Players and the Test

Photo courtesy of hawkhoopclub.org

Last week I was attending an AVID conference in Philadelphia for school and I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to sit down with Coach Phil Martelli of St. Joe's University. I respect Coach Martelli a lot for his knowledge and passion for the game. He's old school in his willingness to share his thoughts and ideas with other coaches. We talked for almost two hours and he was very open with his answers - he wasn't hiding anything and was very honest.

One of the best pieces of knowledge he shared was his approach to game time. I've heard him say it before in articles and videos, but it was great to hear it again. He made the analogy of a teacher and a coach. The teacher works hard to prepare the students for the test, but when the test comes how do they act? Are teaching running up and down the aisles screaming at the players "REMEMBER YOUR TIMES TABLES!!!!" or are they quiet and relaxed? Coach Martelli went on to explain how so many coaches are crazy on the sideline but are they really doing any good? Is all the yelling and screaming sinking in or simply floating out the opposite ear? He went onto explain how great coaches prepare their team all week for the game - even having to yell and scream at times, but when it's game time they relax and let the players play. Great coaches make a few, calm, adjustments as the game goes on as opposed to stalking the sidelines in a rage.

For me this really hit home. I used to be a huge yeller and a screamer on the bench. I would have hated to play for me - although I felt like the guys played hard.  Over the last few years I have mellowed, but not enough. Every game I go in saying I am going to be calm and laid back, however that usually isn't the case. So this year I am going to make an even greater effort to relax during the games and be a true teacher during the "tests".

Quick Pin: Set for a Secondary Shooter

When looking at set plays, there are two powerful ideas: mis-direction and combo actions. The play below encompasses both of these. It's a 2-3 high set where your shooter is actually the five man. We use the five man to screen and then get him open when the defense is preoccupied with defending the first action. The set includes some interesting counters you can use to play with the defense.

Note: I wouldn't run this with your best player at the five, but I would run it with a secondary shooter at the five that the defense isn't going to key on right away.


Quick Pin
The set is a 23 high with the post on the ball side at the first hash mark, just below the FT line. On the guard to guard pass the post (5) sets a curl screen for the backside wing (4) who cuts over the top of the screen. If they really cheat it, the wing (4) can reject the screen and backcut in a Princeton or Dana Altman 2-3 High fashion. That look because very effective against an aggressive team.

As the wing (4) comes off the screen the guard who passed the ball (2) sets a quick downscreen for the screening player (5) in a flex like action. The inside man (5) pops up for the shot. Again, this screening action makes it look as if we are looking for the curl. The defense is going to help on the curl and become an easier target for the downscreen.

 Backscreen Counter
An easy counter to this set is having the shooter/post (5) backscreen the passing guard (2) after setting the curl screen for the wing (4). After setting the screen backscreen the shooter (5) pops back for the shot.

Back and Screen Counter

This counter is similar to the counter above, except the guard (1) swing it to the wing (3) on his side and then screens the screener for the shooter (5) who is setting the backscreen. 

Flair Counter
Another simple counter is to have your guard pass the ball, V cut and get it back. As that happens the wing (4) pins the shooter (5) who pops to the wing for a shot.

As usual, nothing new or revolutionary here, but  this set is an interesting way to get a secondary shooter some looks without drawing immediate attention to them. This would be a helpful set if you ran Princeton, a 2-3 High, or even a 4 Out Motion offense as it starts that way and you can run it right into the offense. Either way, I like the idea of using the shooter as a screener first, then getting them open for a shot. It puts their defender in a tough spot - help on the first action or stay with the shooter.

Stretching and Fixing Relationships

Photo courtesy of UWGB Website

Got the chance to watch Getting Players to Play Hard: Revised Edition by Coach Divilbiss and loved it. The most outstanding point of the entire video was when Coach Divilbiss talked about the idea of constantly "stretching and fixing" your relationships with players. "Stretching and fixing" is the process by which you stretch your players comfort level on discipline and playing hard and then build the relationship back up after the stretching is over. You push them farther than they want to go, they get mad at you, you build the relationship back up within that stretched comfort zone, and then you proceed to stretch it even farther. It's a great concept and one that I think all master teacher's use. They maintain the delicate balance between pushing players forward and building them up.

 I've never heard it put this way, but it's a great way to explain how to coach! It's why I constantly remind our players that I'm doing this (pushing them) because I care about them and want to make them better, not because I am trying to be a jerk. This process is something that I want to improve upon this year as I think it's the one single key to getting players to play hard out of motivation not fear.

Power Flex Continuity

Photo from Dalethoughts.com

Introduction

This is a continuity that I discovered while writing more sets for my first HoopsU Insider post. It started out as a set play, but ended up being able to be run as kind of a slick continuity. Some of the ideas come from watching a lot of Princeton Offense lately as well as watching some of the concepts that were employed by high school coaches this winter. This isn't something that you would use as your primary offense, but is something you could definitely use as a secondary offense. **I have never used the offense but it does look like it could be successful in theory.**

The offense is designed to be run if you have a stud post player and at least one shooter. There is a constant stream of cross screens for your big to try and get him open, the best part is that your smaller players are doing the screening, so that makes it tough for switching defenses. It also gives you down screens for your shooter(s). Lastly there are many back cut options for your perimeter players which makes it hard for players to pressure your team. Lastly it gives you an option to isolate a second post player (or good driver) in the high post if you pass the ball into the high post.

Entry: Getting Into the Offense

The offense starts out in a 1-4 high look. The point guard (1) dribbles at a wing (2) and away from the stud post (5). The wing (2) backcuts to the rim and then sets a back/cross screen for the stud post (5) on the backside elbow. The back/cross screen is one of the best looks that you have to get a post the ball in an offense, so we want to take advantage of that in the entry. We always look for a post up right off the bat. If they are fronting the post we go right to the high post and look high-low or run our high-low action (shown farther below).

The backside wing (3) sets a flair screen for the player who set the back/cross screen for the post (2). The cutter (2) fills the wing and the flair screener (3) pops to the top of the key and gets the ball. If the player coming off the flair (2) is a shooter we can skip to him (2). If a skip happens the post (5) and high post (4) just come across and we are still in the offense. If we don't skip the ball, we pass to the separating screener (3) at the top of the key.

The Continuity 

When the ball is swung to the top the player at the top, that player (3) catches the ball and dribbles to the wing opposite the pass (2). The player at that wing (2) backcuts and we look for the backdoor pass. If it's not there, the cutter (2) continues across the lane and sets a cross screen for the stud post (5) on the backside. The stud post (5) comes across the lane and looks for the post up. If he doesn't get the ball right away (there needs to be an emphasis on entering the ball early), the high post (4) sets a down screen in a screen the screener action.

 The cutter (2) comes off the down screen in the screen the screener action and the screener (4) pops back to the elbow. We can again look to enter it to him and look for a high low again if the post is fronted. If we don't get the ball into either post we swing to the top and we continue with the continuity.

 The player at the top of the key (2) again receives the pass and again dribbles at the opposite wing (1) player. The wing player (1) backcuts, looks for the ball, and then continues across the lane and sets the cross screen for the post (4) who comes to the ball.

 The high post (4) sets the down screen. The player who set the cross screen (1) comes up to the top of the key. The player setting the downscreen (4) pops back to the high post and we swing the ball to the top to start the continuity again.

Other Options

High Post Entry

The ball can be entered to the high post (4). If that happens we have two immediate quick looks. These should take 1-2 seconds at the max. The first look is for the high post player (4) to dump the ball into the low post (5). Then high post (4) can look to take his defender one on one to the basket away from the stud post's (5) side.

If none of those looks are there, we go into our high post action. The wing player who passed the ball in (2) gets a backscreen from the post (5) and cuts to the basket. The stud post (5) stays on the wing and pretends like he's watching the play.  If the back cut isn't there, the backside wing player (3) sets a flair screen for the player at the point (1) who flairs to the backside wing. The screener (3) pops to the point. We look to get the ball to the player coming off the flair (1) by either skipping the ball or swinging it through the top. Either way the ball needs to end up on the opposite wing.

 After the pass is made the high post (4) sets a curl screen for the post who cuts to the rim and block. The player who came off the backscreen (2) fills the backside wing.

 The high post (4) fills across and we look for another high-low or we swing the ball to the top and get back into the offense. The player with the ball at the wing (1) passes up to the point (3), point dribbles at the opposite wing (2), who backcuts, etc. If they are denying the wing/point pass, the point (3) can screen away for the backside wing (2).

Low Post Entry

The whole idea of the offense is that we want to get the ball into the low post, right?! Well what do we do when it's there??

As the ball is passed to the low post, the high post (4), sets a curl screen for the entering wing (1). The entering wing (1) cuts off the elbow screen, to the backside block, and out to the opposite corner. If his man doubles we give him the ball and he gets a layup on the cut.

If the post doesn't score, and we don't get anything off the elbow screen, the player at the point (3), starts to cut to the rim and cuts to the wing off a flair screen. The other two perimeter players (1,2) fill to the ball.

Cheating the Dribble Over

Some teams will try to cheat the dribble over and by sagging off. If this happens we can run a Euro Screen to attack the defense. You can also do this action if the player at the wing is a stud that you want to drive. You could have a rule that you run the euro screen action anytime player X is dribbled at.

In this call/look, the player that has the ball at the point (3) dribbles at the player on the wing (1) as we normally do in our continuity. Instead of backcutting however, the player on the wing (1) cuts at the dribble and we perform a dribble handoff. The wing coming off the dribble handoff (1) gets a ball screen from the high post (4). The driver (1) can attack the rim and then dumps to the post (5) or kicks out. if the drive is not there, the driver (1) can dribble across, at the opposite wing (2) and we are into our offense again. A nice addition would be your stud post (5) backscreening the ballscreening post (4) but is not shown.

Conclusion

As I said in the beginning this is not something I have ever used, and am not sure how well it will work. I am more of a motion coach anyway, but it appears that it could be useful, especially if you have a stud post you want to get the ball to. Hopefully if you are a continuity coach you will give it a try and have some success with it!

Great 1-4 High Set

I am starting a new project as a writer for the website HoopsU. I am very excited to have the opportunity to participate, a big THANK YOU goes out to Coach Alfonso for giving me this opportunity, hopefully I can live up to his high standards!

In trying to figure out what to write for the first time, I've been spending time looking at sets to get your stud player the ball. In all honesty sets are not a strong suit, so I am using this opportunity to really improve and do some in depth research in this area! One of the sets I really like is the one that is shared below.

This set is a 1-4 high look that is geared toward getting looks for your stud point guard. For many coaches, especially at small shools, your point guard is usually your best driver, best shooter, best passer, and maybe even best post up player. So you need sets that revolve around the point guard and let him have opportunities to score and distribute. This is what the set does.


The set starts with the point guard (1) dribbling at the wing (3) - this should be the second best shooter between the two wings. The wing back cuts to the rim and if back cut isn't open, the backside wing (2) comes down and sets a pin screen to get the cutting wing (3) to the corner. As this is happening the backside post (4) starts to work his way down.

This clears out the ballside and gives your pg a chance to isolate. If the point guard (1) can turn the corner and go he should. As the backcutting wing (3) comes off the pin screen and fills to the corner, the backside post (4) sets a down screen for the screener (2) who cuts up the laneline to the slot. We can throw him the ball for a three if he is open. The

The downscreening post (4) shapes to the ball and we can enter it for a post up if it's open. This is especially great if they switch the screen. If the post up is not there the ballside post (5) comes across and sets the side ballscreen. The post who is on the ballside block now (4) comes up and backscreens the screener (5) and then shapes to the elbow. The point guard (1) comes off the screen and can throw to a shooter on the backside (2, 3) or hit the roller (5) coming off the back screen, or hit the screener (4) shaping to the elbow.

This is a great play for a number of reasons. First, the ball stays in the point guard's hands the entire play. It is a great look if you don't trust your other players to handle the ball. Second it gives your point guard a few opportunities to score and distribute, while still giving the other players on your team opportunities.

This set is geared toward a point guard who likes to drive the ball. If it's not an athletic point guard who's good at getting to the rim and creating, it's not a great set.

Lastly, I would not run this against a team that really pressures man to man. The action on the side is going to take a few seconds to develop and if your point guard can't back dribble on the wing to get the pressure off they run the risk of a five second call.

Teaching Shooting: Everything You Know is Wrong

Introduction

As a coach, I feel that shooting may be the most important skill in the game. If you are coaching a team with shooters you are going to be pretty darn good. With that said, I am always looking for new and better ways to teach this skill. I used to be a stickler for form. I thought that players had to have "great form" to be a great shooter - square feet, straight back, perfect. I would even go as far as to work on a player's form even though they were shooting a high percentage - which I now know is a waste of time.

After reading The Talent Code and Talent is Overrated I started to realize that perfect form isn't what's important - practice is what is important. I also started to look at great shooter's shots and they were all different. No one had a "text book" jump shot. The only similarity I saw was the balance, elbow under the ball, and follow through. So last year we spent more time on just shooting with proper balance, elbow, and follow through and we saw results.

After going through that revelation, I attended a shooting camp called Pro Shot by Paul Hoover, I was blown away by what he taught. It went against everything "traditional" shooting technique says. The Pro Shot shooting system is contrary to everything we've been taught about shooting. Techniques such as square feet, square shoulders, hand in the cookie jar, and the importance of bending your knees all go out the window. At first I was skeptical, obviously, but after watching the results, and trying it myself, I was sold. The system works and it makes sense when you take an honest look at what he is saying. Below is a rundown of the Pro Shot System.

The Pro Shot System

Each of the following are teaching points that Coach Hoover uses to build the jump shot. These are things I have used with our players and we have seen great success already with. 

The Basics
This video covers many of the basics of the Pro Shot System which will be discussed in more detail below. 

The Finger
For me, this was the biggest secret of the entire clinic. On the follow through, as you snap your wrist, you pinch your pointer finger and thumb together as you keep your other three fingers straight (3 up 1 down). This FORCES the ball to go straight because, as Coach Hoover points out, your pointer finger is the only finger that truly points straight ahead on your hand when your hand is extended straight out. Using this method has really aided players who miss a lot left and right. 

As you can see in the video, Bryant is clearly pinching his thumb and pointer finger together in the clip as he follows through. 

The Feet
This was a huge contradiction to EVERYTHING I had ever been taught. I have never heard a coach tell a player to unsquare his feet, but here was this guy doing just that! At first I was very hesitant because it just seemed wrong. But what sold me on it was the demonstration he did with the alignment of the shoulder in this video.

As you can see it's about squaring the shoulder and the hip, NOT the feet. As he says in his clinic, look at every sport where you aim - darts, baseball, shooting guns, no one square their feet to aim in those sports so why are we squaring our feet to aim in basketball? After that I was sold and will not tell another players to square their feet again. We will work on squaring our hip and shoulder to the basket instead of our feet.

The Sway

When great shooters shoot, they jump forward a little bit and keep their shoulders slightly back in a swaying motion. Below is a video that illustrates this movement. 

Reasons for Missing

Another amazing piece of the puzzle is why players miss - and it's not why you think. Most coaches would say that players who miss short don't use enough leg, but that's not true either. Both the video below, and this article by Brian McCormick explain that it's not the legs, it's balance, shoulder tension, and how high you release the ball.

In Closing

In closing I would like to say that while it may be easy to write this off, I would encourage you to take a hard, critical look at the ideas:

• Is the pointer finger the only finger that points straight when you extend your arm straight out with palm down? 
• Yes, it is. So that means it's the finger you want pushing the ball the most if the ball is going to go straight ahead. 
• Does your arm, when held straight out, line up with the front of the rim when your feet are squared up?
• No. So you need to turn your feet and hips to line your hip and shoulder up with the basket.

• Do your legs really give you a lot more power?
• No. Try it sometime, they don't really help in the shooting process as much as we think they do. It's more about balance and relaxation.

Last year a player I have worked with took 1800 shots in the offseason as was still a poor in season shooter. Does this sound familiar? Does it seem like some players are just "born" good shooters? Well the truth is it's a coaching issue. If a player is a good shooter we usually leave him alone right? We don't correct the feet or whatever we see as the flaw, correct? So a good shooter is shooting this way and we are letting him because shots go in. We take a poor shooter and try to "correct" him by squaring his feet, etc and he still doesn't make shots. We assume it's because he hasn't shot it enough, or he is a poor shooter, but the truth is it's because he's not shooting the ball in a natural way.

This player that I mentioned above was missing a lot of shots to the right (right handed). He had great feet that were squared to the rim every time, as were his shoulders. I would venture he missed right because his shooting arm was not lined up with the rim. Since he has started turning his hips and pinching on his shot, his shooing has improved greatly. 

I would like to extend a sincere thanks to coach Doug Linton of New Life Academy for inviting me to the clinic! He is having one at his place this week and I am trying to get as many of our guys as I can to show up!

****Note: Just to clarify, I am getting nothing from Pro Shot for this blog post. I just believe that the system works and want to share it with everyone. I would recommend that you bring in Coach Hoover and have him work with your players. It would be well worth the investment!

Stack and Loop DDM Look

One of my many basketball related projects this summer is to watch and take notes on all of the videos I've borrowed from "The Czar". My hope is to post a few highlights of each on here as I go along.

Yesterday I watched "Must Have Dribble Drive Motion Adjustments" by Herb Welling. There was some pretty basic stuff in there, but this stack and loop DDM continuity really stuck out for me. Coach Welling used this continuity to spread the floor differently against sagging man to man teams. Below are some notes on the continuity.

Basics:
The continuity starts with a stack on the left block, shooters in the low corners and the point guard on the top. In the diagram 5 is the other guard and the 4 is the post. This is typical Coach Walberg terminology for players as the 1 and 5 are the guards, the 2 and 3 are wings, and the 4 is the post.

The point guard (1) drives hard to the rim going right. (You could flip the stack and have him drive left if he's a lefty). As he drives, the post screens down for the other guard (5) who comes to the top of the key.

The point guard's (1) first look is a layup, then a dump to the post (4) or a kick to the shooters (2,3).



If no scoring options are availble the point guard (1) kicks back to the other guard (5) at the top of the key. The other guard (5) catches and drives as 1 goes under the screen by the post (4) and pops back to the top of the key. Repeat the action over and over until you get the look you want.

My Adjustment Ideas:
With anything I watch, I try to think about what other teams would do against it and how I can change that. Below are a couple ways the defense might counter this look and some adjustments you could make.

Sagging off the Top Fill
If the defense doesn't honor one (or both) of the slashing guards as a shooter, they might station that player's defender in the lane to always help on the drive.

An easy adjustment for me would be to have the guard they are sagging off of come to the elbow instead of the top of the key. That way he would be in a position (hopefully) to take a shot that he would be able to hit which would force the defense to come out and defend him.

Another adjustment would be to switch the far corner shooter with your other guard so the shooter is shaping to the top. Again you could duck your other guard into the high post for a kick back shot if they continued to sag off of him.

Overplaying the Top Fill
Some teams may try to take away the top fill. My favorite adjustment for that is to send the post (4) up to set a backscreen for the player being denied (5).

Jump-Switching the Driver and Post
This is a risky move, but some coaches might have their post jump out to stop the drive and the player on the ball sprint to take away the pass to the post. If this happens, the post can relocate to the high post for a kick out.

Sagging the Backside Corner Man and Sprinting Out on the Pick Up
If a defense is good, they might have the corner sag and then as soon as the ball gets picked up they sprint out to the corner. The adjustment for me would be to have the post turn and pin the defender. That way it makes the defender's recovery hard.

Closing Thoughts:
Coach Welling said that he got this continuity from Jud Heathcote during the days of Michigan State with Magic and Kessler. It would have been fun to watch Magic slashing into the lane out of this set up. It's an interesting continuity because you don't see it often, it distorts the defense because it's a drive down the lane, and you are going to really force the defense to chose whether to help and give up the three or stay on the shooters and give up a layup. The wing drive, or drive on a side is easier to defend because you can PACK it in and have 4 guys in help on one side. Being in the middle of the floor forces the corners to help a little bit more.

I will be the first to say it doesn't work well without at least one corner shooter (ball side preferred). If you have shooters though, it could be deadly.

This is a great fit for a coach who doesn't want to go completely DDM, runs a continuity like the flex or swing, and wants to get some DDM action in their offense. It's also great if you have two guards who can really drive but can't shoot and two wings who can really shoot but can't handle. It allows the players to do what they are good at. Either way it's an interesting concept.