A Coach's Diary

After watching the Boston Celtics hit a big game winning 3 in an ATO situation, head coach Brad Stevens is beginning to get more and more recognition for his ability to draw up late game special situation plays.  Upon seeing this play, in which a guard curls the first screen of a staggered set, and the 1 st screener comes off the 2 nd screen, I began to do more research into this particular Celtics action.  I have found that Stevens loves this action, and the Celtics have used it throughout the year in various situations, including as a set play, a sideline out of bounds play (SLOB), as shown against the Cavs, and as a baseline in-bounds play (BLOB). Half-Court Hoops is one of the best, most in-depth basketball pages on YouTube.  He does a great job of breaking down so many of the NBA's offenses.  He originally called this action: 'Horns Double Staggered Twirl,' but has since renamed it 'Elbow Boston' because it was used and popularized with Ray Allen ...

I had a player come to me the other day after practice with this question: 'Coach, how can I score more?"  My first thought was, 'why?'  In attempting to lead the conversation and creating a safe place for her to ask for advice in the future, I thought and then asked, 'Is it so your [summer] team can have more success, or because you hope more college coaches look at you.'  With hesitation, she said both.  Here is my response: I want to start off by reiterating - I don't think you have to score more to be a college basketball player.  Being a college basketball player really comes down to being able to make the right plays more consistently than the other players that a particular school is recruiting.  That could mean scoring more, but there are so many other aspects to the game that coaches look at as well.  They want to win, and being able to make 'winning plays' will help you get recruited.  Of course being a more potent...

One of the best ways to get exposure and to play in front of college basketball coaches is to contact the five to six schools that you might have interest in to see when their camps are during the summer and attend those. That puts you right in front of the coaches and gives you the opportunity to see if you like the school. Below are a list of many of the Division 1 and Division 2 women's basketball camps in the state of Texas:

This list comes from a Facebook group full of high school, college, and professional coaches.  In the group, there are also former professional players.  If you want to know how you can become a better basketball, this list is a GREAT start! 1 - First of all I love you! 2 - Now is the time to invest in your Basketball Future remember that the most important Skill is Sho oting and it takes work and proper mechanics. Find a Shooting Coaching in your area if not I will find you one in your area. 3 - If your 6'3 and below (or 5’9 as a girl) your limited basically to either Guard spot so you have to master taking care of the mail and delivering it without losing it. 4 - Get together with a "Basketball" Strength and Conditioning and build your Body! That takes work! As you do this your Confidence will begin to soar. With this comes eating properly too get with a Sports Nutritionist. 5 - Go online and buy "Stuff Good Players Should Know" by Dick Devenzio. Read o...

This article was borrowed completely from RealGM .  You can read the original article here . The Golden State Warriors have run one of basketball's most interesting offenses during Steve Kerr's two seasons as head coach which emphasizes rhythm and flow. The offense stresses ball movement to create easy, high percentage shots at the three-point line and near the basket. “You see it on their faces when we start to score and when it starts to become overwhelming, when we’re hitting and rolling on all cylinders," said Shaun Livingston. "It’s just a crushing feeling when you take somebody’s will away, to where they don’t really think they can win, they’re not competing at the same level. That’s kind of a gratifying feeling.” “I don’t think I’ve made up anything that we do,” Kerr said in an interview with The Chronicle. “I’ve stolen from everybody, but most coaches would tell you the same thing.”

An example of the Recruiting Funnel in Football The goal of many youth and high school athletes is to earn that full-ride college scholarship to play college sports, but according to  NCAA.org ,  of the nearly 8 million students currently participating in high school athletics in the United States, only 480,000 of them will compete at NCAA schools.   There are more opportunities to play in college outside of the NCAA, including playing for other 4 year institutions including  NAIA  and  NCCAA , and including  2 year junior college institutions  ( NJCAA ), but in reality, only a small percentage of high school athletes will earn a full scholarship.  But, it is possible to play in college with talent and through hard-work and determination, the right exposure, and a little luck. I played college basketball at  Seminole State College , an NJCAA junior college program in Oklahoma and I finished my college career at  ...

All credit of this article goes to  Pat Williams  and his book,  Coach Wooden .   He breaks down Coach Wooden’s seven-point creed that was given to him by his father when he graduated from elementary school.  Many attribute a large part of his success to this creed and his ability to live it out daily. The 4th creed is ‘Make Friendship a Fine Art.’  Below are quotes and passages from that 3 rd creed. - You can read about the 1 st creed, 'be true to yourself,'  here . - You can read about the 2 nd creed, ‘help others,’ here . - You can read about 3rd creed, 'Drink deeply from here .  Someone is not a good friend because he or she does good things for you all the time.  It’s friendship when you do good things for each other.  It’s showing concern and consideration … The first and most important step in friendship is being a friend. - John Wooden Friendship is like a good marriage – it’s based on common concern....

All credit of this article goes to  Pat Williams  and his book,  Coach Wooden .   He breaks down Coach Wooden’s seven-point creed that was given to him by his father when he graduated from elementary school.  Many attribute a large part of his success to this creed and his ability to live it out daily. The 3 rd creed is ‘Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.’  Below are quotes and passages from that 3 rd creed. - You can read about the 1 st creed, 'be true to yourself,'  here . - You can read about the 2 nd creed, ‘help others,’ here . Coach observed, “Poetry, biographies, and all the other great books will greatly enrich your life.  There are so many that are so good, and they will all be available to you.  The poetry Dad read to us when we were kids instilled a love of reading … Drink deeply from those great books of your own choosing and you will enrich yourself.” - Coach John Wooden The highes...

All credit of this article goes to  Pat Williams  and his book,  Coach Wooden .   He breaks down Coach Wooden’s seven-point creed that was given to him by his father when he graduated from elementary school.  Many attribute a large part of his success to this creed and his ability to live it out daily. The  2 nd  creed is ‘Help Other.’  Below are quotes and passages from that 2 nd chapter. - You can read about the 1st creed, 'be true to yourself,' here . One, make sure you always have better players than the team you play.  Two, make sure that your players put the team above themselves.  Three – and this is a very important point – always practice simplicity with constant repetition, and you will be successful.’ - Advice given to coach Dale Brown from Coach John Wooden If one cannot be used, it only means that one is useless.’ - Maya Angelou ‘Coach Wooden believes he was born to influence and serve young people....

I get this question a lot in our program, and another question we get along these same lines is, 'what can I do to play more?' This is a list of the basic skills that you must be able to do to be a varsity basketball player in our program.   Ball-Handling - You have to be able to handle the ball, against heavy pressure, with both hands without turning it over and keeping us in what we are trying to do as a team. Passing - You have to be able to make the right read and the right pass with both hands, against pressure, and while reading the defenses without turning the ball over and keeping us in the rhythm of wait we are trying to do on offense. Shooting - You have to know what a bad, good, and great shot is for yourself and the team, and you have to be able to take and make good shots that you have practiced and have confidence in. One on One - You have to be able to handle your man one on one and keep us in the offense.  When you have an advanta...

When asked about his work ethic as a younger athlete, Kobe said he tried to find a balance when in high school.  He was known to work hard and put a lot of time in the gym, working out at 5 in the morning before school, but he said he also found time to enjoy himself, and would hang out like other kids and have fun at things like parties. He acknowledges that with the amount of time and focus that it takes to be great, you do have to make sacrifices, but when you want to do it and enjoy what you are doing, you aren’t giving anything up but are gaining something instead. As John Wooden stated, it’s the important to make the best out of any situation. When you enjoy what you do, that’s where the will and passion come from.   As a kid, he loved basketball cards because he could see the intricacies of certain moves, such as their feet, body position, and stance.  Robert Horry said its amazing how quickly he can pick up a move that other players use....

In this video, Russell Westbrook was asked why it looks like he takes it personal if somebody scores on him.  Russ says its because of how he feels about the game.  He says he loves the game and wants to be the best, and if you want to be the best, you have to take pride in every possession, take pride in not letting someone score on you, and take pride in limiting mistakes.  When you do, you have to have some pride and take another chance to find a way to fix it. “You have to keep emotions in check and focus on the next play.  The game is not about you as an individual, but about the team and you have to stay focused and ready for the betterment of the team.  Be able to sit back and take yourself out of the equation and find a way to help your team and help your teammates.” Russ says he always has something to prove and that his job is to compete hard for his team.  Because of that and the way he grew up and having to earn everything he has ever...

This is a great interview in which Russell Westbrook expressed how important education, more than basketball, was for him as a high school athlete.  Russ did not have a lot of college offers going into his senior year, but instead of getting too frustrated, he trusted his parents and coaches and he trusted the ‘process’ of being patient and continuing to work hard for the scholarship that he wanted.   So often, young athletes want that instant success or gratification.  Russ was able to remain patient yet hungry in pursuing a college scholarship.  He had a 3.9 GPA in high school, and he was trying to use basketball as a way to pay for college so that he could get a great education that his parents wouldn’t have to pay for.  His back-up plan if basketball didn't work out was to go to Stanford.  It wasn’t even until after his freshmen year at UCLA that he thought that playing in the NBA would even be a possibility. Sports are a great learning t...