Brewers GM Doug Melvin on Building a Program

Was listening to the Colin Cowheard show today and heard the Milwaukee Brewers Doug Melvin speak on what he did to help turn around the Texas Rangers and Brewers - you can hear the interview on Cowheard's site. Cowheard asked Melvin what was his secret to turning around a franchise. Melvin's answer was great and can/should be applied to any coach taking over a program.

Melvin's Key Points:
1. Change the Culture
-He talked about how it's important to get the right people in place and change the culture. You have to make people believe that our organization can win.

2. Gain Trust
-You have to get the players, the management, the fans to trust what you are doing. This can take time, and you have to be respected, not liked, when doing this.

3. Have Patience
-This is a huge one, it's simple but hard to do. It's hard to sit there when things are not going right and keep the ship moving in your direction even when others around you think the course is wrong.

"And That Was the Difference"

This was the comment made by an ESPN announcer during the NBA finals when Dirk made the game winning basket. To me that was a silly idea - I mean really?! Only that shot made the difference? Not the all the other shots, not the turnovers, not the offensive rebounds, not the good screens, not sharing the ball, etc? Only the last shot mattered, right?



What does this have to do with coaching?

Well, this is an idea that is engrained in the brains of our players. How many players are crushed when they miss the last shot? What about when the opposing team hits the last shot on them? Almost all of them, right? But are they as crushed when they turn the ball over in the first half or give up an offensive rebound the second posession of the second half? It's a small thing but what we have to teach our players is that wins and losses don't ever come down to the last seconds - it's really about all the seconds before - it's about every posession. Once a team gets that, they really become great. Below is a link to a poem I use to illustrate this point with my players. I would encourage you to give it to all of yours.

http://www.teamarete.com/itonly.html

Two Great Pieces of Advice on Goals

I have been talking to a few high school coaches lately - the coaches in Minnesota are amazing in their willingness to share. Below are two great ideas on goal setting that I got. The first comes from Mark Gerber of Eastview High School and the other comes from Mark Klingsporn of Tartan High School. Both are very successful high school coaches.

What is a Goal?

When visiting with Coach Gerber, one of the amazing things he hit on was what is a goal and what is a reward? Is winning a conference title a goal? What about going to the State Tournament? According to Coach Gerber those are not goals, they are rewards. Goals are what you can control to get your rewards. Goals are things such as outrebounding your opponent. It is something you can control that affects the reward (winning). That is a great change in thinking about your goals, it goes alot with Don Meyer's idea of NBA (next best action) and controlling what you can control.

Making Players Give Up Their Individual Goals

In visiting with Coach Klingsporn he had a great exercise he does with his players to explain how unrealistic the individual goals can be for a team. He has his players write down how many points per game they think they should average. He then adds them up and shows them how many points per game our team would have to average to achieve those goals.

I did this exercise with my 8th grade AAU group and figured out we would have to average about 130 points per game for everyone to have the average they want. It was a great jumping off point for a discussion on how the team goals are what are important and the individual goals just get in the way.

Systems vs. Sets for Player Development

I am coaching an 8th grade group this year in AAU and loving it. They are a good group of guys who work hard and are talented enough to play at the next level if they choose to. One thing we are struggling with right now is running a "system" offense. We run a modified read and react/motion offense that stresses pass and cut and back cut against pressure with the rules "fill to the ball on the perimeter" and "fill the open corner when inside the three". We also emphasize driving the ball and relocating after the drive. If our guys progress we will add pass and screen away, dribble over Euro screens, etc. But right now are guys are struggling to get the basic concept.

Our guys are having an issue right now with moving and reacting to what is going on. They are used to continuity and set play offenses that stress go from A to B to C and back to A or reset. It's a totally different idea than a motion/concept based offense. They have to use different parts of their brain to react to what is going on and be able to read the defense.

Using this type of offense in youth basketball is a MUST to me. Players need to learn how to play the game make plays on their own. They need to learn how to read situations in a system and learn how to handle them. When they get to the varsity and college level they are going to have to run a concept based offense or they will run a set play/continuity offense that they must make a play after the offense breaks down. If we don't foster those skills at an early age, when are they going to learn them? Playing a concept/motion based offense also comes with another skill: learning how to score/create in the flow of the offense. This is a critical skill for every player and something they need to learn.

I've seen progress in our group already, and I expect to see more as we go. It's fun to watch them improve and grow.

Why You Always Guard the Inbounder

Here is another thought on late game execution. This video has been circling the
internet for sometime now. It's a great example of why you either need to face
guard the inbounder or back completely off so that the ball can't be thrown off
the defender's back. As you can see in the clip. the other defender is standing
in front of the inbounder with her back to the ball. If she would have turned
around, College of Idaho likely would have won.

Harvard vs. Princeton

Loved the ESPN Sports Center quote on the Harvard vs. Princeton game:

One will move onto the NCAA Tournament, they will all move onto great
jobs.

It's a great quote to remind your players who are going off to play college basketball. Truthfully, for most of them, it shouldn't be about the basketball program, instead it should be about the business, education, chemistry program. That's why I give a big hats of to Jonah Travis from DLS high school in Minnesota. Jonah will be going to Harvard over other schools that he could have attended. For him it was a decision based on academics. Hopefully more players make that decision down the road.

Quick Back Cuts Out of the 1-4 High

I love the 1-4 type set because it compliments what I like to do with five out motion and read and react type offenses. One of the great things about the 1-4 high is the backcutting opportunities that it presents for you. Here are some of the quick hitting back cut options out of the 1-4 high.

High Post Entry I

This is a pretty standard part of the 1-4 tool box. On the pass to the high post the wing back cuts hard to the rim for a layup.

High Post Entry II

This is a different take on the high post entry. Here the ball is passed and the point basket and corner cuts. The wing takes 2-3 steps down like he's making a back cut.

The post dribbles at the wing and instead of backcutting the wing comes back up and comes off of the post (5) for the dribble handoff. He takes the handoff and dribbles at the opposite high post. The high post steps high and then back cuts for a layup. The dribbler looks for the layup pass and then looks to turn the corner.

Wing Pick and Roll

On the wing pass, the point cuts to the basket and the corner. The ballside high post comes over and ball screens, the dribbler comes off the screen and the opposite high post pops hard and then back cuts to the rim.

The Point Screen and Roll

Playing on the same idea of back cutting with the backside high post here. The point comes off the screen by the high post. He then doubles back and comes back toward the opposite high post who pops and then dives for a lay up.

Dribble Over Back Cut

This is a classic in the 1-4 high tool kit. Point guard dribbles at the wing and the wing runs a back cut.