There are essentially two types of mistakes on the basketball floor. Mistakes of Omission and Mistakes of Commission.
Mistakes of omission are mental mistakes, forgetting and assignment, not using the proper technique, not being in the right spot, etc.
Mistakes of commission are mistakes of trying to make a play, fouling while going for a loose ball, being aggressive on a rebound, trying to force a pass, etc.
Players will make mistakes; coaches will make errant calls; referees, well if you listen to every coach in America, the next right call made by an official will be the first right one they've made all year.
Mistakes of omission should not be tolerated. Not knowing your spot or assignment is giving you the clearest communication that the player isn't all in. No matter the talent, if they're not committed your team will not achieve it's full potential.
Aggressive mistakes are the ones you should live with in the heat of the moment. Watch tape with your player and coach them up so they don't make the mistake again but live with it in the moment. Remember the player is trying to make a play to help your squad win. We've all made bad decisions on the sideline. Going zone and allowing a three, a play call that leads to a turnover or a forced shot, made the wrong sub at the wrong time, etc.
We learn from it as coaches, make sure you coach your players up so they learn from their mistakes of commission as well.
December 23, 2009
Theatrics and basketball
Watching the holiday action at the collegiate and high school level we've seen more than our fair share of sideline antics and theatrics by coaches. The BCR has always taken the position that the behavior of a coach on the sideline will manifest itself in one way or another on the floor by their players.
We saw a game today where the head coach literally waved his hands in disgust every time one of his players made a mistake. (More on mistakes in a later post). An assistant coach showed his displeasure during a 30 second timeout by not getting up and essentially pouting. How did it manifest itself? You know that every time a player, teammate, or referee made a move with the hint of mistake, the players on the floor overreacted and lost focus. That team lost by double digits. Where they better than the team they lost to? No, were they hanging around trailing by 10 most of the game? Yes. How did they react to mistakes by allowing their opponent to build the lead up to 16 or 18 on a consistent basis. If the sideline sideshow were tamed and the staff more focused on what was going to happen next perhaps they cut it to 6 and we all know how difficult it is to win when you let an inferior team hang around until late.
In another game we saw today, we saw what coaching your kids through a rough patch can do. USC was trailing Western Michigan by double digits early. Yes the same USC that beat #8 ranked Tennessee like they stole something over the weekend. Rather than pout or put on a show, Kevin O'Neil and staff kept plugging away at it and eventually USC turned up their defensive effort and got the win, ugly as it may be.
John Thompson of Georgetown said that he would rather learn lessons from winning than losing. USC's staff and team will most assuredly take a long hard look at their first half and still learn some great lessons, and also reinforce what stepping up their effort can do for them.
We saw a game today where the head coach literally waved his hands in disgust every time one of his players made a mistake. (More on mistakes in a later post). An assistant coach showed his displeasure during a 30 second timeout by not getting up and essentially pouting. How did it manifest itself? You know that every time a player, teammate, or referee made a move with the hint of mistake, the players on the floor overreacted and lost focus. That team lost by double digits. Where they better than the team they lost to? No, were they hanging around trailing by 10 most of the game? Yes. How did they react to mistakes by allowing their opponent to build the lead up to 16 or 18 on a consistent basis. If the sideline sideshow were tamed and the staff more focused on what was going to happen next perhaps they cut it to 6 and we all know how difficult it is to win when you let an inferior team hang around until late.
In another game we saw today, we saw what coaching your kids through a rough patch can do. USC was trailing Western Michigan by double digits early. Yes the same USC that beat #8 ranked Tennessee like they stole something over the weekend. Rather than pout or put on a show, Kevin O'Neil and staff kept plugging away at it and eventually USC turned up their defensive effort and got the win, ugly as it may be.
John Thompson of Georgetown said that he would rather learn lessons from winning than losing. USC's staff and team will most assuredly take a long hard look at their first half and still learn some great lessons, and also reinforce what stepping up their effort can do for them.
December 21, 2009
Unusual Free Throw Routine
Watching the Northwestern-Stanford game, a game which Stanford turned over (literally) the win to NU, we noticed an odd free throw ritual. Late in the game, Stanford fouled NU freshman, Drew Crawford, who during the obligatory close up on the free throw shooter was either talking to himself or the Stanford player on his immediate left.
Reading lips it looks a lot like he's saying a four letter word that starts with F and sounds a lot like duck...you. If we find online video of it, we'll post a link but something to be on the look out for.
Reading lips it looks a lot like he's saying a four letter word that starts with F and sounds a lot like duck...you. If we find online video of it, we'll post a link but something to be on the look out for.
December 19, 2009
December 15, 2009
Chunking Your Season
The high school basketball season is roughly 4 months long, Part of November, December, January, February, and part of March. It's important for coaches to understand the different chunks the season provides and what goals you want to achieve during each section of the season.
Chunk 1 - Pre-Season and early tournaments.
During this phase of the season you really want to implement your philosophy with your pre-season practices (pre-season meaning before you play your first game).
Some coaches go two-a-day practices at this point to get more repetition and time on the floor so their teams are ready for play.
However you go about this you want to instill your team's offensive and defensive systems, how to deal with transition (offense and defense), and other basic systems that your going to install like BLOBS and SLOBS (Base Line out of Bounds, Side Line out of Bounds).
You also want to set the work rate and intensity rate you want your players to play with. Setting a solid work ethic and being consistent in your high demands are of the utmost importance early in the season. Just like in the classroom, if you fail to set the tone early you cannot go back and redo the first month of the school year or season.
Once you start playing games in and early season tournament you and your team may have set the goal of winning the tournament but as a coach you want to also see how different lineups will fare, how a player playing a different position will do, how a certain play or a defense will work. These early games are your feedback to see what areas you need to address. There may be areas where you thought were strengths but struggled with, etc. Pay close attention to these thing in early games and make the immediate corrections you need to ensure your season's success.
We'll examine the other chunks of the season in future posts.
Chunk 1 - Pre-Season and early tournaments.
During this phase of the season you really want to implement your philosophy with your pre-season practices (pre-season meaning before you play your first game).
Some coaches go two-a-day practices at this point to get more repetition and time on the floor so their teams are ready for play.
However you go about this you want to instill your team's offensive and defensive systems, how to deal with transition (offense and defense), and other basic systems that your going to install like BLOBS and SLOBS (Base Line out of Bounds, Side Line out of Bounds).
You also want to set the work rate and intensity rate you want your players to play with. Setting a solid work ethic and being consistent in your high demands are of the utmost importance early in the season. Just like in the classroom, if you fail to set the tone early you cannot go back and redo the first month of the school year or season.
Once you start playing games in and early season tournament you and your team may have set the goal of winning the tournament but as a coach you want to also see how different lineups will fare, how a player playing a different position will do, how a certain play or a defense will work. These early games are your feedback to see what areas you need to address. There may be areas where you thought were strengths but struggled with, etc. Pay close attention to these thing in early games and make the immediate corrections you need to ensure your season's success.
We'll examine the other chunks of the season in future posts.
High School Games
We've been spending a lot of time watching high school games of late. A few things we've noticed. Early on senior dominated teams tend to do well for the obvious reasons, it's not their first rodeo. Young players, even the future superstars, tend to make mistakes early and look over their shoulders for reinforcement. Very rare is a freshmen or sophomore who plays on varsity that plays with the confidence of a seasoned vet and is not nervous about making mistakes.
Watching shootouts and tournaments you see different coaching styles and philosophies play out in front of your eyes.
There are coaches and programs that act like the season is a marathon and play accordingly. They tend not to worry about winning games in November and December but rather focus on making sure that their teams are executing and putting forth the proper effort and learning the process on how to win.
Sure we all want to win but maybe an early loss to an inferior opponent will give a coach the needed ammunition to get his team's focus for the long haul of the season. How many times have you seen a team lose a game it's not supposed to lose, then go on a tear and win everything? Why? We're guessing because their players come back to focus on the things they need to do to win.
Other coaches take the mindset that every game is game 7 of the NBA championship and must be won at all costs. While we love competitors and we love winning sometimes this mindset can burn out a team. How many games of your 30 game schedule are really "BIG" games? Probably only a handful, your top opponents in conference, a neighborhood rival, a school district rival, and maybe a top ranked team in the area will be your big games during the season until playoff time. If you take your team on a high wire act of every game is game 7 you could lose their sense of urgency when the really big game happens.
Sadly there are programs out there that are clueless in the early part of the season. Just showing up to a game with all players in uniform is a win for their team. Teams that are unprepared for a press, or a zone, or man to man defense show up all the time and are exposed early and often in this part of the season. We feel for those kids since more likely than not their season will be lost by Christmas and they won't get the opportunity to compete on a level playing field which is what this great game offers us.
Watching shootouts and tournaments you see different coaching styles and philosophies play out in front of your eyes.
There are coaches and programs that act like the season is a marathon and play accordingly. They tend not to worry about winning games in November and December but rather focus on making sure that their teams are executing and putting forth the proper effort and learning the process on how to win.
Sure we all want to win but maybe an early loss to an inferior opponent will give a coach the needed ammunition to get his team's focus for the long haul of the season. How many times have you seen a team lose a game it's not supposed to lose, then go on a tear and win everything? Why? We're guessing because their players come back to focus on the things they need to do to win.
Other coaches take the mindset that every game is game 7 of the NBA championship and must be won at all costs. While we love competitors and we love winning sometimes this mindset can burn out a team. How many games of your 30 game schedule are really "BIG" games? Probably only a handful, your top opponents in conference, a neighborhood rival, a school district rival, and maybe a top ranked team in the area will be your big games during the season until playoff time. If you take your team on a high wire act of every game is game 7 you could lose their sense of urgency when the really big game happens.
Sadly there are programs out there that are clueless in the early part of the season. Just showing up to a game with all players in uniform is a win for their team. Teams that are unprepared for a press, or a zone, or man to man defense show up all the time and are exposed early and often in this part of the season. We feel for those kids since more likely than not their season will be lost by Christmas and they won't get the opportunity to compete on a level playing field which is what this great game offers us.
December 6, 2009
Color Commentators
It is so difficult to find a good color commentator for the game of basketball. For long periods of time we've had to suffer with the likes of Bill Walton and watching the Kansas-UCLA game today, Marquis Johnson.
See if you can follow along here. He states that UCLA's guards will have at tough time attacking Kansas' defense because Kansas is so athletic and are underrated defensively. (We do not argue this point).
Then down 21-10, UCLA scores in transition and he says that is exactly what UCLA needs to do, uptempo the game....let that sink in for a second. A team that is over matched physically and skill wise should increase the number of possessions in the game. Again let that sink in....
Rule of thumb, if you have the better athletes or players you want to increase the number of possessions in a game. The more chances your players have to play, the greater the chance they will make better plays than your opponent and you will win. If you have inferior talent or athletes you want to LIMIT the number of possessions in the game so you expose your lack of ability and have a chance to stay in the game.
Someone please clone Bill Raftery, quick!
See if you can follow along here. He states that UCLA's guards will have at tough time attacking Kansas' defense because Kansas is so athletic and are underrated defensively. (We do not argue this point).
Then down 21-10, UCLA scores in transition and he says that is exactly what UCLA needs to do, uptempo the game....let that sink in for a second. A team that is over matched physically and skill wise should increase the number of possessions in the game. Again let that sink in....
Rule of thumb, if you have the better athletes or players you want to increase the number of possessions in a game. The more chances your players have to play, the greater the chance they will make better plays than your opponent and you will win. If you have inferior talent or athletes you want to LIMIT the number of possessions in the game so you expose your lack of ability and have a chance to stay in the game.
Someone please clone Bill Raftery, quick!
There is no substitute for game experience!
What a day for injuries. First Evan Turner goes down and is out for two months with broken bones in his back. Then Michael Finley goes down with an ankle in the Spurs game. Lastly word is Greg Oden's season is done with a broken knee cap.
The moral of the story coaches, if you're comfortable with the win, play your bench and develop them as players. You will need them to perform due to injury, foul trouble, or eligibility issues and you'll be glad you threw them into the fray BEFORE their needed to produce.
If it means a 15 point win becomes an 8 point win so be it. You've won, you've given your bench players time, and lastly you have a body of work on film with which to go over with them and get them better. Would you rather identify their mistakes in a win and get them seasoned or after you lose a game in which they were forced to play a role they weren't ready for? There is no substitute for game experience so play your bench!
The moral of the story coaches, if you're comfortable with the win, play your bench and develop them as players. You will need them to perform due to injury, foul trouble, or eligibility issues and you'll be glad you threw them into the fray BEFORE their needed to produce.
If it means a 15 point win becomes an 8 point win so be it. You've won, you've given your bench players time, and lastly you have a body of work on film with which to go over with them and get them better. Would you rather identify their mistakes in a win and get them seasoned or after you lose a game in which they were forced to play a role they weren't ready for? There is no substitute for game experience so play your bench!
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