Each year a number of young coaches inquire asking for advice on getting into basketball coaching, navigating the business, and suggestions for personal development. Here are a few thoughts that I share.
Everyone is ready for the next step but are you really prepared? Put yourself in the shoes of the position you want. Visualize sitting in that chair with those responsibilities.
Do you know what those responsibilities would be?
What have you done to fulfill those responsibilities right now?
If you plan to learn how to fulfill those responsibilities when you get that job, you already are way behind your competitor. Some advice on your first coaching job:
1. You better have answers prepared. You get one shot at building your credibility. You get one shot at that first impression.
2. If your boss gives you responsibilities that you cannot handle, those responsibilities go elsewhere and you become expendable.
3. If players get a hint that you do not know what you are talking about, their confidence in you is gone. Players will listen if they believe that what you are saying will legitimately help them or their game. Players don't care how much you know unless they know how you care. Just because you get a coaching shirt and whistle, does not mean that players will give you their heads and their hearts. Those are things you earn.
4. Can you identify needs and handle it without running to your boss or someone else to handle it? Team success is often found in the clarity of the head coach's mind. A good assistant or staffer is handling the things that need to be handled before it gets to the boss and often these tasks have far more to do with chasing a teenager to do whats right or handling phone calls that are not always fun to deal with.
5. Understand at most levels where coaching is a profession, the actual strategic and on floor coaching is the 'fun' stuff. The majority of the job is working to promote the program, build and nurture relationships, massage and manage personalities, organize functions (such as camp, clinics, team building exercises, etc.) and dealing with daily minutiae. The guys that dodge the real work are a dime a dozen. Every year college coaches call and ask for recommendation of 'grinders' that will do all these things. Every year head college coaches are searching for answers because they are caught up handling things that they should not be handling. Don't make your head coach be your taskmaster as well.
6. Understand what it means to be loyal. Everything is we's, our's, and us in a program. The head coach sets the standards, the philosophy, and the culture. Your only choice is to wave the flag and sell it like you believe it's gospel. When you begin second guessing and sending out mixed messages, you are in the wrong. Period. End of story. A hint of dissension that gets out publicly, is a massive ripple effect that reflects poorly on the program but sticks with YOU.
I have been fortunate to be exposed to a great deal of professional development opportunities. My advice to young coaches is to get into any college or legit high school practice you can observe. Takes notes. When you are at the undergrad or graduate level, that is a great time to focus on getting your own doctorate in the game. Get to every clinic in site. Read clinic notes online. Email coaches. Track down retired coaches for a few lunches. Study film, scouting reports, and individual players on all levels. Can you follow what a teams strategy is by watching a random game on tv? Can you figure out the chess match, the counters, the sub patterns, dead-ball sets and adjustments or pick up on who is dictating tempo?
Some advice on becoming prepared to teach and scout the game:
1. Study and learn the game through any literature possible. Love this part of it. Don't just read what you want to know. Read it all so you understand it all. Read books, biographies, coaches backgrounds, the analytics, understand basketball math and statistics, understand what's useful in a box score and what is not, read any coaching clinic note you can get your hands on. Why? It builds your basketball language. It builds a foundation so that you can understand basketball subjects and also speak on it. Understand which coaches come from which 'coaching tree' and the characteristics that bind them. These are developmental tools for any profession.
2. Get film of workouts, team workouts, practices, and game film. Make contacts that can help get these items for you. Many in the profession share. Learn to mimic some of the best drills. Catch on to teaching phrases and communication styles of different coaches and find what best fits you.
3. Get in the gym and blindly scout AAU and high school games. Don't cheat or ask who's who. Learn to be able to scout players and decipher the various levels of competition to project where prospects fit. Talk to scouts, coaches, recruiters and get their scouting sheets for evaluating players. Evaluating players is an art that is slipping away. Don't be a chaser that needs to follow a list from someone evaluating in generalities. Understand what you value or your program values and be able to identify what you see as valuable.
4. Be a manager or a player. Be at the ground level. Be in the locker room when no coaches are around and get a feel for the player culture. Become empathetic to players and what is important to them.
5. Spend a season as a video editor. This is where you can get a doctorate in X's and O's. I was fortunate to breakdown film for Coach Lon Kruger as well as stat from film from Coach Paul Westphal. If you are lucky enough to find NBA level coaches, you will work your tail off but never regret. In a given season, you are breaking down hundreds of games into individual clips scouting opponents, opponents opponents, and your own team. You begin to appreciate every play as its own domino in the game. You start to see how a player short-cutting a play by 8 inches can throw off the timing and effectiveness. You see teams game plans, the chest match counters, and your own head coaches strategy in play. Doing video clips for your opponent, for your own team, and of individual opponent players you begin to think exactly as your head coach would. If you fortunate enough to type of scouting reports as well, then you get the full experience of game prep.
6. Coach players. Sounds simple but find any team to coach on any level where you are the head coach. Winning and losing depends on you. You have to find a way to motivate, strategize, and communicate to your team. Work out bad players and elite players, bigs and guards. Develop a way to communicate, teach, correct, and demand with confidence.
7. Spend time with players at the level you want to coach at. Understand how they talk, what they are in to, their culture, and what makes them tick.
8. What analysis do you provide for your head coach? Ideas are like the wind. What provides value for your coach to consider. For example, at Findlay we chart every shot for every player and what our percentages are from those spots on the floor. We chart what the result of every possession is for every player (for example, on elbow catches #33 turns it over 1 of every 4 times, shoots 32%, and has 1 assist on the season from there). In game, we chart +/- which is the score when a player enters and the difference in score when he exits. We do the same for our different defensive schemes. Your head coach probably gains more value in hearing that "we are -12 when Johnny is in the game with Billy" or in a meeting noting that "Johnny is 4 of 22 from 10 to 17 feet, but 12 of 14 from inside 10 with 8 free throw attempts". What we found with several players of the years is that their production after 6 minutes decreased through +/-. For those particular players we adjusted their sub patterns. Give your boss data supported by facts, make your case, and let him decide. Advanced analytics also provide credibility with your players. Show them how to improve their game. Stats and film earn trust that you know what you are talking about.
Some advice on building relationships in the game:
1. You need to have a foundation of relationships built before you ever get to where you are trying to get to. It is all about relationships. Much of the game is about salesmanship. You are selling your program, yourself, and what you can provide. Your buyers are the players you are recruiting, your future boss, the coach that is coaching the recruit you want, etc. The days of the cold call sales pitch are long ago. The proliferation of social media has changed how people communicate. There is a great deal of saturation in communication. You better have a personal relationship that supersedes all the noise so that you can get results.
2. To build those relationships, get involved in aau basketball. Do some freelance scouting for one of the internet scouting services. Anything to get a reason to introduce yourself and be able to call on someone in the future.
3. Shake hands and exchange
information around coaches. I've made some of my best contacts sitting next to high school coaches,
aau coaches and chasing down the speakers to thank them. Try to get
emails, phone numbers, etc. Follow up with a hand written note.
4. Stay involved year round. AAU, camps, etc is a great way to
network. Call up universities and ask to work their camps. Even if
they say no use the call to network with whomever you are speaking
with.
5. Hear everything, see everything, don't say anything
negative. Like any profession there is all sorts of gossip and back
biting. Be a positive person that doesn’t get into all that you will
see that eventually there are few that will have anything bad to say
about you. Trust and loyalty will open doors. You may be popular for giving the gossip but will anyone want that type of person in their inner circle?
6. Be likeable. Sounds simple but humility, empathy, and being pleasant can be really valued with all the bad experiences that take over workplaces. Because basketball is so competitive
there is a ton of ego. Sometimes you get ahead biting your tongue and
not proving right and wrong at every turn. Many try to get ahead by keeping others down but you can get to the same level and it is more rewarding if everyone rises together.
When the opportunity arises, don't be ready to fill the role. Be prepared to exceed all expectations. Know how to contribute. Know what your teaching. Be confident. Have your relationships ready to have your back. When your boss realizes that his workload is less, the results are getting better, and that your added value (in what he sees and also what he doesn't have to see) is the difference you will be well on your way.
7.13.2012
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Follow @CoachTsimon
The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have. -Norman Vincent Peale
It's great to see players go get in amazing shape preparing for the draft. Kills me tho that some go through college then be at their best
Studying some trends in high school rankings to college to the NBA draft. Interestingly, Findlay had 3 of the 16 youngest guys in the NBA
Good to see UNLV alum@JoelAnthony get a ring. All those hours in the gym he made himself into a player & deserves to be a champion
If u love high school hoops history u gotta follow@RonFloresESPN. Delivers some of the best facts & stories on twitter.
If APR base had been at 930 (which it's moving to) instead of 900 this year, CBB would have ~60 teams ineligible for '13 postseason play.
There's a dilemma in HS age media. Glorify kids into Internet stars but no one wants to single out a kid for foolishness & understandably so
Hope the up & comers watch the Dream Team doc. The stars wanted to compete to prove who is best. See a lot of dodging & ego preservation now
More good commentary from combine: "Still plays with tunnel vision", "What does he do without the ball that translates to the NBA game?"
Great stuff from scouts at combine "Has a kid been coached HARD?", "Has he modified his game to play with talent?", "Will he accept a role?"
Good lessons from the playoffs: 1) The game requires initiating contact to get what & where u want 2) Win the collisions 3) 1&2 are mindsets
2 questions i ask in evaluating: 1) does his play translate to helping win big games 2) how hard is he to scout & take away what he does
Hardest to play against & stop: 1) playmaker for others 2) relentless hustle guy with skill 3) disruptive defender who changes your offense
Easiest to play against & stop: 1) scorer who doesn't hit open man 2) guys that need a pass to get the ball 3)transition dependent players
High Field Goal Attempt #s, low rebounding #'s, + high turnovers = hyped based on high volume usage not substance & efficiency.
The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have. -Norman Vincent Peale
It's great to see players go get in amazing shape preparing for the draft. Kills me tho that some go through college then be at their best
Studying some trends in high school rankings to college to the NBA draft. Interestingly, Findlay had 3 of the 16 youngest guys in the NBA
Good to see UNLV alum
If u love high school hoops history u gotta follow
If APR base had been at 930 (which it's moving to) instead of 900 this year, CBB would have ~60 teams ineligible for '13 postseason play.
There's a dilemma in HS age media. Glorify kids into Internet stars but no one wants to single out a kid for foolishness & understandably so
Hope the up & comers watch the Dream Team doc. The stars wanted to compete to prove who is best. See a lot of dodging & ego preservation now
More good commentary from combine: "Still plays with tunnel vision", "What does he do without the ball that translates to the NBA game?"
Great stuff from scouts at combine "Has a kid been coached HARD?", "Has he modified his game to play with talent?", "Will he accept a role?"
Good lessons from the playoffs: 1) The game requires initiating contact to get what & where u want 2) Win the collisions 3) 1&2 are mindsets
2 questions i ask in evaluating: 1) does his play translate to helping win big games 2) how hard is he to scout & take away what he does
Hardest to play against & stop: 1) playmaker for others 2) relentless hustle guy with skill 3) disruptive defender who changes your offense
Easiest to play against & stop: 1) scorer who doesn't hit open man 2) guys that need a pass to get the ball 3)transition dependent players
High Field Goal Attempt
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Follow @CoachTsimon
The bottom 20 high major (For simplicity: ACC,Big10,Big12,Pac12,SEC,BigEast) teams in scoring had 3 players total selected in the draft.
The top 20 high major scoring teams combined for 35 players drafted. Does talent allow up tempo play or up tempo play let players shine?
The 2 basic statistics that most translate to having value at all levels are Defensive Rebounding & Free Throws Attempted, Toughness stats!
16 of the top 19 high major defensive rebounders (that were draft eligible) were selected including 9 of the top 21 picks! Rebounders wanted
6 of the top 8 in free throw attempts per game from high majors (that were draft eligible) went in the 1st round. D. Lillard was 5th in NCAA
Damian Lilliard averaged most shot attempts per game of any 1st round pick at 15.47. Harrison Barnes next at 13.68. Be efficient & rounded!
Kevin Garnett will make the most NBA salary ever at $321,000,000. Under 20ppg career avg but #2 all-time rebounder. Rebound young fellas!
345 Division 1 schools, nearly 4,485 scholarship players, only 60 players drafted. A LOT of VERY good players undrafted. Lesson: it is HARD!
Joe Dumars said he had 10 to 12 sources of background info on Drummond including his 6th grade teacher. We've get a ton of these type calls
Young players there is a difference in rankings/mock drafts & someone paying you. Character, health, personality are critical to the latter
Make getting drafted a milestone not the destination. For some dropping and having a chip on their shoulder is a blessing
Quick draft count: 9 internationals picked, 6 foreign college players, 7 from outside big conferences, 29 that can play power forward/center
Interesting to see trends toward production over potential in the draft. Now into the role filler part of draft. What NBA skill do u bring?
Potential draftees Findlay Prep played in HS: Kidd-Gilchrist, Waiters, Rivers, Sullinger, Ross, Lamb, Miller, English
Findlay NBA draft notes: 3 1st rounders & a 2nd rounder in last 2 drafts. Produced 3 of the last 12 1&done 1st round picks
The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have. -Norman Vincent Peale
The bottom 20 high major (For simplicity: ACC,Big10,Big12,Pac12,SEC,BigEast) teams in scoring had 3 players total selected in the draft.
The top 20 high major scoring teams combined for 35 players drafted. Does talent allow up tempo play or up tempo play let players shine?
The 2 basic statistics that most translate to having value at all levels are Defensive Rebounding & Free Throws Attempted, Toughness stats!
16 of the top 19 high major defensive rebounders (that were draft eligible) were selected including 9 of the top 21 picks! Rebounders wanted
6 of the top 8 in free throw attempts per game from high majors (that were draft eligible) went in the 1st round. D. Lillard was 5th in NCAA
Damian Lilliard averaged most shot attempts per game of any 1st round pick at 15.47. Harrison Barnes next at 13.68. Be efficient & rounded!
Kevin Garnett will make the most NBA salary ever at $321,000,000. Under 20ppg career avg but #2 all-time rebounder. Rebound young fellas!
345 Division 1 schools, nearly 4,485 scholarship players, only 60 players drafted. A LOT of VERY good players undrafted. Lesson: it is HARD!
Joe Dumars said he had 10 to 12 sources of background info on Drummond including his 6th grade teacher. We've get a ton of these type calls
Young players there is a difference in rankings/mock drafts & someone paying you. Character, health, personality are critical to the latter
Make getting drafted a milestone not the destination. For some dropping and having a chip on their shoulder is a blessing
Quick draft count: 9 internationals picked, 6 foreign college players, 7 from outside big conferences, 29 that can play power forward/center
Interesting to see trends toward production over potential in the draft. Now into the role filler part of draft. What NBA skill do u bring?
Potential draftees Findlay Prep played in HS: Kidd-Gilchrist, Waiters, Rivers, Sullinger, Ross, Lamb, Miller, English
Findlay NBA draft notes: 3 1st rounders & a 2nd rounder in last 2 drafts. Produced 3 of the last 12 1&done 1st round picks
The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have. -Norman Vincent Peale
8.30.2010
CLINIC NOTES: H.BROWN, HEWITT, HAMILTON, OLSON, GOTTFRIED, GONZALEZ, T.SMITH, FISHER, MEYER
Hubie Brown
1. 4 things players must do:
a. Be on time. (Give ‘em 5 minutes.)
b. Must play hard. (Give ‘em 2 minutes to grow up.)
c. Know your job.
d. Do your players know when to pass/shoot?
2. San Antonio Spurs...are good because THEY PLAY...and nobody talks/jaws!
Coach Paul Hewitt, Georgia Tech University
Topic: Man to Man Offense
The more ball reversals the more stress you put on the defense. This causes more closeouts.
Get yourself or someone else open with your screen.
Catch the ball and rebound the ball with two hands always!!
Drive to score on the baseline, not to explore.
Be sure to read screens (pop, fade, curl) and make sure to set your man up and wait for the screen.
Coach Leonard Hamilton, Florida State University
Topic: Defensive Philosophy
• Be very detailed.
• Break down and explain
• don’t take anything for granted
• Use terms and phrases that the players will know, relate to, and understand.
• “Shrink the Gap”
Shrink the gap between the ball handler and the next pass.
• Initial ball pressure is very important
Don’t let them see the post, high post, skip pass
Make them worried about you by putting heavy pressure on the ball
• Front post on all entries foul line and below.
• Denying the post entry is a 3 part process
• 1. Pressure on the ball
• 2. Front the post
• 3. Weak side help must be there
• “Connect the dots on defense”
Use defensive drills to develop skill and intensity
Coach Lute Olson, University of Arizona
Topic: Match up Zone Defense
• Mix up Defenses to confuse other team
• Look to change your defense if the opposition scores on you 2 times in a row.
• The goal of changing up defenses is to confuse the guards, and make them have to recognize what you are in.
• Defenses Arizona runs
• 20- Match-Up Zone
• 10- Man to Man
• 13- 1-3-1 Zone
• Start on man to man and work on it for at least 2 weeks before you get into teaching zones.
Develop the defensive fundamentals
Mark Gottfried
Practice
1. 15 minutes = Individual attention time (i.e. defend ball screen, defend down screen)
Nov.-Dec. = work on part of game and how/what our system will do (offensively and/or defensively)
Jan.- end = use as post/perimeter breakdown
2. 5 minutes = Wing denial OR closeouts
3. 5 minutes = Offensive drill (i.e. back door with guard & forward, 3 on 0 cutting)
4. 5 minutes = “Flanker”
5. 5 minutes = Rebounding (i.e. Ante over w/:)
Power lay in
Pump fake, power lay in
Pump fake, 1 bounce, power lay in
POGO (mikan hop)
2 hand follow in air
6. 15 minutes = Shell defense (position, help)
7. 5 minutes = 1 on 1 live
Posts/Guards
2 dribble limit
8. 5 minutes = 2 on 2 defense
9. 5 minutes = 3 on 3 defense
10. 5 minutes = 4 on 4 on 4
11. 10 minutes = 3 on 2 conditioner (continuous)
Red vs. White
12. 10 minutes = Man offense (no defense)
13. 10 minutes = Zone offense (no defense)
14. 10 minutes = Shooting
15. 10 minutes = 5 on 5 ½ court vs. man
16. 10 minutes = 5 on 5 ½ court vs. zone
• Practice time =
Early in season = 2 ½ hours maximum
Late in season = 1 ½ hours maximum
Bobby Gonzalez
• You learn how to coach at the lower levels (JV, Varsity)
• “The best job is the one you’ve got.” (enjoy where you are, appreciate it)
• Important to understand your players, how to motivate,...
• Important to coach attitude every day
use articles
NBA footage/video
• Working on pressure defense
1 on 1
2 on 2
3 on 3
4 on 4
5 on 5
Points of emphasis/things we work on:
ball pressure
* stance
* ball in front
fake trap = “stunting”
denial
• Our goal is to get a “5-10-5" = 5 second call (on the in-bounds), 10 second call (in the back court), 5 second call (in the half court)
• Deflection Chart
• = tip
= hand on ball
S = steal
F = flick
B = block
• Our goals:
20+ deflections by half
40+ deflections for game
• Pressure Defense Goals
1. Wear people down (14 to 10 minute mark, game of runs)
2. Never out of game
3. Use more players
4. Forces fast play = quick/bad shots, turnovers
• Scouting Specific
1. Trap only PG
2. Make 4/5 bring it and make a play (“shut out”)
3. Trap dribbler
4. Trap 1st sideline pass
“Put your players in emergency situations often.” = forces quick thinking and communication (game-like)
Tubby Smith
Early teams were shooting 44% against Kentucky - TOO HIGH!
Defense FG% is key!
As coaches - we “have to give back to the game”
In 11 years as a head coach he has never finished below 2nd or 3rd in defense FG%
DEFENSE
Stance (1 hand high, 1 hand low (“dig” hand))
Focal point = Belly (peripheral vision to see ball)
Ball goes up = 2 hand pressure
Ball goes down = 1 hand down, 1 up, & step back
Steve Fisher San Diego State
1. Be loyal, work hard, don’t complain!
2. Don’t be afraid to speak up! (i.e. I disagree with..., I think...)
3. Let people be/feel important!
Don Meyer Northern State University (SD)
Post Play
1. Point toes out slightly
2. How do you know if you have angles in post?
If pass is right at your face = no angles
Pass communicates to you = tells you where your open angle is
3. Get open, stay open, score simply!
4. “Doleac” = arms out, palms out, fingers up to ceiling, be able to see back of hands
5. Chin ball = fingers to ceiling
6. It’s a 2-handed, 2-footed game (power, balance)
7. Mikan series
8. “Get more of the defense.”
9. Catch the ball perpendicular to the line of the pass.
How To Get Teams UP For Game
1. Urgency
2. Purpose
5 Stages of Coaching
1. Survival - philosophy, how to...
2. Strive for success - get respect
3. Satisfaction
4. Significance - impact, legacy
5. Spent - nothing left in tank
Reasons To Take a Job
1. Like to live there
2. Be able to win
3. Must enjoy people you work with
4. Get appreciation/satisfaction from work you do
5. Program money (budget)
6. Good kids
7. Salary
“Money has yet to make a person rich.”
“Relationships make you rich.”
“Money is a lousy way to keep score.”
6 Ways To Get Fired
1. Alcohol/Drugs
2. Divorce
3. Merger
4. Incident
5. Taking a stand
6. Poor teacher
Wooden
“I never let our players get satisfied.”
“I never let our coaches get satisfied.”
“I was never satisfied.”
“You can always do it better.”
3 Things That Stop You From Winning
1. Injuries
2. Illness
3. Ineligibility
3 Dreads of Coaching
1. Telling a kid to do or not do something we don’t do or do ourselves
2. Players in trouble
3. The end of it all
Skill coach vs. Drill coach
1. Make practices like games.
2. Make games like practices.
Our Practices
1. Skill development
2. Team competition
3. Team defense
4. Situation competition
“Be a practice player first.”
“Properly and quickly execute the fundamentals of the game for the welfare of the team.”
“We practice and play with the poise of a national championship team.”
“Even when we lose we win.”
“Don’t have to win the championship to be a champion.”
Defense
1. Stance
2. Position
3. Movement
4. Re-position
Defensive Reminders
1. Jump to ball
2. Travel on air time of ball
3. Go where help came from (i.e. X out)
4. Sprint in and out of “i” on help side
Shooters
1. Shot off pass
2. Shot fake, shot
3 Rules for Coaches
1. Find out who you are
2. Find your unique gift/talent and develop it
3. Give your gift away
2nd Hand Compliments
Random Thoughts
1. Use short phrases in teaching
2. Echo yells
3. A quiet team is a scared team
4. Buddy System
- coach your position when on bench
- veteran & rookie NOT rookie & rookie
5. Attention to detail
1. 4 things players must do:
a. Be on time. (Give ‘em 5 minutes.)
b. Must play hard. (Give ‘em 2 minutes to grow up.)
c. Know your job.
d. Do your players know when to pass/shoot?
2. San Antonio Spurs...are good because THEY PLAY...and nobody talks/jaws!
Coach Paul Hewitt, Georgia Tech University
Topic: Man to Man Offense
The more ball reversals the more stress you put on the defense. This causes more closeouts.
Get yourself or someone else open with your screen.
Catch the ball and rebound the ball with two hands always!!
Drive to score on the baseline, not to explore.
Be sure to read screens (pop, fade, curl) and make sure to set your man up and wait for the screen.
Coach Leonard Hamilton, Florida State University
Topic: Defensive Philosophy
• Be very detailed.
• Break down and explain
• don’t take anything for granted
• Use terms and phrases that the players will know, relate to, and understand.
• “Shrink the Gap”
Shrink the gap between the ball handler and the next pass.
• Initial ball pressure is very important
Don’t let them see the post, high post, skip pass
Make them worried about you by putting heavy pressure on the ball
• Front post on all entries foul line and below.
• Denying the post entry is a 3 part process
• 1. Pressure on the ball
• 2. Front the post
• 3. Weak side help must be there
• “Connect the dots on defense”
Use defensive drills to develop skill and intensity
Coach Lute Olson, University of Arizona
Topic: Match up Zone Defense
• Mix up Defenses to confuse other team
• Look to change your defense if the opposition scores on you 2 times in a row.
• The goal of changing up defenses is to confuse the guards, and make them have to recognize what you are in.
• Defenses Arizona runs
• 20- Match-Up Zone
• 10- Man to Man
• 13- 1-3-1 Zone
• Start on man to man and work on it for at least 2 weeks before you get into teaching zones.
Develop the defensive fundamentals
Mark Gottfried
Practice
1. 15 minutes = Individual attention time (i.e. defend ball screen, defend down screen)
Nov.-Dec. = work on part of game and how/what our system will do (offensively and/or defensively)
Jan.- end = use as post/perimeter breakdown
2. 5 minutes = Wing denial OR closeouts
3. 5 minutes = Offensive drill (i.e. back door with guard & forward, 3 on 0 cutting)
4. 5 minutes = “Flanker”
5. 5 minutes = Rebounding (i.e. Ante over w/:)
Power lay in
Pump fake, power lay in
Pump fake, 1 bounce, power lay in
POGO (mikan hop)
2 hand follow in air
6. 15 minutes = Shell defense (position, help)
7. 5 minutes = 1 on 1 live
Posts/Guards
2 dribble limit
8. 5 minutes = 2 on 2 defense
9. 5 minutes = 3 on 3 defense
10. 5 minutes = 4 on 4 on 4
11. 10 minutes = 3 on 2 conditioner (continuous)
Red vs. White
12. 10 minutes = Man offense (no defense)
13. 10 minutes = Zone offense (no defense)
14. 10 minutes = Shooting
15. 10 minutes = 5 on 5 ½ court vs. man
16. 10 minutes = 5 on 5 ½ court vs. zone
• Practice time =
Early in season = 2 ½ hours maximum
Late in season = 1 ½ hours maximum
Bobby Gonzalez
• You learn how to coach at the lower levels (JV, Varsity)
• “The best job is the one you’ve got.” (enjoy where you are, appreciate it)
• Important to understand your players, how to motivate,...
• Important to coach attitude every day
use articles
NBA footage/video
• Working on pressure defense
1 on 1
2 on 2
3 on 3
4 on 4
5 on 5
Points of emphasis/things we work on:
ball pressure
* stance
* ball in front
fake trap = “stunting”
denial
• Our goal is to get a “5-10-5" = 5 second call (on the in-bounds), 10 second call (in the back court), 5 second call (in the half court)
• Deflection Chart
• = tip
= hand on ball
S = steal
F = flick
B = block
• Our goals:
20+ deflections by half
40+ deflections for game
• Pressure Defense Goals
1. Wear people down (14 to 10 minute mark, game of runs)
2. Never out of game
3. Use more players
4. Forces fast play = quick/bad shots, turnovers
• Scouting Specific
1. Trap only PG
2. Make 4/5 bring it and make a play (“shut out”)
3. Trap dribbler
4. Trap 1st sideline pass
“Put your players in emergency situations often.” = forces quick thinking and communication (game-like)
Tubby Smith
Early teams were shooting 44% against Kentucky - TOO HIGH!
Defense FG% is key!
As coaches - we “have to give back to the game”
In 11 years as a head coach he has never finished below 2nd or 3rd in defense FG%
DEFENSE
Stance (1 hand high, 1 hand low (“dig” hand))
Focal point = Belly (peripheral vision to see ball)
Ball goes up = 2 hand pressure
Ball goes down = 1 hand down, 1 up, & step back
Steve Fisher San Diego State
1. Be loyal, work hard, don’t complain!
2. Don’t be afraid to speak up! (i.e. I disagree with..., I think...)
3. Let people be/feel important!
Don Meyer Northern State University (SD)
Post Play
1. Point toes out slightly
2. How do you know if you have angles in post?
If pass is right at your face = no angles
Pass communicates to you = tells you where your open angle is
3. Get open, stay open, score simply!
4. “Doleac” = arms out, palms out, fingers up to ceiling, be able to see back of hands
5. Chin ball = fingers to ceiling
6. It’s a 2-handed, 2-footed game (power, balance)
7. Mikan series
8. “Get more of the defense.”
9. Catch the ball perpendicular to the line of the pass.
How To Get Teams UP For Game
1. Urgency
2. Purpose
5 Stages of Coaching
1. Survival - philosophy, how to...
2. Strive for success - get respect
3. Satisfaction
4. Significance - impact, legacy
5. Spent - nothing left in tank
Reasons To Take a Job
1. Like to live there
2. Be able to win
3. Must enjoy people you work with
4. Get appreciation/satisfaction from work you do
5. Program money (budget)
6. Good kids
7. Salary
“Money has yet to make a person rich.”
“Relationships make you rich.”
“Money is a lousy way to keep score.”
6 Ways To Get Fired
1. Alcohol/Drugs
2. Divorce
3. Merger
4. Incident
5. Taking a stand
6. Poor teacher
Wooden
“I never let our players get satisfied.”
“I never let our coaches get satisfied.”
“I was never satisfied.”
“You can always do it better.”
3 Things That Stop You From Winning
1. Injuries
2. Illness
3. Ineligibility
3 Dreads of Coaching
1. Telling a kid to do or not do something we don’t do or do ourselves
2. Players in trouble
3. The end of it all
Skill coach vs. Drill coach
1. Make practices like games.
2. Make games like practices.
Our Practices
1. Skill development
2. Team competition
3. Team defense
4. Situation competition
“Be a practice player first.”
“Properly and quickly execute the fundamentals of the game for the welfare of the team.”
“We practice and play with the poise of a national championship team.”
“Even when we lose we win.”
“Don’t have to win the championship to be a champion.”
Defense
1. Stance
2. Position
3. Movement
4. Re-position
Defensive Reminders
1. Jump to ball
2. Travel on air time of ball
3. Go where help came from (i.e. X out)
4. Sprint in and out of “i” on help side
Shooters
1. Shot off pass
2. Shot fake, shot
3 Rules for Coaches
1. Find out who you are
2. Find your unique gift/talent and develop it
3. Give your gift away
2nd Hand Compliments
Random Thoughts
1. Use short phrases in teaching
2. Echo yells
3. A quiet team is a scared team
4. Buddy System
- coach your position when on bench
- veteran & rookie NOT rookie & rookie
5. Attention to detail
CLINIC NOTES: BILL SELF
BILL SELF
Necessity is the mother of invention
Right Guy Right Shot
Post Play
Have to score before you catch
Angles..seal, seal, seal
Two feet in the paint of don’t shoot
You can’t ever run a good offense versus good defense
Give defense a chance to break down
Offense should be simple
Defense should be complicated
Basketball is meant to be fun
Hire someone you can have fun with and is different from you
Don’t hire a buddy
Travel – jet lag, hydration
Program Design
Practice Design
Reducing Injuries
Regeneration/Recovery
Pillar Strength
Muscle System
Bony Skeleton
Muscular Stability – strong glutes so knee is not outside or inside of foot on push step
Core – stomach. Lower back add scapula, hips, trunk
Jump rope and footwork drills before practice
Necessity is the mother of invention
Right Guy Right Shot
Post Play
Have to score before you catch
Angles..seal, seal, seal
Two feet in the paint of don’t shoot
You can’t ever run a good offense versus good defense
Give defense a chance to break down
Offense should be simple
Defense should be complicated
Basketball is meant to be fun
Hire someone you can have fun with and is different from you
Don’t hire a buddy
Travel – jet lag, hydration
Program Design
Practice Design
Reducing Injuries
Regeneration/Recovery
Pillar Strength
Muscle System
Bony Skeleton
Muscular Stability – strong glutes so knee is not outside or inside of foot on push step
Core – stomach. Lower back add scapula, hips, trunk
Jump rope and footwork drills before practice
CLINIC NOTES: GORDON CHIESA
Gordon Chiesa
Teach people how to score and they will listen on defense
Erratic play results from not screening, cutting, passing, spacing well
Casual Cutting – read, react, counter, explode
The slower and less athletic, the more screens you must set
Teach players to create separation from the defense
Quality of offense – move well without the ball as a unit on the pass and the cut
Finish your cut if you don’t receive a pass
Drags defender with you
Cause confrontation for the defense
Go at their body.
Winners roll to basket. Losers step back.
The better the shooter the easier for the screener to a get a paint cut.
Space & Respace – Robert Horry. Great teams respace after the ball moves.
Execution Culture – try to win every possession. Win the possession.
What is your culture?
What do you believe in?
There are no lay ups in big games.
Culture About Rebounding – teach getting inside position
Finish the offensive rebound. Space and respace after the offensive board. Expect the rebound.
Cutting is underrated
Little Things make an offense – roll hard and complete with head under the basket
Paint catches deep in the paint, body to body. 20 points scored because of deep catches.
Hands and feet are your career.
Teach to bar arm using forearm
Slow down in the post on face catches. Catch and step. Pass on the numbers. Passer sets the screen 90% of time in split game.
Cutter should walk man down
Screen under the bar arm, jump stop into a screen
Partnership of Screening – play the game horizontally
“peek” to see what you man is doing vs. screen
Slip to basket. Often open other side.
You must have quick release at 2 guard. Shot preparation is key.
Vs. Switches
Cut to be free vs. cut to be guarded
Raise hands above head and yell I am open
Patience
Everyone cant learn the same way
Cant teach everyone the same way
You be the heavy every day
Inner peace with your superstar
Everyone goes small in game 6&7 of NBA
What is your best team to win a game now?
4 man setting split screen
Your Voice is Your Choice
Correct with clarity without taking it personal. Non-demonstrative. Praise loudly.
Spend too much time doing it the wrong way.
Lambast a player and lose for a month.
Be strong but be different.
Correct it and out of there. Praise – prompt – leave
Teach people how to score and they will listen on defense
Erratic play results from not screening, cutting, passing, spacing well
Casual Cutting – read, react, counter, explode
The slower and less athletic, the more screens you must set
Teach players to create separation from the defense
Quality of offense – move well without the ball as a unit on the pass and the cut
Finish your cut if you don’t receive a pass
Drags defender with you
Cause confrontation for the defense
Go at their body.
Winners roll to basket. Losers step back.
The better the shooter the easier for the screener to a get a paint cut.
Space & Respace – Robert Horry. Great teams respace after the ball moves.
Execution Culture – try to win every possession. Win the possession.
What is your culture?
What do you believe in?
There are no lay ups in big games.
Culture About Rebounding – teach getting inside position
Finish the offensive rebound. Space and respace after the offensive board. Expect the rebound.
Cutting is underrated
Little Things make an offense – roll hard and complete with head under the basket
Paint catches deep in the paint, body to body. 20 points scored because of deep catches.
Hands and feet are your career.
Teach to bar arm using forearm
Slow down in the post on face catches. Catch and step. Pass on the numbers. Passer sets the screen 90% of time in split game.
Cutter should walk man down
Screen under the bar arm, jump stop into a screen
Partnership of Screening – play the game horizontally
“peek” to see what you man is doing vs. screen
Slip to basket. Often open other side.
You must have quick release at 2 guard. Shot preparation is key.
Vs. Switches
Cut to be free vs. cut to be guarded
Raise hands above head and yell I am open
Patience
Everyone cant learn the same way
Cant teach everyone the same way
You be the heavy every day
Inner peace with your superstar
Everyone goes small in game 6&7 of NBA
What is your best team to win a game now?
4 man setting split screen
Your Voice is Your Choice
Correct with clarity without taking it personal. Non-demonstrative. Praise loudly.
Spend too much time doing it the wrong way.
Lambast a player and lose for a month.
Be strong but be different.
Correct it and out of there. Praise – prompt – leave
CLINIC NOTES: RICK MAJERUS
RICK MAJERUS
Two times when guards always screen:
1. Flare when
1. ball comes toward you
2. ball goes away from you
2. Split – after post feed
Halfcourt Offense – try to create a 6 on 5 game
2 3on3 games going on at the same time
Backpick and repick on the
we never set an elbow to elbow screen unless a slow big is guarding our 4
4 out 1 in
Flare Screens – toughest to defend when ball coming toward or going away from you
Game shots, game spots, game speed
Switching picks – talk it, touch it, switch it
Use only two key words: 1. switch 2. stay
Post Feeds
The most effective post feed is the in-out-reposition – practice it!
Never pass to the middle third of posts body
Always pass away from the defense to maintain the posts advantage
The best way to defend the post is to keep it out of the post
Defending the deadball out of bounds
Keep back of head and crack of butt pointing at basket
Keep a low stance and trace the ball
Most Important Block Out in the Game
Block out the man who shoots off a dribble drive after getting a hand up to his drive
Offense is spacing, spacing is offense
2 Keys vs. switching defense
1. be decisive
2. be aggressive
Receiving a screen
The closer the screener is to you, the deeper you must take your defender to set him up
Mantra of How to Play the Game in All Situations
1. Who am I
2. Who are my teammates
3. Who is guarding me
4. Who is guarding my teammates
Helpside defense
1. Nobody cuts below you to the rim
2. Nobody crosses your face without a bump
Big Man Screens
1. Nonshooters always roll
2. Always screen in if on the outside
Post Reads
1. Wings
a. Always fill both corners when a big turns to the baseline
2. Opposite Post
a. To the mid-lane or high post on baseline turn
b. Cut below if post turns toward lane
Post Play
1. All about contact
a. Make and maintain contact
2. Never overrun the paint when making a cut
a. Stop at the basket and hold your territory
When your man cuts to the lane and clears out to the weakside you must yell clear
Defending a cutter to the post
Never let your man cut in front of you
Take the cutter on and move into a denial stance
3 Reasons to Dribble (rules)
1. Make the dribble take you somewhere
2. Acquire balance
3. Break the 5 second count
Pass to corner for only two reasons
1. feed the post
2. shot
5 Keys to Defense
1. Stance
2. Vision
3. Hand up on shot
4. Blockout
5. Traveling on air of the ball
Never attack a backdribble defensively. Get lower because the offensive player is preparing to reattack
Rebounding vs. a mismatch
You have a rebounding responsibility: make sure you man does not get the rebound even if you don’t get it.
Receiving a flare
Dive – defender goes over or under early
Take it – defender goes with your body over the screen
Pop – defender goes under screen so you start to run off
When ball goes in the post, we must fill the funnel lines
Get in the passing lanes and vision of post player
Transition – 1st 3 Steps are most important on offense and defense!
This where you beat guys down the floor
The only time you can lose view of the ball on defense
Defense is played in multiples of 2’s and 3’s
9 seconds left on shot clock we call “balls”—1 thru 4 switch everything
All picks on ball must be called out
1. pick
2. left or right
3. red or hard show or squeeze
Defending Mismatches
1. Big on small – gap on perimeter
2. Small on big
a. Pressure on perimeter
b. Wrap up in post
5 on perimeter
Pass and pick for a small
Especially when 5’s defender sags off
Ball Handler on a pick on ball
Must set up the angle of attack
Must have a change of pace
Must come off screen should to shoulder, hip to hip
Give your eyes to every pass
3 Times of the Game to Be Selfish
1. Coming off the pick on the ball
2. Get the ball in the post
3. Get an offensive rebound
Anytime you receive a skip pass versus a man defense you are thinking shot or drive vs. closeout
Be decisive
Never use a shot fake against a closeout
Guards never pick up a dribble and only dribble with a purpose
Never Spin Dribble in the backcourt vs. a press
Use a pullback dribble to keep vision
Press Offense
First priority is don’t get sped up
Look to score
Know if it is a dead ball or if the inbounder can run the baseline
Inbounder must know the 5 second count
Always look to bypass with wings
There is no 5 second count in backcourt, 10 is a long time if you take your time
Every catch should be with butt to sideline looking up the floor
Priority Looks
Up the sideline
Middle
Crackback
“Pull” call by wings
Wings should down sidelines
PG’s defender is between him and ball
5 dives to a near corner
4 looks to throw over to PG
Conversion Defense
Force on one side of the floor
Keep hands down and wide until into attack area then get hands up
Post Play
Play small to smaller throughout the entirety of the move
Get head around and eyes up early to shot
Find or feel the pressure and count the pressure
Play small to big in the post
Get toes to the ball when you post up
Bar your arms at right angles when you post up
Forearms parallel to the floor
Play within the plane of your body with the ball on offense
Short fakes, bent arms
3-2 zone
Keys
1. High Hands
2. Ball Pressure
3. Block Out
4. Keep ball out of post
5. No dribble penetration
Ball goes into corner “superman” (top of key fronts post)
Post Defense
¾
White is our full front
Butt front with bigs, face front with guards
Full front
1. mismatches
2. when post player is below first hash
3. vs. in, out, repost
Two times when guards always screen:
1. Flare when
1. ball comes toward you
2. ball goes away from you
2. Split – after post feed
Halfcourt Offense – try to create a 6 on 5 game
2 3on3 games going on at the same time
Backpick and repick on the
we never set an elbow to elbow screen unless a slow big is guarding our 4
4 out 1 in
Flare Screens – toughest to defend when ball coming toward or going away from you
Game shots, game spots, game speed
Switching picks – talk it, touch it, switch it
Use only two key words: 1. switch 2. stay
Post Feeds
The most effective post feed is the in-out-reposition – practice it!
Never pass to the middle third of posts body
Always pass away from the defense to maintain the posts advantage
The best way to defend the post is to keep it out of the post
Defending the deadball out of bounds
Keep back of head and crack of butt pointing at basket
Keep a low stance and trace the ball
Most Important Block Out in the Game
Block out the man who shoots off a dribble drive after getting a hand up to his drive
Offense is spacing, spacing is offense
2 Keys vs. switching defense
1. be decisive
2. be aggressive
Receiving a screen
The closer the screener is to you, the deeper you must take your defender to set him up
Mantra of How to Play the Game in All Situations
1. Who am I
2. Who are my teammates
3. Who is guarding me
4. Who is guarding my teammates
Helpside defense
1. Nobody cuts below you to the rim
2. Nobody crosses your face without a bump
Big Man Screens
1. Nonshooters always roll
2. Always screen in if on the outside
Post Reads
1. Wings
a. Always fill both corners when a big turns to the baseline
2. Opposite Post
a. To the mid-lane or high post on baseline turn
b. Cut below if post turns toward lane
Post Play
1. All about contact
a. Make and maintain contact
2. Never overrun the paint when making a cut
a. Stop at the basket and hold your territory
When your man cuts to the lane and clears out to the weakside you must yell clear
Defending a cutter to the post
Never let your man cut in front of you
Take the cutter on and move into a denial stance
3 Reasons to Dribble (rules)
1. Make the dribble take you somewhere
2. Acquire balance
3. Break the 5 second count
Pass to corner for only two reasons
1. feed the post
2. shot
5 Keys to Defense
1. Stance
2. Vision
3. Hand up on shot
4. Blockout
5. Traveling on air of the ball
Never attack a backdribble defensively. Get lower because the offensive player is preparing to reattack
Rebounding vs. a mismatch
You have a rebounding responsibility: make sure you man does not get the rebound even if you don’t get it.
Receiving a flare
Dive – defender goes over or under early
Take it – defender goes with your body over the screen
Pop – defender goes under screen so you start to run off
When ball goes in the post, we must fill the funnel lines
Get in the passing lanes and vision of post player
Transition – 1st 3 Steps are most important on offense and defense!
This where you beat guys down the floor
The only time you can lose view of the ball on defense
Defense is played in multiples of 2’s and 3’s
9 seconds left on shot clock we call “balls”—1 thru 4 switch everything
All picks on ball must be called out
1. pick
2. left or right
3. red or hard show or squeeze
Defending Mismatches
1. Big on small – gap on perimeter
2. Small on big
a. Pressure on perimeter
b. Wrap up in post
5 on perimeter
Pass and pick for a small
Especially when 5’s defender sags off
Ball Handler on a pick on ball
Must set up the angle of attack
Must have a change of pace
Must come off screen should to shoulder, hip to hip
Give your eyes to every pass
3 Times of the Game to Be Selfish
1. Coming off the pick on the ball
2. Get the ball in the post
3. Get an offensive rebound
Anytime you receive a skip pass versus a man defense you are thinking shot or drive vs. closeout
Be decisive
Never use a shot fake against a closeout
Guards never pick up a dribble and only dribble with a purpose
Never Spin Dribble in the backcourt vs. a press
Use a pullback dribble to keep vision
Press Offense
First priority is don’t get sped up
Look to score
Know if it is a dead ball or if the inbounder can run the baseline
Inbounder must know the 5 second count
Always look to bypass with wings
There is no 5 second count in backcourt, 10 is a long time if you take your time
Every catch should be with butt to sideline looking up the floor
Priority Looks
Up the sideline
Middle
Crackback
“Pull” call by wings
Wings should down sidelines
PG’s defender is between him and ball
5 dives to a near corner
4 looks to throw over to PG
Conversion Defense
Force on one side of the floor
Keep hands down and wide until into attack area then get hands up
Post Play
Play small to smaller throughout the entirety of the move
Get head around and eyes up early to shot
Find or feel the pressure and count the pressure
Play small to big in the post
Get toes to the ball when you post up
Bar your arms at right angles when you post up
Forearms parallel to the floor
Play within the plane of your body with the ball on offense
Short fakes, bent arms
3-2 zone
Keys
1. High Hands
2. Ball Pressure
3. Block Out
4. Keep ball out of post
5. No dribble penetration
Ball goes into corner “superman” (top of key fronts post)
Post Defense
¾
White is our full front
Butt front with bigs, face front with guards
Full front
1. mismatches
2. when post player is below first hash
3. vs. in, out, repost
CLINIC NOTES: LAWRENCE FRANK & JEFF VAN GUNDY
Lawrence Frank
Lack of trust can be a self fulfilling prophecy
Trust yourself, assistants, players, staff
What do we do to get better
Blame no one
Expect nothing
Do something
WHO is the important question? As in who is not doing it?
Hold specific players accountable for specific tasks
Journey not a destination
Lock into the journey
Get better today, daily improvement
1. Work ethic
a. Give us the same deal everyday
b. Our job as coaches is to get this
2. Demand the best from each other
a. Make the best player be the hardest worker
b. Players will not defy the best player
3. Be Prepared
4. Will be a smart team
a. Don’t forget who you are or get lost in game planning
i. Nets forgot they were a running team vs. Detroit in ‘04
5. Well Conditioned Team
6. Play As a team
a. Help a teammate first
b. All give love to each other
c. Cross on a fast break to help a teammate, hard curls to help screener get one
7. Push you to become a better team
a. Be yourself
b. Be a straight shooter, direct and honest
c. Be confrontational enough to hold players accountable
d. Are we committed
8. Be on time
a. Respect your peers
9. Young Players 30 minutes early
a. Select some veterans
b. Sprint to center circle, talk it up
i. Get into a conversation
10. Trim the fat
a. 10-15 minutes of 3 man weave
b. Practice what you do in a game
c. We need you to practice and practice hard. “Trust Me”
11. Habits
a. Practice good habits
i. Cut hard, Screen, Great shots
b. We go hard at short intervals of game speed
We don’t have shoot arounds (we call it practice)
Must have focus in shoot around
We will read you
Ask a lot of questions in this
Concentrate!
Preparation and Execution
Game Night Procedures
How much time do you need to get ready?
31 minutes to get ready
Then I Need your eyes and ears
11 minutes for coach speak
Time outs
Players sit on the bench
Talk to teammates the right way
Encourage
Bench Players
Shorter window to produce
Bench measured by wins not stats
Coaches complain about players, Players complain about coaches
Early in game
A lot of movement
Establish Inside game
Hot the guard picks (roll, post defense, double pick away, cut to post up, dribble hand off)
Hot hand – stay with it
Officials
Kenyon Martin Rule – if you throw up your arms you come out (don’t show them up)
Get on refs during deadballs
Media
Media doesn’t want vanilla (doesn’t sell)
Never criticize anyone in organization
Ban “off the record” stuff
Create a brotherhood – “play with each other, for each other)
Do not tolerate questions and excuses
Let the players know early they will be moved if they can not comply
Have individual meetings to never leave anything unaddressed
Address players strengths and weaknesses
Find out what they think
Do You:
1. Buy In
2. Are you accountable
Chain of Command – get on you more if you’re a leader
Internal Leadership
Theme or motto for the week – something that reflects where we are as a team
Ask them what they think should be the theme
Let Players Take Ownership
Don’t want opponent to think he got up on you
Players measure themselves vs. opponent
Throw players curveballs once in a while
No practice if we hold opponent to 72 pts
Video
Music
Saving Private Ryan – guy he let go shot Tom Hanks
Patton – Always advance
Preparation and Execution
Touch guys everyday
Meeting without a meeting
You can be hard on guys if they know you care
8-12 meaningful touches per day
Learn from your players everyday
They work harder if it is their idea
Use the media to give love to guys who don’t play a lot
Quick Hitter vs. Zone
Dribble hands offs are harder to guard than pick and rolls
Lay some wood on the defense
Receive hand off and hold and read defense for ½ second
If you are not a shooter, then dribble hand off
Box Score Accuses
The Tape Indicts
The Tapes Don’t Lie
JEFF VAN GUNDY
We’re a product of where and who we coached with
Coaching the same basically at every level
Do it in detail then pare it down
Write everything down and update it
Show them what it is supposed to look like – use past tapes, dvds
Backs against the wall
Riley scripted everything he said
Never off the cuff
Socratic testing of team on the wall
Sit them in a stance, don’t criticize, just move on, retention of knowledge
From Riley:
End of the year appraisal for the staff
One and a half hours
Riley to Van Gundy: “Do you want me to be honest with you?”
Things he said:
You dress poorly, will never be a head coach that way
You can be a head coach in this league. I just wanted to be an assistant for
a while.
He gave you confidence to be a head coach.
1. Are you competent? They will trust.
2. Are you reliable?
3. Are you trustworthy
4. Are you sincere
Coaching Confidence
De-Motivators: fear, doubt, worry
Build up each others confidence
If you are a glass half empty or totally empty like me, then you need a positive influence around
Greatest players in the NBA are most fragile
Constant confrontation with facts, misleading facts, etc. by Riley
Who can you coach?
Soft, stupid, selfish
Can’t coach anyone with two S’s
Can’t dumb down until it is just dumb
Hold marathon film sessions to develop concentration and tolerance
“Hold you hostage” – go over everything (becomes a motivator)
Curry favor of the media as well as coaches ally
See it. Talk it. Execute it.
Lack of trust can be a self fulfilling prophecy
Trust yourself, assistants, players, staff
What do we do to get better
Blame no one
Expect nothing
Do something
WHO is the important question? As in who is not doing it?
Hold specific players accountable for specific tasks
Journey not a destination
Lock into the journey
Get better today, daily improvement
1. Work ethic
a. Give us the same deal everyday
b. Our job as coaches is to get this
2. Demand the best from each other
a. Make the best player be the hardest worker
b. Players will not defy the best player
3. Be Prepared
4. Will be a smart team
a. Don’t forget who you are or get lost in game planning
i. Nets forgot they were a running team vs. Detroit in ‘04
5. Well Conditioned Team
6. Play As a team
a. Help a teammate first
b. All give love to each other
c. Cross on a fast break to help a teammate, hard curls to help screener get one
7. Push you to become a better team
a. Be yourself
b. Be a straight shooter, direct and honest
c. Be confrontational enough to hold players accountable
d. Are we committed
8. Be on time
a. Respect your peers
9. Young Players 30 minutes early
a. Select some veterans
b. Sprint to center circle, talk it up
i. Get into a conversation
10. Trim the fat
a. 10-15 minutes of 3 man weave
b. Practice what you do in a game
c. We need you to practice and practice hard. “Trust Me”
11. Habits
a. Practice good habits
i. Cut hard, Screen, Great shots
b. We go hard at short intervals of game speed
We don’t have shoot arounds (we call it practice)
Must have focus in shoot around
We will read you
Ask a lot of questions in this
Concentrate!
Preparation and Execution
Game Night Procedures
How much time do you need to get ready?
31 minutes to get ready
Then I Need your eyes and ears
11 minutes for coach speak
Time outs
Players sit on the bench
Talk to teammates the right way
Encourage
Bench Players
Shorter window to produce
Bench measured by wins not stats
Coaches complain about players, Players complain about coaches
Early in game
A lot of movement
Establish Inside game
Hot the guard picks (roll, post defense, double pick away, cut to post up, dribble hand off)
Hot hand – stay with it
Officials
Kenyon Martin Rule – if you throw up your arms you come out (don’t show them up)
Get on refs during deadballs
Media
Media doesn’t want vanilla (doesn’t sell)
Never criticize anyone in organization
Ban “off the record” stuff
Create a brotherhood – “play with each other, for each other)
Do not tolerate questions and excuses
Let the players know early they will be moved if they can not comply
Have individual meetings to never leave anything unaddressed
Address players strengths and weaknesses
Find out what they think
Do You:
1. Buy In
2. Are you accountable
Chain of Command – get on you more if you’re a leader
Internal Leadership
Theme or motto for the week – something that reflects where we are as a team
Ask them what they think should be the theme
Let Players Take Ownership
Don’t want opponent to think he got up on you
Players measure themselves vs. opponent
Throw players curveballs once in a while
No practice if we hold opponent to 72 pts
Video
Music
Saving Private Ryan – guy he let go shot Tom Hanks
Patton – Always advance
Preparation and Execution
Touch guys everyday
Meeting without a meeting
You can be hard on guys if they know you care
8-12 meaningful touches per day
Learn from your players everyday
They work harder if it is their idea
Use the media to give love to guys who don’t play a lot
Quick Hitter vs. Zone
Dribble hands offs are harder to guard than pick and rolls
Lay some wood on the defense
Receive hand off and hold and read defense for ½ second
If you are not a shooter, then dribble hand off
Box Score Accuses
The Tape Indicts
The Tapes Don’t Lie
JEFF VAN GUNDY
We’re a product of where and who we coached with
Coaching the same basically at every level
Do it in detail then pare it down
Write everything down and update it
Show them what it is supposed to look like – use past tapes, dvds
Backs against the wall
Riley scripted everything he said
Never off the cuff
Socratic testing of team on the wall
Sit them in a stance, don’t criticize, just move on, retention of knowledge
From Riley:
End of the year appraisal for the staff
One and a half hours
Riley to Van Gundy: “Do you want me to be honest with you?”
Things he said:
You dress poorly, will never be a head coach that way
You can be a head coach in this league. I just wanted to be an assistant for
a while.
He gave you confidence to be a head coach.
1. Are you competent? They will trust.
2. Are you reliable?
3. Are you trustworthy
4. Are you sincere
Coaching Confidence
De-Motivators: fear, doubt, worry
Build up each others confidence
If you are a glass half empty or totally empty like me, then you need a positive influence around
Greatest players in the NBA are most fragile
Constant confrontation with facts, misleading facts, etc. by Riley
Who can you coach?
Soft, stupid, selfish
Can’t coach anyone with two S’s
Can’t dumb down until it is just dumb
Hold marathon film sessions to develop concentration and tolerance
“Hold you hostage” – go over everything (becomes a motivator)
Curry favor of the media as well as coaches ally
See it. Talk it. Execute it.
CLINIC NOTES: JAMIE DIXON
JAMIE DIXON
ZONE OFFENSE
8/3/07
Look back at previous years practice plans
Reach out to people
Asst to head didn’t change much – don’t want them to think you’re phony
Learn to delegate
We are known for defense and rebounding
We are good offensively, but people think Pitt and think Def & Reb
Zone
1. Keep it simple
2. Patience
3. Inside touch
4. Crash
Lots of plays but we rep it!!
3 out/2 in
Bigs X the paint except on skip – skip & follow
If big at high post is denied, he becomes screener
Big look in and then opposite – shot, partner, opposite
On the 3 guards’ movement, cut to a slightly different spot
Get attempt to have a chance to rebound…always have 3 to off boards
Vs. 1-3-1, spaced but active on the glass
Sets to start vs. zone…lots of ballscreens to get penetration
Sets and man plays vs. matchup
Begin zone off work 1st day of practice
Closed practices, but open & welcome for coaches to attend
ZONE OFFENSE
8/3/07
Look back at previous years practice plans
Reach out to people
Asst to head didn’t change much – don’t want them to think you’re phony
Learn to delegate
We are known for defense and rebounding
We are good offensively, but people think Pitt and think Def & Reb
Zone
1. Keep it simple
2. Patience
3. Inside touch
4. Crash
Lots of plays but we rep it!!
3 out/2 in
Bigs X the paint except on skip – skip & follow
If big at high post is denied, he becomes screener
Big look in and then opposite – shot, partner, opposite
On the 3 guards’ movement, cut to a slightly different spot
Get attempt to have a chance to rebound…always have 3 to off boards
Vs. 1-3-1, spaced but active on the glass
Sets to start vs. zone…lots of ballscreens to get penetration
Sets and man plays vs. matchup
Begin zone off work 1st day of practice
Closed practices, but open & welcome for coaches to attend
VIDEO NOTES: TOM IZZO DEFENSE & REBOUNDING
Backcut / Dive Defensive Drill
Beat & Belt – Izzo video
Screen Defense – all 3x back and forth
Jam Drill – Back and forth up top
Up and under vs. non rolling threat
Up and over – trap
Up and over recover vs. popper
MSU trail everything
Outside/ inside – follow outside buttcheek, then inside buttcheek
On Pin Downs Trailer steps out then in to get around back of screener
Big Shows to prevent hard curl
Vs. Double
Big steps up, back big zones – stop slip and space
“step up, zone under”
Back guy has first cutter
Back man/zone man talks
Step up man gets back to man
Rebounding
Low man wins
Chicken Wing ‘Em – break there sternum, leg step between there legs
Make em quit trying – your job easier
5 on 5 war – pts only on defensive rebounds, -1 for offensive score
Wedge ‘em low like a wedge
Don’t go back on your heels
Players should grab ball at rim
When MSU committed to rebounding went up to 17 off. Boards
4 to boards guards get 3.5 boards, 3 then 2.5 orebs
Post Defense
¾ - Chicken wing (elbow behind) (post def. grab shirt and but forearm in ribs)
If post spins on shot, hit with chicken wing (don’t extend arm)
Constantly force him down
Move on the pass, not on the catch
Try to beat ball to the catcher
Weakside – 2 feet in paint
4 to boards advantages
Mental edge in rebounding
\
Rebounding – not cutout
Hit, find, get
Aggressively go get – always above rim, net, or head
Offensive rebounding – avoid contact, read rebound (not path of least resistance)
2 step – jab and go opposite
3 on 3 continuity
Elbow and block always covered
Recover to help always
Never let cut in front
Jump and pressure ball
Yell “joe elbow” instead of help
Beat & Belt – Izzo video
Screen Defense – all 3x back and forth
Jam Drill – Back and forth up top
Up and under vs. non rolling threat
Up and over – trap
Up and over recover vs. popper
MSU trail everything
Outside/ inside – follow outside buttcheek, then inside buttcheek
On Pin Downs Trailer steps out then in to get around back of screener
Big Shows to prevent hard curl
Vs. Double
Big steps up, back big zones – stop slip and space
“step up, zone under”
Back guy has first cutter
Back man/zone man talks
Step up man gets back to man
Rebounding
Low man wins
Chicken Wing ‘Em – break there sternum, leg step between there legs
Make em quit trying – your job easier
5 on 5 war – pts only on defensive rebounds, -1 for offensive score
Wedge ‘em low like a wedge
Don’t go back on your heels
Players should grab ball at rim
When MSU committed to rebounding went up to 17 off. Boards
4 to boards guards get 3.5 boards, 3 then 2.5 orebs
Post Defense
¾ - Chicken wing (elbow behind) (post def. grab shirt and but forearm in ribs)
If post spins on shot, hit with chicken wing (don’t extend arm)
Constantly force him down
Move on the pass, not on the catch
Try to beat ball to the catcher
Weakside – 2 feet in paint
4 to boards advantages
Mental edge in rebounding
\
Rebounding – not cutout
Hit, find, get
Aggressively go get – always above rim, net, or head
Offensive rebounding – avoid contact, read rebound (not path of least resistance)
2 step – jab and go opposite
3 on 3 continuity
Elbow and block always covered
Recover to help always
Never let cut in front
Jump and pressure ball
Yell “joe elbow” instead of help
Clinic Notes: Bob Knight
Bob Knight
Notebooks
Assign a notebook and pen as a big deal
Give nothing Xeroxed to the players
Make them write it down
Check their notebooks
Even scouting reports – you understand when you write something down
Consequences
Teaching has become a profession where we don’t use consequences
Rarely have I prevented kids from playing
I punish the team
Ran them to death to get rid of them
Running bothers them
Make the others run while the culprit watches
Get kids to pay attention, play hard, play to win
Respect vs like
If you think about whether people like you or not, you will make a lot of bad decisions and you cant coach
Run 51 miles if you miss shoot around
A sprint down and back
Remind kids you are there to help them. They must know this. Have former players come back and reminisce on how tough it was.
Reinforce
Bring in others to talk to players
Music school guy
Roles
Define them for players
Mike K at Army
I got to guard and not the throw ball away
I thought I should have played more
Keep practice stats. Logic
Define. Understand. Accept. Fulfill.
Toughness is a role in itself.
Let players decide everything you don’t care about
Cool Runnings – movie to watch
Meetings
Talk with kids at least once a week for 5-10 mins
Familiarity can to lead to lack of discipline, keep some distance
Hes not your buddy or pal when you play for him. When you leave he is a really good friend.
Evaluate Players
Its not the structure of the press, it’s the quickness of the players that get things done.
Their press will be our offense.
We all try to do to much with out teams.
All the tricky stuff on Sunday was thrown out by Wednesday.
Evaluate team and play the best way
Emphasis in a practice
Blockout, screening, helping
In season – point of emphasis for game
Walk through
Morning before class
Afternoon before meal
Observation comes from concentration
Recognition comes from observation
Action comes from recognition
Recognition comes from action
Recognize, anticipate, make play
Sweat with players, can never be too prepared
Think of ways to raise money yourself
Campus relationships
Disparity of thinking at every level of athletics
Speak in other classes
Run players if the players miss classes
Newell- you are not a social worker
Don’t enable the deviants. It retards the rest of the teams progress.
Notebooks
Assign a notebook and pen as a big deal
Give nothing Xeroxed to the players
Make them write it down
Check their notebooks
Even scouting reports – you understand when you write something down
Consequences
Teaching has become a profession where we don’t use consequences
Rarely have I prevented kids from playing
I punish the team
Ran them to death to get rid of them
Running bothers them
Make the others run while the culprit watches
Get kids to pay attention, play hard, play to win
Respect vs like
If you think about whether people like you or not, you will make a lot of bad decisions and you cant coach
Run 51 miles if you miss shoot around
A sprint down and back
Remind kids you are there to help them. They must know this. Have former players come back and reminisce on how tough it was.
Reinforce
Bring in others to talk to players
Music school guy
Roles
Define them for players
Mike K at Army
I got to guard and not the throw ball away
I thought I should have played more
Keep practice stats. Logic
Define. Understand. Accept. Fulfill.
Toughness is a role in itself.
Let players decide everything you don’t care about
Cool Runnings – movie to watch
Meetings
Talk with kids at least once a week for 5-10 mins
Familiarity can to lead to lack of discipline, keep some distance
Hes not your buddy or pal when you play for him. When you leave he is a really good friend.
Evaluate Players
Its not the structure of the press, it’s the quickness of the players that get things done.
Their press will be our offense.
We all try to do to much with out teams.
All the tricky stuff on Sunday was thrown out by Wednesday.
Evaluate team and play the best way
Emphasis in a practice
Blockout, screening, helping
In season – point of emphasis for game
Walk through
Morning before class
Afternoon before meal
Observation comes from concentration
Recognition comes from observation
Action comes from recognition
Recognition comes from action
Recognize, anticipate, make play
Sweat with players, can never be too prepared
Think of ways to raise money yourself
Campus relationships
Disparity of thinking at every level of athletics
Speak in other classes
Run players if the players miss classes
Newell- you are not a social worker
Don’t enable the deviants. It retards the rest of the teams progress.
8.20.2010
TrueHoop Blog with a few great article today
TrueHoop is a blog part of the ESPN network. Everyday there is a collection of articles gather usually by Kevin Arnovitz.
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/19344/friday-bullets-159
Today a couple notes caught my eye.
-He links to TheTwoManGame.com which breaks down a set involving misdirection screening action into backscreen lob.
-I though Flip Saunders quote that "defensively, the team always takes the personality of their players," was interesting (from truthaboutit.net).
-He links to the Basketball-Reference.com Blog, where they measured which players have played for the best offenses over the course of their careers
-Jeremy Wagner of Roundball Mining Company (link to red94.net) made an interesting comment on Carmelo Anthony: "There are few players who can score in as many was as Carmelo can, yet instead of exploiting the advantages the team earns due to the attention he receives from the opposition Melo frequently forces his way into the teeth of the defense in an attempt to prove he can do it. Carmelo has never made that leap from I can do it, to we can do it and as a result makes things more difficult on himself than it needs to be which leads directly to the surprising void between his talent and his lack of efficiency."
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/19344/friday-bullets-159
Today a couple notes caught my eye.
-He links to TheTwoManGame.com which breaks down a set involving misdirection screening action into backscreen lob.
-I though Flip Saunders quote that "defensively, the team always takes the personality of their players," was interesting (from truthaboutit.net).
-He links to the Basketball-Reference.com Blog, where they measured which players have played for the best offenses over the course of their careers
-Jeremy Wagner of Roundball Mining Company (link to red94.net) made an interesting comment on Carmelo Anthony: "There are few players who can score in as many was as Carmelo can, yet instead of exploiting the advantages the team earns due to the attention he receives from the opposition Melo frequently forces his way into the teeth of the defense in an attempt to prove he can do it. Carmelo has never made that leap from I can do it, to we can do it and as a result makes things more difficult on himself than it needs to be which leads directly to the surprising void between his talent and his lack of efficiency."
8.18.2010
Pump Collegiate Business Conference '10 - Brian Curtis, Paradigm Sports
Pump Collegiate Business Conference 2010
Brian Curtis – Paradigm Sports
Spoke about the realities of getting coaching positions and his experience with Parker Search firm. Without getting into a lot of the statistics, here are a few of the highlights from his presentation.
Titles are devalued. Alabama football has 9 assistant or associate head coaches.
Traits of successful interviews/candidates for head coaching positions
1. likeability
2. experience as head coach
3. interpersonal skills – connecting with the AD, president, etc.
a. he says he knows with first 2 or 3 minutes if it is going to work
4. school or conference affiliation
5. strong media and public speaking skills
6. likeability
7. respected network of vouchers (Pumps, Nike, other AD’s)
8. NBA experience not necessary a factor
9. education and demonstration of a commitment to academics
10. aura of a head coach
11. knows how to appeal to an audience
12. likeable
In an interview:
Do not give opinions; you never know who has a different opinion
Stay neutral
Do not over promise
No x’s and o’s
Leave them with golden nuggets they will remember
These are their mental signatures of you
Examples and stories leave marks
Bring human element in, wife & kids
Emotional stories
Assistant coaches, get an agent only if you need help marketing yourself
Resume – 2 pages acceptable
no objective or skill section
education and job history
5-6 specific bullets of each job: finance, recruiting, marketing, position coached, players, fundraising, scouting reports
other relevant experiences
Portfolios
Have plans for first 100 days, first 30 days
Academic program
It could be a grand slam or strikeout
If you do well in interview, then they don’t like it then it hurts you
May keep in case, you feel interview didn’t go well then give at the end
Brian Curtis – Paradigm Sports
Spoke about the realities of getting coaching positions and his experience with Parker Search firm. Without getting into a lot of the statistics, here are a few of the highlights from his presentation.
Titles are devalued. Alabama football has 9 assistant or associate head coaches.
Traits of successful interviews/candidates for head coaching positions
1. likeability
2. experience as head coach
3. interpersonal skills – connecting with the AD, president, etc.
a. he says he knows with first 2 or 3 minutes if it is going to work
4. school or conference affiliation
5. strong media and public speaking skills
6. likeability
7. respected network of vouchers (Pumps, Nike, other AD’s)
8. NBA experience not necessary a factor
9. education and demonstration of a commitment to academics
10. aura of a head coach
11. knows how to appeal to an audience
12. likeable
In an interview:
Do not give opinions; you never know who has a different opinion
Stay neutral
Do not over promise
No x’s and o’s
Leave them with golden nuggets they will remember
These are their mental signatures of you
Examples and stories leave marks
Bring human element in, wife & kids
Emotional stories
Assistant coaches, get an agent only if you need help marketing yourself
Resume – 2 pages acceptable
no objective or skill section
education and job history
5-6 specific bullets of each job: finance, recruiting, marketing, position coached, players, fundraising, scouting reports
other relevant experiences
Portfolios
Have plans for first 100 days, first 30 days
Academic program
It could be a grand slam or strikeout
If you do well in interview, then they don’t like it then it hurts you
May keep in case, you feel interview didn’t go well then give at the end
Pump Collegiate Business Conference '10 - Frank Martin Notes
Pump Collegiate Business Conference 2010
Frank Martin
Listen and learn to other coaches to teach your own vision better
If you ask your players to listen, you have got to truly listen to them
His subbing for mistakes philosophy is that while some will take you out and turn the fans on you, he prefers to yell and scream at you so that he looks like the jerk and takes the heat
Does not necessarily believe in suspending kids
Citing his high school coaching experience, nothing ticks parent or high school coaches off more than when college coaches do not back up their kids. Kids will make mistakes, it is part of the growing process
Worries most about what he cannot control: 10pm to 6am
Does not have a team curfew just because, may pick his spots
Does not believe you can cage the young men. What happens when you open the cage door?
He surrounds himself with loyalty and honesty on his staff. He wants disagreements. No yes men on his staff. Whether everyone agrees with him or not, when the meetings are over they all support and are unified.
Assistants must sell their head coach. If you don’t or can’t do it, you got to move on.
Kids have not changed, adults have changed. Kids will surprise you when you demand from them
Tells his players, if you are lucky you get the chance to be who you are 35 times in 365 days. Don’t throw any of them away
Coaching is not a job. Teaching 270 kids middle school math is a job. Says that as he has moved up the latter from teacher to college assistant to head coach his jobs get easier and they pay more money.
He draws from his high school teaching. Taught him to have answers. When kids asked him why they needed math he said “learning math teaches you logic. It prepares you mind to use logic to solve problems. Those problem solving skills help you everyday.”
When the media referred to him repeatedly as the former high school coach, he took it as compliment. Says ultimate compliment is to be called a teacher.
Easiest to coach are the bad players. Because they have never gotten by on talent, they depend on the whole to succeed. The marginal player knows they need every advantage and needs coaching to win.
If you get the good players, you get them to play together. That is your job.
From Huggins, he wants “everyday m-f’ers”
Does not like a lot of team meetings, prefers to have 1 on 1 deals or have the position coach address a player 1 on 1
Have to hold everyone accountable, be consistent with it
Believes in not over blowing situations but teaching moments
Michael Beasley slept in the first film session. Stopped the film, turned on the lights. Had him stand up for the rest of film session because he said its harder to sleep standing up.
Its easier to have more structure and deviate then to have less structure and improvise
If you are improvising, they know you are cheating them
Earn vs giving
When a kid is given 15 pairs of shoes, he has no regard for leaving a pair at the park. When he has to work a week to get a pair, it has value to him. Earning things puts a value on it.
No freshmen speak to the media. They have never won a game, been to a practice, achieved anything so how can they speak for the program or team.
Martin loves pressure defense and putting pressure on teams in every way
He cannot stand being backed into a corner so that’s what he tries to do
Pressure defense
Creates depth
Keeps everyone on the team engaged and motivated for practice
Conditioning
If a player is in shape he runs back every time, goes to glass every time, and does everything
If you are in better shape, you can go longer with shorter rest.
Ask players to play until they are exhausted. If they do he trusts them.
When trusted, he lets his players sub themselves out and sub themselves back in. He just tells him who to sub in for.
Cannot stand selfish players or people. His demands for offensive rebounding and pressure defense don’t allow time for guys to worry about another player’s bad shot or looking him off.
Transition Offense
Run every single time
Never runs any transition defense drills in his career. They always go to the offensive glass. Been first 2 years in a row. Aggressiveness on offensive glass has kept teams from running on them.
He decides who gets pissed at whom on his team
Last 2 seasons, his teams have lead in offensive rebounds and free throw attempts
Believes it is easier to slow down his team offensively than to speed them up so he always plays fast
Get a treadmill by the court each practice. Does not punish the whole anymore for 1 guy dogging it. Gets the dog out and puts him on a controlled sprint on the treadmill. If you run him on the court, he’ll probably continue to be a dog at his pace. Plus 11 other guys may be doing the drill right, don’t screw up your own practice.
Defense
Foundation is half court man to man
Spend 75% of practice time on defense
Plays a gap defense
1. ball pressure – responsible for high passes
2. help defenders should never get beat
3. helpers are up the line, in line
4. pass receivers should catch and immediately be turning away from the rim
5. the elbows are the “kill area”, wants to keep ball away from there at all costs
6. wants to force short passes. On offense throwing short passes gets you beat
7. puts a line splitting the court into halves.
a. Calls it the ‘dumbass line”
i. For bigs, on offense run on it.
ii. On defense be on it
8. when offense is trying to get open, they want contact. Practice defense not letting the offense touch you.
9. teaches with a lot of 3 on 3 drills. Ball is always checked and picked up at half court line
10. RULE: ball never crosses half court line unguarded
11. teaches whole – part – whole
12. very little pre-set shell drills
a. starts with 4 on baseline, 4 beyond arc closeout drill with 3 running to their help spots
b. begin with shooter beneath rim, coming off screens
c. will do 4 on 4 then add big after wing entry pass
d. 6 on 4 screening: coach with ball between circles. Guards on block, bigs in slots, 2 coaches with pads stationary at elbows. 4 defenders on live players. Coaches with pads look to beat up the defenders, bigs look to screen and get guards open.
Discipline Issues
Does not run guys in the morning. Believes that takes away from him or his coaches time. He does it at 10pm on a Thursday or Friday. Take the players time, he did the crime.
Practices hard every time. Backed off 1 time in his career (before butler game, felt needed to save legs) and regrets it.
Frank Martin
Listen and learn to other coaches to teach your own vision better
If you ask your players to listen, you have got to truly listen to them
His subbing for mistakes philosophy is that while some will take you out and turn the fans on you, he prefers to yell and scream at you so that he looks like the jerk and takes the heat
Does not necessarily believe in suspending kids
Citing his high school coaching experience, nothing ticks parent or high school coaches off more than when college coaches do not back up their kids. Kids will make mistakes, it is part of the growing process
Worries most about what he cannot control: 10pm to 6am
Does not have a team curfew just because, may pick his spots
Does not believe you can cage the young men. What happens when you open the cage door?
He surrounds himself with loyalty and honesty on his staff. He wants disagreements. No yes men on his staff. Whether everyone agrees with him or not, when the meetings are over they all support and are unified.
Assistants must sell their head coach. If you don’t or can’t do it, you got to move on.
Kids have not changed, adults have changed. Kids will surprise you when you demand from them
Tells his players, if you are lucky you get the chance to be who you are 35 times in 365 days. Don’t throw any of them away
Coaching is not a job. Teaching 270 kids middle school math is a job. Says that as he has moved up the latter from teacher to college assistant to head coach his jobs get easier and they pay more money.
He draws from his high school teaching. Taught him to have answers. When kids asked him why they needed math he said “learning math teaches you logic. It prepares you mind to use logic to solve problems. Those problem solving skills help you everyday.”
When the media referred to him repeatedly as the former high school coach, he took it as compliment. Says ultimate compliment is to be called a teacher.
Easiest to coach are the bad players. Because they have never gotten by on talent, they depend on the whole to succeed. The marginal player knows they need every advantage and needs coaching to win.
If you get the good players, you get them to play together. That is your job.
From Huggins, he wants “everyday m-f’ers”
Does not like a lot of team meetings, prefers to have 1 on 1 deals or have the position coach address a player 1 on 1
Have to hold everyone accountable, be consistent with it
Believes in not over blowing situations but teaching moments
Michael Beasley slept in the first film session. Stopped the film, turned on the lights. Had him stand up for the rest of film session because he said its harder to sleep standing up.
Its easier to have more structure and deviate then to have less structure and improvise
If you are improvising, they know you are cheating them
Earn vs giving
When a kid is given 15 pairs of shoes, he has no regard for leaving a pair at the park. When he has to work a week to get a pair, it has value to him. Earning things puts a value on it.
No freshmen speak to the media. They have never won a game, been to a practice, achieved anything so how can they speak for the program or team.
Martin loves pressure defense and putting pressure on teams in every way
He cannot stand being backed into a corner so that’s what he tries to do
Pressure defense
Creates depth
Keeps everyone on the team engaged and motivated for practice
Conditioning
If a player is in shape he runs back every time, goes to glass every time, and does everything
If you are in better shape, you can go longer with shorter rest.
Ask players to play until they are exhausted. If they do he trusts them.
When trusted, he lets his players sub themselves out and sub themselves back in. He just tells him who to sub in for.
Cannot stand selfish players or people. His demands for offensive rebounding and pressure defense don’t allow time for guys to worry about another player’s bad shot or looking him off.
Transition Offense
Run every single time
Never runs any transition defense drills in his career. They always go to the offensive glass. Been first 2 years in a row. Aggressiveness on offensive glass has kept teams from running on them.
He decides who gets pissed at whom on his team
Last 2 seasons, his teams have lead in offensive rebounds and free throw attempts
Believes it is easier to slow down his team offensively than to speed them up so he always plays fast
Get a treadmill by the court each practice. Does not punish the whole anymore for 1 guy dogging it. Gets the dog out and puts him on a controlled sprint on the treadmill. If you run him on the court, he’ll probably continue to be a dog at his pace. Plus 11 other guys may be doing the drill right, don’t screw up your own practice.
Defense
Foundation is half court man to man
Spend 75% of practice time on defense
Plays a gap defense
1. ball pressure – responsible for high passes
2. help defenders should never get beat
3. helpers are up the line, in line
4. pass receivers should catch and immediately be turning away from the rim
5. the elbows are the “kill area”, wants to keep ball away from there at all costs
6. wants to force short passes. On offense throwing short passes gets you beat
7. puts a line splitting the court into halves.
a. Calls it the ‘dumbass line”
i. For bigs, on offense run on it.
ii. On defense be on it
8. when offense is trying to get open, they want contact. Practice defense not letting the offense touch you.
9. teaches with a lot of 3 on 3 drills. Ball is always checked and picked up at half court line
10. RULE: ball never crosses half court line unguarded
11. teaches whole – part – whole
12. very little pre-set shell drills
a. starts with 4 on baseline, 4 beyond arc closeout drill with 3 running to their help spots
b. begin with shooter beneath rim, coming off screens
c. will do 4 on 4 then add big after wing entry pass
d. 6 on 4 screening: coach with ball between circles. Guards on block, bigs in slots, 2 coaches with pads stationary at elbows. 4 defenders on live players. Coaches with pads look to beat up the defenders, bigs look to screen and get guards open.
Discipline Issues
Does not run guys in the morning. Believes that takes away from him or his coaches time. He does it at 10pm on a Thursday or Friday. Take the players time, he did the crime.
Practices hard every time. Backed off 1 time in his career (before butler game, felt needed to save legs) and regrets it.
8.16.2010
A New Coach & Culture Change
Interesting quote from new UNLV football ooach Bobby Hauck as he works to change the culture and the team adjusts to his intense practices.
If your body is not ready, your mind will not be willing.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/aug/16/notebook-cream-beginning-rise-haucks-camp-intensif/
"It's one thing we talked about with our team yesterday is some guys are fighting through it, and some guys are trying to find a way to survive, rather than be an improver," he analyzed. "We're trying to get everyone moved into the improver category and the go-get-it category instead of the survivor category."
If your body is not ready, your mind will not be willing.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/aug/16/notebook-cream-beginning-rise-haucks-camp-intensif/
8.15.2010
Coaching U Live 2010 - Highlighted Notes
COACHING U LIVE
July 20-21, 2010
Las Vegas
Quick Notes
Kevin Eastman
On BIGS:
Don’t post up, post across
Own the midline
Theres rarely bad second shots
Be a niche guy
Rim running takes no skill just will
Fist fight to get open, foot fight to score
Leverage game, lower shoulders wins
Perpendicular post (15 foot, heals to baseline)
As the level of play goes up, the floor shrinks (guys are quicker, longer)
Post moves: Your feet get you advantage, the ball separates
“Butt into thy, no deny”
“When in doubt, spread out”
“sprint to spacing”
“pause for poise”
take away a deny arm (make defender turn his shoulders, get wide into their arm)
post – see cutter all the way to rim, Celtics score on delayed cutter passes
OWN-RENT-HOMELESS post position
Steve Nash said he didn’t have ”enough solutions” in his game
Figured out what gave him problems in every scenario & found a counter
Offensively, post should keep eye on his defender, not the ball
Log your defender mentally, whats he doing, what can you do
Is he ¾ hard on post ups? Move your post higher next time
Does he relax on passes out of post? False post him then bury for repost
Go over must-screen situations
Pick n rolls: arrive without your defender
“never let them foul your shooting hand”
Garnett post: draw contact, step top leg behind defenders bottom leg, use upper body to get wide knocking defender off balance over your top leg
Brendan Suhr
Allow players to draw up plays in practice and direct the team
Fran Fraschilla
Use charts for progression for each area of the game to implement in practice
Evaluate your drills with your staff, what can you do to better teach the part
No shot fakes, just rip and go moves
If passer throws to your inside shoulder hes telling you that you are open, if he throws to your outside shoulder, you need to make a play
Kevin Eastman
Don’t stop at hard, get over it
“1 more” culture
championship nature over human nature
coach-onomics
possessions derived from…
there are no voluntary champions
expect – inspect
Coachmanship – leaders define reality
Chase the dream, not the competition
You’ll never outperform your belief system
Scrimmage but after game point, use a validation free throw to seal win. If miss lose 3 points. Chart clutch free throw makers.
Trap-protect-rotate
Force hang time passes
Take out the trash – don’t let things linger or it will stink it up for everyone
July 20-21, 2010
Las Vegas
Quick Notes
Kevin Eastman
On BIGS:
Don’t post up, post across
Own the midline
Theres rarely bad second shots
Be a niche guy
Rim running takes no skill just will
Fist fight to get open, foot fight to score
Leverage game, lower shoulders wins
Perpendicular post (15 foot, heals to baseline)
As the level of play goes up, the floor shrinks (guys are quicker, longer)
Post moves: Your feet get you advantage, the ball separates
“Butt into thy, no deny”
“When in doubt, spread out”
“sprint to spacing”
“pause for poise”
take away a deny arm (make defender turn his shoulders, get wide into their arm)
post – see cutter all the way to rim, Celtics score on delayed cutter passes
OWN-RENT-HOMELESS post position
Steve Nash said he didn’t have ”enough solutions” in his game
Figured out what gave him problems in every scenario & found a counter
Offensively, post should keep eye on his defender, not the ball
Log your defender mentally, whats he doing, what can you do
Is he ¾ hard on post ups? Move your post higher next time
Does he relax on passes out of post? False post him then bury for repost
Go over must-screen situations
Pick n rolls: arrive without your defender
“never let them foul your shooting hand”
Garnett post: draw contact, step top leg behind defenders bottom leg, use upper body to get wide knocking defender off balance over your top leg
Brendan Suhr
Allow players to draw up plays in practice and direct the team
Fran Fraschilla
Use charts for progression for each area of the game to implement in practice
Evaluate your drills with your staff, what can you do to better teach the part
No shot fakes, just rip and go moves
If passer throws to your inside shoulder hes telling you that you are open, if he throws to your outside shoulder, you need to make a play
Kevin Eastman
Don’t stop at hard, get over it
“1 more” culture
championship nature over human nature
coach-onomics
possessions derived from…
there are no voluntary champions
expect – inspect
Coachmanship – leaders define reality
Chase the dream, not the competition
You’ll never outperform your belief system
Scrimmage but after game point, use a validation free throw to seal win. If miss lose 3 points. Chart clutch free throw makers.
Trap-protect-rotate
Force hang time passes
Take out the trash – don’t let things linger or it will stink it up for everyone
7.05.2010
Butler's Recruiting 3rd in the Horizon League, 10% of Kentucky's
Check out the Indy Star's article on Butlers recruiting budget.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20100704/SPORTS0605/7040345/1083/He-has-all-oars-in-the-water/Success-not-changing-Butler-s-recruiting-focus
The 3rd ranked recruiting budget in the Horizon League was a bucket from being National Champions. Kentucky's recruiting budget this year could fund Butler's recruiting for the past 10 years.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20100704/SPORTS0605/7040345/1083/He-has-all-oars-in-the-water/Success-not-changing-Butler-s-recruiting-focus
The 3rd ranked recruiting budget in the Horizon League was a bucket from being National Champions. Kentucky's recruiting budget this year could fund Butler's recruiting for the past 10 years.
In a Horizon League report obtained by the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Butler ranked third in the league in 2008-09 with a $59,644 basketball recruiting budget. Detroit was first at $80,899 and Wisconsin-Milwaukee second at $70,000.
By contrast, the Kentucky athletic board recently approved a $575,000 recruiting budget. Most major powers spend in the $200,000 range.
Stevens said the Bulldogs are looking for the kind of players they have always sought: those who fit their system, allow them to win "at a high level," and who are good students.
9.20.2009
Book Review: "The Education of a Coach" by David Halberstam
This summer I was able to enjoy some reading. Unfortunately, the days are a little shorter once school started back up but finally getting around to accumulating my notes from each of the books. I strongly recommend "The Education of a Coach" by David Halberstam. He's a phenomenal writer and you get a good understanding of Bill Belichick. I found "The Inside Game. Race, Power, and Politics in the NBA" by Wayne Embry very interesting. His career is fascinating and you really get a feel for the changing landscape from the view of the front office throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s in the NBA. "The GM" by Tom Callahan chronicled the story of Ernie Accorsi who retired as the New York Giants GM. It steared clear of pretty much anything controversial but it was a good read. Last in this bundle was "The Draft" by Pete Williams. "The Draft" was a year inside the NFL's search for talent. Here are some of my notes from "The Education of a Coach."
"The Education of a Coach" by David Halberstam
-Halberstam really got into painting a picture of each of the coaches that influenced Belichick. His coach at Andover was Steve Sorota. Several interesting descriptions include:
"his power came from his intelligence, his subtlety, and his kindness, not from his position in hierarchy."
His headmaster hired him and gave him marching orders: "Your job is to teachnot to win a lot of football games." Sorota would say that was the perfect message.
Sorota loved coaching high school because "it was more important than college, because it took place at a more formative time in the boys' lives."
"The job of a good coach was to encourage a boy's better self, to let his confidence grow, but to do it ever so gently."
-Talking about Belichicks early days, they stressed how into film and learning he was. His friend Ernie Adams said Belichick "had the gift for it and he had the discipline, and he understood from the beginning the one great truth about fillm, that the more you ran it, the more you saw."
-This passage is classic Belichick. He changes game plans weekly and he adapts better than anyone. In 2003, he started 42 different players, which was a record for a division winner and won the superbowl. He broke that record in 2005 when he started 45 different players and won the division.
"A lot of players come in, and they've played at a high level, and so they think they know everything, because they've played at big time schools. But the truth is they don't know very much at all, because the game is always changing and because the systems are always changing. But Billy knew that already and that you had to adapt game by game; he knew that everything was always changing. That was one of the things that set him apart. And anothing thing was work ethic. It was always a great work ethic. You could always give him more - he always wanted more. He always wanted to get better. A lot of young wannabe coaches, they always want the stuff that has the glory to it - you can spot guys like that a mile away- but he was different, probably because of the way he had been raised, the way Steve had taught him, and because of the value system of the Naval Academy."
Maxie Baughan who was the first defensive coordinator Belichick worked under said he had a "great cognitive instinct." Outside of understanding facts, he understood what things meant. He could put himself in the other coaches shoes.
Ernie Adams describer being a coach in the NFL "it is a little like being in a high-wire act, with no net underneath you."
Al Groh described the divide between players and coaches in football as OOU and OO, one of us or one of them.
The describe a situation where Ron Meyer was fired in New England in the middle of the 1984 season after a player revolt. It was described this way:
"Formidabe, strong football players had landed at a franchise where the traditional sense of purpose, of winning, had long ago been lost, and in the struggle that ensued, the players had somehow taken power, not because they wanted to do anything with it, but because it was there and because it was easier to do things their way and to be in charge, rather than do the difficult things a series of coaches asked them to do."
"If you couldn't deal with the school bully when you were back in high school, its going to be very hard in the NFL"
Belichick mentions about a player that needs all kinds of personal attention is easier to get rid of because theres always an undertow there.
In New York they had two sets of rules, one of for the team and a different set for Lawrence Taylor. They were aware that Taylor played with such recklessness and free spirit that he couldn't turn it off. They didn't want to him to lose his edge or his love for the game. Once Taylor said in protest you "either get me on thursday or sunday". When Belichick would get his turn he wanted one set of rules and to surround himself with guys with character and talent.
At Cleveland, Belichick had to bring all of his own people in and couldn't bring anyone from the New York Giants where he was defensive coordinator. He started what the author called "Belichick University" which was a group of young men he spotted and would tutor. Most were like him, not great players from less than famous schools, but hungry to be part of the game that eluded them as boys. Rule number one was to put ego aside.
In evaluating Tom Brady out of college, they made an interesting character judgment. As he was sharing time with an underclassmen despite being 20-5 as a starter they noted that he handled the situation with savvy and maturity beyond his years. Rather than crack under the pressure of the media, fans, and some coaches wanting Drew Henson, he rose to meet the challenge.
"The Education of a Coach" by David Halberstam
-Halberstam really got into painting a picture of each of the coaches that influenced Belichick. His coach at Andover was Steve Sorota. Several interesting descriptions include:
"his power came from his intelligence, his subtlety, and his kindness, not from his position in hierarchy."
His headmaster hired him and gave him marching orders: "Your job is to teachnot to win a lot of football games." Sorota would say that was the perfect message.
Sorota loved coaching high school because "it was more important than college, because it took place at a more formative time in the boys' lives."
"The job of a good coach was to encourage a boy's better self, to let his confidence grow, but to do it ever so gently."
-Talking about Belichicks early days, they stressed how into film and learning he was. His friend Ernie Adams said Belichick "had the gift for it and he had the discipline, and he understood from the beginning the one great truth about fillm, that the more you ran it, the more you saw."
-This passage is classic Belichick. He changes game plans weekly and he adapts better than anyone. In 2003, he started 42 different players, which was a record for a division winner and won the superbowl. He broke that record in 2005 when he started 45 different players and won the division.
"A lot of players come in, and they've played at a high level, and so they think they know everything, because they've played at big time schools. But the truth is they don't know very much at all, because the game is always changing and because the systems are always changing. But Billy knew that already and that you had to adapt game by game; he knew that everything was always changing. That was one of the things that set him apart. And anothing thing was work ethic. It was always a great work ethic. You could always give him more - he always wanted more. He always wanted to get better. A lot of young wannabe coaches, they always want the stuff that has the glory to it - you can spot guys like that a mile away- but he was different, probably because of the way he had been raised, the way Steve had taught him, and because of the value system of the Naval Academy."
Maxie Baughan who was the first defensive coordinator Belichick worked under said he had a "great cognitive instinct." Outside of understanding facts, he understood what things meant. He could put himself in the other coaches shoes.
Ernie Adams describer being a coach in the NFL "it is a little like being in a high-wire act, with no net underneath you."
Al Groh described the divide between players and coaches in football as OOU and OO, one of us or one of them.
The describe a situation where Ron Meyer was fired in New England in the middle of the 1984 season after a player revolt. It was described this way:
"Formidabe, strong football players had landed at a franchise where the traditional sense of purpose, of winning, had long ago been lost, and in the struggle that ensued, the players had somehow taken power, not because they wanted to do anything with it, but because it was there and because it was easier to do things their way and to be in charge, rather than do the difficult things a series of coaches asked them to do."
"If you couldn't deal with the school bully when you were back in high school, its going to be very hard in the NFL"
Belichick mentions about a player that needs all kinds of personal attention is easier to get rid of because theres always an undertow there.
In New York they had two sets of rules, one of for the team and a different set for Lawrence Taylor. They were aware that Taylor played with such recklessness and free spirit that he couldn't turn it off. They didn't want to him to lose his edge or his love for the game. Once Taylor said in protest you "either get me on thursday or sunday". When Belichick would get his turn he wanted one set of rules and to surround himself with guys with character and talent.
At Cleveland, Belichick had to bring all of his own people in and couldn't bring anyone from the New York Giants where he was defensive coordinator. He started what the author called "Belichick University" which was a group of young men he spotted and would tutor. Most were like him, not great players from less than famous schools, but hungry to be part of the game that eluded them as boys. Rule number one was to put ego aside.
In evaluating Tom Brady out of college, they made an interesting character judgment. As he was sharing time with an underclassmen despite being 20-5 as a starter they noted that he handled the situation with savvy and maturity beyond his years. Rather than crack under the pressure of the media, fans, and some coaches wanting Drew Henson, he rose to meet the challenge.
8.06.2009
Book Review: Meat Market by Bruce Feldman
As the summer ends, i wanted to add some notes on books on my summer reading list. The book Meat Market by Bruce Feldman followed Ed Orgeron's college footballl recruiting and attempt to rebuild Ole Miss a few years back. Considering how quickly it ended it doesn't appear to be a success story for whatever reason and the book ended with the end of the recruiting season well before the end of his road. It was interesting to see how fragile the footing of a head position is and how intense the hot seat got in a hurry.
A couple of items of note:
First, Orgeron, who is considered one of the best recruiters in all of football, was an extremist on the recruiting front. He had dreamers on his staff that were not afraid to wrestle with the powerhouses and their belief in what they were doing sold several recruits. People thought they were crazy but they had an extreme enthusiasm.
It was interesting to see Orgeron's road through the profession. He's a classic case of you-just-never-know. He had been let go, beat himself down, screwed up, survived a staff change, got a few players, won games and rose to the top.
The reliance on video in college football recruiting is much more intense than college basketball. In general i think college footbal requires perhaps the most work of any of the major sports at either the pro or college level. Football by nature requires so much more personnel management. Throw in recruiting which is so
competitive, it is a multi-faceted 365 day job.
Orgeron would challenge his assistants and wanted guys that would not fear the big schools in working for a kid.
Unlike basketball which requires much less player mapping, Ole Miss had huge boards dividing players into in-state offense and defense and out-of-state offense and defense.
All broken down into positions, orange names meant they were committed, blue meant there was an offer, green means the kid is a prospect requiring more evaluations.
Per unit, they had a clear priority.
The coaches had large recruiting room and while on calls occasionally a coach would hold a phone up and the entire staff give their go rebels yell.
The dynamic of picking and choosing when to try to sell the boss on their kid of choice was something of a political lobbying session.
Often brought up in the book is the battle with their own compliance department for getting kids in. The average fan doesn't realize how crucial the support and flexibiliy of being able to get kids into school is. Many schools pool of candidates is much bigger than others. The playing field is absolutely not level. Some schools are set up to win. Those are the jobs to find.
I think there is lessons to be learned by basketball teams in the way camps are a tool for recruiting. Now with elite camps, many teams have figured it out but
the ability to get kids on campus and their non-diverted attention for a span is worth 50 phone calls, 1000 letters, a flashy website and media guide, and watching every other game.
It was amazing how much weight the 40 yard dash holds. Blows my mind that it matters that much. Cannot figure out why it is weighted so highly when kids have no pads on and rarely run a straight forty ever in the game.
The philosophy toward work and recruiting was always have a great attitude. Be organized and rock and roll. He also had several key points:
Be Choosey- they were 4-8 but dont recruit like they were 4-8
Get Transcripts-always be correct on their academic standing
Do Not Break Rules
Know your juniors - they wanted to get in their first thing
Show the Ole Miss Flag - wear Ole Miss everything
Make Friends- use first names
Be Thorough - "best compliment you can get is for the recruit to tell coach 'your assistant already covered that'"
At the end of their shoot for the stars campaign to reel in players, their recruiting class had some misses and ended with 2 open spots to fill. In a twist of irony, the book ends with the master recruiter considering a former walk on for challenging for his QB spot.
A couple of items of note:
First, Orgeron, who is considered one of the best recruiters in all of football, was an extremist on the recruiting front. He had dreamers on his staff that were not afraid to wrestle with the powerhouses and their belief in what they were doing sold several recruits. People thought they were crazy but they had an extreme enthusiasm.
It was interesting to see Orgeron's road through the profession. He's a classic case of you-just-never-know. He had been let go, beat himself down, screwed up, survived a staff change, got a few players, won games and rose to the top.
The reliance on video in college football recruiting is much more intense than college basketball. In general i think college footbal requires perhaps the most work of any of the major sports at either the pro or college level. Football by nature requires so much more personnel management. Throw in recruiting which is so
competitive, it is a multi-faceted 365 day job.
Orgeron would challenge his assistants and wanted guys that would not fear the big schools in working for a kid.
Unlike basketball which requires much less player mapping, Ole Miss had huge boards dividing players into in-state offense and defense and out-of-state offense and defense.
All broken down into positions, orange names meant they were committed, blue meant there was an offer, green means the kid is a prospect requiring more evaluations.
Per unit, they had a clear priority.
The coaches had large recruiting room and while on calls occasionally a coach would hold a phone up and the entire staff give their go rebels yell.
The dynamic of picking and choosing when to try to sell the boss on their kid of choice was something of a political lobbying session.
Often brought up in the book is the battle with their own compliance department for getting kids in. The average fan doesn't realize how crucial the support and flexibiliy of being able to get kids into school is. Many schools pool of candidates is much bigger than others. The playing field is absolutely not level. Some schools are set up to win. Those are the jobs to find.
I think there is lessons to be learned by basketball teams in the way camps are a tool for recruiting. Now with elite camps, many teams have figured it out but
the ability to get kids on campus and their non-diverted attention for a span is worth 50 phone calls, 1000 letters, a flashy website and media guide, and watching every other game.
It was amazing how much weight the 40 yard dash holds. Blows my mind that it matters that much. Cannot figure out why it is weighted so highly when kids have no pads on and rarely run a straight forty ever in the game.
The philosophy toward work and recruiting was always have a great attitude. Be organized and rock and roll. He also had several key points:
Be Choosey- they were 4-8 but dont recruit like they were 4-8
Get Transcripts-always be correct on their academic standing
Do Not Break Rules
Know your juniors - they wanted to get in their first thing
Show the Ole Miss Flag - wear Ole Miss everything
Make Friends- use first names
Be Thorough - "best compliment you can get is for the recruit to tell coach 'your assistant already covered that'"
At the end of their shoot for the stars campaign to reel in players, their recruiting class had some misses and ended with 2 open spots to fill. In a twist of irony, the book ends with the master recruiter considering a former walk on for challenging for his QB spot.
6.19.2009
SI.com: Life in NBA not as easy as planned for ex-Syracuse star Greene
Interesting article by Rick Maese at SI.com about Donte Greene who came out early from Syracuse despite warnings that the NBA is not as easy as it appears to be.
Check it out here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/ncaa/06/17/greene/index.html
A few interesting excerpts:
-"Man, it was crazy," Greene says of his rookie year. "Just nothing like I expected."
-"To see him (Griffin) in that position, you think, what if I would've stayed? Where would I be?" says Greene. "I could still be with the Kings, but would I be a top-5 pick? There've been lots of what-ifs. Especially when you're not playing, you got all that time to think. And I loved college so much, loved Coach [Jim] Boeheim. I just keep telling myself, this is what you wanted, you wanted to be in this spot. Keep working."
-Last year, 69 underclassmen filed as early-entry candidates. Of those, 29 were drafted while 10 others never heard their name called (30 others withdrew from the draft and returned to school).
-"These young guys, they get all this attention, everyone telling them they're good, and they listen to it. So they come out because they want to be stars," says Ryan Blake, the NBA's assistant director of scouting.
A lot of them don't make it.
-This year, more than 60 college players filed as early-entrants and as of Monday's deadline 39 stayed in to try for one of the precious few NBA jobs that open up each year.
-"They have so many people in their ear, I don't know what they listen to," he says. "We really don't know."
-"He used to be the guy who was always playing around, joking. I mean, he's still that same guy, but he's got to work out more, keep his body right, spend time with his family, do all these things. This is real life now, you know?"
-"I don't want to settle with just being in the NBA. I want to use the NBA and what the NBA gives me and make a name for myself."
-Greene has given the matter a lot of thought. If a player isn't absolutely certain he's a lottery pick, Greene knows exactly what he'd advise.
"I would say stay in school," he says. "What guys got to understand, when you come out of school, you're not a kid no more. You got to grow up fast. I was 20 -- not a baby but still kind of young. I wasn't even paying my own phone bill, wasn't paying taxes, none of that. Man, you got to grow up fast."
-Greene chuckles when he's reminded that his advice is exactly what his Syracuse coaches tried telling him just one year ago. "I guess sometimes you just never know how things will turn out," he says.
Check it out here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/ncaa/06/17/greene/index.html
A few interesting excerpts:
-"Man, it was crazy," Greene says of his rookie year. "Just nothing like I expected."
-"To see him (Griffin) in that position, you think, what if I would've stayed? Where would I be?" says Greene. "I could still be with the Kings, but would I be a top-5 pick? There've been lots of what-ifs. Especially when you're not playing, you got all that time to think. And I loved college so much, loved Coach [Jim] Boeheim. I just keep telling myself, this is what you wanted, you wanted to be in this spot. Keep working."
-Last year, 69 underclassmen filed as early-entry candidates. Of those, 29 were drafted while 10 others never heard their name called (30 others withdrew from the draft and returned to school).
-"These young guys, they get all this attention, everyone telling them they're good, and they listen to it. So they come out because they want to be stars," says Ryan Blake, the NBA's assistant director of scouting.
A lot of them don't make it.
-This year, more than 60 college players filed as early-entrants and as of Monday's deadline 39 stayed in to try for one of the precious few NBA jobs that open up each year.
-"They have so many people in their ear, I don't know what they listen to," he says. "We really don't know."
-"He used to be the guy who was always playing around, joking. I mean, he's still that same guy, but he's got to work out more, keep his body right, spend time with his family, do all these things. This is real life now, you know?"
-"I don't want to settle with just being in the NBA. I want to use the NBA and what the NBA gives me and make a name for myself."
-Greene has given the matter a lot of thought. If a player isn't absolutely certain he's a lottery pick, Greene knows exactly what he'd advise.
"I would say stay in school," he says. "What guys got to understand, when you come out of school, you're not a kid no more. You got to grow up fast. I was 20 -- not a baby but still kind of young. I wasn't even paying my own phone bill, wasn't paying taxes, none of that. Man, you got to grow up fast."
-Greene chuckles when he's reminded that his advice is exactly what his Syracuse coaches tried telling him just one year ago. "I guess sometimes you just never know how things will turn out," he says.
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