I was reading some more notes as I always do everyday and one thing that caught my eye was a note from a Tom Crean Marquette coaching clinic. In it, Crean was quoted as saying that deflections were one of the most important stats that they kept on their players for offense or defense.
Coach Crean is the head coach at Marquette and coached Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, 2006 NBA Finals MVP. Crean states that Wade was the best player he ever coached in terms of deflections, says Wade average 9.2 deflections a game. Coach Crean feels that in a 40 minute game, 35+ deflections a game plus allowing 42% or less opponent FG% will lead to a 85 to 90 win percentage (don't ask me how he came up with those numbers, they are his numbers.
There is a drill I saw recently that teaches the deflection quite well, plus it also teaches help defense and the baseline closeout.
Setup:
You will need 3 lines, 3 players on the floor with 2 balls and 1 coach or manager. There are actually 2 parts to the drill, and we want to keep score defensively. 1 point for not deflecting and 1 point for an unsuccessful stop.
X1 starts off underneath the basket, as if playing the lowside I defender in a M2M help defense. O1 and O2 start out at the corners. O1 moves first running to the low block then L-cuts to the top of the key. X1 is suppose to move after O1's L-cut and beat O1 to the spot and deflecting or intercepting the pass from the coach. If the deflection is not successful, add 1 point for X1.
Baseline help:
After X1 deflects the pass, the coach passes the second ball to O2 in the nearside corner. O2 will wait for the pass, then drive baseline. 
X1 will immediately go to cut off the baseline drive by O2 after the successful deflection. X1 should force middle then play tough 1-on-1 defense preventing O2 from scoring. Score 1 point for the X1 if an unsuccessful stop.
Unsuccessful Deflection:
If X1 is unsuccessful in the initial deflection, then play 1-on-1 defense up top after O1 catches the ball. 
Score 1 point for X1 for an unsuccessful defensive stop.
Add retribution for the defense depending on the number of points. So 3 points, 3 sets of lines or 2 points, 2 sets of lines, etc...
For video info on individual defensive development and drills, I recommend taking a look at Tom Izzo's DVD on Rebounding and Man Defense. Coach Izzo is the long-time head coach of Michigan State. I also have lots of notes so head over the X's and O's Basketball Forum to take a look and see what I have.
This is one of my favorite drills for team shooting. You have groups of 3, using both baskets. You setup the clock to 4 minutes and the team with the most made baskets wins. The losing team has to do a set of lines, wall taps, and pushups while the next set of 3 vs 3 go. I've seen Jay Wright at Villanova run it in one of his videos as well.
Keys to the drill are:
- focus on spacing, make sure the players are spacing properly
- make sure the players are stepping into the pass and that the pass is chest to chest
- catch and step into the shot, watch your form.
I don't set a pattern on where players shoot. Basically they shoot, get the rebound, pass and cut to the other side. No shots inside the key. 3-pointers count as 2 made baskets.
It gets really competitive and really works on game situation shooting. It's also good for rebounding, passing and conditioning.
I posted earlier with specific shooting coaching tips, I've recommended Jay Wright's DVD before, but a new shooting video you might want to consider is Steve Smith's DVD on team shooting. Coach Smith is the head coach of Oak Hill Academy, the prep school powerhouse featuring famous alum such as Jerry Stackhouse and Carmelo Anthony. Check out the X's and O's of Basketball Forum for more notes on shooting.
They say that 75% of offensive plays in the NBA are pick and rolls. At the college level, many programs make use of the pick and roll extensively such as UConn. While many of you coaches at the lower levels probably run much less than that, nevertheless, the screen, and specifically the ball-screen is probably the most utilized play in basketball so it's execution is nonetheless vital for both player development and your team's success. This is a good clip showing screening action and how to screen and how to come off screens properly. Watch the video and then you can read my thoughts below.
Here are some key points on setting screens:
1. Signal the screen, you must tell the player that you will be screening for him by raising your fist and using your thumb to gesture which way to go.
2. Jump stop. Use the jump stop to set your screen. Many times, especially the young players shuffle their feet because they aren't set properly.
3. Screen tight. You want your hands overlapping at the wrist over top of the groin. You want to be at a minimum 6-inches away from the defender. Let the defender run into you.
We'll cover the ball-handler using the screen in another post but the main thing for the screener is to signal the screen, set your feet, and stay strong. I see alot of kids that don't set their feet and get called for offensive fouls. Or they don't signal the screen and the ball-handler has no idea how the screen is going to be set.
There is a great DVD by former Houston Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy on the pick and roll offense. How to use it, how to defend it. Also, head over to the X's and O's Basketball Forum to take a look and see what I have on pick and roll stuff.
You'd be hard pressed to find a college team in the country that executes its offense as well as Duke does. Coach Mike Krzyzewski has been running his 3-out 2-in motion offense for many years now and with the talent he's been able to bring in over the last couple of decades he has the national championships to show for it. The offense is one that we use and in many ways is similar to the hi-lo systems used by Bill Self of Kansas.
What you'll notice is that Duke's motion offense is so simple. It's effectiveness relies on the players within the system. Coach Krzyzewski has had some great forwards and guards in the past and they have executed it so well. Duke uses it on both man and zone defenses and while it may be mostly looked upon as a post-based offense, a lot of perimeter action can be run out of it.
Setup:
As mentioned, this is a 3-out 2-in motion offense. If you plan on running the offense for your team, I would recommend that you have a couple of really well-rounded posts that can score effectively both with their back against the net and face-up. If you have perimeter players that can make shots, that will be another huge bonus but not mandatory. Below is the basic setup of the offense,
3-2 setup with both posts playing down low and each perimeter player occupying a spot. O1 passes to O2 on the wing and screens away for O3. O4 (ball-side post) sets a cross-screen for O5. Now, if the defense decides to front O5 (ball-side post), then O4 will come out to the ball-side elbow. If the defense decides to play behind O5, then O4 will occupy the weak-side elbow.
A side point, if the defense deny's the wing pass to O2, then simply do a dribble handoff or have O1 dribble to the wing.
Straight up Post entry:
This is always option #1 as taught by Coack K. The most ideal situation is where the defense decides to play behind O5. 
Since O5 is a dominant post player, we are confident that if O5 can get a good post-entry pass, 1-on-1, O5 should have a good look with a drop step, middle hook, or any variety of post moves to score. Duke has had excellent post players in the past such as Carlos Boozer, Shelden Williams and Josh McRoberts. If you have posts like them, you definitely want to get them the ball in a 1-on-1 situation to score.
Fronting the Post:
Now if the defense decides they want to front O5. O4 will flash ball-side elbow instead off of the initial cross screen.
The ball is passed into O4 who then looks for O5 who has hopefully sealed X5 outside and should be an easy basket or even an and1 play. We've seen that play with Duke many times before.
Penetration Option:
Now, normally, the offense will look to reverse the ball around to the other side if neither the post-entry or hi-low options are available and the motion continues on the other side of the court with O5 and O4 executing a simple X-cut or dive-fill. But this is a great counter play that Duke runs on occasion if the defense is overloaded on the ball-side or both O4 and O5 are being fronted.
O4 sets a ball-screen and O2 penetrates sideways into the lane. O5 flashes to the other block while the initial screen by O4 is being set, O3 and O1 spread and fill weak-side, O4 will roll off the pick to the ball-side block.
Once O2 reaches the free-throw line, there are 3 options. O2 can pull up for the mid-range (JJ Reddick took advantage of this beautifully), pass to O5 if X5 comes to help up top, or hit O4 on the roll off the pick.
Summary:
Duke has been running this offense for years, yet it never gets old and they continue to win. If you have the players, specifically the forwards to run it, this is a great motion offense to use. Even against a 2-3 zone, O4 can get into the middle and exploit the zone there. I didn't show the perimeter weak side option, but the skip pass off the flare screen is also a great option. The beauty of the offense is its simplicity, coach K has very few rules with it and really allows his best players to be his best players.
If you're looking for more video instruction from Coach Krzyzewski, I recommend Coach K's DVD on post-play development as that is a key component of the 3-out 2-in motion. I have Coack Krzyzewski notes, so be sure to check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum and take a look at what I have.
I was doing my usual reading through the coaching notes that I have and came across this great quote from University of North Carolina head coach, Roy Williams, about in-game adjustments.
Coaching is about adjustments. Your game plan is only good for the first six minutes - the rest is all about adjustments. Coaching (and playing for that matter) is all about adjustments. You can and should formulate a game plan going in, but much of your team's success depends on your ability to make efficient and effective adjustments. As a coach you must be able make the strategic adjustments, but just as important, you must help your team make the mental adjustments that need to be made to manage the momentum of competition.
In reading the above, has led me to think a lot more about my past coaching experiences. To see if there were instances where an adjustment should've been made or when an adjustment didn't work. Or the mental state of players for a certain play or situation.
As coaches, I think it's important that we not only evaluate ourselves on the job we do in preparing for games but on how we do during the games. At our current school, the head coach and I talk constantly about how the game went and what adjustments worked, what we could've done better.
I highly recommend Roy Williams' DVD on Offensive philosophy. Not only does he talk alot about his offensive strategy but he also talks a lot about the adjustments that are mentioned. I have plenty of UNC notes so be sure to check out the X's and O's Forum.
This isn't really X's and O's but I love to watch coaches and their pre, post, and halftime locker room speeches. I could spend hours watching clips on youtube of Lou Holtz, Phil Fulmer, Urban Meyer, Bob Stoops and the list goes on and on. There aren't as many basketball ones out there but as I find some good ones, I'll try to post what I can find. This is a clip from last march with John Calipari and his Memphis Tigers after their win over Nevada to get to the sweet 16. Enjoy...
CBS produces a highlight DVD with all the major highlights from all rounds of the march tournament. The 2007 NCAA Tournament Highlight DVD is full of exclusive behind the scenes stuff if you're really into it.
Don't forget to drop by the X's and O's Basketball board for more great basketball discussions.
Some people think that the 2-3 zone defense is always a passive one. Traditional thinking is that you sit back in the 2-3, packing the lane and forcing the offense to shoot over top. Syracuse's Jim Boeheim uses it to trap and create turnovers. Our 2-3 zone that we use is very similar.
Again, conventional thinking is to use the 2-3 zone if you are less athletic than the opposition. Syracuse uses it as their base by taking advantage of their athleticism to trap in the corners and even up top. Our team also uses the 2-3 zone as our base with extensive trapping. We switch back to man-to-man when we have some of our reserve players who are not quite quick enough to run the traps.
Setup:
Personnel-wise, as I mentioned before, you must have athletic players that can anticipate passes in the lane and are aggressive trappers. Flat-footed or slow moving players will not work well in this defense. The year that Syracuse won the National Championship in 2003, they had Carmelo Anthony.
The setup is very 2-3 vanilla. When the offense brings the ball up the floor, you want to wait for them to enter the ball into the wing (probably the right side). Once they do that, either X1 or X2 depending on the side will force sideline to the trapping zone.
Trap the corner:
Once they pass the free-throw line extended, you want to aggressively trap with X1 and X4. X2 will come up and take away the pass up the top. X5 will front his man low side with X3 able to help middle. X3 is anticipating a long lob pass to X3 and denying the pass to P4 if P4 goes to the high post.
Now, if the offense is able to get the ball into P5 in the short corner. You want X4 and X1 to trap P5 there with X2 cutting off the pass up top only allowing the pass back to the ball-side corner where you will trap again.
Trap up top:
What you'll see alot of as well is the trap once the dribbler brings the ball across half. This is a surprise trap so you want X1 and X2 to wait patiently until the dribbler crosses half then go.
Once the trap is set, it's vital that X3 and X4 are already moving to the sideline to intercept the easiest passes to the wings. X5 needs to anticipate the long pass underneath to either post on the left or right.
You don't run this trap all the time, but it should be called on occasion from the sideline. 80% of the steals will come from a bad pass to P3 or P4 on the sideline which should be an easy 2 points the other way.
Summary:
As you can see, the 2-3 zone does not have to be a passive defense. You can use it to create a ton of pressure and force turnovers. We like it a lot because contrary to our full-court press or even our half-court press, we can shorten the area where we have to pressure, thus we can use it all game without wearing out our top players.
It's a confusing defense to run as opposing teams normally think that you're running a vanilla 2-3. But with all the trapping, we create all kinds of chaos.
Like any defense though, there are holes that can be exploited. If teams adjust, we counter-adjust with a different defense. We had tremendous success with this defense last year, finishing 3rd overall in-state. We hope it brings more success this coming season.
If you want to learn the complete Syracuse 2-3 zone defense, Jim Boeheim's DVD on the 2-3 matchup zone is a must see. Coaches around the country have commented on coach Boeheim's 2-3 zone that has created havoc for many an offense. I have some Syracuse notes so be sure to check out the X's and O's Basketball forum to discuss or request them.
