I’m very excited today. I got a phone call from one of the most respected coaches in the history of basketball and I get to do an interview with him. I know that some of my audience hasn’t heard of Coach Wootten so I put together a bit of his resume.

•Enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 2000
•Received Naismith Award as the outstanding male prep coach of the twentieth century
•With almost 1,300 wins and a winning percentage of 87%, he is considered to he the winningest coach in basketball history
•Has helped over 250 student-athletes receive a full college scholarship
•Teams have been selected national champs five times. won over 100 major titles, and been voted #1 in the Washing-ton. DC area 23 times
•National Coach of the Year four times and Coach of the Year in the Washington, DC area ten different years
•1991 recipient of the John W. Bunn Award presented by the. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
•Initial recipient of the Disney Award as the top sports coach in all of the United States
•Chairman of the selection committee to pick the McDonald’s All-American team
•Heavily in demand as a clinician and teacher, he has spoken on five continents, in numerous foreign countries as well as most states in the USA.

Here’s a list of the ‘notable’ players he has coached:

John Austin
Keith Bogans
Adrian Branch
Mike Brey
James Brown
Kenny Carr
Sid Catlett
Perry Clark
Adrian Dantley
Ron Everhart
Danny Ferry
Joseph Forte
John Jones
Joe Kennedy
Sidney Lowe
Brendan McCarthy
Jerrod Mustaf
Heath Schroyer
Pete Strickland
Brian Westbrook
Charles “Hawkeye” Whitney
Dereck Whittenburg
Bernie Williams

Now you can see why I’m just a little excited to be interviewing Coach Wootten. When I was growing up and playing high school ball his teams were always the epitome of teamwork and winning. He has won 87% of every game he ever coached and nobody is going to reach that.

I’ll be conducting the interview next week sometime and it will be available at www.hoopskillsacademy.com

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I love analyzing coaches. I think most real arm chair fans enjoy thinking along with a coach and a strategy. It is so easy for us watching at home to yell stuff at the tv without taking into account practices, behaviors and other behind the scenes items. However, there are some behaviors that coaches have complete control over and we’ll cover those today.

1. Results without Practice: Just like in life you have to work for the victories that you get. Coaches have control over practices and what is covered there. Don’t expect a player who has never scored a basket in his life to all of a sudden put up 20 points. Practice is there to get your team ready and players ready to be effective when it comes time for the game. Don’t expect or hold your players to playing any different than they do every day when you see them.

2. Over Coaching: This is a big one. Let the kids play and trust what you have taught them. Over coached players play the game timid and looking over their shoulder. If you teach them correctly then let them play and turn into a game manager at that point. I’m not saying to not take opportunities when they are available but understand when you are doing more harm than good.

3. Under Teaching: How often do we see this? It goes along so well with over coaching because they are two different things. Take the time to teach, not coach, when the situation calls for it. Pull a player aside that has just learned by experience and reinforce the lesson. Stop a practice to teach and prove a point. Stop a practice to praise for things done right just as you stop practice for things done wrong. Kids have to understand the principle behind the teaching and give them a chance to figure it out.

4. People Pleasing: The best coaches aren’t people pleasers. I talked with Herb Welling out of Omaha the other day and I asked him his philosophy when parents come to him about playing time. He told me that he says “i’m sorry but your kid isn’t doing what is necessary to play right now” and he leaves it at that. Don’t ostracize yourself but don’t try to please everyone. Your job is to teach kids the game, to teach them to be responsible adults one day and then to win games. I know that not everyone feels this day but as the commercial says “99% of all athletes will go pro in something other than sports”.

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You hear a lot about the little things in basketball and how important they are. You’ve even heard it from me quite a bit. I mention Rick Majerus a lot when discussing these items because he pays such great attention to these details and it has earned him a lot of wins over his career. I’m serious when i say that if you watch a practice from Majerus he’ll compliment the screener or the cutter much more than anything to do with a made shot. Here’s my 3 keys that coaches can focus on that will naturally create a more successful season for your team.

1. Spacing
2. Cutting
3. Screening

Spacing is the key to a winning offense. It is the cause of more headaches for youth coaches then it gets credit for. Players have to understand how important it is to be properly spaced in the offense. Correct spacing leads to open shots and makes it hard to double teams to happen. If the double teams happen and correct spacing takes place then open shots follow. Coaches must always point out to players that one defender should never be in position to guard more than one offensive player. In a one on one situation the offense should win that battle most of the time so those are ok. How often though do we see games in youth basketball where 1 defender is effectively stopping 2 offensive players or an entire play because the offensive players are too far away. Some examples are not throwing a pass to a post when you are 3 feet away from him. There is just not enough space to make that play effective and you’ve put the post player in a bad spot. What about when a player goes to drive to the basket and another offensive player goes to the ball instead of drifting away from it to ensure the defense follows him. Just simple things that kids need to learn today.

2. Cutting: I know I can be particular about some things and cutting is one of them. In my opinion no cutting should ever be done slowly. If you want to be easy to guard then cut slowly to the basket or away from the basket to get the pass. Defenders hate to guard players who go hard all the time and who are physical. When I watch games I watch the wing players to look at how hard they cut and how hard they want the ball when coming out of a cut. Coaches can’t allow players not to cut hard and it may seem like a little thing but when kids learn correct habits at young ages they stay with them. When I worked out with Majerus he drilled me and drilled me about coming out of my cuts hard and with my hands up. I’ll cover that topic another time.

3. Screening: Nothing worse than trying to get open and the player who is supposed to screen for you just kind of runs through it or doesn’t even set up. Also, nothing worse than trying to set a correct screen and the offensive player doesn’t use the screen correctly. Let’s cover these two.

To understand how to set a screen just watch footage of John Stockton when he played for the Jazz. He set some of the best picks in the league and was allowed some leeway of course, but he picked players that were 100 pounds heavier and did it fearlessly. To be a good screener is like being a good defender in that you have to really want to do it well. Set yourself with a good base and never lean in to the player being picked. Stay still and don’t chase. Make sure that communication is used because that is key. Not only in talking to the player using the pick but coaching him when the pick isn’t used correctly.

Coming off screens is a different story and topic and would probably be better used as a completely separate article with some video footage associated. I’ll be simple when I say to coaches just to make sure that the screen is ready to be used before the player comes off of it or it is a useless part of your offense.

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I watch a lot of basketball and I’m amazed when i watch games how much coaches worry about items that they have no control over. I’m guilty of it as a player. In fact when i was a sophomore in high school I got over 20 technical fouls mixed in to my sophomore/jv/varsity games. Not good and I probably shouldn’t have even admitted that but the point was that I was worried about things I couldn’t control like the refs instead of just playing the game. Here is my list of things that coaches can control and should focuse on during a game.

1. Preparation: I believe that everything starts with preparation for the game. The best example is one that was close to me and that was Rick Majerus while at Utah. To watch him prepare for a game was amazing. He studied the opposition inside and out and knew tendencies of every player. He even knew what they would run when they needed a basket. Prep is so much more than this though. It encompasses being in shape and playing fundamental basketball. It is about a game plan and execution. Never underestimate the importance of preparation

2. Effort: Every coach has control over the effort of his players and if you don’t think you do then you aren’t a very good coach. The best coaches demand and get effort from each of their kids. I lead with preparation because effort is part of that. Players need to learn effort in practice as far as being expected and coaches need to demand it.

3. Offense: Coaches have complete control over the offense that is run during a game. Preparation again is the key here because the players need to have a solid understanding of the plan and what is expected. When i was in Jr High I shot the ball a lot but it was dictated by the coach completely. He even told other kids not to shoot the ball. We lost a lot of games as a result because the correct mindset wasn’t created with the players and no confidence was given. Make sure the players know the system and what the goal is of every single possession and that should be to have the highest percentage shot taken.

4. Defense: Just like offense coaches have control over the defense and what is called there. Like offense it starts with preparation. In fact this is no different then offense at all in that coaches need to express in no uncertain terms what the plan is on defense and how much effort is needed to be successful.

5. Subs: Coaches have control over who comes in and out of the game. That’s about it.

The reason I keep these simple is because I get a lot of questions about things that aren’t in a coaches or players control. Subs are controlled so worry about them but don’t worry about the opposing coach or how the fans are yelling. Don’t waste time worrying about the opponent throwing cheap shots or how bad the refs are. Worry and work on the things you can control and the game will become easier to manage and coach.

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The nba is going with replacement refs to start the season after the latest offer was rejected. I’m not going to go into the details of the offer and what was rejected but I will go into how important a ref is in today’s game.

A good ref makes all the difference in the world and what most players want more than anything is a ref who will make strong and definite calls. Players want refs who are confident in what they are seeing and aren’t afraid to make the tough call when they have to. In the NBA it is a different game in that most of these refs have been around so long that they know what they are going to see and how it is going to look. They have the respect of most of the players and for the most part they don’t idolize the players. What are these refs going to do?

I know it is their job to be a ref and to be professional and not saying it will be an issue but if you are going to break in a new ref or two every season that’s ok because you are surrounding them with experience. In this case you are going to have replacement refs all over the court and it is going to be very very inconsistent. One night to the next you’ll get different things. Each night you will have to feel out how this new crew will handle calls and situations. It’s going to be tough.

The preseason is going to be key and if it goes well then the refs are going to lose some leverage in their negotiations. However, i don’t think it will go so hot and the refs will be back shortly.

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When you are a rookie coach the best thing to learn and understand is defense. If you can keep a team from scoring and can get your team focused on playing good defense then you’ll be in every game.

Here are some principles to remember when working as a first time coach or younger players:

1. TEACH MAN TO MAN: Don’t allow yourself to fall into the trap of a zone defense. It is easy to coach and kids love playing it but when they are younger they view it as an excuse to be lazy. Bad things will happen early on and later when you realize you made a mistake and have to go to the man to man defense. Kids will pick zone over man most of the time and they’ll learn bad habits.

2. Stop the ball: The player with the ball is always more important than a player who doesn’t have it. Now don’t teach the kids to all attack the basketball, but they have to learn early on that if a man is driving to the basket they need to let their man go and try to stop the ball.

3. Understanding Help: Each player should understand that he/she needs to be ready at all times to play help defense. If the ball is on the baseline you don’t want your kids chasing a guy at half court for no reason. The principle needs to be taught that if a player needs help then you need to be able to help him and stop the ball.

4. Know where the basket is: How many times do young players completely lose sight of where they are on the floor? I see it all the time. They don’t know where the basket is in relation to where the player they are guarding is. The basic rule is to form an imaginary triangle between the ball the man and the basket at all times.

5. Run the shell drill: In practice run a shell drill with the defense guarding players on the outside who only pass or dribble but never shoot. The players will learn that the defense should move as a whole unit. Have the offensive players pass the ball on the outside and teach them principles like help preparation or denying a pass to the wing. The Shell will give your players knowledge that is practical for beginning basketball players.

There you go. I know it is a little short and I’ve written entire articles on the subjuect at www.hoopskills.com that you can reference also.

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The turnover is the single largest reason for a team getting beat in my opinion. A turnover creates a possession where no shot could be attempted and without shots you can’t score or at least at last check.

What can coaches do to help eliminate the issue or problem of turnovers? I’ve got some ideas that I’ll share that will help cut them down because they’ll never be eliminated completely.

1. Analyze the error: Was it a mental error that caused the turnover? Physical? Some players turn the ball over because they don’t know the play or they pass the ball too early. Some players turn the ball over because they put themselves in a bad spot by jumping in the air to pass and get in trouble. So many different things are done to turn the ball over that, as a coach, it is your job to judge and find out what is going on there. I believe most turnovers are mental. I lump emotional in with mental because mental laziness is the main cause.

2. NEVER punish a player for a turnover where full effort and focus was being done. We’ve all seen this or have been a part of it. No player should be punished by being taken out of the game when he turns the ball over while going hard and playing focused. No player wants to be looking over their shoulder the entire game whenever a mistake is made. Mistakes will be made but more mistakes will be made when players are playing scared or tentative. Let players know up front that they won’t be taken out for a turnover that is made while playing hard and you’ll get maximum effort from your players.

3. Correcting turnovers is done through preparation that is mental and physical. It’s a mindset to truly value the basketball. The defense should exist to create turnovers and the offense to protect the ball. Players need to practice in environments where pressure defense is constant. Players need to be put in situations that make them uncomfortable so they can get used to it. Think of the first time someone guarded you full court and how uncomfortable it made you feel. When that happened to me the first time I just took the ball and went as fast as I could to the other end like it was a fast break. My coach had to pull me aside and tell me that they weren’t pressing, they were just playing full court defense. I had never practiced against that before so i made plenty of mistakes.

Players should be challenged in every area and that includes protecting the basketball. Don’t punish in practice when working on these situations, just teach and let the kids learn by experience. Throw at them situations that they’ve never seen before and let them fail. Then coach them and teach them. Don’t let them get down on themselves in these situations but let them fail and learn. Only punish/discipline for lack of effort that is mental and/or physical.

Working on these areas will help your team in a number of ways. This all seems so simple and self explanatory but some of these kids have never been taught the correct way and that’s why it is your job to make sure they know.

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I preach this as much as anything with young players and it doesn’t quite seem to resinate right away because it seems to be such a simple concept. Yet, I’ll watch a game of young players and see charge after charge and travel after travel. I’ll watch kids do jump passes and get up in the air with nowhere to go and I just cringe inside because all they needed to correctly learn was the jump stop.

With the jump stop all you are doing is taking a dribble and landing with both feet at the same time. But 4 things happen:

1. You land under control
2. You have a strong base
3. Still have the option to shoot or pass
4. You can get a lot of distance without dribbling

When a player lands under control it keeps them from charging or getting out of position. When on a fast break it is easy to jump stop and go right into your shot whether it be 2 feet or 20 feet. If you are going off one leg all the time you won’t shoot a high percentage. Imagine a player taking off from the 3 point line to shoot a shot because that what the alternative is really.

When you jump stop you land with your knees bent and a strong base is already in place. This allows you to go up strong if you are shooting a layup or a solid jump shot if you are shooting 15 feet out.

You can still pass the ball easily as well as shoot the ball from the jump stop but once you jump stop don’t jump in the air and get yourself in trouble.

Don’t forget that once you dribble and come to your jump stop that you can get a lot of distance from the dribble to the stop. IF I’m 10 feet from the hoop i can easily make it to the rim on 1 dribble and a jump stop. Practice doing this and you’ll see its advantages.

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For the last little while it has been a goal of ours to establish a basketball type academy online where parents, players and coaches can go to and get access to all sorts of content.  We took that goal and put it to reality this past week when we officially started Hoopskills Academy. 

I’m proud of it and we have some great stuff available for everyone.  Each month we will be adding new content with interviews, training videos and training articles from some of our experts.  We’ve already done interviews with Adrian Dantley, Henry Bibby and others and it’s all out there for our members.  The face of the site is Barry Hecker who is currently an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies and someone who has a real passion for basketball. 

In case you can’t tell I have a real honest love for the game of baskeball.  I’m a true junkie and I’ve always wanted to stay involved in the game somehow and this has been and is a great outlet for me.  I’ve done a large majority of the training videos and I can’t tell you how much fun it is to do and how much excitement I get from people emailing me and asking questions.  I love it and that excitement comes through to Hoopskills Academy.

You can come try the site for 14 days for $1.00 and I’d encourage you to give it a try. You won’t be disappointed and it is something that you will be able to use over and over again and get something new out of every time.

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I live by 4 basic principles when coaching basketball and this isn’t a new concept.  As I watched Coach Majerus, while he was at UTAH, prepare for teams I was amazed at how in depth he was.  I was amazed at how in detail he was with what was expected of his teams.  Any coach or player could learn from that.  I learned my own 4 part strategy that I preach to young coaches:

Tell ‘em: Show ‘em : Tell me: Show me

I use this even in my job today that is not basketball related, but when any person is in a situation where training is involved it is absolutely key that these 4 things apply or you’ll have to do it all over again. 

Tell ‘em:  Each player/team needs to be told in specific detail what is expected.  This includes drills, practice habits, offensive and defensive sets.  Everything.  You can’t be too detailed with the player in telling them what is expected of them in every situation.

Show ‘em: If physically able then show them what you want them to do so they can see it.  Some players are visual learners with others being audial learners.  By showing the players the correct way to run the offense/defense and everything else you’ll get both types of learners and satisfy them.

Tell me:  MAKE THE PLAYERS COMMUNICATE BACK TO YOU WHAT YOU TOLD THEM.  Ask them as a group or single them out.  Establish some accountability but make them talk to you about what is expected.

Show me:  Make the players show you everything that you taught them.  Make it be perfect or close to out.  Don’t allow short cuts or excuses when doing this part because if this is done right then you won’t have to take any more time teaching them a certain thing. 

Tell em, show em, tell me, show me…It’s a phrase that you should start to use a lot and be saying in your head over and over again when trying to get a point across to your players.

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