From the 1955 book, Indiana Basketball, by Branch McCracken: From 'Indiana Basketball': I have discovered from conducting clinics in the States, Japan, and Europe that coaches are more interested in team offense, systems, and scoring plays than in any other phase of the game. Most coaches, particularly young ones, go to coaching schools or clinics and patiently sit through the lectures and demonstrations of fundamentals, waiting for the coach to get to the discussions of plays and team … [Read more...]
The Read and React Story
An Excerpt By: Rick Torbett In the mid-to-late-90’s, after nearly twenty years in coaching, three incidents came together to create a turning point in my entire approach towards offense, developing players, and building teams: 1. Using the previous season’s videotapes, I charted all the points we scored from free throws, offensive rebounds, fast breaks, set plays, broken plays, etc., and found an unsettlingly ratio. 80% of our points came from broken plays, transition, and other PRINCIPLED … [Read more...]
Leadership Misunderstood
By: Dick DeVenzio With the ACC Tournament beginning in Charlotte on March 9, the Charlotte Observer had extensive coverage and feature articles on ACC basketball players in its March 8 edition. On the front of the sports section that day was a big, colorful photo of North Carolina's point guard, Ed Cota. The story's title was "UNC's Showman," but the subtitle read: "Cota has flash, but some say his act lacks passion." In the article, reporter Gregg Doyle said that some fans would like to … [Read more...]
Basketball Tournament Pressure
By: Dick DeVenzio If you want to see the best basketball on TV in the next couple of weeks, watch the tournaments of conferences that traditionally never get any at-large selections. Those teams are under no illusions. They know they must win their tournament or they turn in their uniforms for the year. For those teams, the tournament games have the same importance as NCAA Tournament games. It's a single-elimination state of urgency from the opening tap; and the intensity level is usually … [Read more...]
The Art of Shooting
Remember the Four Basic Steps: Balance Eyes on Target Elbow Keeps the Basketball Straight Follow Through Easily remembered and taught as B-E-E-F "I leave you with these thoughts. With a little talent and a lot of hard work and hours of practice, I became an outstanding shooter and a professional player. How bad do your players want to play? How many hours will they practice? Are they determined to be a good player? Only they truly know the answers. But as coaches and … [Read more...]
Winning in the NBA
I am posting this article, which is actually an excerpt from the book 'Daly Life', in honor of Chuck Daly, who passed away on May 9, 2009 at the age of 78. Coach Daly is most widely known as coach of the Detroit Pistons, winning back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990, and for coaching the gold-medal winning Dream Team in the 1992 Summer Olympics. Click here to read his bio via Wikipedia. Obviously with the article title, he talks about winning in the NBA (something most of us will … [Read more...]
Coaching Your Coaches
Successful techniques for the head coach to help develop productive relationships and get the most out of assistant coaches. As the head basketball coach, every little thing stops and starts with you -- you are the ultimate decision-maker when it comes to basketball matters. Yet, as head coaches, we do have assistant coaches to help us out. How many responsibilities do you give your assistant coaches? Do you allow them to teach aspects of the game? Do you desire their input? Do you give your … [Read more...]
100 Things I’ve Learned from Coaching at the College Level
Weber State University assistant basketball coach, Phil Beckner, was kind enough to share his list of 100 Things Learned from Coaching College Basketball. As you will see from the list below, these basketball coaching ideas and tips are useful for any level you may be coaching. I've also put this list in .pdf format so you can easily save and/or print your own copy. The .pdf link is below the list of 100. Coaching: NEVER-EVER forget who has been a positive influence on you, and helped … [Read more...]
Principles of Basketball Strength Training
How to effectively utilize strength training to improve your basketball performance! What does your strength training program look like? Are your exercises mostly squats, presses, pulldowns, curls, and machine-based? If your weight training consists of the most basic exercises then you are not training to optimally boost your basketball performance levels. Sure, you may be improving your strength, but strength gains alone are not the best you can do in the weight room. The basic exercises … [Read more...]
Basketball Coaches’ Creed
By: George R. Edwards University of Missouri Men's Basketball Coach (1926-1946) Coach Edwards wrote the Basketball Coaches' Creed in 1946. It was later adopted by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) after their formation in the mid-1930s. Coach Edwards led the Tigers to three conference titles and took the Tigers to their first NCAA tournament in 1944. I BELIEVE that basketball has an important place in the general educational scheme and pledge myself to cooperate with … [Read more...]