If you are a coach, do you change your “system” to fit your players or do you try to find players that fit your system? if you are a college or club coach where you can recruit players with the specific skill sets your philosophy requires then you might be able to run the same offenses and defenses year after year. But if you are coaching youth, middle school, or high school you might not have that luxury. How you use the talent you have on your team may be one of the most important decisions you make as a coach. Here is what Tennessee’s Pat Summit (8 NCAA Championships) has to say about the subject in her book, Reach for the Summit:

A lot of coaches and managers try to force personnel into a system or framework that doesn’t suit them. They have a certain way they think things should be done. What they don’t understand, out of stubbornness or ego is that it may not be the most intelligent use of talent. How many times have you seen a player languish in a lineup, not fulfilling her potential, but as soon as she is traded to another team, she bursts out of her slump? I see that a lot. When you force somebody into a slot, you are inviting disaster.

Bookmark It

John Wooden often compared his teams to a car with players such as Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar), Bill Walton, and Sidney Wicks acting as the engine, but made sure everyone knew that an engine alone is not enough to be effective. The following quote is from the book Wooden. As a coach myself, I especially took notice of his statement!

A lug nut may seem like a little thing, but it’s not. There is a role that each and every one of us must play. We may aspire to what we consider to be a larger role, or a more important role, but we cannot achieve that until we show that we are able to fulfill the role we are assigned. It’s these little things that make the big things happen. The big engine is not going to work unless the little things are being done properly.

Remember that Michael Jordan was with the Chicago Bulls several years before he ever played in a championship game. Was he talented? Of course he was, but that powerful engine called Air Jordan was in a car with some parts that were not functioning properly.

Of course, when I told the players about their roles and the car with the powerful engine, new tires, and tight lug nuts, I also reminded them the car needed a driver behind the wheel or it would just go around in circles or smash into a tree.

I told them the driver was me.

Bookmark It

Have you ever sat down and thought about why you really love the game of basketball? I’m willing to bet it’s not just one thing, but several and maybe dozens of things.  Here is Part 3 of a six part series listing all the things that Peter Robert Casey loves about the game. If you can add to any of these lists please send me your thoughts.

Check back next Monday for a new list of 25!

1. Hoop Dreams: Book and Movie
2. Hoop-it-up 3-on-3 tournaments
3. HoopsTV.com, now defunct, but never forgotten
4. Hoosiers
5. Hubie Brown lecturing or breaking down a game
6. Indiana’s old high school playoff system
7. Jason Kidd’s passes
8. Jason McElwain’s 20 points in four minutes
9. Jason William’s off the elbow pass
10. Jerry West’s silhouette in the NBA logo
11. Jim Boeheim’s press conferences
12. Jim Phelan’s bowties
13. Jim Valvano looking for a hug after winning the 1983 NCAA Tournament
14. Joe Jones vs. James Jones Ivy league rivalry
15. John Thompson’s towel
16. Jordan’s final shot
17. Kareem’s sky hook
18. Kenny Anderson in HS and College
19. Kevin Johnson’s dunk over Olajuwon
20. Knee-high socks
21. Kobe Bryant’s 4th ring; first without Shaq
22. Lakers/Celtics rivalry
23. Larry Bird: A Basketball Legend DVD
24. LeBron James in high school
25. Let Me Tell You a Story, Red Auerbach with John Feinstein

Bookmark It

Here are another 25 items for Peter Robert Casey’s blog post called “150 Things I Love About Basketball” How many of these do you know first hand? If you get a chance, start your own list – it will help you remember just how great our favorite game has been to you!

Check back here next Monday for 25 more!

1. Darryl Dawkins naming his dunks: I.e. The Chocolate-Thunder-Flying, Robinzine-Crying, Teeth-Shaking, Glass-Breaking, Rump-Roasting, Bun-Toasting, Wham-Bam, Glass-Breaker-I-Am-Jam
2. Derrick Rose’s ability to leap and elude defenses on the ground
3. Detroit’s Bad Boys
4. Dick Vitale calling a game
5. Dikembe Mutombo’s finger wag
6. Double Dribble for Nintendo
7. Dr. James Naismith inventing the game as a class assignment
8. Dr. J’s cradle dunk in the ’80 Final
9. Dream Team
10. Duke vs. UNC
11. Dwyane Wade’s love letter to the game
12. Earl “The Pearl” Monroe’s spin move
13. Empty gym workouts
14. Filling out NCAA brackets
15. Final Four Weekend
16. First trip to the Basketball Hall of Fame
17. Five-Star Basketball Camp
18. George Gervin’s finger roll
19. Gerry McNamara’s 2006 Big East Tourney performance
20. God Shammgod’s signature crossover
21. Grandmama
22. Grinell College’s offense
23. Harry Statham’s 995 wins over 43 years McKendree University
24. He Got Game
25. Heaven is a Playground, by Rick Telander

Bookmark It

Peter Robert Casey writes a blog that centers on the relationship between basketball and social media. To celebrate his 150^th blog post he listed 150 things that he loves about basketball. It’s not identical to the same list that I would make but reading it has really made me think about all the great things associated with the greatest game on earth. Here are the first 25:

1. #15 vs. #2 upsets in NCAA Tournament
2. 1979 NCAA Championship Game: Magic vs. Bird
3. 1980′s shorts
4. A crispy pair of Jordans
5. A.C. Green’s 1,192 consecutive games played
6. Above The Rim
7. Adjustable rims
8. Air Force 1s
9. American Basketball Association
10. And 1 Mixtape Volume 1
11. Any Bob Knight interview
12. Bill Russell’s 11 rings
13. Blue Chips
14. Bo Kimble’s lefty tribute
15. Bob Cousy dribbling out the clock
16. Bob Hurley Sr.’s impact on HS basketball and Jersey City
17. Bruce Pearl, exhibit A or B
18. Bryce Drew’s buzzer beater
19. Cameron Indoor Stadium
20. Candace Parker, Chamique Holdsclaw, Carol Blazejowski, Cheryl Miller, Lisa Leslie, Anne Donovan, Nancy Lieberman, Lynette Woodward
21. Chain nets and park rims with no nets
22. Christian Laettner’s “Shot”
23. Chuck Taylors and tube socks
24. Cleveland Cavs pregame rituals, including LeBron’s signature chalk throw
25. Connie “The Hawk” Hawkins ahead of his time

Bookmark It

The University of Arizona’s Sean Miller says there are 5 questions you must ask yourself when it comes to choosing and evaluating your defense.

1. Can it beat the best teams on your schedule?
2. Can it help you advance in tournaments?
3. Can it get you wins on the road?
4. Can you improve as a team as the season progresses?
5. Do the players in your program improve individually as defenders?

Coach Miller also says there are 5 things you should be measuring when it comes to defense:

1. Total FG%
2. 3 point FG % and attempts
3. Defensive Rebounding %
4. Forced Turnovers
5. Fouls Committed

Bookmark It

While the Run and Jump is primarily a full court pressing system, it can also be run effectively in the half court as well. In 2006 Coach Jim Larranaga used a Run and Jump style half court defense that he called the “Scramble” to lead George Mason University to the NCAA Final Four. (Coach Larranaga has since moved on to the University of Miami)

In the Scramble, the on-ball defender picks up the ballhandler full court and attempts to turn him at least three times before he crosses half court. Once the ball crosses half court the defense executes one of two tactics that are called “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down.”

In “Thumbs Up” the nearest off ball defender rushes the ballhandler just like he would when handling a clear out situation during a full court Run and Jump. Other defenders rotate and look for a possible steal. If the next pass is downward, towards the basket, the trapper follows the ball and sets a second trap. If the pass is horizontal, the defenders fall back and match up with an offensive man once again.

In “Thumbs Down” the trap is going to be set on the first pass receiver in the front court. Since the first pass is usually made to a wing player, the on-ball defender’s goal is to actually beat the pass to the wing. From there, all the principles and rotations are exactly the same as the ones used in the full court Run and Jump. As in “Thumbs Up” the trapper (the original on-ball defender) will rotate off and set a second trap on any downward passes.

This defense can be extremely disruptive by itself but if combined or alternated with the full court Run and Jump, the results could be lethal to the offense!

Bookmark It

A prerequisite to being successful is first understanding the requirements. A great way to do this is to first identify what other successful coaches have done and follow their example. Basketball Coach Bruce Weber includes his list of 10 factors that every team HAS to do in order to be successful in his DVD Mastering the 5 Man Motion:

1. Give your players high goals

2. Players must focus on team goals

3. Everyone must be willing to share and pass the ball

4. Athletes must accept, take pride in, and excel in their individual roles

5. Make the simple play

6. Must LOVE to WIN and HATE to LOSE

7. Find players who are coachable

8. Play defense

9. Work on individual improvement every day

10. Compete every day

Bookmark It

1. Three passes before you shoot unless you have a lay up.
2. Change sides of the floor. (Reverse the ball)
3. Give the defense a chance to make a mistake. (THREE passes you get a good shot and FIVE passes you get a great shot.) (Try this one day in practice when they are going against a set defense make them make 5 passes before they can shoot. You will be amazed at how good of a shot you will get!)
4. Backdoor and overplay.
5. Don’t pass up a screening opportunity.
6. Be strong with the ball. (Catch the ball and face the goal. Hold the ball for two seconds, while you are reading the defense.)
7. Stay wide and high.
8. Look and then make the correct pass.
9. Be able to get open without someone screening for you.
10. Get a buddy to work with on offense. Natural pairs: one man will have the ball and the other two pairs will screen for each other. (talk and eye contact)
11. Don’t worry about spacing on offense. (Use common sense)
12. Use over head passing to move the ball.
13. V-Cut to get open on offense.
14. Call out the man’s name you are screening for on offense.
15. When you screen make contact and straddle the near leg of the defender.

Bookmark It

In a book that he wrote with John Wooden called “Be Quick But Don’t Hurry,” former UCLA Bruin Andy Hill shares John Wooden’s #1 secret to basketball success:

The team with the best players almost always wins!

But what if you don’t have the best players? Then there are really only three options:

1. Get better players
2. Make your current players better by teaching, coaching, and inspiring them
3. Lose much more often than you win

Which one do you choose?

Bookmark It