Defending Baseline Plays

As coaches, do you spend any time scouting and preparing to defend baseline out of bounds plays? I watched the Tennessee game against Gonzaga yesterday and something that Fran Fraschilla said on the broadcast was that Tennessee spends more time than anybody he's seen in practice scouting and preparing to defend BLOB of other teams.

Personally, I think there is a lot of value in scouting and preparing to defend against opponent BLOB and SLOB especially when the other team is well coached and scores at least 50% off of the BLOB. It may sound like spending time focusing on BLOB is probably a waste of time, but consider when the game comes down to crunch time, a big play off defending the BLOB could be the difference between forcing a bad pass or 5 seconds or a score by the opponent. I remember last season when Tennessee forced a 5 second call at the game against Texas, it was a key play in a game they would eventually win in overtime. In this clip, the Vols force a 5 second call against Gonzaga. Watch the video and read my thoughts below,



When you talk about 2 great teams going against each other, the little things are usually the difference between the winner and the loser. Gonzaga is a great team, they have athleticism, shooting, size, depth. Tennessee was better yesterday simply because they did the little things, they played just a little harder. BLOB defense is just one example of those little things that can make a big difference.

If you are a Bruce Pearl fan like me, then you'll probably want to check out Bruce Pearl's DVD on OB nuggets. Though he talks more about executing BLOB, it's a good insight into the mind of a great X's and O's coach. Happy New Year everyone and be sure to check out the X's and O's of Basketball Forum to discuss this and more of your favorite basketball topics.