Just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. I hope all of your coaching dreams come true in 2010 and we'll see y'all next year...

• 0 comments »

From the only game on the Saturday college basketball schedule, I was able to catch the whole game start to finish between Seton Hall and West Virginia in their Big East conference play opener, and a great game it was. I'm a big West Virginia fan, but Seton Hall definitely exposed some of WVU's weaknesses on this night.

We know that Bobby Gonzalez is a big fan of full court pressure, and so it was no surprise to see Seton Hall play with the intensity they did. But what I wanted to show in these couple of clips late in the game and in OT was how quick Seton Hall gets into their press. They waste no time celebrating, as soon as they get a score, they are setup in the box press,



Definitely something you need to drill and practice, because the natural instinct for players after they score is to pump their fist, backpedal, etc... For a pressure team, it's a mindset, you score, you get into position for the press, there isn't any time to spare.


Also notice that by simply hastening into position for the press, WVU started to rush as well. It's almost a natural instinct when you see the other team scrambling, to scramble yourself. After the score here, the inbounds is to the player closest with 3 defenders closing in. If WVU had been more patient, they could've gotten a better inbounds,

The flip side is true, you need to drill your players to relax, and play under control when the other team wants to create chaos and play extremely fast. That is what WVU failed to do in that final minute (and they missed a bunch of FTs as well).

Finally, I showed the first clip there because I thought it was important to see how to recover after the press is broken. It's important for you players to play under control and not foul or give up easy points. You have to pressure the ball hard, but you also have to play under control and recover when you are beaten.

I've been watching Seton Hall and their press for a while now and I'm always impressed by the energy they play with. If you want to know more about their full court pressure system, check out Bobby Gonzalez's 3-pack DVD on Full Court Defense which includes his 1-2-2 Containment Press, white/black full-court matchup press, and 9 Competitive Practice Drills. Definitely worth getting if you like how Seton Hall plays.

• 1 comments »

Like most of y'all I woke up today with the news that Urban Meyer, the highly successful football coach for the University of Florida at the peak of his coaching career, has decided to resign due to health concerns and to spend more time with his young family. We spend so much time taking care of others, we sometimes forget to take care of ourselves.

So with this being the holidays, this is a not so subtle reminder to all of us, all of you coaches out there, to make sure you take care of yourselves and your families first.

Happy Holidays, thank you for all of your support, and hope you and your families have a great break.

• 0 comments »

A great all-access segment by NBA TV on Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, in anticipation of the big Christmas day game between the Lakers and the Cavs. I talked to a stock-broker friend the other day, and he told me that if there was just one thing he wished he could be an expert in, it would be psychology. It's the same in coaching and teaching, psychology is by far the most important factor in becoming successful.


I think all coaches seek to reach that higher level of engagement, where as coaches we are guiding rather than dictating. Where the players are take responsibility for their own improvement and the improvement of the team. It's definitely not easy, and requires that you have some background in psychology and sociology. But when it clicks, you just know that you've reached the nirvana of teaching.

• 0 comments »

Another great weekend of college basketball games. Some interesting finishes like the Xavier vs Butler game. Today, I was able to watch some recorded video of the Illinois and Georgia game and in watching the game it was evident why they were able to win the game despite being the inferior team talent and skill-wise. Their team defense was able to overcome what they lacked in their individual defensive matchups. They were able to force the Illini to settle for jumpers and they rebounded extremely well.

Specifically in one area, I thought the Bulldogs did an outstanding job all night, and that was in how they handled ball screens. Late in the game, these are 2 examples of where they rotated well on the backside, and also forced the Illini into tough shots,



Whenever you hedge hard or trap the ball screen, it is essential that the rest of your team rotates to protect the basket first and foremost. Your weakside defenders must drop down into the lane, and the weakside wing should split the 2 outside players,



In the second sequence, with the game on the line, the Bulldogs hedge hard on the ball screen again, preventing the PG from turning the corner. As the seconds tick down, the McCamey of the Illini decides to take his defender 1v1, good choice because he is quicker, but without the ball screen, the play is essentially 1v5 with the help defense in great position to force McCamey to force up a mid-lane floater that ricochets off the rim,


Team defense is hard to implement because it requires all 5 players to communicate and execute properly. But when you have buy in and players work at it, it can work tremendously to your advantage especially if you are lacking in really good individual defenders.

For more ideas on defending ball screens in a M2M defense, check out Mark Fox's DVD on Building a M2M Defense. Mark Fox is in his first year as head coach at Georgia and was previously head coach at Nevada for several years.

• 0 comments »

Throughout the year, I think its important to constantly assess how well your practices are being executed. Making adjustments along the way, and finding out what your players can do well, what they need to continue working on, and in which ways do they respond best to. Mostly obvious stuff, but sometimes coaching, teaching, family, etc... can get in the way of reflection. Here are some essential questions based on some notes I dug up by Mike Dunlap on practice planning and assessment:

Time Allotment and Tempo

Do you have a practice schedule worked out for the year?

It's important for your players, parents, other teachers, and administration to know when practices are taking place. In the 24/7 world we live in now, this is a must. Do your players respond better to morning, afterschool, or evening practices? Be prepared to adjust to your team's needs.

How efficient are your practices?

As coaches, we often complain about the lack of practice time, but have you asked yourself exactly how you are utilizing the practice time you have? How many times are players standing around waiting in line? How much time are players simulating the tempo of real game situations? Lastly, but most importantly are you setting aside enough time for teaching?

Process and Emphasis

What is your process for teaching?

Dunlap's 5 laws of learning: 1) Tell them 2) Show them 3) Have them show you 4) Correct the demonstration 5) Repetition. What is your methodology, whole or part? Whole at the beginning of the season, part at the end, according to Dunlap. Is your process the best way to reach your players, could there be a better way?

What do you emphasize?

You can't be everything, you are what you emphasize, simplicity with detail. You should develop your own vocabulary with your players to help with the key concepts you want them to grasp. Test your players every day, do they get what you are trying to emphasize and why?

Why are you doing what you are doing?

As a coach, you need to have a vision, a credo, a mission statement. Know where you are going as a team, then ask yourself "where are we at currently, and how do we get to where we want to go?"

Assessment and Evaluation

What are your expectations?

Assume nothing, make sure everything you are asking your players to do is exactly what you require them to do. Peer pressure is your friend, the player voice is more powerful than yours -- "higher order of teaching". Have individual, small, and big group expectations.

How do you evaluate your players?

Everything you do in practice should be competitive, time/score, reward/punishment. Have a briefing before practices and a debrief after practices. KWL, what they know, what they want to know, what they learned.

How do you know your players are improving?

Skill will most likely not improve significantly over the course of the season, but you can measure their effort. Know the physical capabilities of your players (heart rates, recovery rates). The toughness test, contact drills to build up physical and mental toughness.

For more great practice insights, check out Geno Auriemma's new All Access Practice DVD. Coach Auriemma is of course the longtime head coach of the UConn women's team.

• 0 comments »

I watched Kobe do his thing the other night, hitting another game winner and today I came across this great quote from the Xavier Newsletter which I am happy to report is back in circulation with coach Chris Mack at the helm:

What makes one guy a champion and the other one not?

"It's drive. It's the will. There are certain people that have a tremendous hunger. There are certain people that have a will, determination and hunger that you need to be the best in the world. Those people -- and those people alone -- become champions."

This was Kobe Bryant's response, very similar what other champion's have said when posed the same question (See Arnold Schwarzenegger's response).

I like this quote because it's so true. Often times I watch players from different teams play and from around Grade 9 and on, and I have a pretty good idea which players will be special by the time they get to Varsity and beyond. Too often we focus just on talent. Alot of players have talent, but what truly separates the great ones from the good ones is the will to win. It's not something you can teach either, some players just have it. They practice harder, they player hard, they want it more.

• 0 comments »