Find An Action That You Love ...

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 coming off the screen with the Doc Rivers Celtics:

The thing I take from this is how effective can be to find a particular action that you like and finding creative ways to build it into a lot what you do.  I once read from a successful NBA coach that he often taught the same action out of different sets to keep their playbook simple.  Actions like the flex cut, floppy, horns, staggered screens, DHO into PnR, and other common actions can be used in different ways and out of different sets.  What that can do for your team is get them to be more efficient in what you do while being creative enough so that you are still difficult to scout. 

Especially with high school programs, having only a few specific actions that your team can master out of different looks can be very effective and hard to guard.  Below are some examples of what some call the Celtics.

More after the jump:

Coach, How Can I Score More ...

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 scorer is great, but there are other ways to impact the game too:  take care of the ball, make the right pass, being able to get to the basket, make open shots, create open shots for your teammates, rebound, be a great helper on defense, communicate, be a leader, dive for loose balls, make all of the hustle plays.  Those are all things coaches look for as well.

Everything that we have done this spring has been about giving you more tools to be a better player and scorer.  We've worked on dribble moves, shooting, and different finishing moves.  These are 4 keys to becoming a better scorer:

1 - Always catch ready to shoot or to make a play

2 - Be able to get where you need to on the court with your ball handling

3 - Be more effective using screens

4 - Be able to put the ball in the net

Always Catch Ready to Shoot or to Make a Play

You want to always catch ready.  If you're not ready, you aren't going to be able to get a good shot off without forcing it, and you never want to force it.  Coaches can see when a player forces and teammates can as well.  For teammates, when they see you force shots, it causes frustration and resentment because it's a team game and the team needs to get the best shot each possession.  For the same reason, college coaches don't want to recruit a kid who forces it.  Be a shot maker, not a volume shooter.  Continue to get better with your footwork so you are always catching ready to make a play or shot.

2 - Be Able to Get Where You Need to on the Court With Your Ball Handling 

You have to know where your sweet spot is and you have to be able to get to your spot on the court.  That's why we do our ball screens - so you know exactly where you can get a majority of your shots and you know where to practice from.  Your handles, your quickness and your footwork will allow you to get where you want to get.  When you get there, be ready to make the right play; you will get more opportunities to take make-able shots when you catch ready to make a play.

3 - Be More Effective Using Screens 
You're a really good player, but not the biggest or the fastest, so being smart and knowing how to use screens will really help you.  Knowing how to set your man up and really use screens effectively will help you get to your spots and get open looks.  From there, your footwork should help you be more effective. The more you learn and study the game, the smarter you will be.  The smarter you will be, the more open you can get.

4 - Be Able to Put the Ball in the Net

Once you get your feet set every time you catch, ready to make a play, and you know how to get to your spot using you handles and screens, it's about putting the ball in the net.  We work on dribble moves, pull up shots and different types of layups so that you can be a more effective scorer.  Take those tools, practice them and perfect them and you will be a better scorer.

The more work you put in, the more consistent you will be in all of these areas.  Every great player became great because of the work that they put in.  They put in time, over YEARS, in the gym.  The same goes for anybody in any profession: coaches, teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc.  I'm not saying you have to live in the gym or live in the office as an adult to have success because you have to have some balance, but I am saying that the more you put into this, the more you get out of it.

Organize your life so that you are able to put the time in on your game that will help you have the type of success that you want.  Stay on top of your grades, do what you're supposed to do at home so you have more time to work on what you love.  Good luck.  I believe in you!!

List of 2017 Girls College Basketball Camps at Texas Colleges and Universities

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:

Dear American Basketball Players ...

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 Shooting 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 over and over again.
6 - Find a Teacher of the game who explains the Game inside and out. Gives you the why and the how to it. Fits together in Five on Five which is the game.
7 - Find the Best Player you can find and play 1 on 1 with them.
8 - Go play against College Players and men as much as you can!
9 - Chart your Shooting Workouts, Skill Workouts, and Lifting Workouts so you can measure your work.
10 - Master Scoring from the Post Area, Mid-Range and 3 point line.
11 - Beware of people who give you too much sugar remember what it is like coming down from a sugar rush.
12 - Get a Dedicated workout partner. But don't do it with someone who doesn't work hard.
13 - Making sure you have the right Academic courses on your Schedule and you’re taking the ACT/SAT prep courses and taking the actual courses.
14 - Contact the Five to Six Schools you’re interested to see when there Camps are in the summer and attend those. That puts you right in front of the Coaches and you see if you like the School.
15 - Big Fellas get to a Big Man Camp in the Summer!!!
16 - Perimeter players get to a Point Guard camp in the summer!!!
17 - Don't waste time!!! 

Steve Kerr's Rhythm And Flow Offense Synthesized From Triangle, Popovich, D'Antoni

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.”

So You Want To Get Recruited

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 Harding University, a NCAA division 2 program in Arkansas.  I also coached for a few years at the junior college level where I coached 2 All-Americans and 3 players who are now playing professionally.  My experience of going through the recruiting process twice as a player and a few years as a coach has helped me gain valuable insight and experience in the recruiting process.

Make Friendships a Fine Art

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.  Friends help each other; they don’t use each other … If we use our friends to advance a personal agenda, we’ll never have inner peace.  Friends help to complete us, and we’ll be better for having taken them along on our journey.

Drink Deeply From Good Books, Especially The Bible | John Wooden

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 highest-earning 10 percent of Americans read two to three hours a day.  What do they read?  Anything and everything that expands their knowledge and enables them to keep up with a fast-changing world: books, newspapers, and magazines.  80% of American have not read or purchased even one book during the past twelve months.  The average American is simply not a reader.  No wonder he’s so average!

Anyone with a high school education can read a book a week.  And what’s a book a week?  It’s 52 books a year, or 520 books over the next decade.  

If you can read five books on any one subject, you can consider yourself a world-leading authority on that subject.

So if you take his advice, you could become an authority on hundreds of subjects in a single decade.  With all of that wisdom and knowledge crammed between your ears, you can’t help being more effective and successful at anything you do.
- Brian Tracy with Pat Williams

Help Others | John Wooden

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.  That’s why Coach has such a purpose and meaning in his life.  He fulfills it every day.’

- Frank Arnold

The Dirty Shoulders Principle
In a figurative sense, all great people have dirty shoulders.  People of true greatness are always lifting others up and letting them stand tall on their own shoulders.  They don’t care who gets the credit.  They don’t mind if their own shoulders get dirty.  They just want to life other people up.
- Gil McGregor

‘Find some dirty windows and wash them.  Find a neighbor’s lawn and mow it.  Clen up the mess, even if you didn’t make it.  Read to a child.  Find some people to help, and serve them.’
- Gil McGregor

Coach, What Do I Need To Do To Make The Varsity Basketball Team?

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 advantage over the person guarding you, you have to be able to make a good play.

Team Offense
- You have to know what we are trying to do on offense at all times, and play unselfishly and aggressively in making the right play.

Rebounding
- You have to be able to beat your man trying to box you out and at least get deflections, and you have to be able to box your man out every possession then pursue and secure rebounds.

1 on 1 defense
- How well can you stop and pressure the ball, without fouling and without getting beat?

Team Defense
- We contest EVERY SHOT by sprinting back on defense, getting matched up, talking and helping each other, and being in the right spot in the right stance with the right focus EVERY POSSESSION.  Understand what we are trying to do defensively and do it with as much energy and aggressiveness as possible.

Transition Offense
- Get the ball to the right person and sprint the court, looking to beat the defense back, and if we can’t score before they get set, immediately flow into our offenses, putting a lot of pressure on the defense to make sure that they have 5 girls back and in position to guard us.  If one person is not back and ready on defense, we HAVE to take advantage of it.

Transition Defense
- As soon as we don’t have the ball, we have to sprint back and make sure that we have 5 girls always ready and in position to contest every shot without fouling.

Character
- Be an energy giver not taker.  Be a great teammate.  Be a leader on the court, in the locker room, in the classroom, and in the community.  Don’t speak negatively about your teammates, the team, or what we are trying to do.  Build people up with praise.  Work hard every day to get better for yourself and your teammates and do it with energy and enthusiasm.  Handle challenges and adversity in a positive way.  Be someone that, when you walk into the gym, people get excited to see you.  Be someone that when you talk, people listen.  Make the people around you better and help make their experience more enjoyable.

Your Role
Have at least one thing that you do that is ‘special’ and that you take pride in.  It could be scoring in post.  It could be the way to pass and read the defense.  It could be making shots, or playing great one on one defense, or rebounding.  We need to have at least two specialists in every asset mentioned above.  Which one is your strength and what will your role on the team be?

Kobe Bryant: What It Took To Be Great

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.  He’s been playing since two, so he said he’s pretty much performed every move over time, so because of muscle memory, he is able to recall when needed.

Russell Westbrook: Why I Play Mad

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 every gotten, he knowingly carries a chip on his shoulder.

He also talks about having balance.  With his dad, they talk about the game a lot, but with his mom, he doesn’t talk about basketball because there are times where you have to get away from it. 

Russell Westbrook: I Never Planned To Go Pro

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 tool and great for creating character development opportunities, and while it is great to have the goal of being the best athlete that you can be and try to use it to earn a college scholarship or even trying to become a professional, only 1% of high school athletes will ever be professionals.  They will all, however, be a professional something.  Make sure you are working hard in the classroom and increasing your knowledge so that you can live a successful and productive life.