Been even more busy then ever picking up more teaching blocks to fill my schedule, which means I'm driving 30-40 miles a day to and from schools and then practices at night. Oh yes, the joys of being a first-year high-school teacher. Anyways, basketball is in full swing now and I'm thoroughly enjoying the assisting role that I'm in. Our team had a good couple of weeks but ended with a loss in the finals of the big tournament in town.
I went through the plethora of highlights and interviews from college gameday yesterday, and this ESPN coaches roundtable with Coaches Jim Boeheim, Tom Izzo, and Bill Self really resonated with me, especially when talking about coaches and losing games. It really is true that the losses always feel way worse than any of the wins (Although I don't know about the feeling about the win to win the Championship that Self talks about because I've never won one). I remember almost every loss I've coached (both as a head coach and assistant), between football and basketball, over the past 7 years. And I've lost a lot of games. I've often hoped that the older I get, the less the losses will wear on me, but it never really does. I would say though that I used to think a lot more about what we could have done, and now I focus more on what we need to do to get better, but it still wears on you.
Another great quote from the interview is from Tom Izzo talking about how a player-coached team is better than a coach-coached team. If the leadership is there, if the players have demonstrated to me that they can take responsibility for making their own decisions, then I think Izzo is absolutely right. I've never had a big enough ego to think that I as the coach was above the team. Ultimately, I tell players that it is their team. It's a cliche but it's true, they aren't playing for me as the coach, they are playing for each other.
Finally, I think Bill Self is right on when he says that the more you get there, the more you want it. I have been fortunate enough to have coached (as a head and as an assistant) in a few Championship games in both football and basketball, unfortunately I have been on the losing end each time. But once you get there, you have that burning desire to get back. And I don't think winning it all will make it any less desirous the following year. Winning is contagious as they say.
Without further ado, the coaches roundtable...
ESPN Coaches Roundtable, Boeheim, Izzo, Self
Posted by bruchu Labels: *NCAA, Motivation and LeadershipI realize it has been a long long time since my last update but in between starting new jobs, planning, preparing, marking, report cards, and transitioning into the basketball season, finding time to write something meaningful here has been difficult, but I will try my best to pass off some good info. I had a chance the other day to catch some of the ESPNU's All-Access special and it was great to see inside their practices.
In this segment, Coach K is doing film sessions with his team and I like the first comment he makes about whether his freshman know how to watch film. That to me is a teachable moment, do you know what you are supposed to be looking for when you watch film? What is the objective of the film session? What have you learned that you didn't know before the film session?
Anyways, it's a good time of year, the squeak of shoes on the floor, balls bouncing, and the smell of a freshly waxed floor always give me the butterflies, it's the start of another great basketball season. Good luck y'all...
I've been recovering from laser eye surgery the past couple of weeks which would account for my lack of updates recently. Over on the X's and O's forum, a coach had posted an interesting observation from this youtube video below, and how they use towels to emphasize the proper positioning of their hands during their shell drill,
I've never thought of using towels or skipping rope as another coach had suggested but I think it would help alot in reinforcing the proper position of the hands, palms out, pistol at ball, thumbs pointed in. 
I love any little trick like this to help in reinforcing concepts. If you're interested in the video above from Coach Pat Summitt then definitely check out Pat Summitt's All-Access Practice DVD. Coach Summitt is the head coach of the Lady Vols of the University of Tennessee and winner of 8 NCAA championships.
We all know one of the keys of great Man-to-Man defenses is teamwork and help defense. This is where your players' basketball IQ will be tested defensively, being in the right position defensively for help but not losing sight of their man. Went through some notes from the NIKE clinic this past spring and Bob Huggins has a couple of good teaching points on help defense that might help reinforce the concept. 
Tape a “help” line on the court every day
o From rim to rim, middle of the court
o Guys need to straddle the help line
o If they’re not at the help line, they go to treadmill
2v2 Sprint to Help Drill
o Coach up top
o Player at each wing (offense & defense)
o Pass to one wing, other wing must sprint to help line
o We do this every day during practice
o If they don’t sprint and straddle the help line, they go to treadmill
I'd like to experiment with treadmills in practice someday. I always hate it when we do sprints and suicides and there is always someone who is loafing. You can't cheat the treadmill. For more great practice ideas for M2M defense, check out the Bob Huggins 2-pack DVD which includes his M2M defensive philosophy and intense practice drills. Coach Huggins is the head coach of the men's basketball team at West Virginia University.
One-and-Ones Free Throw Shooting Drill by June Daugherty
Posted by bruchu Labels: Drills, Offensive Skills, SituationsWe all know that free-throws are important, and in games, its the first one you take that often is worth more in a one-and-one situation. I came across this great competitive team drill for free-throws from Coach Duane Silver's newsletter the other day. It is a drill developed by Washington State women's head coach June Daugherty. Hope y'all are enjoying your summer, and enjoy...
A GREAT FREE THROW SHOOTING DRILL
By June Daugherty
Coach Daugherty uses a free-throw drill with the following rules: The players start with eleven points and shoot one-and-ones. If they make the first shot, subtract two points, and if they miss the first shot add two points. If they make the second shot, subtract one point, and if they miss the second shot, add one point. The first player or group, depending on how you divide it up, to reach zero points WINS.
If you're always on the lookout for more great practice drills, check out Bruce Pearl's New All-Access Practice DVDs. Coach Pearl is the head coach of the University of Tennessee.
Bobby Knight on the Dribble Against Zone and Man Defense
Posted by bruchu Labels: Drills, Motion Offense, Zone Offense
Downloaded some great notes the other day which cover Bobby Knight's DVD on Practice Planning and Drills (notes created by coaches at Springs Valley Blackhawks). One interesting tidbit that I thought I would share is Coach Knight's philosophy on the dribble, against zones, and against man. He says that the dribble is the most effective against the zone, and against man he is straight motion. An extract:
Four Possessions
- Inside man should be the screener
- Do not throw the ball to the corner
- Talk about balance to your players…get the ball off the baseline…don’t crowd baseline!
- Players have a tendency to resort to the dribble vs. man, but Coach Knight actually encourages the
dribble against a zone
o Dribble against a zone every time that you catch the ball on the perimeter
o Attack a seam
- Causes the top defenders to react and move
- Dribble does more to change a zone than anything…it forces it to become something that it does not want to be
Man Offense: Eliminate the Dribble (No Dribble Drill)
- This drill develops cutting and spacing as well as encouraging good passes
- Players should only dribble to change position or to get to the basket
- Teams develop confidence that they can score without putting the ball on the floor
- Man/Man D…three-point line is the last line of defense for picking up the ball
o Half-court is the farthest
o Point of pick-up is dictated by how quick you are and how quick the offense is
- Post players need to hold their posts…don’t come off the block
o Other players do not come into areas where a post man is holding a post
- Don’t just run around…SEE AND REACT
- Offensive players need to get off the baseline
- No cross court passes against man-to-man defense
Traditionally, the idea against the zone is that you move the zone with the pass, by quick reversals and skip passes. But I've used the dribble in the past to great effectiveness against a zone as well, so I think there is a lot of merit to this idea. As for against man defense, I can see Coach Knight's point about over-dribbling, but the dribble penetration is still the hardest thing to stop for the defense.
Roy Williams Running Game Notes from NIKE Clinic
Posted by bruchu Labels: Fastbreak and Early Offense
I don't think it ever gets old, anything about early offense and the secondary break of Coach Roy Williams at the University of North Carolina. I pick up a thing or 2 from these clinic notes every time, these are from the NIKE Las Vegas clinic this past May. For example in these notes below, I like the idea of making sure your PG stops on a dime and changes direction after receiving the outlet. Too many times you see a team which has scouted well, on transition defense, have the defender on the PG plant right in front of the PG and draws the charge from the PG who turns his/her head too quickly.
The other part I like is the idea to cherish the highs of coaching. Which has less to do with the wins and losses and more to do with the relationships you make, and enjoying the process of improving your coaching ability. Anyways, here you go:
- Point Guard’s job is to go as fast as he can from top of the key to top of the key
- Make a commitment to run every single time
- We practice taking the ball out of the net
o Coach stands in front of FT line, shoots the ball
o Post player takes ball out and quickly outlets it to manager at the 28 foot line
- Make or miss
- Outlet pass
o Point Guard
- As you catch the ball, make sure you can stop on a dime and change direction
- Don’t risk committing the charge
- Primary Break
o 2 or fewer defenders
- 3v2 or 2v1
o Shot within 2 passes
- Secondary break
o 3 or more defenders
- Everybody on the team must like the shot that’s taken by a player
o Poll the team in practice during play
How many people on blue liked the shot that was taken by Joe?
- Post players: Deception
o Pretend like you’re catching the lob
o Tyler Hansbrough was so good because when he was in the post, he fought the hardest and demanded the ball every time
- Cherish the highs of coaching
o After we won National Championships, the next day I was on the road recruiting
- Didn’t celebrate the successes
o With a subpar season, we dwell too much on the negatives, we need to balance that out with celebrating the wins
For more on early offense and the secondary break, check out Roy Williams' DVD on the Tar Heel Offense. Coach Williams is the head coach of UNC winning the national title in 2005 and 2009.
