After coaching for 45 years, I have some random thoughts in regard to the game of basketball and coaching the game. Some are my thoughts and some I have picked up from other people, but I believe all of them hold true to our great game. They are in no particular order.
1) Basketball is a game of speed, quickness, balance and accuracy.
2) The team who shoots the most free throws and gathers the most rebounds will usually win the game.
3) In the past, you need three guards, three forwards and two post players. Today, a team needs 2 ball handling guards, three wing players and three post players. Complete your team with four kids who have great attitudes. Hopefully, the best eight players will have that same great team attitude.
4) The most difficult thing to defend is dribble penetration.
5) Offense wins fans, Defense wins games and Rebounding plus Defense wins Championships.
6) Good offensive teams:
a. penetrate by use of the dribble and the pass,
b. have a strong post presence,
c. exhibit good patience,
d. swing the ball from side to side, (reversed the court)
e. play inside out,
f. rebound the basketball on the offensive end
g. can play both up-tempo and half court basketball.
7) Good defensive teams:
a. put extreme pressure on the basketball,
b. keep the ball out of the middle,
c. Challenge the shot,
d. Rebound the ball defensively.
Offensively, good perimeter players look to pass first, shoot second and drive the ball third.
9) Good post players look to score first and pass second.
10) The best shooters are going to get more shots. Basketball is not an equal opportunity situation.
11) Great teams dictate tempo, both offensively and defensively.
12) To get the ball inside to the post, enter the ball on one side of the court, swing the ball to the other side and then go inside.
13) A good man-4man defense can do anything that a zone or trapping offense can do. The defense can pressure and deny, pressure the ball and sag, (plug the middle) trap, double down on the post, run and jump and scramble, as well as changing the point of pick up. So why not just teach one defense with options, rather than using a multitude of defenses?
14) Develop the players individual skills and they will be able to execute any type of offense. It has been said, “It is better to have players who know how to play and who can make plays, rather than a bunch of different plays.
15) We as coaches should be more concerned with what our team is doing rather than worry about what the opponent is doing. It is called preparing your team for every situation.
16) Start every training session (practice) with form shooting.
17) Remember the laws of learning:
a. Explain,
b. Demonstrate,
c. rehearse, (practice)
d. critique, (correct)
e. repeat,
f. repeat,
g. repeat
18) Coaching is all about relationships — the players really do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care. If they know you care for them you can really get after them and make them work — they will respond.
19) Discipline is not punishment — discipline is love!
20) Repetition is not punishment either.
21) Make the “big time” where you are — (Frosty Westering) It is not about where you coach, it is about WHY you coach! (Larry Dean Jackson)
22) Share! Eric Musselman in a blog made the following statement. ”The greatest difficulty in the world is not its ability to produce, but the unwillingness to share!”
23) Get organized! Basketball coaches can take a lesson from football coaches — our colleagues in football are much better organized that we basketball coaches are.
24) Never stop learning. Read and STUDY what you read! Find new and different videos and DVDs to watch and study. Invest in your profession. ”It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” (John Wooden)
25) Do not worry about trying to please everyone. It is an impossibility. Please and be true to yourself. Also be YOURSELF!
26) Learn to get along with and befriend the cafeteria help, the secretaries, and the custodial staff. They will make your job much easier.
27) If your team plays hard, plays smart and with heart, and plays together; what more can you ask?
28) If you have not done so, become a “tweeter.” Join Twitter. There are many coaches who share great insight using only 140 characters.
29) Communicate, communicate, and communicate some more!
30) Last but not least — never talk to a parent alone — always have a witness present.
I could go on and on, but this is a blog, not a book!
