coaches and players, things went better for our team and for me personally. This does not mean that I was any less demanding or did not expect great effort and solid preparation. It did mean, however, that I was there to do whatever I could to help them accomplish team objectives and mature into better people.

- Tom Osborne

Faith in the Game: Lessons on Football, Work, and Life

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Here are the final 25 items listed by Peter Robert Casey as the things he loves most about the game of basketball. I’ve had a lot of fun looking up all these links and immersing myself in the history of the game. If there are things that you love about basketball but don’t see them on these past lists, please send them to me and I’ll share them on this blog.

1. Steve Nash’s creativity
2. Stockton to Malone
3. Tark’s lineup of LJ, Augmon, and Greg Anthony
4. Team Flight Brothers
5. Texas Western’s ’66 NCAA title
6. The Bone Collector, Larry Williams, dominating NYC playgrounds
7. The Breaks of the Game, by David Halberstam
8. The City Game, by Pete Axthelm
9. The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
10. The Harlem Rens’ barnstorming brilliance
11. The impossible becomes real
12. The Last Shot, by Darcy Frey
13. The Miracle of St. Anthony, by Adrian Wojnarowski
14. The passion of Drazen Petrovic
15. The Wizard of Westwood (his legacy and philosophies on life and the game)
16. Throwback jerseys
17. Tim Duncan’s bankshot
18. Tim Hardaway’s killer crossover
19. Venice Beach runs
20. Villanova stuns G’town in ’84
21. Vince Carter over Frederic Weis
22. West 4th Street – The Cage
23. White Men Can’t Jump
24. Wllis Reed limping from the locker room
25. Wilt’s 100 point game

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The following links are items 101-125 of Peter Robert Casey’s list of everything he loves about basketball. As you’ve been reading these lists the last few weeks I hope you have tried listing all the things YOU love about the greatest game on earth.

Come back next Monday for the 6th and final part of this series.

1. Pee Wee Kirkland talking in the 3rd Person
2. Pete Maravich’s LSU days
3. Phi Slamma Jamma
4. President Barack loves the game too
5. Princeton’s Offense
6. Rebound: The Story of Earl “The Goat” Manigault
7. Red Auerbach lighting up a cigar on the sideline
8. Redeem Team capturing gold in the 2008 Summer Olympics
9. Reebok Pumps
10. Reggie Miller owning the Knicks, putting up the choke sign
11. Rick Barry’s underhand free throws
12. Rock Chalk Jayhawk Chant
13. Dennis Rodman’s hair
14. Rucker Park
15. Run TMC
16. Scott Odom starting stand-up amputee basketball
17. Seeing the Globetrotters as a kid
18. Selection Sunday
19. Shaq dominating the NBA on Twitter
20. SLAM Magazine
21. Soul in The Hole
22. Spud Webb’s ’86 dunk title
23. Squeaking sneakers on a clean gym floor
24. Starks heft-handed dunk
25. Stephen Curry in the 2008 NCAA Tournament

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With Thanksgiving coming up later this week, what better time to reflect back on all the things concerning the game of basketball that make us grateful! Here is the newest installment of Peter Robert Casey’s list of everything he loves about hoops.

Come back next monday for Part 5!

1. Life on the Run, by Bill Bradley
2. Loose Balls, by Terry Pluto
3. Lou Carnesecca’s sweater
4. Louisville vs. Kentucky rivalry
5. Magic Johnson leading the fast break
6. Manute Bol burying 3s and blocking shots
7. Marbury vs. Iverson in college
8. March Madness opening rounds
9. Marv Albert: “a SPECTACULAR move by Michael Jordan!”
10. McDonald’s All-American Game
11. Michael Jordan’s entire career (pick one)
12. Michigan’s Fab 5
13. Muggsy Bogues overcoming a lack of height
14. NBA Draft Suits
15. NBA Fantasy League Rotisserie
16. NBA Jam
17. Nike commercials: I’m Not a Role Model, Mars Blackmon, Lil’ Penny, Freestyle, LeBron/Kobe puppets
18. Dominique Wilkins vs. Larry Bird  in ’88
19. Olaf Shorts
20. Olajuwon abusing the Admiral during the 1995 Western Conference Finals
21. One one One with Robbie Benson
22. One Shining Moment
23. Oscar Robertson averaging a triple-double over an entire season
24. Patrick Ewing sweating at the foul line
25. Pearl Jam’s original band name: Mookie Blaylock

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