Legendary Hank Iba (Henry Iba) coached
Oklahoma State to two NCAA Championships and the United States Olympic team to
two gold medals (and one silver medal) with teams made up entirely of amateurs.
Coach Iba used to teach that there are six main areas of focus if you want to
win consistently. The more of these areas that you and your team master, the
more games you will win. If only a couple areas are mastered, then you're
possibly in for a long season.
1.
Transition Defense - Good transition defense helps eliminate layups, open threes
and fouls while scrambling to cover up, which greatly increases your chances of
winning. Teams should have separate plans for getting back after missed shots
and turnovers and also for getting back after a made field goal or free throw.
Being strong in this area lets the defense play 5 on 5 instead of playing 3 on
1 or 4 on 2.
2.
Half-Court Defense - Numerous studies have all shown that FG % is the #1
statistic that influences winning. In other words, if a team can constantly force
their opponents into shooting poorly they are going to win the vast majority of
their games. Good half court defenses take offenses out of their comfort zone,
don't foul and only give up difficult shots by non leading scorers. Coaches
often give this one area more attention than all of the others.
3.
Fast Break Offense - Effectively running the break gives a team the chance to
get some cheap baskets and is still the best way to get an uncontested three
point attempt. Teams that run and consistently scores before the defense sets
up often forces opponents to play smaller if their "Bigs" can't keep
up. One of the most important benefits of fast breaking is that it gives your
team "spurt ability" and the opportunity to come from behind if
necessary.
4.
Half-Court Offense - Great half court offense is basically about accepting roles
and understanding good shot selection, regardless of which offensive set is
used. Winning offense is NOT equal opportunity but instead is committed to
getting the best shooters the most shots. This can be accomplished by always
looking for favorable mismatches, consistently feeding the hot hand, and
setting limitations if running any type of motion offense. (Five passes unless
getting an uncontested layup, post must touch the ball, two designated shooters
until end of the shot clock, etc.)
5.
Defensive Rebounding - Use one of the four boxing out techniques (Front pivot,
reverse pivot, hit & go, or face guard) to keep opponents from generating
game changing second shots. Teams that want to fast break obviously need the
ball to get things started and should consider a missed shot and subsequent
defensive rebound as the first phase of their offense.
6.
Offensive Rebounding - While defensive rebounding is mostly about proper
positioning, offensive rebounding is all about desire and anticipation. Many
coaches feel that there is no such thing as a bad second shot and motivate
their non scorers by telling them they can shoot every offensive rebound they
secure. We send four to the glass and try to consistently get two perimeter
players crashing the boards after getting a running start. (We work very hard
on our transition defense and you must too if you are going to send four
players to the offensive boards!)
Too many teams overemphasize just one of
the six areas at the expense of the other five. While those types of teams may
win some games, they lack the balance necessary to be a dominant, championship
program. Coach Hank Iba's teams were well known for tough, hard-nosed, physical
defense and methodical, ball control offense. However, even though those areas
were his team's main strengths, he did not neglect to emphasize the other four
areas. As a result his coaching career became so legendary that one of the
national coach of the year awards is named after him.
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