They're asking the wrong question.

The right question is: "What does my kid actually need to develop?"

At Hoops College, we don't treat all players the same because all players aren't the same. Some need to learn basic fundamentals. Others need to learn how to compete. Some need decision-making skills. Others need to get stronger. Others need to figure out how to shoot.

Yet most youth programs put everyone through the same process: join a team, play games, hope for the best.

**The Development Path Problem**

We see 8-year-olds who can barely dribble with their off hand being pushed into 5-on-5 games. We see 12-year olds who can’t shoot being rushed into playing games. We see kids who can't make simple reads in 3-on-3 situations being thrown into travel tournaments.

This backwards approach is why so many players plateau early.

**How We Actually Develop Players**

Our development path is systematic and individual: - Start with what the player can't do, not what looks impressive - Build from 1-on-1 to 3-on-3 to 4-on-4 to 5-on-5 - Don't skip steps because it's convenient - Focus on readiness, not age or parent expectations

Some players progress quickly through this path. Others need more time at each stage. That's not a problem — that's individual development.

**When Team Basketball Actually Makes Sense**

We don't put players in travel basketball until they're truly ready — usually high school, often sophomore year or later. Before that, they're building the individual skills and small-group concepts they'll need to succeed.

This doesn't mean they won't play. It means they'll play situations that actually develop them instead of hiding their weaknesses behind teammates.

**The Hoops College Difference**

We're working on a full-size facility that can take players from elementary through high school with a proven development path. No shortcuts. No one-size-fits-all programs. Just systematic skill development that meets each player where they are.

Parents sometimes resist this approach. They want their kid on the "best" team playing the most games. But development isn't about exposure — it's about preparation.

The question isn't what program your kid should be in. The question is what your kid needs to develop next, and whether the program you're considering can actually provide it.

At Hoops College, we start there. Because that's where real development begins.

*Want to know what your player actually needs to develop next? Contact us for an honest evaluation.*

Aram writes about basketball, teaching, and standards at aramparunak.com. The essays are the long version of what we believe.

Last week, a parent told us their son sent emails to 10 colleges and "nobody was interested." Ten emails. That's not recruiting — that's testing the water with your toe.

Here's what actually happened with those 10 emails: • Maybe 3 coaches opened them • Maybe 1 watched part of the highlight video • Maybe 0 forwarded it to assistants • Definitely 0 added the player to their recruiting board

This isn't because the player lacks talent. It's because 10 emails isn't nearly enough volume to generate real interest.

**The Real Numbers**

Successful recruiting requires massive volume and consistency. Players who actually get recruited typically: • Send 100+ initial emails • Follow up with 50+ coaches multiple times • Generate responses from 10-15% of contacts • Have meaningful conversations with 5-8 coaches • Receive genuine interest from 2-4 programs • Sign with 1 school

Those numbers aren't discouraging — they're realistic. Understanding them helps you plan appropriately.

**Why Volume Matters**

College coaches receive hundreds of recruiting emails daily. Your single email is competing with highlight videos, camp invitations, and updates from players across the country.

Coaches can't respond to everyone. They prioritize players who: • Fit their specific needs • Meet their academic standards • Show persistent, professional interest • Demonstrate they understand recruiting is work

**What This Looks Like in Practice**

At Hoops College, we teach players to approach recruiting systematically:

1. **Research Phase**: Identify 50-100 programs that fit academically and athletically 2. **Initial Outreach**: Professional emails with highlight videos to all target schools 3. **Follow-Up System**: Regular updates to coaches who respond (and some who don't) 4. **Relationship Building**: Campus visits, camps, and consistent communication 5. **Decision Process**: Evaluate actual offers, not just interest

This isn't a sprint. It's an 18-month process that requires treating recruiting like a part-time job.

**The Character Test**

Coaches pay attention to how players handle recruiting challenges. When you quit after 10 emails, you're signaling: • Low persistence when facing obstacles • Unrealistic expectations about effort and results • Limited commitment to your basketball goals

These are exactly the character traits coaches avoid in recruits.

**Moving Forward**

If you've been discouraged by initial recruiting results, understand that's normal. Most successful recruits faced early rejections and non-responses.

The difference? They kept going.

Recruiting success requires the same mentality as basketball improvement: consistent effort over time, learning from failures, and refusing to quit when things get difficult.

At Hoops College, we help players develop both the skills to compete at the college level and the recruiting strategy to get there. Because talent without a plan to showcase it doesn't lead to opportunities.

The players who get recruited aren't always the most talented. They're the ones who understand that recruiting is work — and they're willing to do that work consistently until they achieve their goals.

Aram writes about basketball, teaching, and standards at aramparunak.com. The essays are the long version of what we believe.

This isn't about being harsh. It's about being honest. In 2026, information is everywhere. Coaches can watch film online, check stats, verify academics, and see competition levels. Five minutes of research tells them everything they need to know to decide if it's worth their time to dig deeper.

## What Shows Up in Five Minutes

The baseline questions coaches ask: - Can they play at the level they're targeting? - Do their numbers make sense for that level? - Do they look like a college player on film? - Are they competing against legitimate competition?

These aren't trick questions — they're minimum qualifications.

## The Exposure Myth

Most families think recruiting is about exposure. They believe their child needs to be seen by the right person at the right time. While connections and timing matter, they're not your primary barrier.

The real barriers are: - Skill deficiencies that show up on film - Competition levels that don't translate - Physical tools that aren't college-ready

These problems can't be fixed with better exposure. They require actual development.

## What This Means for Your Family

The five-minute test isn't the end of your recruiting journey — it's the beginning of honest evaluation. Instead of chasing camps and showcases, first address what would make those opportunities matter.

**If your child passes the five-minute test:** Now the question is what level are we talking about? This is where the real evaluation begins.

**If they don't pass yet:** Identify the specific gaps and create a development plan to close them.

## How We Handle This at Hoops College

We start every recruiting consultation with an honest five-minute evaluation. Not to discourage families, but to create a clear development path. We've seen too many players spend years chasing exposure when they should have spent months fixing fundamental issues.

Our approach: 1. Honest assessment of current recruiting position 2. Identification of specific development needs 3. Structured plan to address those needs 4. Strategic exposure when the player is ready

## The Bottom Line

Most families spend years chasing exposure when they should spend months fixing the things that would make exposure matter. The five-minute test shows you where you actually stand and what you actually need to work on.

It cuts through all the noise and gets to the real work.

**Ready for an honest evaluation?** Our recruiting consultations start with the five-minute test and create a clear path forward. We'll tell you exactly where your child stands and what needs to happen next.

Because if a college coach spent five minutes researching your child right now, they should want to spend five more.

Aram writes about basketball, teaching, and standards at aramparunak.com. The essays are the long version of what we believe.

## The Mediocrity Problem

Here's what I see in most youth basketball environments:

**Unqualified coaching.** Former players who think their high school experience qualifies them to teach, or parent volunteers with good intentions but no systematic knowledge of skill development. In one word, clowns.

**Poor officiating.** Uncertified officials are only concerned about getting through the weekend so they can collect their paycheck.

**Substandard facilities.** Courts that aren't regulation size, surfaces with safety issues, environments with too many dangerous hazards to player safety. Can a player really play hard? Not without serious risks.

**No standards for participation.** Everyone gets to play regardless of readiness or commitment level, which hurts both developing players and those ready for higher-level competition.

## How This Hurts Player Development

When kids play, practice or train in mediocre environments, several things happen:

- They learn bad habits that become harder to correct later. - They think they can't be good because they aren't stupid and know something isn't working. - They plateau because they're never properly challenged. - They develop false confidence in skills they don't actually possess. - They get frustrated when they try to compete at higher levels.

**The capable players** get held back by playing with and against kids who aren't ready for that level of competition.

**The developing players** don't get the proper instruction or environment they need to actually improve.

Nobody wins except the adults collecting fees.

## What Good Development Looks Like

At Hoops College, we've built our program around rejecting this mediocrity:

**Qualified instruction.** We study the game constantly. We teach our coaches how to teach the game. We have developed a systematic approach to skill development.

**Proper standards.** We evaluate players honestly and place them where they can be challenged appropriately while still being successful. We don't put players in environments where they won't develop.

**Quality environment.** We're not going to ask our players to play in environments that are unsafe.

**Clear expectations.** Players know what they're working toward and understand that improvement requires consistent effort.

## The Results Speak

When you remove mediocrity from the equation, players develop faster and more completely. They learn proper fundamentals from the start. They learn what the rules are and how to play within them. They compete against players who challenge them. They understand what real improvement looks like and what real success looks like.

Most importantly, they develop confidence based on actual skill, not false praise.

## Questions for Parents

Before enrolling your child in any basketball program, ask:

- What are the coach's qualifications and ongoing education? Former player isn't a good answer. - How do you evaluate and group players by skill level? If they don't do group training, be careful. - Who have you developed who wasn't already a good player? - What was that process like?

Your child deserves better than mediocrity. They deserve an environment where improvement is the standard, not the exception.

Basketball can teach incredible lessons about work, competition, and growth. But only when it's taught right.

Aram writes about basketball, teaching, and standards at aramparunak.com. The essays are the long version of what we believe.

Let me help you out.

A camp invitation letter is not an offer. It’s not even close to an offer. It’s a form letter that gets sent to hundreds of players. Maybe thousands.

Here’s what actually happened: A graduate assistant plugged your name into a database, hit “send bulk email,” while the coaches are in the transfer portal recruiting actual prospects. You got the same letter as every other player that attended every other travel tournament that you attended over the past year.

The problem is families think these letters mean something. They don’t. They’re the basketball equivalent of those credit card offers you get in the mail. Nobody’s impressed that Capital One wants to give you a card with 29% interest.

But here’s what makes this worse: You tweeted about your “interest” from D1 schools. You just told every coach exactly where you stand in the recruiting process. Spoiler alert: It’s not where you think you are.

Coaches see these tweets. They know what’s happening. When you celebrate getting one, you’re showing them you don’t understand the recruiting process. That’s not the impression you want to make.

Here’s what actually matters in recruiting:
– Phone calls from coaches
– Personal emails or letters (not form letters)
– Official visit invites
– Scholarship offers
– Actual conversations about your role on their team

Camp invitationss are none of those things. They’re the participation trophy of college recruiting and even better they are asking you to pay money.

Look, I get it. When you’re not getting much attention, any attention feels good. But celebrating interest letters is like celebrating getting a timeout in a game you’re losing by 30. It misses the point entirely.

If you want to get recruited, stop tweeting about interest letters and start doing the work that gets coaches to actually notice you. Because right now, they’re not.

The coaches who matter aren’t impressed by your interest letter collection. They’re looking for players who understand the difference between real recruitment and marketing materials.

You want to know what’s really blessed? When a coach calls you personally. When they invite you for an official visit. When they offer you a scholarship and explain exactly how you fit their system.

That’s recruitment. Everything else is just mail.

So the next time you get an interest letter, file it away and keep working. Don’t tweet about it. Don’t add it to your highlight video. And definitely don’t count it as recruitment activity.

Because players who actually get recruited don’t celebrate interest letters. They’re too busy talking to coaches who want them on their team.

The truth is this: If interest letters were recruiting, everyone would be recruited. They’re not, so everyone isn’t.

Stop celebrating the wrong things. Start understanding what actually matters. Because coaches can tell the difference, even if you can’t.

Many people think D1 is the only place to get a full scholarship or NIL. They think D2 is a consolation prize. They think out-of-state tuition kills any chance of getting meaningful money.

Now don’t get it twisted, D2 isn’t the same as Duke or any other top tier basketball program. But, the similarities between D2 and a lot of lower level D1 programs are numerous.

Just because families don’t see D2 full scholarships happening doesn’t mean they aren’t happening. Like referees who don’t call obvious fouls — the fouls still happened, whether the ref saw them or not.

Here’s what you need to know: D2 schools are allowed to give full scholarships. They can cover everything — tuition, room, board, books. In-state, out-of-state, doesn’t matter. A full scholarship is a full scholarship.

Just because the rules allow it doesn’t mean that every D2 program has the resources to do it. The problem is that many D2 programs aren’t fully funded. What does fully funded mean?

NCAA D2 rules state that programs are allowed 10 scholarships for men’s basketball. Some conferences max out their membership at 6 to create a more even playing field. Some conferences don’t do that, but some programs can only afford 3 scholarships, even though they are competing against programs that have all 10 scholarships.

But the fully funded D2 programs? They have real money to spend.

These programs recruit nationally because they can afford to.

But now let’s understand the math. A fully funded D2 program has 10 scholarships. Most programs are going to have more than 10 on a roster. So then how does it work?

This is where we start talking about packaging. Some schools allow players to combine athletic money and academic money to get a full scholarship. So if a player qualifies for 50% of their tuition academically, then that means the basketball program only has to give them 50% of a scholarship to cover the full tutition. If that school has 10 scholarships, now they have 9.5 scholarships left.

At a fully funded D2, you might have 7 players on full athletic scholarships and 6 players splitting the remaining scholarships. But all 13 players could be a net cost of 0 if those 6 players get more academic or financial aid money.

Here’s the part that will surprise you: A D2 full ride at a private school can be worth more than a D1 partial at a state school. We’re talking $40,000-$50,000 per year versus $15,000-$20,000.

So why don’t more players know about this?

Because D2 programs don’t have the marketing budgets that D1 schools have. They’re not on TV every night. They don’t have blue-blood reputations. The full scholarships are there — families just aren’t looking in the right places.

And because too many players and families think D2 is where you go when D1 doesn’t want you. That’s backwards thinking.

The best D2 programs are better than a lot of lower level D1 programs. The aren’t necessarily taking D1 rejects. They’re competing for the same players D1 schools want. They’re just competing for national championships instead of half of their wins in a season coming from non D1 competition.

You want to know which D2 schools are fully funded? Ask them directly. Don’t guess. Don’t assume. Ask the coach: “How many scholarships does your program have, and how many are funded?”

The answer tells you everything.

If they say “We have 10 scholarships and all 10 are funded,” you’re talking to a program with real resources. If they say “We have 7 funded scholarships,” you know there isn’t as much money to go around.

Also ask them if they can stack. Ask them if you can keep your Pell Grant. If they can stack and they don’t keep your Pell Grant, you’re getting a full scholarship and you’re putting your Pell Grant in your pocket.

There are no wrong answers, but you need to know what you’re dealing with.

Here’s the truth: D2 basketball has gotten better, not worse. The transfer portal pushed good players down from D1. NIL money isn’t changing D2 scholarships. And the gap between good D2 programs and average D1 programs is smaller than ever.

Some of these fully funded D2 schools have better facilities than D1 mid-majors. They have better coaching staffs. They have better academic support.

But they don’t have the name recognition, yet.

So families overlook them while chasing D1 dreams that might never happen. They assume full scholarships aren’t available because they don’t see them being talked about. But just like those uncalled fouls — they’re happening whether you notice or not.

The smart families do their homework. They research which D2 schools are fully funded. They visit campuses. They ask hard questions about scholarship money and academic aid.

They treat D2 like a real option, not a backup plan.

Because at the right D2 program, with the right scholarship package, your kid might get a better deal than they would at most D1 schools.

You just have to know where to look.

Youth basketball programs sell two things, depending on the age group.

For the younger kids, they sell development and a love of the game. For the older kids, they sell recruitment — exposure to college coaches, a path to the next level.

Both of these are reasonable things to sell. The problem is that a lot of programs are doing the exact things that make those outcomes impossible, and everyone’s just going along with it.

The Younger Ages: You Already Know the Score

Here’s the part that drives me crazy.

A program signs up for a tournament. Same tournament they go to every year. Same teams that show up every year. The coach knows — before a ball is tipped — that his team is going to win by 40, or lose by 40. Not a guess. Not a hunch. He’s seen it.

He signs up anyway.

Why? What is the kid on the winning side learning when the outcome was decided before the drive to the gym? What is the kid on the losing side learning when they’re down 20 in the first quarter for the third year in a row?

And the one that really kills me: why would a 6th grade team schedule a game against a 4th grade team? Period. You’re two years older. The kids on the other side belong in elementary school. That’s not development. That’s the coach manufacturing a win against a team that had no business being on the floor with his roster, so the parents see a W on the weekend recap.

And the flip side is just as bad. Why would a 4th grade team that can’t win against other 4th graders ask to play up against 6th graders? You’re already losing to your peers. Now you’re going to go get run off the floor by kids who are two years bigger, stronger, and more skilled? What exactly is that supposed to teach? Playing up is for teams that have outgrown their age group. It’s not a participation trophy for a team that’s struggling. If you’re losing to kids your own age, the answer is practice, not scheduling a beating against kids who are older than you.

You chose the tournament. You chose the bracket. You knew what was coming. Don’t sell the parents “development” when what you delivered was a predictable blowout they paid $400 to watch.

The Older Ages: You Can’t Get Recruited Losing by 40

Now the older kids. Different game entirely. At this level, the whole point — the entire pitch — is recruitment. That’s why parents are paying. That’s why you’re traveling. That’s what the program’s website says you do.

So explain this: your team shows up to a recruiting event and loses by 40. What exactly just happened there?

One of three things. Either you evaluated your talent so poorly that you genuinely thought your roster could compete at that level — which means you don’t know what you’re looking at. Or you evaluated it correctly, you knew you’d get crushed, and you went anyway — which means you don’t know what you’re doing. Or you had the talent to compete and still got blown out — which means you’re a bad coach who couldn’t get his players ready or make adjustments when it mattered.

Could be more than one. Often is.

But here’s the thing nobody wants to say out loud: no college coach is writing down the name of a kid on a team that lost 85-42. That’s not how recruiting works. A kid gets noticed by playing well in a competitive game. They don’t get noticed getting steamrolled. They don’t get noticed on the blowout side either — a kid putting up 30 on a team that couldn’t guard a folding chair doesn’t help his film.

So if the point is recruitment, and you’re entering events where your kids can’t possibly look good, you are actively working against the thing you told parents you’d do.

That’s not exposure. That’s the opposite of exposure. That’s putting your players in front of the exact people you want to impress and guaranteeing they won’t be impressed.

The Common Thread

Different ages, different purposes, same failure. The program took the parents’ money and then put the kids in situations that made the stated goal impossible.

At the younger ages, you can’t develop players or teach them to love basketball by scheduling games where the outcome is known in advance. At the older ages, you can’t get players recruited by scheduling games where they’ll never get a fair look.

You chose the roster. You chose the tournament. You chose the competition. When the scoreboard tells the same story every weekend — either way — that’s not bad luck. That’s you failing to do the one thing you said you were there to do.

But hey. At least they paid their dues.

High school players and their parents still think recruiting works the way it did in 2015. You think you’re competing against other high school seniors for that scholarship spot. You’re not.

You’re competing against a 20-year-old junior who averaged 12 points per game in the Big Sky Conference and wants to transfer down to get more playing time. You’re competing against a 19-year-old sophomore who started 25 games at a D2 school but wants to move up to D1. You’re competing against kids who have already proven they can handle college coursework, college strength training, and college-level competition.

The transfer portal didn’t just change college basketball. It changed high school recruiting forever.

Here’s what most families don’t understand: when a college coach has an open scholarship, they’re not looking at high school highlight videos first. They’re looking at the transfer portal. Why? Because a transfer is a known quantity. They have college stats. College film. College grades. A college strength coach can tell you exactly how much they bench press.

You have high school stats against kids who might be working at Dairy Queen next year.

This doesn’t mean high school players can’t get recruited. It means you have to be undeniable. Not just good enough. Undeniable.

What does undeniable look like? It means you’re not just the best player on your high school team. You’re the best player at every camp, every showcase, every tournament you attend. It means college coaches watch your film and think, “We need that kid right now.” Not “Maybe he’ll develop into something.”

The problem is most high school players are still living in the old world. They think getting a few college coaches to follow them on Twitter means they’re getting recruited. They think one good game at a showcase is going to change everything. They think if they just keep working hard, somebody will notice.

Meanwhile, coaches are on the phone with a 6’8″ forward who averaged 8 points and 6 rebounds at Eastern Washington and wants to transfer to get more opportunity. That kid is already college-ready. College-proven. College-eligible.

You’re 17 years old and you’ve never played against a college player in your life.

This is why the recruiting timeline has accelerated so much. Coaches used to be able to wait and develop high school players over four years. Now they need immediate production because they’re competing against other coaches who are loading up on transfers.

If you’re not getting serious recruiting interest by your junior year, it’s probably not happening. Coaches don’t have time to wait for you to figure it out senior year. They’ll just grab a transfer who can contribute immediately.

So what do you do?

First, understand what you’re really competing against. Stop comparing yourself to other high school players. Start comparing yourself to college players at the level where you want to play. Can you guard them? Can you produce against them? Can you handle their physicality?

Second, make sure your game translates immediately to college. Skills that work in high school don’t always work in college. Being the tallest kid on your team doesn’t matter if you can’t guard college power forwards. Being quick doesn’t matter if you can’t finish through contact from college athletes.

Third, understand that being recruited means being pursued, not just contacted. If coaches aren’t calling you regularly, visiting your school, and making you a priority in their recruiting class, you’re not really being recruited. You’re just on their list.

The transfer portal isn’t going anywhere. Every year, there are going to be more experienced college players available. Every year, it’s going to be harder for high school players to get scholarship opportunities.

You can’t change the system. But you can understand it and prepare for it.

The truth is, most high school players aren’t good enough to compete with college transfers for scholarship spots. That’s not mean. That’s reality. The sooner you understand what you’re actually competing against, the sooner you can decide if you’re willing to do what it takes to be undeniable.

Because good enough isn’t good enough anymore.

Having said that, it doesn’t make sense to play AAU before the 6th grade.  Most kids younger than that need a lot more time in the gym working on their skills and playing 3 on 3.  After spending 5 hours recently at an “AAU tryout,” the best player in the gym had never played AAU before. The majority had played multiple seasons.

Why is that?  Because the best one had been working on their game, but not just in 1 on 1 training sessions. That player received countless repetitions with detailed instruction, accountability, and competition.

If you’re playing AAU to prepare for middle school, it makes sense.  If you get cut from your school team, it makes some sense.  But even then, there’s a reason you got cut from your school team.  Are you spending the necessary time working on those deficiencies?

Once you’re good enough to make your school team, I don’t understand why you play AAU or whatever until you’re ready to be recruited. For most, that’s going to be at least the summer prior to their junior year.

Not playing basketball year-round gives you an off-season where you work on your game. It gives you a mental and physical break. You might even play another sport.

Playing multiple games in one or two days every other weekend is too much. Spend more time in the weight room doing basketball-specific training. Not power lifting or even just random agility training. Some sports overlap.  Most do not.  Spend more time practicing and learning how to play. You don’t have to run around and play in tournaments to do that. We put players in competitive situations every day to help them work on different parts of the game. And in 30 minutes, they can get more repetitions than they will get in a whole weekend of playing AAU. It isn’t glamorous or popular. It’s not going to get likes or followers. But it works.

Notice, I didn’t say don’t play at all. I’m assuming you’re still playing for your school team. I’m sure someone is going to say their high school team is “political.”  Trust me, I’m sure it is.  But if you’re good enough, the coach will play you. And I don’t mean borderline good enough.  I mean, undeniably, unmistakably, obviously good enough.

College players have an off-season. Pro players have an offseason. Why don’t high school players?

If you’re 15 playing against 15-year-olds, you’re not getting recruited. That’s basically JV basketball.

If you can play 17U at 14 or 15 years old, that’s different, but not the norm for most players. Most players aren’t playing varsity as a freshman. That’s not unusual.  But unless you’re a significant contributor on your high school varsity team, playing AAU is taking time away from what you need to do to actually develop.

I understand that college coaches aren’t running around to high school games looking for players. But scoring 25 points in a game on right-handed layups in transition against players who aren’t very big or athletic doesn’t translate to the college game either.

Every situation is different, but the majority of players don’t get recruited or talk to any coaches. We have helped numerous players get full scholarships who weren’t getting full scholarships before and it wasn’t because they were playing AAU.  It starts with are you good enough to get recruited. That evaluation is hard but it’s the key to the whole process. Most players aren’t yet but it doesn’t mean they can’t get there.

It’s a complicated “formula” that is different for every coach and every program.  At the end of the day, it’s a combination of these factors.

1. Eye test. Do they look like they belong on my team?  Size. Athletic ability. Are you in shape?

2.  Skill set.  Are the decisions a player makes good ones and can they execute them at a level that will translate? This is with and without the ball and on offense and defense.  Many players can’t make the best decisions because they don’t have the skill set to execute them.  Some players make good decisions but aren’t able to execute them at a high enough level with enough consistency.  Some players do things that just won’t translate at higher levels. This is why the transfer portal is so attractive to coaches.  They don’t have to worry as much if things will translate.  These players have already proven what they can (or can’t do)  against a known level of competition. There are of course players who are transferring because they aren’t getting to play.  Those players still have the experience of being in practice every day against players who are better than most players coming out of high school.

What are the skills?  The list is long and varies with each program.  Efficiency in catch and shoot situations.  Being able to finish efficiently in a variety of situations.  Creating their own shot and making it efficiently.  Creating shots for others.  Handling pressure.  Movement off the ball.  Screening and reading screens.  Defending the ball.  Defending off the ball. Ability to transition from offense to defense or defense to offense quickly.  Ability to play within a system. Ability to counter any defensive tactic. This is a short list that could be broken down into many more specific things.

3. Intangibles. Effort level, competitiveness, character.  Do you work hard in practice and play hard in games? Are you all about winning?  Are you a good teammate?

4. Academics It’s not the first thing most scholarship level coaches look at but it can be the first thing that gets you eliminated from the equation.

If all those things are 10 out of 10, you can go anywhere you want. If they aren’t, and most players aren’t, then that determines your options.  Steph Curry didn’t pass the eye test in high school, but he is truly elite in so many other areas.  Giannis passes the eye test, but he’s limited in his shooting ability.  That’s two different ends of the spectrum.  But then the question is…where do you fit in?  

And every coach places more value on certain things than others depending on their preferences and what they already have on their team. Do they want more of the same or are they looking for something different?  Each player needs to maximize the things that they can control and learn how to work around the areas that they can’t.  

Be aware.

Scholarship schools are recruiting in this order

1. Their own players to try to get them to not transfer
2. Transfers
3. JuCo
4. Postgrads
5. Seniors
6. Everybody else

Unless a player has elite size recruitment at younger ages won’t really happen and it’s going to happen less and less if things stay the same with the transfer portal.

Keep in mind if you’re not in college, you’re not competing against other high school players.  Your competition is the transfer portal.  Older, stronger, more experienced, and proven athletes who know what college athletics is about.  Like we tell everyone we work with.  You have to be undeniable.  Not just good enough.  UNDENIABLE. Then you’ll get to ask the questions and evaluate your options.

When I think about all of the wasted time and money spent with these “organizations”, it makes me question whether what we’re doing is beneficial. When I think about what we do and how we do things, I know that we’re different. What we do changes lives. Forget basketball. We make a difference on the court too. But these players light up when they walk in the door. Most of them have a blast.

We are like a fire. When some players come to see us, they catch on fire too. Now whether that fire stays lit once they leave us varies, but when they are there it’s a different energy level than before. Other players come to see us and get burnt. They don’t come back. They aren’t really made for this and that’s ok too.

When a player finds that renewed energy and passion, it reinforces the fact that so much of what they’ve experienced before has been terrible. Like really terrible. And I mean in every way. I mean what they have been taught, what they haven’t been taught, and what has been expected of them. It doesn’t matter if they are 7 years old or 17. Most of them have had horrible experiences that give them a really poor perspective. The real problem is that they don’t think there’s anything else. It’s all the same. Why would we be any different? It takes them a month to realize that we are who we are, we can’t help it, and we’re different from anything they are used to.

In so many cases, the only things they have been taught are random plays and drills that don’t mean anything or help them in any way. They haven’t been taught the skills or mentality necessary to really be successful. The expectations are so out of touch with what they haven’t been taught that players develop a mindset that crushes any willingness to try new things or work at a speed and intensity level that will actually benefit them.

We only have so much time. Every minute wasted is another minute that someone else didn’t waste. This is not a basketball camp. This is not the hype squad or babysitting. This is Hoops College and we believe anyone can learn if they are willing. Sometimes you have to learn how to learn, before you can learn. But that’s ok with us too if you’re trying.

What are we teaching kids when we tell them it’s ok to miss practice? What are we teaching kids when we allow them to just “play this weekend”? What are we teaching kids when we literally aren’t teaching them anything?

It bothers us. Basketball means a lot to us, in so many ways. It’s not a side hustle or a profession. It’s more than just a game. Unfortunately, the basketball “culture” turns it into everything we hate. Hype. Superficiality. Egos. Narcissism. The list goes on and on.

We don’t call ourselves coaches or trainers. We don’t want to be associated with that. We are just people who love the game and helping others in a way that not many people can. They just haven’t been where we’ve been and done what we’ve done.

Don’t say “D1”, “NBA”, or “Pro” around us, unless you want the truth. The thing is that we’re going to treat you the same if you never say those words. But, if you say either of those things, you’re going to push a button that throws fuel on our fire and most people end up getting burnt. They aren’t ready to match our level and the level that is required to make that happen.

So many people tell you what they are going to do for you instead of what you’re going to have to do to make it happen. We will do whatever it takes to help you, but until you’re willing to do your part, what we do is completely irrelevant. Anyone who tells you anything different is lying to you. There are no shortcuts. There is no “easy way”. It’s all just work. This is why most people don’t make it.

It’s not because they don’t have the potential. It’s because they aren’t willing to make the sacrifices necessary to do what it takes to really be successful, but no one is telling them that. They feed into the narrative that it’s someone else’s fault or that someone else is going to get them what they want. They feed the monster that devours any kind of self-accountability and makes players think someone has some magic pill. It’s so annoying. The only magic pill is the truth. And the truth is you have to work and sacrifice if you want to be elite.

That’s not what you want to hear. You want to say it’s political. You want to blame it on coach or exposure or whatever else. After years and years of working with players at literally all levels, the TRUTH is that you’re not eating right. You’re not sleeping enough. You’re not putting enough time doing the right things in the right ways to help you improve. The truth is you’re not willing to take responsibility for your situation and own it. It’s so much easier to blame someone else and then do something else because it’s “their fault.”

Maybe it is their fault. Then do something about it. Own your situation and control it. Or don’t. It’s up to you. If you don’t, you won’t make it to where you say you want to go.

Everyone wants to be listed first in Google. We don’t want to be listed first in Google, if that means we’re associated with what’s going on around here. We are different. We aren’t trying to be different. It’s just who we are. We didn’t set out to ruin the basketball culture. We just wanted to help players get better. Well, if that means that the culture gets ruined along the way, so be it. It seems like it needs to happen.

There are 108 “circuit teams” between Nike, Under Armour, and Adidas.  If there are 15 players on a team, that’s 1,620 players.

There are approximately 350 Division I schools. If each school brings in 4 freshmen per year (which doesn’t happen because of transfers), that’s 1,400 scholarship opportunities.

First, you have to understand that there are different levels of college athletic programs. Even within a conference, there are better programs and programs that aren’t as good.  When we talk about “better programs”, we mean on a year in and year out basis, they have pretty consistent results.  It doesn’t mean they don’t have a down year, but usually, those are few and far between.

Even programs that traditionally struggle can have a good year occasionally. How many times does a coach at a program like that stay there? So many times, their success affords them a higher-paying job somewhere else. And then all of a sudden, the program struggles again.

This goes for every division and every conference.

We’re going to put schools like Duke and Kentucky in that top tier of Division 1.  If you want to go to a “blue-blood” program, you probably need to play for one of the best EYBL, 3SSB, or UA teams.  You’re probably also playing for a very good high school team like IMG or Oak Hill or a program that is a serious contender for state championships. It’s not a requirement but the best teams have the best players. The best schools are going to recruit and sign the best players.

Are you a top-tier talent? Being able to self-evaluate is critical. Odds are, you’re not.  And there’s nothing wrong with that.  Most players aren’t. Are you willing to do what it takes to get to that top tier? Are you willing to do those things even if you might not get there? Either way, can you evaluate yourself accurately?

If we take the top 10% of D1 programs and say they bring in 4 freshmen per year, that would be around 150 players.  If you’re not in the top 150, you can still be a really good player.  The next 150 players are still really good.

There have been plenty of top 150 players who have not had good college or professional careers. And there are plenty of players who weren’t “ranked” that highly who were more successful in the long run.

Right now, we’re talking about the top 300 players in the country in any given class. Let’s look more broadly.

There are 108 “circuit teams” between Nike, Under Armour, and Adidas.  If there are 15 players on a team, that’s 1,620 players.

There are approximately 350 Division I schools. If each school brings in 4 freshmen per year (which doesn’t happen because of transfers), that’s 1,400 scholarship opportunities.

Clearly, there aren’t enough spots for everybody.  It’s true, that some will play professionally.  Some won’t qualify and will have to play in junior college. But it also doesn’t mean that just because you play “on the circuit” you’ll play Division 1.

It’s also true that you don’t have to play on one of those teams to play Division 1.  There are players that play on other teams that play Division 1.  There are players that get overlooked.  There are talented players who don’t get the opportunity to play on any team.

The truth is that most players will never play Division 1.  Most players will never play in college on scholarship at all. The facts are that there is SO MUCH time and money being wasted on something that will never produce the results.  Instead, players need to be WORKING on their game.

So what about the other levels?  D2, D3, JUCO, NAIA?  Well they don’t have the time or resources to worry about freshmen, sophomores or juniors.  If you’re good enough to play for them when you’re young, you probably won’t be when you get older. So many of those programs fill their rosters with transfers from other levels.  The free agent market is just as strong as the high school senior market, and those players have experience.  So if you’re not a D1 player, and you hope to play at a different level, you better be working on your game so that you can beat out a transfer.

There’s a reason most players never play past high school.  They don’t put enough work in.  They think that playing is work.  They think that playing “AAU” is the answer.  It’s only the answer if they put in the hours and hours of work that it takes to be at that level.

Granted the genetically gifted players who are significantly taller than average have an advantage.  The ones that are significantly more athletic than average have an advantage.  No matter what, work is still required.  If you don’t have those “genetic” advantages, it’s going to require even more work to close the gap.

It’s not more work with your team.  it’s more work on your own when no one is watching.

Similarly, players play year-round. They play with their travel ball teams all spring and summer, then they play with their high school teams all fall and winter.  When is the player’s off-season?  The best players have an off-season and they are already elite.  Why shouldn’t everyone else?

You’re probably not going to have college coaches come to watch your regular-season games.  They are in the middle of their seasons with practices and games trying to either keep their jobs or get the next job. Recruiting for them is primarily an off-season activity.  They will keep in touch with recruits that they saw in the spring and summer.  They might go “baby-sit” a player that they’ve offered for a game. They don’t really have the time to go sit in gyms and look for players.

If they recruit high school games, it will be at a tournament where they can sit in one place and watch multiple teams play over the course of a day or two, not one gym with two teams.  These tournaments could be Christmas tournaments or conference or region tournaments.  But don’t expect college coaches to be out running around to random high school games looking for players.  They just don’t have the time.

So then the question is, why should I play high school?  Well it’s different for everyone, but if you’re serious about getting recruited, you probably shouldn’t. The high school season should be the off-season where players are working on their skills, their shooting, their strength, and conditioning. In our opinion, an off-season is critical to your mental and physical health as an athlete.  It’s the time when you “add something to your bag”.

If you’re not ready to play at an elite AAU level, then maybe you should play in high school.  We do think it’s important to play.  But if you can’t make your high school team and you can’t make an elite AAU team, you need to work and work and work some more.  Don’t play in the rec league or some other “AAU” team.  Get to work.

Mastered by the duo of John Stockton and Karl Malone, it has become a staple of most offensive packages in professional basketball. The result is a trend towards the ball screen becoming a prevalent weapon at lower levels as well. I think it hurts some players and teams more than it helps them. As a result, I think it hurts the game.

To start, let’s look at the skill set that a ball handler needs to have to truly take advantage of a ball screen.

1. Ability to handle the basketball well with either hand

The person with the ball must be able to handle the basketball with both hands against pressure in traffic. A ball screen is going to bring an extra defender to the ball. The offensive player must be comfortable dribbling the basketball in both directions with the ability to change direction and speed quickly.

Can the ball handler turn the corner on a hedging defender no matter which side the screen is set? Can the ball handler split a trap? Can the ball handler attack against a defender who ices the screen?

Let’s say the defender goes over and forces the ball handler to attack. Can the ball handler beat the post player who might zone up? How many players have the skills to handle all of these situations?

2. Ability to make shots behind the screen

Many players at the lower levels aren’t able to shoot consistently behind the screen. Many times this is a shot off the dribble over a taller player. For NBA shooters this is not a difficult shot. Since most other players are not that caliber, it is a very low percentage shot. If a player can’t shoot over the screen, the ball screen becomes pretty easy to defend.

3. Ability to make the pull-up jumper or floater

How many players have an adequate midrange game? How many players can consistently pull up from 15-18 feet and consistently make those shots off the dribble? Off the catch, they are probably money. They can probably knock them down all day. How many of them can make shots off the bounce with a post player approaching them to contest the shot? How many players can make floaters consistently? Again, some players may be able to do one or two of these things. How many can execute them all?

4. Ability to see and pass to anyone on the floor

Scoring isn’t always going to be the best decision for the player with the ball coming off the screen. First, they have to be able to make that decision, but let’s say for a second they understand when they are not a scoring option. Can they make the next decision? Can they evaluate who is open and who isn’t? And then if they evaluate that correctly, can they make the play?

5. Ability to read the screen

This is obviously necessary to be able to execute a ball screen successfully, but yet many players don’t have the patience or the skill to be able to read the screen and react correctly. Defenses can guard a ball screen in so many different ways, not to mention the rotations for everyone else. Players must be able to read two defenders at the same time and make split-second decisions on what they should do. Assuming they make this read correctly, they also have to learn to read help defenders in the next split second.

How many players can do all of these things well? Of the number of people in the world who play the game of basketball, there are very few. There might be 100-200 players in the world who can do all of this at a high level. Many players have some of these skills. Most don’t have all of them. It’s understandable that the ball screen is heavily used in professional basketball. These are high-level players with well-matured skill sets and exceptional athleticism. A ball screen is very tough to defend when a player like Lebron James, Chris Paul or Tony Parker has the ball in their hands.

Now let’s consider the screener. Regardless of who the ball handler is, Lebron James as a screener is a lot different from Spud Webb as a screener. Kobe Bryant as a screener is a lot different from Kwame Brown as a screener. How many players who set a ball screen have a diverse skill set? At lower levels, the people setting these screens are typically less skilled than the players with the ball. It just doesn’t seem like a good idea to me to reduce spacing around the ball with a player who is even more limited.

Did I say ball screens should never be used? Not at all. A spontaneous ball screen is very tough to defend. However, ball screens can put players in positions where they are forced to execute skills that they aren’t comfortable with. Overusing ball screens is the issue.

Use ball screens. Teach them. Incorporate them into what you do. Develop your players’ skill sets so that players can use them better. Overusing ball screens is just as bad as under-emphasizing rebounding or closeouts. Let’s not forget the other aspects of the game that don’t take as much skill to execute, but are still effective ways of scoring.

Man-to-man offenses tend to not work as well against match-up zones because defenders aren’t assigned to certain players either. In addition, match-up zones can cover up a team’s defensive liabilities without playing a true zone defense.

Here is a simple set of actions that we used for a few consecutive possessions in the second half which helped us create a number of good scoring opportunities. Of course, players had to make plays, but as coaches, we have to put them in a position to do so.

We drew up the first three frames in a time-out. Look how simple this is.

The lesson learned here is that sometimes simple is better. The trick is not the complication of the action. The trick is putting players in places where they can be successful while creating ball movement and player movement with good spacing. These actions were created based specifically on the skills of the personnel on the floor.

There are a few interesting things to notice. The alignment changes in a very simple way from 4 out to 3 out with an even front. Notice how the defense defends the same action differently all three times. The tandem alignment is designed to take away the middle of the floor. By starting in a 4 out alignment, it brings out the middle person of the tandem. This along with the denial of the low post player opens up the high post and causes the defense problems. The entry to the high post causes confusion. Now it just takes one attack dribble to hold the low wing defender to create the open 3 point shot.

In the second clip, the person in the middle of the zone is worried about that weak-side post player. She remembers in the previous possession how that player flashed to the high post and compromised their defense. That little bit of attention draws her away from the cutting post player. A good post entry and a good individual play led to a layup. Notice also in this clip how the weak-side post player could have sealed the backside defensive player to prevent their rotation to help. It worked out anyway, but posting on the weakside can be a huge benefit to the team even if they don’t receive the ball.

This is just a tough individual play. But notice after scoring the first time how the defense reacts. They decide to double team that player which obviously opens up other players who react well to the openings it creates.

After this, they started fouling and we didn’t run the action again.  We didn’t have to.  It’s amazing how such simple actions can lead to productive offense.

Let me put this out there. If you want to play in college and get recruited, playing AAU is better than playing in high school. Coaches are busy during your high school season. Not saying you shouldn’t play in high school. In the spring and summer, their number one focus is recruiting. AAU is the time where they can really get out and watch you play.

Here’s the problem with AAU.

There are so many players playing AAU that aren’t ready to get recruited. They aren’t even close. It doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t play. It’s a good opportunity to play and improve. Here’s the real issue. You guys don’t really know how to evaluate the AAU programs and figure out if they are a good fit for you.

From what we can tell these AAU programs aren’t helping players get better. It’s certainly true that in some ways players get better, just because they have a ball in their hands. They learn just because they are playing. Are they learning good habits? Or trying to figure out how to make their bad habits work? If I’m going to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on an AAU program for my child, here are some things that I better see happening that don’t cost a lot of money.

1. Film of every AAU game and practice

Reason #1 You can learn from it.

In a team practice or a game, there’s no way that each person is getting the individual attention that they need to get better. It’s a team sport for a reason. I’m not implying it should be all about one individual. But if you’re not going back and watching practices or games, how can you evaluate yourself? I hear players talk all the time about how hard they work in practice and how they are better than the player who is playing more than them. Maybe you are and maybe you aren’t. What does the film say? If there’s no film, then we’ll never know, will we?

Reason #2 It’s proof to show to coaches.

If you think you’re good enough to get recruited, now you have proof and you can send it to coaches. Whether it’s a highlight or a full game, if there’s not a camera recording what you’re doing, you have nothing to help you get recruited. There are hundreds of tournaments. Coaches can’t come to all of them. If you’ve got film, you can show them that you can play without them having to come to see you.

2. True teaching of the game in practices

When I can tell you what your team’s practice plan is without watching your team practice, and it’s the same practice plan as a completely different team, there’s a problem. Oh, and by the way, I knew it was the second team’s practice plan before I saw them too.

Is every team the same? Are all the players the same? Maybe they are. But I know a lot of coaches would talk about how different their kids are from everybody else and hype them up and talk about how they are just under the radar and how it’s political that these guys don’t get recruited. Or they would blame it on the fact that their high school coach isn’t any good or they don’t work on their own.

Let’s be real. They aren’t that good and the problem is that the team is not really helping them get better. Not really. Because if they were, the practice plan would be a reflection of what the individuals and the team needed to get better at. Not the same practice plan as everyone else.

TEACH MORE, SCRIMMAGE LESS

Besides the fact that all these practices look the same, players aren’t getting taught ANYTHING. If your team is playing almost every weekend as most of these teams do, they PLAY enough. They don’t need to “PLAY” or “SCRIMMAGE” more. They need to work. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that they shouldn’t compete. I’m not saying that they shouldn’t play 5 on 5 every practice. But in 2 hours, there’s so much that can be taught besides “SCRIMMAGE”. There’s so much a coach can teach and hold players accountable for that will help each person individually and the team as a whole.

Oh, but that requires WORK. It requires the ability to evaluate individuals and know their strengths and weaknesses. It requires the ability to come up with a plan that addresses those things. It requires the ability to TEACH those things. It requires the ability to have a relationship with the players so that they can be held accountable for those things.

Excuses

“I don’t get paid to do this.” Lame excuse. I didn’t get paid for years. If coaches are choosing to do it, then they need to do it. Job, family, this, that. Heard it all. Lived it all. Make different decisions. What’s important? That title comes with responsibility. It’s too easy to have the title without actually earning it. From what I can tell, these coaches are no different than their players that they’re mad at when they won’t work on their own. The players aren’t getting paid. In most cases, they are actually paying. Why would they work? The coaches don’t either? And it’s obvious.

“It’s the way I was coached.” How did that work out? If it did, are the players the same at the same level when coach was at their age? Are they the same as the coach at any age? I’m sure things were different back then. I’m sure it’s the parents’ fault, social media’s fault. Or maybe it’s video games. Who knows. True leaders own it and figure it out.

If it didn’t work before…..no comment.

“It’s what (COACH’S FAVORITE HALL OF FAME COACH) runs.” This is the best one yet. There’s nothing wrong with any offense, defense, or drill, except when the wrong players are trying to execute it. Oh but wait, that’s goes back to what I said before.

It requires the ability to evaluate individuals and know their strengths and weaknesses. It requires the ability to come up with a plan that addresses those things. It requires the ability to TEACH those things. It requires the ability to have a relationship with your players so that you can hold them accountable for those things.

Exactly what I said just a few paragraphs ago.

CONCLUDING THE RANT ABOUT AAU

Filming things is easy. You already know if it’s happening or not. If it’s not, it needs to or you should find a new team.

As a parent, you might not sit and watch practice. You might not know if the coach is actually teaching anything or not. You might think they are just because they are intense or whatever. I bet the players know if they are learning anything or getting better. They might not be able to put their finger on it or articulate it exactly. But players know when that ain’t it.

And if it’s not good, it’s bad. If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse, because somebody else out there is getting better.

The game of basketball looks a lot different now than it did 10 years ago. It used to be that if you were 6’9” you played in the post. Then Magic came along and changed that. Then 7 footers were post players and then Dirk changed that. Then KD took that to a different level. Steph made it ok to shoot from 35 feet. The list of players who have changed how the game is played is long.

One of the results of these changes to the game is “small ball.” The term small ball gets thrown around a lot. The Houston Rockets played this past season with a bunch of guys under 6’8”. They traded away Clint Capella and “sold-out” to the idea. Whether the Rockets won or lost due to “small ball” is debatable. I think it’s more complicated and at the same time simpler than that.

Mike D’Antoni was recently asked if “small ball” worked. He responded that’s how the Lakers beat us. The Lakers played with Lebron 6’9”. Anthony Davis 7’. The list goes on. So is that “small ball”?

Basketball is a game that combines size, athleticism, and skill. If two players are the same except for their size, being bigger is an advantage. Bigger isn’t always better.  There is a long list of players who have played at a very elite level even though they didn’t possess elite size. However, being taller matters.

There are a lot of different parts of “small ball” and different coaches have different definitions.  Some use the term to describe how they will defend.  Some use it to define how they will space the court on offense.  Some use it to define which shots their teams will take. Some use a combination of these definitions.

I think “small ball” is just a term for the lack of players like Kevin Durant or Lebron James. It shows how elite those players are. Houston wouldn’t be playing with a bunch of 6’6″ players if they could acquire a player like that for their roster.  The problem is that there aren’t many players like that. Players who have elite size and athleticism but also an elite-level skillset are hard to find.  Giannis might be that one day, but he’s not there yet.

I’m not saying it’s the Rocket’s fault that they can’t get a player like KD. Most teams can’t. There just aren’t many of them out there.  It’s a lot easier to find shorter players who are elite athletes and who can shoot with the hope that it will be enough to compete at a high level. It’s a numbers game. There are simply more players like that. The Rockets placed more value on skill and being able to shoot as opposed to size.

It shouldn’t be surprising however that the Lakers won. They are the better team. It isn’t because “small ball” doesn’t work or that it does. The Lakers had two players 6’9″ or taller with elite skill sets.  That’s what matters.  The Lakers were able to score at all levels and they were better defensively, partly due to the fact that they were bigger and just as skilled and athletic if not more. 

There are a few lessons to be learned.

1. Size matters.  The smaller you are, the more skilled you have to be. Smaller players have to be better than taller ones in order to compete against them.  It’s just the way it is. 
2. Just because you’re tall, doesn’t mean you can’t play “small”. Too many players, parents, and coaches look at “tall” players when they are young and make them “post players.” The reason “small ball” is such a new fad as opposed to the “old-fashioned” way to play is that coaches have buried the tallest kid in the post and failed to teach that kid how to dribble, pass and shoot.  What happens when that kid isn’t the tallest kid anymore?
3. It’s not enough to just shoot 3’s, layups, dunks, and free throws.  Teams who compete at the highest level have players who can score at all levels.

To me, “small-ball” is just a foreshadowing of the future of basketball.  It just means that players who don’t have the skill to play the game won’t be as successful as the ones that do, regardless of their size.  There will be more and more players who have elite size and an elite skill set.

If you’re the tallest player on your team, ask yourself if you would be the tallest player on any team. Don’t let the excuse be “coach puts me in the post.” If you’re that skilled and that good then it won’t matter if “coach” teaches you anything.  You won’t be in the post because you’ll be that dominant with the ball in your hands. If you’re small, you better be working a lot harder than everyone else. You have to be more skilled than players who are bigger than you. Otherwise, the bigger player is going to get your spot, whether that’s on the court or on the roster altogether.

It comes back to the only thing that a player can really control.  They can’t control how tall they are. There are limits to how athletic they can make themselves. Their skill sets are only limited to what they are taught and the work they put into them.

As coaches, we must always be developing the skills of our players. If we aren’t, then we aren’t doing our jobs. I don’t care how many games we win. If your players don’t want to get better, find a way to change their mind or find new players. If you don’t take the time to see where they can improve, the value in that improvement, and show them how to do it, then stop coaching.

Here are some of the answers I get.

1. I want to play at the highest level.
2. I want to play against the best players.
3. I want to go to school for free.
4. I want to be in March Madness.
5. I want to play in the NBA.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to play Division 1. The thing that players don’t realize is that all Division 1 schools are different in every way. Even the scholarships are different from school to school. Literally, players get more money to attend some schools than others. That’s just the facts.

Then, there are so many levels to Division 1. Even within conferences, there are different levels. And while this may fluctuate from year to year, some teams are traditionally excellent. Others traditionally aren’t. Some teams never make it to the NCAA tournament. Some teams make it almost every year. Many teams never have a chance to win a conference championship much less a national championship. Others are in contention every year.

These levels even go to each team. In most cases, the players that start on one team are a lot better than the players that come off the bench. A bench player on one of the best NCAA Division 1 teams might easily be a starter on a lower level team.

So when a player says they want to play Division 1, “WHY” is such an important question to answer. If you’re a bench player on a lower level Division 1 team, you may never get to play against anybody. So are you really getting to play against the best players? If you don’t play, the chances of you playing in the NBA are even lower than they are already. Even if you start for a lower level team, making the NCAA tourney is very difficult. And most of the time, you’re playing against other lower level teams. You aren’t getting to play against the best teams.

Can you start for a high level Division I team? The truth is that if that’s the case, you probably already have 15 offers to mid level Division 1 teams. Coming off the bench for a top level Division 1 team, might mean you can earn a starting spot your junior year. There are always players that start on a lower level team and transfer to a higher level team because they perform so well. In some cases this works out for them, and in some cases it doesn’t.

There are so many factors that go into “success” for individual players, but then there is team success. If you had to choose, would you rather play or win? In other words, would you rather play and lose on a bad Division 1 team or sit on the bench and win on a good Division 1 team? Of course everybody wants to be the best player on the best team, but the truth is there aren’t many players that are that level.

Everybody wants to be “the man”, but not everybody is naturally talented enough or willing to do what it takes to really be “the man.”

If you have the opportunity to play NCAA Division 1 basketball at any level, you’re already better than most players out there. That’s a huge deal. But there are a lot of NCAA Division 1 players, who have poor experiences, because they aren’t quite as good as they thought.

The players who have the best experiences out work the competition, but they also outsmart the competition. They know who they are and what they want. They are good enough to have lots of options and they pick the option that best fits them.

It is simple to say but very difficult to do. If you say you want to play NCAA Division 1, ask yourself why. If it’s just to say that you did, that’s ok, but it’s going to be a tough road.

Educate yourself about other levels. You can still play professionally even if you don’t play NCAA Division 1. You can still go to school for free without playing NCAA Division 1. You can still play against the best players and compete at a high level without playing NCAA Division 1. Your path doesn’t have to be the same as everyone else’s. In fact, I guarantee that it won’t be just because your life and your experiences are not the same as anyone else.

But the analytics aren’t telling the whole story. They are a little misleading even to the detriment of the game. 

Spin Move

Here’s a different type of analytics.

A basketball half-court is 47’ long x 50’ wide. In reality, the scoring area includes 30’ of length. Most teams don’t have players who can consistently make shots past that distance. At the college and high school levels, the amount of space that teams have to realistically defend is around half of the half-court. If you choose to press full court or defend more than just the scoring area, you’re not doing that because teams can score from those areas. Maybe you’re doing that to keep the ball out of the scoring area.  Whatever the reason, the chances of them scoring from those outside those areas is very low.

Now let’s say you’re defending a team that strictly follows analytics. They shoot 3s and dunks. Just think about how much of the scoring you have to defend. You have to defend the area around the basket and you have to defend the three-point line.  What does that actually look like?

The “Analytics” Scoring Area

Let’s do some quick math.  A basketball half-court is 2,350 sq ft. If we say that the scoring area is 30’ from the basket, the actual scoring is around 1500 sq ft. (30’*50’). It’s hard to calculate the area behind the basket so we’ll just round up.  

Defending the 3 Point Line

The formula for arc length for the 3 point line is 2*pi*r*.5 where r is the distance from the basket to the line.  The area that must be defended behind that line would be that distance times the distance behind the line.  Since different levels have different three-point lines and different levels have shooters who can shoot at different ranges, this is going to vary from team to team and player to player. 

Let’s just say you’re defending competent high school shooters who can shoot from 3 feet behind the line.  The area outside the 3 point line on a high school court that must be defended is less around 180 sq ft. Let’s just round up to 200 sq ft for the sake of easy math. 

Defending the Lane

The area to defend around the basket again is going to vary on the team and the level. If the lane is 12 feet wide and players can finish layups from around 6 feet away, that is around 75 sq ft. of the area around the basket that needs to be defended.

What’s Left?

So out of the 1500 sq ft of court area, if a team only shoots 3s and layups, you only have to defend 275 sq ft of space.  

Hypothetically, that means you don’t have to contest or defend against shots in 80% of the scoring area because teams aren’t going to take them. 

The Why

Now let’s think about why analytics tell us to shoot 3s, layups or dunks and free throws.

Let’s look at some of the reasons why the “mid-range” is hated by analytics.

1. Many “mid-range” shots are off the dribble. 
2. Most 3’s are not off the dribble.
3. Many players are not skilled enough or athletic enough to shoot a high percentage off the dribble.  
4. Many players attempt to create their own shot but don’t have the ability to create enough space to get off a clean look. 
5. Even if they can create space well enough, many players can’t control their bodies well enough to shoot the ball well.
6. There aren’t a lot of good shooters anyway. Even free throws can be risky business
7. Many of these “mid-range” shots are rushed at the end of a shot clock situation. 

How many times are players shooting catch and shoot “mid-range” shots in games?  Do your players shoot those shots in practice?  Does your offense create opportunities for them to take those shots?

How many times do players shoot a “mid-range” shot coming off of a screen without dribbling? Similar to the previous question, but setting and using a down screen correctly could result in wide-open 15 footers more often than not.

How many players would be more successful making a jab step jumper playing 1 on 1 from the elbow as opposed to making the same shot from the 3 point line? Can you get your best player the ball at the elbow? At many levels, this is a great 1 on 1 opportunity as opposed to them having to create a shot either off a ball screen or for themselves from the top of the key or the wing.

Are you going to tell Kawhi or KD to not shoot a “mid-range” jumper?  Your response would be my players don’t have those skills.  My question is why not?  Teach them. If you can score from 3 levels instead of 2 levels, you become much harder to defend.

Does your offense create opportunities for players to score in the mid-range? If you follow analytics, it probably doesn’t. Maybe you should rethink your offensive strategy so that you become harder to defend.

The analytics aren’t necessarily wrong. Maybe it’s easier to create open shots that are 3’s and layups as opposed to open shots in the midrange. Just because you’re open doesn’t mean it’s a good shot.  You might be open for a reason.

However, teams who can create good mid-range shots, and players who can score in these areas force defenses to defend all of the scoring area instead of just a small percentage of it.

There are a lot of bad shots taken inside the 3 point line and outside the lane.  That doesn’t mean teams shouldn’t shoot mid-range shots.  It just means that we need to

1. Help players get good mid-range shots.
2. Help players improve their abilities so that they can make them.
3. Hold our players accountable for their shot selection no matter what shot it is.

In my opinion, if you only shoot 3s and layups, you become a lot easier to defend.

Kids shouldn’t play 5 on 5 until they are at least 12 years old. Furthermore, 5 on 5 full-court basketball for kids under the age of 12 should be a felony for whoever is taking those parents’ money

Maybe felony is an exaggeration, but it isn’t an exaggeration that playing 5 on 5 basketball for young kids hurts them and therefore hurts the game.

10 reasons why

Here are 10 reasons why. I’m sure there are others. In no particular order,

1. Players younger than 12 can’t shoot a 15-foot shot effectively much less a 3 point shot. (Yet, some of them chuck it up there anyway after 3 double dribbles and 15 steps.)
2. Players younger than 12 struggle to have the strength to make a pass from the top of the key to the wing, much less a skip pass or anything else. (Forget having the mental development to be able to protect the ball and evaluate eight other players while they are being defended. Most players at this age aren’t able to make a good pass to a teammate who probably isn’t able to get open either.)
3. When you have 10 players on the court and they don’t have the strength to use half of the half court, it doesn’t leave a lot of space for players to get open or shoot. (Especially when the other team is playing zone, which is what many coaches do to try to “win.” C’mon, seriously?)
4. Playing zone doesn’t really teach kids how to play defense. It’s hard to play zone when you’re playing 3 on 3. I mean you can, but playing man to man teaches things that playing zone does not.
5. I don’t care what level of player you’re coaching. If you put 10 highly skilled players in the lane and said play basketball, everyone would struggle. It doesn’t do unskilled kids any good to play a game that is so dependent on spacing if there is no space. No player under the age of 12 is truly “skilled”. Maybe they are skilled for their age, but even then they have a lot more to learn.
6. Because everyone is playing in such a small space when you’re playing 5 on 5, the biggest or most aggressive player always gets the ball. In a lot of situations, the bigger kids are the more aggressive ones. The other kids end up just running back and forth, or even worse, standing and watching as opposed to actually playing the game. We can teach them how to play in transition when they actually get big enough to pass the ball up the court.
7. The more time they spending running up and down the court, the less time there is to dribble, pass, shoot, foul, rebound or do anything else that’s actually a part of playing basketball which means players miss out on opportunities to get better. Of course, being able to run up and down is part of the game, but again, they can learn how to do that when they are older.
8. When all kids do is run, they get tired more quickly and get the wrong idea of what basketball is about. So they end up not liking it because they never actually get to play it.  All they end up doing is running.
9. They are too young to learn all of the concepts needed to play 5 on 5 effectively. Teaching them plays is a waste of time. It’s difficult to get college teams to run plays effectively and they practice multiple hours per day 6 days a week. How much do we really expect to accomplish in one hour once or twice a week when they don’t even have the skills to not travel much less set a screen or do anything else more involved.
10. 5 on 5 is hard enough to officiate with good players.  Force them to play 3 on 3. Now coaches can be officials and can actually help kids learn the rules instead of letting them get away with everything just so they aren’t blowing the whistle every 5 seconds.

Don’t get me wrong

Is running important in basketball?  Of course, it is. But we don’t need 14 to 17-year-old kids having overuse injuries. That topic is well documented. It doesn’t mean kids won’t have overuse injuries anyway, but 3 on 3 half-court basketball is a lot easier on the body than 5 on 5 full-court basketball.

Let’s move on. Passing and catching is an adventure. The saying goes that in high school basketball if your team makes more than 3 passes, they are probably going to turn it over. Have you ever watched a game of basketball with kids under the age of 12? They are lucky to complete one pass in a possession without a turnover. They are still learning how to pass not to mention catch, pivot, get open or anything else.

Conclusion

Let’s outlaw 5 on 5 basketball for anyone under the age of 12. No one really cares that your team won a championship in the 10U National tournament. John Calipari doesn’t care that your kid was the best 7-year old in your church league.

If we’re serious about improving the game and teaching the game, we need to be concerned about what is best for the players who are playing it. Playing 5 on 5 for kids under the age of 12 is not good for them physically and it doesn’t help them really learn how to play the game.

If you’re with me, let me know and leave a comment.

In our recruiting services review conclusion, it is important to understand that things are always changing. Technology especially has changed everything in recruiting. 15 years ago Facebook Instagram and Twitter weren’t even a thing. In 15 more years who knows what things will be like. Right now people who think you need a recruiting service are people who grew up without a cell phone. They grew up without having instant access to information. You’re in a different generation. Everything you need is just a google search away.

The truth is coaches can find out about just as easily as you can find out about them. So instead of worrying about wasting money on a recruiting service, take the time to make sure your “profile” doesn’t expose you. Make sure you’re in shape. Make sure you’re the best player you can be. Eat the right foods. Get the right amount of sleep. Make good grades. Seems simple doesn’t it? 

Then do your research.  Find schools and programs that fit you.  Reach out to them and make them like you.

Most of you won’t do it because you want someone else to do it for you. If you think a recruiting service or a trainer or anyone else is the answer, well you should probably unfollow us. We are here to help people who are serious about helping themselves because that’s how you truly survive in life.

In Part 4 of the recruiting services review, we are going to talk about their lack of effort and expertise in evaluating talent. Recruiting services love sending emails that say that “this player can play for your program.” First of all, I have never received a phone call from ANY recruiting service asking me what I’m looking for in a player.  So how can a recruiting service recommend a player to me if they don’t know what I’m looking for? From what I can tell they are too busy selling their “services”.

Technology Can’t Evaluate

Some recruiting services boast about their use of technology to match players to programs.  Technology is good for a lot of things. However, this is not one of them. At least not yet. If technology could evaluate players and match them to a basketball program, there wouldn’t be a need for highlight videos and evaluation events.  Coaches wouldn’t need to spend thousands of dollars in travel and other expenses attending showcases to watch players compete. Even with scouting services, coaches still want to evaluate players themselves. Not to mention, scouting services usually only have detailed evaluations and rankings on the top 250 players.  What about everyone else?

They Can’t Evaluate

After this podcast, I might get a phone call or two from recruiting services just to see what I’m looking for. Here’s the next problem, can I really trust them to really evaluate talent? If they haven’t coached at multiple college levels, how can they really know where a player fits? Not to mention, can they fit a specific player to a specific program. I’m trying to win championships.  I don’t want players who can just “play for us”. After getting emails day after day about players that are not good enough to really impact our program, the emails get ignored or deleted.  That’s what you’re paying for.  I hope you think it’s worth it.

In the Recruiting Services Review Part 3, we talk about part of the lack of education that these services provide. The first couple of episodes in this series talked about things you can do for yourself better than someone else can do them for you. However, any service, no matter how much it costs, needs to educate you about “The Clearinghouse” and “financial aid.” When I talk to a parent or a player who has signed up with a recruiting service and they have never heard of “The Clearinghouse” or “financial aid”, I really wonder what these recruiting services are doing.

So let’s just say you’ve got one of those cute profiles with your highlight video and you’re “connecting” with coaches all over the country.  Maybe these schools are even interested in you. So many people think the being a baller is enough.  Well beside the fact that there are a lot of ballers out there, you have to do more than just be a good player.

“The Clearinghouse”

“The Clearinghouse” verifies your eligibility to compete. If you want to play at a NCAA school and you’re not registered for the NCAA Clearinghouse, then what are you waiting for?  If you want to play at a NAIA school, then you need to register for the NAIA Clearinghouse.  It doesn’t matter if you’ve taken the SAT or not.  It doesn’t matter how old you are.  You should do that and you should do it today.  If the Clearinghouse doesn’t clear you, you can’t play. If you can’t play, you probably can’t get a scholarship. You don’t want to wait until the last minute. If you are registered for the Clearinghouse, it makes things so much easier for coaches to recruit you. You don’t want to make it hard for a coach to recruit you.

Financial Aid

This part doesn’t apply to international athletes, but it is so important for American athletes.  If you aren’t 100% locked into the financial aid process, then you’re missing out. Again, it doesn’t matter how old you are.  Understanding financial aid and how it works is critical to making college more affordable and in some cases putting money in your pocket. Every school and every level works differently, but if your recruiting service isn’t educating you about the financial aid process then you could be missing out on THOUSANDS of dollars.  It doesn’t matter if you’re a top D1 athlete or not. The financial aid process is important for ANY American athlete who wants to play collegiate sports.  The better understanding you have of the process, the more educated you can be about your decisions.

Our recruiting services review started with a couple reasons that they are not necessary. You already have a profile if you have a social media account and that’s a very easy and effective way to connect with college coaches. We’ll say for now that you think that profile is worth it and that you aren’t comfortable talking to college coaches. In Recruiting Services Review Part 2, we will give you a couple reasons that can hurt your recruiting instead of helping.

Reason 2A: Recruiting services contact schools that aren’t interested in you.

One of the most annoying things as a coach is not having athletic scholarship money, and getting emails about a player a rising freshman or sophomore saying they are interested in our program. Really? A rising freshman would commit to a program that doesn’t have scholarship money?  First of all, if a player is good enough to play for us as a freshman, just think how good they will be as a senior. If a player isn’t good enough to play for us, why would we offer them? Not only is there so much that can happen during that time, it would be a waste of time for a school without scholarships to offer a freshman.

When I coached at D1 or D2 programs, I received emails from recruiting services all the time about potential players for our program. The majority of players want a full scholarships. It is easy to find players who want a full scholarship. I want to know players who are good enough and who fit what we’re looking for. These are just players that we ended up inviting to camp to help supplement our pay. We had no intention of recruiting them. I have yet to receive an email or phone call from a recruiting service asking what we’re looking for. They just overwhelmed me with emails that I ignored or deleted. Some even go straight to spam or junk folders. One time I had to tell them to stop sending me emails. It was just annoying.

Reason 2B: Recruiting services contact schools that don’t interest you.

I receive emails daily from recruiting services about potential players for our program.  Many of them say they want to major in areas we don’t have.  You might not think that’s a big deal. Think about when that happens to multiple athletes, day after day and year after year. IGNORE!!! DELETE!!! SPAM!!! I’m not the only coach who is getting them or ignoring them or deleting them.

You are paying a recruiting service to misrepresent you. I really don’t think that’s what you want.  Coaches don’t want to hear from recruiting services.  They want to hear from you. So if your recruitment is important to you, take ownership of it.  Do your homework and do things in a way that represent you well.

Many athletes and their families think they need a recruiting service in order to get a scholarship. This couldn’t be further from the truth.  Over the next 5 episodes, we will share with you why you don’t need them and even more why they are a waste of money.

Reason #1A: Profiles

Many recruiting services will build a profile for you.  You probably think this is something special.  Let’s be honest, you already have a profile even if you don’t realize it.  More importantly, that’s the profile that most coaches are going to care about. Go to Google and type in your name.  There is your profile.  Does your Instagram page come up?  Does your Twitter page come up?  Do you have videos on YouTube that coaches can watch?  Keep in mind all of this is free.  It’s pretty easy to give college coaches any information that they need about via social media.  Having a recruiting service create a pretty webpage for you might be nice, but it’s really not necessary.

Not to mention, if it really is that important to have a “profile” or a webpage, there are lots of FREE services out there that will let you create a webpage. They are REALLY easy to use. In addition, you know yourself better than they do. You can represent yourself better than anyone else can. If you’re serious about your recruitment, get your information together and get it online.

Reason #1B: Connecting you with Colleges

Ok so now that you have a webpage or a profile or whatever, these recruiting services are going to tell you that they will connect you with THOUSANDS of college coaches all over the US.  That might be true.  The real truth is that you’re already connected to them.  Every single college in the US has a webpage.  Most of them have a webpage about their athletic department with email addresses and phone numbers of coaches.  In many cases they will post their social media information as well. Even if that information isn’t posted, you can find them pretty easily.  You can connect with any college coach that has an email address or social media.  You don’t need anyone to do that for you. Not to mention that many times recruiting service emails go to junk folders or just get deleted completely.

Here are links to almost every athletic program in the US.  Of course it’s important that you represent yourself well. You want to make a good first impression. If we can help you make sure you make a good first impression, let us know.

NCAA Schools

NAIA Schools

NJCAA Schools

USCAA Schools

NCCAA Schools

In the recruiting process, you might be offered the opportunity to redshirt. Some coaches will be very honest and upfront about how this works. Others may not be as honest. At the end of the day, college basketball is a business. In many cases, colleges and universities use their athletic programs to fund many other programs. When coaches recruit you to be a redshirt, this could be just another number for admissions.  It could mean that you’re going to get to play the next year, You have to remember that coaches will always try to recruit over you.

This episode will discuss some of the realities of being a redshirt player. That might be a great option for you. Everyone understands that they don’t get to play.  However in order to turn that redshirt year into something better the next year, you will need to do more than everyone else.  We want to help you be good enough to not even need to redshirt your first year.

We want to keep you from wasting money with services that don’t do you any good and help you ask the right questions in the recruiting process so that you understand exactly what you’re getting into. Moreover, we want you to have multiple options so you can make an informed decision about what you want.

Take ownership and control of your process today.  Ask us questions so we can help you.

Getting recruited is such an exciting process, but DON’T GET BAMBOOZLED. It is a time that allows you to feel all of your blood, sweat, and tears pay off. It’s what gives you clarity and a renewed vigor and passion to push yourself harder to make your dreams come true because they are closer now than ever before. It’s meeting new people, having conversations that challenge and push you and it’s thinking about your future in ways that you never have. Along with all of the excitement comes confusion and organizations that prey on people during this time, so please DON’T GET BAMBOOZLED.

Amateur sports have turned into a multi-BILLION dollar industry. Many times people are looking to exploit kids and their parents by playing on the fear that they don’t know what it takes to get recruited and that they “need help” or that more specifically “they can’t do it on their own.” 

Our mission at Hoops College is to EDUCATE you and your family to develop and expose your greatness. We will make you aware of the pitfalls that happen when you are not prepared. We will help you discover your level and find the best fit for you so that you are happy and can enjoy your college career. When you make informed decisions along the way and DON’T GET BAMBOOZLED by trainers, travel coaches, recruiting services, college coaches etc., you will have a peace and confidence that the process will work for you.

So, we have provided a list of things so you DON’T GET BAMBOOZLED during the process. They are not in a particular order and there are probably some things that we have forgotten; but you’ll get the point!

*These things have been actually said out loud. We aren’t making them up.

• A full athletic scholarship is a “free ride.”
• Hard work is enough.
• You need a recruiting service to get a scholarship offer (eye roll emoji)
• College coaches search for emails from recruiting services. (double eye roll emoji) #spamfolder
• “I can get you a scholarship” but they have never seen you play.
• “I can get you a scholarship” but they have never played or coached basketball in college.
• “You can go to college XYZ“ but they have never seen you play.
• Getting invited to camp at a college means that college is recruiting you. 
• You can get into any college with bad grades because you are THAT good.
• You can get into college with no SAT/ACT score because you are THAT good. 
• 4-year university/colleges are the only options after high school.
• All Junior Colleges are bad.
• All Prep schools are bad.
• Prep school means you’re a failure.
• Going to prep school means you’re going D1.
• You can’t communicate with college coaches.
• Colleges are interested in you but you haven’t talked to them.
• Coaches who offer you but can’t talk to you, because they are busy with their dog. (double eye roll emoji) #absurd
• All college visits are the same.
• You can “sign” when you are anything OTHER than a high school senior.
• A verbal commitment to a college is binding.
• When you sign, your job is done.
• A school can’t offer you until you’re a junior.
• A scholarship means you’re guaranteed playing time.

Not all coaches and trainers are bad, but DON’T GET BAMBOOZLED by people who…

• Guarantee they can get you a college scholarship.
• Have limited/no experience. 
• Spend more time getting selfies & video for THEIR shine than actually teaching YOU.
• Come up with “innovative drills” that have ZERO game application and are just weird. 
• Run around and yell but don’t actually teach you anything. 
• Spend time talking to you or your parents than actually working with you.
• Have 100 kids in the gym and can’t remember your name.
• Can’t/won’t/don’t break down a skill and teach you why you are doing something.
• Claim they are the reason a player is in the NBA (eye roll emoji) 
• Were really good players but haven’t studied the game and have no idea how to actually TEACH the skills. 
• Think “handles are LIFE.”

Finally, DON’T GET BAMBOOZLED by…

• People or services who don’t teach you anything about the actual recruiting process. 
• “Great deals” for THOUSANDS of dollars (save that money it can pay for lots of snacks in college lol).
• Services who make you pay regardless if you get a scholarship offer or not. 
• Coaches who do “fundraisers” but you are still paying an absurd amount of money to play on the team. 
• Anyone who says that nothing has changed in college recruiting since your great uncle Jim was recruited to play college football 50 years ago…. 😉

We hope some of these made you laugh and others made you think. At Hoops College, our desire and passion is to INFORM our clients about the recruiting process through breaking down the myths and exposing the truth. We are

honest with you about the underlying messages that people are sending you during the process, especially college coaches. With our help, you will take control of the process and not feel like you are just a pawn in the game. You will learn lessons from our experiences and our perspectives. We want celebrate in your successes, fight with you through your disappointments and most importantly help you design a process to take control of your future.

We have worked with some awesome players and people already. Are you next?

Start your process today so you DON’T GET BAMBOOZLED.

Coaches, just to keep it real, we need to do a better job teaching players to play the game. If we teach the game better, players will play it better. This teaching goes all the way from individual skill development to 5 on 5 play. Yes, players have to get in the gym and work on their skills. Yes, players must take what we give them and do something with it.

However, we have to do our part to make it something they can learn. In my experiences, we tend to over complicate the game.  Whether it’s offense or defense, most players we coach are not going to win Olympic Gold Medals.  Most players aren’t elite. Elite players are elite for a reason.  They have mastered the basics.  In our efforts to be elite, we try to teach players who are not elite to be elite instead of teaching them to be basic first.

The 3 main keys to successful offensive basketball are spacing, player movement, and ball movement. Defensively, can your players defend space, their player, or the ball? So many players don’t understand those basic things from an offensive or defensive standpoint. If they don’t understand these basic principles, how can they learn and understand more complicated ones?

Spacing

How much of the court are we forcing the defense to guard? How much of the court do we want to defend? Spacing is certainly based on players’ abilities. Defenses who have to respect 5 players who can shoot NBA range threes are going to have more court to cover than a defense who plays against a team who is only effective shooting from 15 feet.

We can’t assume that all players have equal skill sets, but for a second assume they do. It’s also based on where our players are located on the court. In thinking about teaching offense there are a few questions to consider.

1. Are we located close enough to each other to be able to make clean crisp passes away from defenders?
2. Are we located far enough away from each other that one player can’t guard two players?  
3. Should we make all 5 defenders guard the entire court? Or can we create a situation where 1 defender has to defend a large area of the court alone (isolation)?
4. Can we create an advantage situation as a result of a specific alignment or a specific movement?

Teaching offensive basketball begins with spacing. Teaching players where they need to be on the floor relative to each other gives them an opportunity to move themselves and the ball effectively into positions where they can score. It forces the defense to cover more of the court based on the individual players’ skill set and gives the offense more room to operate successfully.

We can ask a few questions from the defensive side of things as well.  

1. Can we affect the team’s spacing by defending players who have the ball in certain ways?
2. Can we affect the team’s spacing by defending players who do not have the ball in certain ways?
3. Are there some areas on the court that we need to defend more than others?
4. Are there some areas that we don’t need to defend at all?
5. Should we defend some areas of the court whether we need to or not just because it will make it more difficult for the offense to get into the areas that they prefer?

Obviously every coach has their own defensive philosophy.  One extreme says that we shouldn’t defend players in the backcourt because they can’t score from there.  Another extreme says that because they can’t score in the backcourt means they are easier to defend and we should take advantage of that. How you defend is up to you. In any case, you have to decide how you’re defending the space on the floor. 

Player Movement

The more that players move, the more the defense is forced to move. The more a defense moves, the more likely it is to get out of position. The more defensive players have to move, the more tired they become so that they have less energy on offense. However, this movement must be intelligent movement. Players must understand how to move, when to move, and where to move in order to maintain spacing and create scoring opportunities. Otherwise, there’s a good chance that spacing will be compromised. Bad spacing is going to lead to bad offense.

So teaching players how to move intelligently, becomes critical to good offense. The more intelligently players move, the less predictable they become to defenders. A predictable movement is easier to defend than an unpredictable action. Teams who move in a systematic yet varied manner make themselves an opposing coach’s scouting nightmare.

1. How do you teach your players to move without the ball?
2. Is it organized and coordinate or random and varied? 
3. Is this movement purposeful?
4. Does it create scoring opportunities?
5. How much do players have to remember vs. how much are they learning?

So many coaches spend a lot of time worrying about how to defend certain actions without really taking into consideration the players in those actions.  How we defend a team’s worst player is just as important as how we defend a team’s best player. 

1. Is the action a scoring action?
2. Do the offensive player(s) in the action have the ability to score in a variety of ways?
3. Is it better to stick with our principles even if it allows the action to occur or should we go away from our principles to prevent the action?
4. Can a defender who is not involved in the action help defend the action because the player they are defending isn’t a threat at that time?

Ball Movement

In the game of basketball, there is no more important object than the ball itself. All of the strategies, skills, and intangibles mean very little in comparison to the ball. The ball moves in one of three ways: shooting, passing, or dribbling. Whether a player shoots, passes or dribbles is ultimately their decision. As coaches, we must determine how much we try to control those decisions compared to teaching them to make these decisions on their own. If a player isn’t comfortable in a certain area because of a lack of skill, they are not likely to execute the correct decision, even if we try to control the decision they make.

In addition, the decisions of what to do with the ball at any given point in time are split second. Many times a moment of hesitation can turn a good decision into a bad one. Instead of spending time controlling every decision, what if we spent more time teaching them skills and how to make decisions?

On the defensive side, defending the ball is the hardest thing to do and it’s also the most important thing to do.  Good ball pressure makes other actions tougher to execute.  However, we must ask ourselves if it’s worth pressuring a player who can’t shoot or if it is acceptable to force a 3 point shooter to drive even if it means we get beat initially. Again, everyone is going to have different answers and perspectives based on their philosophies and personnel.  Against one dimensional players, try making them two dimensional. Odds are it will work in your favor.  Against multi-dimensional players, is there a one-dimensional player that you force into making plays instead of that multi-dimensional player? 

What if we spent more time helping them make more shots, better passes, and effective dribbles? Now players can have more confidence that they can execute whatever decision they make. If we spend more time teaching spacing, skills, and player movement, the decisions that they make with the ball become a lot easier.

Conclusion

Teaching these three basic principles combined with individual skills provides a foundation for players to be able to execute offense so much more effectively. At the same time, if our players can learn how to defend good spacing, player movement, and ball movement, they will be better equipped to defend in any situation.

Have you ever thought about keeping your post players stationary in your half court offense? What is the quote?  “Movement is the enemy of the defense.”  That quote is still true. However, in the case of post players, if the ball and your other players are moving, less movement may actually be better. Post play is more about positioning than it is movement.  A good post player knows how to get position whether it’s on the offensive or defensive end.  A good post player knows how to get position one or two passes ahead. The more post players move, the less they get position. Defensive post players are required to move with the ball whether the player they are defending moves or not.  Getting position and keeping position requires contact with the opponent.  Perimeter ball and player movement reduces the amount of contact that a post defender can have. A good offensive post player can take advantage of this defender’s movement.

Let’s think about how we teach a secondary break.  Many transition offenses have post players running to the rim.  Do we want them to go the ball side block if they can bury their defender under the rim?  Of course not.  If they post up at the rim, they catch the ball and shoot a lay-up.  If they post up on the block, they have to make a move to score.  This is all about gaining position based on how the defense plays. It has nothing to do with moving to a certain spot. Half court offense provides numerous examples of how we should emphasize positioning for our post players over movement. This thought process was inspired by observations playing in a 4 out 1 in alignment.  However, there are advantages to minimizing the movement of post players in a 3 out 2 in alignment as well. In a 4 out alignment, the post player can start anywhere you want them to.  

Practical Situations

Let’s look at how ball movement and player movement create opportunities for a post player to impact the game without them having to move. If the post is on the ball side, he/she can be a primary receiver. In other words, they can be option number one for the next pass. They can also set a number of screens: ball screens, back screens, flex screens, and down screens.  They can occupy one or more help defenders. Of course, they are a
strong side rebounding option. They may be able to stand in one spot and execute many of these actions at one time. If the post is on the weak side, he/she can still be a receiver.  They can still post up.  They can flash to the ball.  They can set pin screens and they can still sprint to a ball screen. They can use screens set by other players for them. Moreover, it’s the best place to rebound.  Being on the weak side opens up the ball side block, which creates driving lanes.  It creates more challenging defensive rotations. Who helps?

So there are advantages to being on the ball side and on the weak side.  Having 4 perimeter players moving all over the court creates so much movement that it may be better to keep your post stationary. If your post is stationary, your guards always know where this player is.  They can cut and drive more freely because they know the post won’t be in the way.  They don’t have to wait for the post player to get position.  The post player should be gaining position ahead of time no matter where the ball is. This could be gaining position to receive a pass or get a rebound. A good defense will move when the ball moves. A good post player can take advantage of that movement without a lot of movement. If the ball is moving and a post is stationary, it is very difficult for one post defender to be in good defensive position all the the time.

Teach your post players to take advantage of a defender’s initial position and use that position against them. If the offensive post player knows how to get and maintain position, they will always be able to make the defense uncomfortable and use it to their team’s advantage. If we teach them position first, before we teach them movement, they will have to move less to be successful because they are achieving better position within your offense. Here are two basic examples, but there are many more. The offensive post player might be denied on the first look.  However, if they can maintain position, they should be open on the second look.

This isn’t meant to encourage the perimeter players to stand still. This just shows how open a post can be even if the only thing that moves is the ball. When the offensive players start moving as well, it gives the post defender other things to worry about which can make it even easier on the offensive post to achieve an advantage and makes it harder on the other defensive players to help in the post. If the post is always on the ball side or always on the weak side, the defense may be able to adjust more easily. If your offense is moving the ball quickly, then you should be able to get your post player multiple opportunities within any possession just by teaching them to think one or two passes ahead instead of running all over the lane.

This post will cover the attack dribble with 2 or more actions. Because we haven’t taught any more of the offense, the best way to teach multiple actions is to have 3 or more players on the court.  When we start to teach other parts of the offense, we will able to string multiple actions together with two players.  Since attacking offensive players haven’t been taught what to do after they pass, we will have them step off the floor after their attack.

The previous post covered 2 players 1 action building blocks.  Adding the 3rd, 4th, or 5th offensive players to these single action building blocks is pretty straightforward. You can even add other defenders.  In theory, there is nothing wrong with having 10 players on the court and executing one action. However, your possessions will be very short and most of the players on the floor won’t be involved in the action.  This will probably hurt the intensity of your practice. As a result, we recommend that when 3 or more players are on the court that you always execute 2 or more actions.

A. 3 offensive players 2 actions

This next step is the same as the 2 on 0 blocks except there is a 3rd offensive player.  Previously, the attacker only had one receiver as an option.  This is the first time that the attacker will have more than one receiver.  The attacker must have awareness on every drive where receivers will be located.  The attacker must make a clearly defined attack while the receivers learn to react habitually by rotating in the appropriate direction. Both receivers must be ready to receive a pass.

This is also the first opportunity to execute the second action with a second reaction.  After the first receiver catches the pass, the initial ball handler steps off the floor. Player 3 can attack immediately or they can fake and then drive. It’s important for player 2 to react to the attack and not anticipate it.  This is a good way to repeat the Circle Movement reaction. The same coaching considerations listed in the previous post apply here. Receivers must know that they are always an option for an attacker and must be in the proper position on every drive whether they receive the pass or not. Even though only one layer and at most two actions are being taught at this time, players must be in proper position in order to maintain proper spacing for the next action.  This 3 player building block is especially good for teams with 12 players who only have 2 baskets.

B. 3 offensive players 1 defender 2 actions

Coaches can now put a defender on any player and run the same drill as before.  The defender must maintain the proper position based on the player with the ball and their defender.  If the ball handler dribbles in their direction, the defender should “help” and now they are forced to close out and play 1 on 1. The other offensive players in the drill remain as outlets and rotate if the player with the ball attacks. The ball handler can now be taught shot selection in a 1 on 1 scenario. This block is similar to the 2 on 1 block above except defenders are added to both receivers.  Defenders can play at varying levels of intensity depending on the emphasis. This will help attackers become comfortable with delivering passes to all receiver positions from all attacking positions against defenders. This block can be used to build from a defensive standpoint as well. It is recommended that other layers are added before players are allowed to play in any type of live scenario except for 1 on 1. Even in 1 on 1, there should be time, space or dribbling constraints.  Just as in the 2 on 1 and 2 on 2 blocks above, once the ball handler passes, they are no longer in the play along with the person who was defending them. Any person with the ball who is being defended is forced to look to attack. We always want players to be threats.

C.  3 offensive players 2 defenders 2 actions

It’s the same as above with another defender. You can choose which offensive players are being defended. It all depends on what you’re trying to teach and emphasize. No matter what, you’re able to get repetitions in the individual skills and building the habits of Circle Movement.

D.   3 offensive players, 3 defenders 2 actions

This is very similar to building block C with an extra player.  1 on 1 defense, closeouts, help and recover and rebounding can all be taught from this building block. This building block can be turned into a number of different drills to teach a number of different skills.  It’s up to the coach and the emphasis.

E. 4 offensive players 2 actions

This building block will let the ball handler see 3 of their teammates in motion at once.  This building block may not require a lot of time for more advanced teams. It may still be a useful step in helping younger players build the complete picture. All 4 of these players must be perimeter players.  They could be in 4 out or 5 out spots. Keep in mind placing them in a 4 out alignment completes the picture for this alignment.  Congratulations!!!

F. 4 offensive players 1 to 4 defenders 2 or more actions

I think everyone is smart enough to figure this out by now.  Right?  This could be a whole blog post by itself. This is a great opportunity to teach help and recover.  Depending on how you teach your rotations, the person who was guarding the ball initially might not be responsible for defending the ball after help comes.  This can be very useful in teaching the person who was beaten initially the importance of playing through failure.

G.  5 offensive players 1 to 5 defenders, 1 to 4 actions

This completes the picture.  Remember to keep everyone on the perimeter. No post players allowed yet.

This will break down the Attack Dribble Layer starting with 2 player actions and including defense build up to 5 on 5.  Individual skill development is critical but that’s another topic for another time.

One big question that some might ask: “What do I tell players when they pass?”  For now, I’m not going to tell them anything, because we haven’t covered what to do when you pass.  For some building blocks, you might tell them to step off the court. In others, you might tell them to rebound.  In any case, they won’t have any decision to make I just don’t want them to worry about that right now.  I want them to focus on the Attack Dribble Layer. This becomes important in being able to practice back to back actions. So for now, for any drill designed through any building block for this layer, the rule is if you make a pass, you (and your defender if one exists) step off the floor once you pass. When other layers are added, they will have “something to do.”

A. 2 offensive players 1 action

This building block is the most basic component for teaching this layer. Everything else will build off of this. Coaches will still want to conduct individual skill development drills first to teach the different fundamentals that make up the building block. However, this is the first time where players really learn how to play team offense. Players start at two designated spots. The player with the ball performs an attack dribble. The player without the ball rotates aggressively in the appropriate direction to the next spot. Is it really that simple?  Sure it is; except it’s not. I’ll discuss the different things that can go wrong shortly. Let’s finish the building block first. The attacking player must make a decision on when the defense has committed to help with their attack.  If they have their defender beaten and help doesn’t come, they should keep going.  If the defense steps over to help, this means their teammate should be open and they should look to pass them the ball. In designing the drill from the building block, coaches should consider some of the following details:

Which spots are we using?

• There are plenty of combinations.  Coaches should make sure players are comfortable attacking and rotating from all spots. Players should be adjacent to each other initially.
• As they become more comfortable, the two players can be located on any two spots. This will help teach the ball handler to read help defenders from different positions and to make passes to players all over the floor.
• Just remember, NO BASELINE DRIVES….yet.

What is the ball handler going to do?

• The ball handler can finish with a layup or a jump shot. The other player rotates. They must practice an aggressive rotation even if they aren’t going to get the ball.
• The ball handler takes 1 or 2 dribbles and kicks it out to the receiver who has rotated properly. The receiver shoots or attacks the basket. The initial ball handler is now out of the drill or maybe they are a rebounder.
• Initially predetermine the direction of the penetration. This is important for youth players who are new to the action.  Eventually, all ball handlers must be given the freedom to choose the direction of the drive.
• Ball handlers attack off the dribble as opposed to off the catch. The question then becomes when do the receivers rotate.  Once the ball handler enters a scoring area?  After the ball handler crosses the 3-point line?

What can go wrong?

The ball handler…

1. 1. travels on the attack.
   2. gets his/her pocket picked
   3. dribbles with the wrong hand (e.g. going left with their right hand)
   4. dribbles too deep before they kick it out.
   5. stares down their receiver instead of selling the attack.
   6. doesn’t get downhill.
   7. passes with the wrong hand.
   8. makes a bad pass.
   9. pivots incorrectly.

Or the receiver…..

1. 1. rotates the wrong way or doesn’t rotate at all.
   2. reacts late
   3. isn’t aggressive in their rotation.
   4. isn’t ready to receive the pass.
   5. ruins spacing
   6. shoots a shot with a foot on the 3 point line.
   7. travels when they try to attack the basket.

There’s a lot that can go wrong in this simple 2 player building block. This also means that there is a lot you can teach out of this simple building block. Granted, a lot of these are basic fundamental skills but they will probably show up in other places as well. In any case, this is a great chance to teach, reinforce, and emphasize those skills in addition to learning the what happens when a player attacks the basket.

This is just the first block, but it’s such an important one. It is a great tool to drill all the offensive fundamentals associated with this layer as well as the team concept. The inability for players to execute the basic offensive fundamentals that make up this layer will lead to turnovers or bad shots. There are countless drills that can be created from this building block to teach any number of things. However, continuous repetition of this single building block for the purpose of improving offensive execution is ineffective since reactors are able to anticipate the initiator’s action.  This is especially true at higher levels, but even youth teams will eventually need to be challenged more than basic 2 on 0 drills. So let’s add some defense.

B. 2 offensive players 1 defender on the ball 1 action

The only difference between this building block and the previous one is the addition of a defender. However, this one defender changes the dynamic of the drill. We will have the defender start guarding the attacker. This can be live or not, but the receiver must still react. If the defender is a dummy defender, it is up to the coach to specify what happens.  If it is a live situation, the attacker should look to score first, but they must take good shots.

This is a good way to teach shot selection for the attacker. Is the attacked passing up opportunities to score?  Can the attacker when the defender has played good defense?  Do you have players that can score 1 on 1 even if the defense is good? The receiver must always rotate appropriately, even if they don’t receive a pass. The ball handler must be limited in the number of dribbles and/or space that they have to score. This might as well be called 1 on 1 with an outlet. However, there are a lot of offensive and defensive concepts that can be taught in this building block, not to mention the many different ways that the 1 on 1 situation can be created.  Either way, why have players standing on the baseline watching two people play 1 on 1.  Have them in spots on the court, practicing their reaction. Every repetition helps.

C. 2 offensive players 1 defender off the ball 1 action

Now we will start teaching the ball handler player to read the help-side defense.  This drill will depend on your defensive philosophy.   Place two offensive players in any two spots that you want. Then have a defender in help position. The ball handler must attack in a way that forces this defender to help.  This building block can be used to teach 1 on 1 defense in a variety of ways as well as closeouts.

D. 2 offensive players 2 defenders 1 action

Next, for 2 player drills, we’ll add a second defender. What is your defensive philosophy for the second defender? Are they in the gap or up the line and on the line?  Do they commit to helping on the drive?  Do they take away the easy drive and kick?  Is it based on the scouting report?

This building block may start as a way to teach offensive concepts but quickly turn into a way to teach closeouts or another defensive concept.  When it comes to offense, only one action is allowed at this point. We haven’t taught what the ball handler is supposed to do after they pass.  So for right now, they just step off the court along with the person defending them.

These building blocks show 2 offensive players with the ball handler attacking.  Future posts will add offensive players to provide the ball handler with options on the attack.  We have shown a maximum of 2 defensive players since there are only 2 offensive players.  It may be useful to add defensive players to make the drill more challenging for the offense.

Are you living a relentless life? Do you realize that you are loved unconditionally? I find a lot of people wandering through life. “What is My Purpose? Why am I here?  What am I doing?” 

A lot of those people are “grown up already.”  Sometimes I act like one of those people. I think at some point, we all have those thoughts. In these moments, I remind myself of my purpose.  It helps me and so I hope it can help you.  

I believe it your purpose is to live. You have a life. So live it. Live it relentlessly.   I remember that it’s not about me or one moment or one failure.  It is all about taking one more step forward and then taking another step forward. Whether the result of each step is failure or success doesn’t matter.  It’s just about taking one more step. Maybe even live it recklessly?  What if you weren’t afraid to take chances? Do you see opportunities to fail as opportunities to learn and grow? What if you saw your 

You were giving life to make your life better and to make the lives of others around you better. Stop wandering through life and really think about your purpose and how you can live it every day.

This post starts the breakdown for Attack Dribble Layer starting with 2 on 0 player building blocks and build up to 5 on 5.  Individual skill development is critical. This breakdown will provide numerous to incorporate skill development as team concepts are built.

One big question that some might ask: “What do I tell players when they pass?”  For now, we are not going to tell them anything, because we haven’t covered what to do when you pass.  For some building blocks, I’m going to tell them to step off the court. In other situations, they might rebound.  In any case, they won’t have any decision to make. We don’t want them to worry about that right now.  We want them to focus on the Attack Dribble Layer. This becomes important in being able to practice back to back actions.

So for now, for any drill designed through any building block for this layer, the rule is if you make a pass, you (and your defender if one exists) step off the floor once you pass. When other layers are added, they will have “something to do.”

A. 2 offensive players 1 action

This building block is the most basic component for teaching this layer. Everything else will build off of this. Coaches will still want to conduct individual skill development drills first to teach the different fundamentals that make up the building block. However, this is the first time where players really learn how to play team offense.

Players start at two designated spots. The player with the ball performs an attack dribble. The player without the ball rotates aggressively in the appropriate direction to the next spot. Is it really that simple?  Sure it is; except it’s not. I’ll discuss the different things that can go wrong shortly. Let’s finish the building block first.

The attacking player must make a decision on when the defense has committed to help on the attack.  If they have their defender beaten and help doesn’t come, they should keep going.  If the defense steps over to help, this means their teammate should be open and they should look to pass them the ball.

In designing the drill from the building block, coaches should consider some of the following details:

Which spots are we using?

There are plenty of combinations.  Coaches should make sure players are comfortable attacking and rotating from all spots. Players should be adjacent to each other initially.

As they become more comfortable, the two players can be located on any two spots. This will help teach the ball handler to read help defenders from different positions and to make passes to players all over the floor.

Just remember, NO BASELINE DRIVES….yet.

What is the ball handler going to do?

1. The ball handler can finish with a layup or a jump shot. The other player rotates. They must practice an aggressive rotation even if they aren’t going to get the ball.
2. The ball handler takes 1 or 2 dribbles and kicks it out to the receiver who has rotated properly. The receiver shoots or attacks the basket. The initial ball handler is now out of the drill or maybe they are a rebounder.
3. Initially predetermine the direction of the penetration. This is important for youth players who are new to the action.  Eventually, though all ball handlers must be given the freedom to choose the direction of the drive.
4. Ball handlers attack off the dribble as opposed to off the catch. The question then becomes when do the receivers rotate.  Once the ball handler enters a scoring area?  After the ball handler crosses the 3 point line?

10 Things that can go wrong

The ball handler…

1. 1. travels on the attack.
   2. gets the ball stolen before they attack.
   3. dribbles with the wrong hand (e.g. going left with their right hand).
   4. dribbles too deep before they kick it out.
   5. stares down their receiver instead of selling the attack.
   6. doesn’t get downhill.
   7. passes with the wrong hand.
   8. makes a bad pass.
   9. pivots incorrectly.
   10. doesn’t actually attack.

Or the receiver…..

1. 1. rotates the wrong way.
   2. doesn’t rotate at all.
   3. reacts late.
   4. isn’t aggressive in their rotation.
   5. isn’t ready to be a receiver.
   6. rotates but ruins spacing
   7. shoots a shot with a foot on the 3 point line.
   8. travels when they try to attack the basket.
   9. remains stationary when the attacker makes a scoring attempt.
   10. takes a bad shot.

There’s a lot that can go wrong in this simple 2 player building block. This also means that there is a lot you can teach out of this simple building block. Granted, a lot of these are basic fundamental skills but they will show up in other places as well. In any case, this is a great chance to teach, reinforce, and emphasize those skills in addition to learning the what happens when a player attacks the basket.

This is just the first block, but it’s such an important one. It is a great tool to drill all the offensive fundamentals associated with this layer as well as the team concept. The inability for players to execute the basic offensive fundamentals that make up this layer will lead to turnovers or bad shots. There are countless drills that can be created from this building block to teach any number of things. However, continuous repetition of this single building block for the purpose of improving offensive execution is ineffective since reactors are able to anticipate the initiator’s action.  This is especially true at higher levels, but even youth teams will eventually need to be challenged more than this basic drill. So let’s add some defense.

B. 2 offensive players 1 defender on the ball 1 action

The only difference between this building block and the previous one is the addition of a defender. However, this one defender changes the dynamic of the drill.

We will have the defender start guarding the attacker. This can be live or not, but the receiver must still react. If the defender is a dummy defender, it is up to the coach to specify what happens.  If the situation is live, the attacker should look to score first, but they must take good shots.  This is a good way to teach shot selection for the attacker. Is the attacked passing up opportunities to score?  Can the attacker when the defender has played good defense?  Do you have players that can score 1 on 1 even if the defense is good?

The receiver must always rotate appropriately, even if they don’t receive a pass. The ball handler must be limited in the number of dribbles and/or space that they have to score. This might as well be called 1 on 1 with an outlet. However, there are a lot of offensive and defensive concepts that can be taught in this building block, not to mention the many different ways that the 1 on 1 situation can be created.  Either way, why have players standing on the baseline watching two people play 1 on 1.  Have them in spots on the court, practicing their reactions. Every repetition helps.

C. 2 offensive players 1 defender off the ball 1 action

Now we will start teaching the ball handler player to read the help-side defense.  Again this drill will depend on your defensive philosophy.

Notice that the diagrams have defensive players on them, but your philosophy will determine how the defensive players move.   Place two offensive players in any two spots that you want. Then have a defender in help position. This defender can be defending a stationary coach or the offensive player without the ball. You can have the ball handler attack in a way that forces this defender to help or you can use this to teach help defenders when not to help and where their rotation will be when someone else helps.

This building block can be used to teach defense in a variety of situations as well as closeouts in these situations.  Are you working on helping one pass away and recover?  Maybe you are working on helping from 2 passes away?  Are you working on not helping and teaching defenders to remain disciplined on their help rotations even when the ball is driven? Remember you’re teaching the offensive side of things at the same time.

D. 2 offensive players 2 defenders 1 action

Next, we’ll add a second defender. Obviously, you’ll have one player with the ball and one player without the ball.  These two

players can be in any two spots on the floor. The drawings show the offensive player going one way with the offensive player reacting appropriately. You can designate that the offensive player go a specific direction or you can let the two players play one on one and let the other three players react to the play.  Again, the drawings do not provide arrows for the off-ball defenders, because this will depend on your defensive philosophy.

Consider the following, one player is guarding the ball. The other player is off the ball, but in a position that they would be required to help the helper.  This situation would require the off-ball defender to read whether the ball handler was getting beat or not. They would have to decide whether to help or not and then closeout to a player who might not be the first player they were defending.

In the heat of competition, or just in every day life being positive matters. Coach Shawn Postiglione of Bridgewater University talks about how and why positivity is such an important part of his life and the culture of his program.

1. Why is it important for you to be positive?
2. How does your culture impact how you recruit?
3. How do you remain positive with officials?
4. What are some things that might be unique for you that you have to really focus on this journey?
5. How do you remain handle those times when players are negative?
6. How do you hold yourself accountable?

Positivity is a choice. Positivity doesn’t mean everything is going to go right.  It doesn’t mean that you’re always going to be happy. Positivity is all about perspective. What just happened? Even if it wasn’t good, can you turn it into a positive and learn from it? A positive outlook helps turn bad situations into learning experiences instead of just bad situations.

Do you surround yourself with people who will help you remain positive? It’s hard keep this perspective on your own, so make sure you have people around you who can help you see the positive side of every situation no matter what happens. Losing is encouraged as long as we learn from it.  Failure is great as long as we see it as an opportunity to improve.  It doesn’t mean we don’t give our best effort.  In fact, it means we try our hardest no matter what the situation is.

Hoops College strives to present things in a very clear concise and organized methodology. As we present topics, each section will begin with a description of the topic. Next, points of emphasis and fundamentals for the players involved in the action will follow the general description. These points of emphasis are the primary teaching points for each layer. The teaching breakdown of each layer follows these points of emphasis including building blocks for creating drills to reinforce the teaching points.

Building Blocks vs. Drills

These building blocks could be used as drills. In contrast, we believe drills should take a number of factors into consideration. Here are some important factors that drills should consider (there are many others):

1. Number of players on the team
2. Skills of players on the team
3. Number coaches on staff
4. Skills of coaches on the team
5. Number of available baskets
6. Time available

We encourage coaches to start with these building blocks and design drills around them for your team and your philosophy. We will provide many examples of drills. However, any compilation of drills is not all-inclusive. There are so many useful variations that will fit one team better than another team. If you understand the building blocks, you can create drills that will fit the needs of your team. However, the building blocks are the keys to building a complete system. They will follow a logical progression in a Whole Part Whole Methodology.

Teaching Defense

If defensive concepts can be taught with a specific section, those concepts will be discussed as part of the description for that section. The specific defensive strategy or philosophy is mutually exclusive from the offense. However, all defensive strategies have certain concepts that must be taught. The building blocks used to teach the offense can be used to teach many defensive concepts as well. However, the drill will need to be changed to make sure defense is the emphasis.

Whole-Part-Whole Methodology

The whole part whole methodology is used for teaching each individual layer. Significant time does not need to be spent on the initial “whole” segment. However, it is important that players see the big picture prior to the breakdown of the layer so that the smaller parts will make sense. Many of the building blocks used to teach the individual layers of the offense can be used to teach other parts of the game as well. They are great foundations for teaching defensive fundamentals, footwork, ball handling, and a long list of other fundamental skills.

Building Blocks as Teaching Tools

The repetition of the layers makes the actions and reactions habitual. If the repetition of fundamentals is the focus, defensive players should be eliminated or be dummy players. If the purpose is to test fundamental skills or to improve on the execution of the offense, the defenders should be live.

The building blocks are great tools for offseason workouts to build the habits of the offense with the focus being on individual fundamental skills. When practices start, the same building blocks will improve the team’s execution of offensive and defensive strategies.

Framework for Methodology

As a general framework for this methodology, introductory building blocks for each layer will include 2 offensive players and 1 action. Initially, these basic building blocks are good for the installation of each layer as well as the teaching and repetition of the fundamentals required to make each layer work.

If the goal is to improve offensive execution, it is important to use drills that incorporate multiple layers and multiple actions as well as live defenders. Once teams can execute the foundational layers effectively, the rest will fall into place fairly easily. However, everything starts with the basics. Skipping steps hurts the development of the individuals and the team.

Coaches must emphasize the layers they want their team to employ beyond the basic layers. As players master one layer, add another one to increase your team’s sophistication. The seamless execution of the combination of layers will take time to master. In addition, unless players can execute individual layers, players cannot execute a combination of layers.

Youth teams may find that the foundational layers are enough for their complete offensive system. Once this foundation becomes a habit, finally add optional layers to increase player’s sophistication and basketball IQ.

Teaching Philosophies

There are a couple of ways to approach teaching the combination of layers. Some coaches advocate the drilling of predetermined combinations of layers. In other words, on this possession, execute the following actions in this order.

The Hoops College methodology advocates giving the players the freedom to combine layers while requiring proper execution of their choices. Predicated actions may provide good ways to teach specific defensive concepts. However, in order to encourage offensive creativity, execution, and basketball IQ for players, players must learn to create offense on their own. Freedom doesn’t necessarily mean total freedom. It doesn’t mean that you as the coach can’t control the action in certain ways.

Control the Action

Here are a few examples. You can probably come up with many others.

1. Limit the actions for the team to a certain group of actions. (Attack Dribble would always be in the mix for me, for the reason that I always want players to have an aggressive mentality).
   1. All players can only Attack Dribble or Dribble At.
   2. All players can only Attack Dribble or Pass to the Post.
2. Give players the freedom to do whatever they want but also require them to include a specific action in the possession.
   1. The team must set at least 3 back screens in this possession
   2. At least 1 guard and 1 post must set a pin screen.
   3. Post up after every pass.
3. A specific action, for example, the third action, in a possession is specified
   1. This possession must start with an Attack Dribble.
   2. The third action must include a Pass & Cut.
4. A certain player must always execute a certain action
   1. Player A must set a screen for every passer.
   2. Player B must Attack Dribble every possession.
5. A certain player can never execute a certain action.
   1. Player C can do anything except Pass & Cut.
   2. Player D can do anything except set a ball screen.

Post vs. Perimeter

To achieve mastery of the offense, all players must be comfortable executing the offense as perimeter and post players. A player’s location on the court, not the position listed in the media guide, determines their label of post or perimeter. To start teaching the offense, eliminate post players. Bigger, less skilled players may not spend significant amounts of time on the perimeter and vice-versa for smaller more skilled players. However, it is inevitable that there will be moments where every player regardless of size or skill set will be in different areas of the court and consequently must be able to react properly.

Post players are players who enter the lane or who are located in the area immediately around the lane. Perimeter players are players who find themselves outside the 3-point line. Skill sets are irrelevant to the label of post or perimeter for offensive purposes. Remember, at any given moment any player could be either a post or perimeter player and as a result must react appropriately. The majority of the structure for the offense is for perimeter players.

The offense only requires that post players react properly to dribble penetration. Coaches have the freedom to add other rules and requirements for post players at the team level or the individual level based on player’s skill sets. Consequently, we will discuss some of the possibilities for these types of rules in a future post.

Winning a national championship is the goal of every college basketball player. Coach Jennifer King led Johnson & Wales to its first national championship in any sport. She shares her perspectives on what it took to reach the pinnacle of success this season.

1. Was winning a national championship something you talked about with the team?
2. What was the best decision you made this season?
3. What was the worst decision you made this season?
4. What was the hardest part about the journey?
5. What made this team different from other successful teams that you’ve been a part of?
6. What were the biggest keys on the court to this season’s success?
7. What were the biggest keys off the court to this season’s success?
8. If you could share one piece of advice to other coaches out there, what would it be?
9. What do look for when you’re recruiting players?
10. What are the biggest things that high school players are missing when they get to college?

Since this Attack Dribble breakdown is the first layer we have covered, we are only able to execute one action at a time for two reasons.

1.  Players don’t know what to do when they pass the ball.

2.  Players don’t know how to react in the post.

This will change when Post Slides and Pass & Cut are added to the mix. In the meantime, we will make a rule for all drills that says when a player passes, they are off the court and out of the drill along with the player who was defending them if applicable. This will allow us to practice multiple Attack Dribble actions when 3 or more people are on the court.

A. 5 offensive perimeter players 0 defenders 1 Attack Dribble

5 out or 3 out 2 in

Locate 5 players at the 5 perimeter spots. The player with the ball attacks the lane with one dribble.  Each player rotates one perimeter spot in the direction of the penetration. Ball handlers should always recognize their natural pitch and their safety from each location. Place the ball in each spot and show the rotations for one attack dribble from each spot.  All penetrations should be shown except for baseline penetration. Baseline penetrations and rotations will be covered in the second sub-layer.

The player #3 in the diagram is the Pitch.

The player #2 in the diagram is the Safety.  

#1 would first look to score, then read the help and pass to the open player.

If 1 passes to the Pitch, they would fill out to the empty spot on the opposite side as 2, 4, and 5 filled the empty spots.

If 1 passes to the Safety player, they would fill out to the corner that 5 didn’t fill. This provides an interesting screening opportunity (we will cover that much later).

Keep in mind that the above diagram shows where players would be if there was only one action. It’s impossible to predict what will happen next, but no matter what happens, your players will know what to do. If #1 shoots, then they will either rebound or play transition defense.  If #1 passes, the receiver might shoot, dribble, or pass. It doesn’t matter what they do, the other 4 players will know what to do. In addition, #1 has options after their pass. We’re not ready to talk about those options yet, but we will soon.  As multiple actions are tied together, players react to these actions making their placement unpredictable.  These strings of back to back unpredictable actions make the offense very difficult to defend.

4 out 1 in

Locate 4 players at 4 of the 6 perimeter spots. The post player should not be included. The player with the ball attacks the lane with one dribble.  Each player rotates one perimeter spot in the direction of the penetration. Ball handlers should always recognize their natural pitch and their safety from each location. Place the ball in each spot and show the rotations for one attack dribble from each spot.  There are a few different combinations of player locations in 4 out. All possible combinations should be shown.  All spots 1 pass away from the ball should always be filled.  All penetrations should be shown except for baseline penetration. Baseline penetrations and rotations will be covered in the second sub-layer.

The player #3 in the diagram is the Pitch.

The player #2 in the below is the Safety.  

Notice in the last drawing that 1 has not filled the other top guard spot.  This fill is optional.  There are advantages to 1 staying on the wing as well as advantages to 1 filling up to 2.  These advantages will be discussed in future posts. The post also has a number of options as well. These will be discussed in the upcoming layers.

3 out 2 in

Locate 3 players at 3 of the 5 perimeter spots. This should look the same as 5 out with two open perimeter spots.  The post players should not be included. The player with the ball attacks the lane with one dribble.  Each player rotates one perimeter spot in the direction of the penetration. Ball handlers should always recognize their natural pitch and their safety from each location. There are a few different combinations of player locations in 3 out 2 in. All possible combinations should be shown.  Always fill spots 1 pass away from the ball. Place the ball in each spot and show the rotations for one attack dribble from each spot.  All penetrations should be shown except for baseline penetration. Baseline penetrations and rotations will be covered in the second sub-layer.

Points of Emphasis (Attack Dribble)

• Drive to Create Offense
  • At the point that player comes in possession of the ball, they should look at the basket.  Their first question that they have to answer is “Do I shoot?”  This is a question of shot selection which will be addressed in another post.  If the answer to that question is “No”, then they should ask, “Should I drive?” We encourage players to attack the basket as much as possible.  However, this attack is to CREATE OFFENSE. They must make a decision during their drive to pass or shoot.  If they draw a help defender, a teammate is open.  They should look to pass to their open teammate. We want our players to use dribble penetration to enter offense, just like they would use the pass. Just the threat of aggressiveness may be enough to open up a teammate. This doesn’t mean we want to score quickly. We just want our team to constantly be aggressive and search for the best shot on every possession.

• Proper Footwork on 1 on 1 Moves
  • A player who has the ball and who has not dribbled must practice proper footwork to learn how to beat their defender without dribbling. Jab steps and shot fakes should be practiced with left and right foot pivots. Players may not always be able to catch the ball with their “favorite” pivot foot.  Being able to attack their defender both ways off of both feet without travelling is important.

• Straight Line Drives
  • Players must learn to attack in straight lines.  Many players try to drive in arcs which means they are driving into help side defenders. This ruins spacing and reduces scoring opportunities. A solid downhill attack will force the help defender to come further off of their player to help and open up more of a passing lane.

• Passing with Proper Hand
  • Once a player has decided to attack the lane, they must always be ready to deliver a good pass to a receiver.  A good pass is made quickly, crisply, and on target to an open teammate.  In order to maximize, effectiveness of the pass, ball handlers must be comfortable making push passes and bounce passes with both hands.  Any receiver to the left of the ball handler should receive a left handed pass. Any receiver to the right of the ball handler should receive a right handed pass. A right handed pass to the left is slower and more likely to be deflected than a properly thrown left handed pass.  Passing with the proper hand is just as important is dribbling with it.

• Awareness of Receivers
  • Attackers must always know where receivers are supposed to be on any drive. They must be looking for receivers in their new spots, not in the ones that they were in before they attacked. This is best developed through repetition of Attack Dribble breakdown drills.

• Trust of Receivers
  • Attackers must also trust that their receivers will get to their spots.  There may be times when attackers may have poor vision of teammates if they are in traffic.  They must be able to trust that their teammate will be in proper position and ready to receive a pass. Proper practice builds that trust.

• Identification of defensive rotations
  • When a player attacks, defenses are going to help and rotate.  Attackers must recognize these rotations quickly to find open teammates.  These rotations may not be that complicated or difficult to recognize.  However, attackers must be able to recognize who helped and if a player is helping the player who helped.

• Stopping footwork
  • One of the more underrated skills in the game for a ball handler is their ability to stop with the ball. Coaches may have different ideas on how they want their players to come to stop if they have yet to pass the ball.  This is important to teach so that players do not travel when they pick up their dribble and so they don’t pick up offensive foulls for being out of control.

Reactor (Receiver)

• Instant Reaction
  • Receivers must react instantly to dribble penetration.  Any delay in their reaction may prevent them from creating enough space away from the defense to be open. This only comes with repetition until the point that the reaction is a habit.

• Aggressive Movement
  • Receivers must also react aggressively.  Along with their instant reaction, they must move as quickly as possible to get separation early from the defender. The more aggressively they approach their spot, the more time they will have to get their feet set and evaluate their next action.

• Proper Footwork
  • The footwork for this action is dependent on the coach and the player.  Some coaches may want players sprinting to the spot.  I advocate an aggressive slide so that the receiver never loses sight of the ball and is ready to change direction quickly if necessary.  This also puts them in a more balanced position when they receive the ball to be able to shoot quickly.

• Proper Placement for Attacker
  • We want receivers to get to their spots.  However, it’s more important that they are open.  There may be times where receivers need to stop short of their spot or go past their spot in order for the attacker to be able get them the ball. Usually, if they are in their spot, they are in decent position. Sometimes, they may need to adjust in order to give the ball handler vision of them.

• Knees Bent
  • All receivers must have their knees bent at all times.  This is prior to the attack, during the attack and before they receive the ball.  The only way players will be able to act quickly is if they are ready.  The best shooters are ready to shoot before they receive the ball.  The best drivers are ready to drive before they catch the ball. This starts with being in an athletic stance.

• Hands Ready
  • Receivers must also have ready hands.  Their hands should be out in front of their bodies ready to receive a pass.  This is another small detail that is easily overlooked.  However, it helps players be much more efficient in their movement if their hands are ready to receive the pass.

• Evaluate Defense for the Next Action
  • Receivers must always evaluate the defense to determine their next action.  Will I shoot, drive or make a fake? How can I beat my defender if the ball comes to me? Have they stopped my teammate in such a way that I need to move to be an outlet? This evaluation is constant. It can’t wait until they receive the pass.  

Conflict and competition can be either good or bad.  It’s about your perspective. You’ve probably heard, if you can’t take the heat then get out of the kitchen. Everyone loves being in the kitchen. It smells good.  The stuff that comes out of there tastes good but sometimes it gets hot.  Honestly, if you want good food, you’re probably going to have to have some heat. 

How do you get two pieces of metal to bond together? Heat is the only thing that can really weld two pieces of metal together. You might try to use some glue or something but I don’t think that’s going to work very well.  But weld two pieces of metal together and then try to separate them.  

Many of us avoid conflict. Many of us shy away from competition. How can we help our players learn how to be better people if we’re not willing to address conflict and encourage competition? Right now the biggest competition in many lives is how many followers or likes they can get on social media.  There’s a time and place for that too. But today, everyone gets a trophy.  More than that everyone gets to play. It used to be that you had to be good to play.

Conflict or competition can be good and bad just like anything else.  However, conflict and competition are necessary to success in the kitchen, on the court, and in life.  They are part of the process. They’re a part of how we expose greatness in ourselves and others. If we don’t require conflict and competition, hold ourselves and others accountable for it, and then learn how to handle it, we will be mediocre at best.   

Attack Dribble (North-South Dribble) is the first layer of the Read and React Offense. This layer is broken down into two sub-layers.  The first sublayer, Circle Movement, describes movement on all NON-BASELINE drives.  The second sub-layer covers the adjustment to Circle Movement for any BASELINE penetration. We will discuss each sub-layer in great detail.

There is no saving the best for last here. Players and teams must learn and embrace the value of this layer to run good offense.  Players must refine their thinking that penetration is purely a means of scoring. Instead, dribble penetration must be a seen as part of creating and executing offense.  Everyone knows that passing and screening are part of good offensive strategy. Dribble penetration is a way to create scoring opportunities as well.

Perspective

Players without the ball must also view penetration as an opportunity for them to score as opposed to watching the ball handler. Many times “scorers” are the most aggressive penetrators.  Encourage scorers to score.  However, scorers must learn how they create for their teammates when they attack North and South.  An individual’s ability to score is always valuable to the success of any team. An individual’s ability to create scoring opportunities for others can be just as valuable. It is difficult to create those opportunities if a player can’t score, but they don’t have to be an elite scorer to get their teammates open opportunities.

A player’s ability to create these opportunities and make appropriate decisions will help the team identify and take advantage of defenses that are out of position, which will inevitably lead to easy scoring opportunities for everyone. On the same note, players who do not see themselves as scorers or playmakers may not actively look to attack off the dribble.  Players must learn that it is not required for them to completely beat their defender.  They only need to make the off-ball defenders make a small commitment in order to get their teammate open.

Other Positives

This small bit of aggressiveness can lead to other positive outcomes. Teams will shoot more free throws and create foul trouble for the other team.  Less aggressive players can have more confidence that they can be aggressive. They know they will have available outlets if the defense collapses or they feel uncomfortable trying to score.

The junior college perspective can include the perspective of a four year coach who is recruiting players as well as that of a AAU or high school coach who is trying to get players exposure for other schools.  Junior colleges are a big part of the collegiate athletic business. There is a lot of scholarship money in junior college athletics and there are some very high level players and teams at this level as well. In many cases, junior colleges have a bad reputation. In some cases this is well-deserved, but not in every case.

Coach Ryan Davis of Sheridan College in Wyoming is the head coach of the women’s program at this D1 NJCAA program.  He has experience in men’s and women’s basketball at D1, D2, and the junior college levels.  He shares his thoughts on recruiting, both in bringing athletes into his program as well as helping his athletes move on to the next program.

Circle Movement is the term to describe what players without the ball should do when the ball is driven. Simply it means that when the ball is driven towards the basket all perimeter players must rotate in the same direction that the ball is driven. In other words, they move in a circle in the direction of the drive.

The previous posts discussed the importance of teaching players to be aggressive with the ball. However, it is more than just teaching players to be aggressive. It is just as important to teach the other players what to do when a player attacks off the dribble.

The Rule

If the ball is driven to the right, all perimeter players must rotate one perimeter spot to the right. If the ball is driven to the left, all perimeter players must rotate one perimeter spot to the left.

Diagrams

In the scenario to the left, 1 is driving to the right. Player 2 is the most immediate player in the direction of the drive. We call that player the Natural Pitch player. Player 3 is the player to the immediate left of player 1. When player 3 rotates to the right, he/she will end up behind player 1. We call this player the “safety”.

In the scenario to the right, 1 is driving to the left. Player 3 is the most immediate player in the direction of the drive. We call that player the Natural Pitch player. Player 2 is the player to the immediate right of player 1. When player 3 rotates to the left, he/she will end up behind player 1.

That’s pretty simple right? Trust me that it will take time for players to learn and master the “Circle Movement” concept.

Who is it for?

Circle Movement at this point is only for perimeter players. Posts can be taught to as well even though this is probably more than most teams want to tackle at this point. Remember, post players are considered players in or around the lane area.

Learning Process

Players will struggle in making this a habit. They will know what to do, but they won’t do it all the time. They may go through a series of steps in learning the action.

First, they may start by not moving or going the wrong way without the realization that they didn’t move correctly. Then they will continue to do the same, but they will start catching themselves and try to correct but it will be too late. Next, they will react but it will likely be slow because they won’t want to be wrong.. They may even start to react incorrectly, but then catch themselves and rotate correctly. Finally, they will start reacting correctly on a consistent basis. It takes time and practice, but it will become a habit eventually. Even then, it must be repeated to make the habit an instinct.

Summary

Teach them Circle Movement first so that as time passes by their confidence only grows as they learn other layers. The alternative is to teach other things first and have initial confidence turn into frustration. In these situations, it may be difficult to get that confidence back.

Defense is just as important if not more important than offense. It really does win championships. As much as I believe that we should let players play the game in this style on the offensive end, I believe more strongly that successful teams play good defense.

I believe this style of offense gives coaches the opportunity to build a tough defense. The key word here is OPPORTUNITY. Just like the offense creates scoring opportunities for players, it also creates defensive teaching opportunities for coaches. It is up to us to take advantage.

I will not get off on a tangent debating the pros and cons of different defensive systems. That’s for another time. All I’m saying is that whatever defensive system or style you choose, teaching offense this way makes teaching defense make sense. Teaching players how to play offense layer by layer and then teaching them how to defend layer by layer just fits. Now it’s up to us to hold them accountable and up to them to make it happen.

Make It Important

Good defense isn’t going to just happen; coaches have to make players make it happen. We have to demand it, then teach it, and then demand it some more. The best part about this system is the opportunity to collapse time frames and teach defense using the same drills that are being used to teach the offense. We don’t have to make anything up. We just have to take advantage of the OPPORTUNITY that we’re given.

In teaching the offense, defensive players (dummy and live) can and should be added to drills as the coaches deem necessary. Initially, drills should be done without defense so that players can focus on the skills that make up the layer. The defense should be added in order to make the offensive drills more game like once players become more comfortable with the offensive skills and concepts being taught.

If we stop there, we are trying to win games instead of championships. We are trying to make players look good for a highlight reel instead of building complete players. Some players have highlight reels, and some have rings. We must develop the whole player, not just the offensive player. This style of play makes it possible.

Keep in mind, while we are emphasizing defense, players are continuing to build offensive habits and improve on their offensive skills at the same time with each repetition. The opportunity to teach defense is ours. We must take advantage.

Teaching Defense

The foundational layers provide a framework for teaching basic player-to-player defensive concepts.

1. The player with the ball
2. Receivers depending on ball and player position and movement
3. Dribble penetration
4. Cuts
5. Post Players
6. Rebounding

Rebounding, which may be the most important concept on the list, can be emphasized in every single drill. Teams are going to miss over half their shots. The question is how many chances do they get at a second attempt.

Keeping people out of the lane increases the opportunity that teams will miss shots. Defending the ball and dribble penetration is critical to good defense. Attack Dribble is a great way to teach the first three defensive components in the above list, which are all centered around keeping people out of the lane.

Dribble-At and Pass & Cut allow coaches to teach players how to defend cuts and post players as well as parts of the other concepts. Other layers will provide different ways to teach the same defensive concepts.

What about Screens?

The “advanced” layers provide the opportunity to teach more advanced defensive concepts. Screens are an advanced concept in the offense and should be treated as advanced defensive concepts as well. Players must have a good understanding of on-ball and off-ball defensive concepts related to the foundational layers before they will be able to grasp defending screens.

If players can defend the most basic layers, then they will have a much easier time defending more advanced concepts. Many times, defenses struggle defending screens because of poor positioning or communication. If players are talking on defense, and they are in the right position most of the time, defending screens becomes a lot easier.

As each layer is broken down, the opportunity to teach defense will be discussed. The emphasis for now is offense. So we won’t discuss specific defensive techniques or philosophies. For now, I just urge coaches to teach defense and demand it, even if it means your offense might not be as good. I believe that if you take time to teach defense, your offense will benefit more than if you only teach offense. I know you’re not here to read about defense.

Next, we will cover the first layer “Circle Movement”.

Bob Knight once said that he would like to take his guards to an island with 1,000 basketballs and tell them to dribble until there was no air left in the balls so that when they came back they would be tired of dribbling. That’s not an exact quote, but it’s close; you get the idea. He wanted his players to pass the ball. He understood that useless dribbling kills offensive flow and rhythm. There’s no doubt about it.

However, purposeful dribbling is critical to good offensive execution. Dribbling 1,000 basketball around a deserted island would be pretty useless. So I’m right with him, sort of. I would hope they would come back and want to know how to dribble with a purpose.

Experience has taught many lessons about how to successfully implement this style of basketball. The biggest lesson is the importance of how the teaching is organized.

Teaching players the Attack Dribble layer FIRST is crucial.

I would argue this would apply to any style of basketball, but I must stay on topic. Traditionally, offensive systems, sets or plays use passing as their primary foundation. While good passing is critical to successful offense, the effective use of the dribble and specifically dribble penetration is just as important. I would go so far as to say that it’s more critical.

It may seem counter-intuitive to traditional practice planning to begin installing an offensive system with teaching players to dribble. In my opinion, that’s ok. Some traditions need to be broken. I want to be part of changing how things are done. There are numerous reasons why I think we need to start a new tradition in this case. I will discuss 5 of them.

Reason #1: It’s the hardest thing to learn.

Experience and research show this to be true because most players are never taught to do when a teammate drives. We coach the playmaker about whether or not they made a good decision, but we don’t coach the other 4 people on the court about how they can help make that decision easier. As a result, players without the ball tend to become fans for a moment. They sit on their couch and hope to be able to say they were on the floor when so and so made the highlight reel.

That doesn’t work very well for me. I don’t want the players on the floor to ever just be spectators. A good offense should create scoring opportunities for the 4 players without the ball as much as the player with the ball. It must be instilled early and reinforced often that players who drive should be looking to create scoring opportunities for themselves as well as their teammates. Similarly, players without the ball must be moving in order to provide the attacker passing lanes and create scoring opportunities for themselves. I don’t believe players naturally move when the ball is driven. The person with the ball will almost always receive more defensive attention than the other 4 players without it. Therefore, training the players without the ball to take advantage of this defensive trend will cause defensive breakdowns and lead to numerous scoring opportunities.

I would like to eliminate this reason. I would like for this to be the easiest thing for players to learn because they have been learning it from an early age.

Reason #2: Creates a learning environment from the beginning

While this initial point is true, there are better and more important reasons to start with this layer. Teaching the attack layer first forces players to struggle initially. Yes, I am ok with my team struggling in the beginning because they will be more successful in the end. It sounds so easy; “drive right, rotate right.” Yet they get on the court, and they either stand still or rotate the wrong way. How can something easy be so hard? I don’t know but it is. Teaching them this first, clues them in on day 1 that they must dial in mentally. It also gives us the opportunity to repeat this layer in some way every day.

On the flip side, players pick up Pass & Cut pretty easily. Teaching Pass & Cut first gives players a confidence that the layers are “easy” to learn. Starting with the most difficult layer immediately clues players in that while the Attack Dribble layer may seem simple in words, the execution of it takes practice. Players will be more tuned in and approach the other layers with a higher level of focus because that first layer was tough to learn. They should always practice the execution of the attack dribble layer, but they will prepare to execute the other layers at a higher level.

Reason #3: Starting with an aggressive approach

Teaching Pass & Cut first will lead to the following…

“Oh look at us, coach. Don’t we look good passing the ball around the perimeter and cutting to the basket? We have this offense down. We are ready to play.”

It may look pretty but watch your players. How many of them looked to find the next person to pass to first, instead of looking at the rim? Watch teams who run through their offensive sets 5 on 0. How many of them have their eyes on the rim ready to shoot or attack every catch? It will carry over to games. Players will miss opportunities to attack defense that was out of position for a moment. Now the defense has recovered.

Players should learn to always look at the basket when they get possession of the ball. They should always evaluate their options to score and attack as well as any options that might exist around the basket. Teaching other layers first takes the players’ eyes away from the basket, leading them to miss scoring opportunities.

Is attacking off the dribble as “pretty” as passing? Maybe not. But we’re trying to score, regardless of how pretty it is. Do players attack after every catch? Of course not. Is the defense thinking that they might? It depends on how you’ve taught them. Advantage offense. There’s no doubt we want our players to play together. Teaching players to attack off the dribble first does not necessarily mean they can’t learn to play together. In fact, in addition to teaching them to attack first, we are teaching them how to play as a team at the same time.

Reason #4: It’s really all about defense

Most coaches will agree that the hardest thing to guard is the ball. At the same time, it is the most important thing to defend. If your teams can’t stop the player with the ball, then teaching them how to defend cuts and screens becomes pretty useless. If your team can’t guard the ball, then there’s no need to worry about defending players without the ball. Your defense can make teams pass at least one more time, then they have a chance to keep them from scoring. The closer a player gets to the basket with the ball, the higher the chance that something good happens for the offense.

Teaching players how to attack and what to do when they attack provides a great tool for teaching on-ball defense, closeouts as well as defensive rotations. Regardless of the defensive philosophy, defenses must be able to stop the ball, help, rotate, recover, and closeout. Each of these is critical in forcing teams to make one pass and hopefully one more pass. Teaching Attack Dribble first makes this opportunity possible on day 1. If defense wins championships, teach players to attack off the dribble first so you can teach them to guard the ball early and often.

Once players understand how to defend the ball, they can learn how to defend players without the ball. From cutters to screeners to players who post up, all of these actions come straight out of the Pass & Cut layer. Teaching players how to defend these actions falls right into place. Learn how to stop the ball first so that defending cutters and screens actually matters.

Reason #5: It’s easier to teach cutters all of their options together.

Teaching Pass & Cut early gets players into the habit of filling empty spots. That’s great. It looks pretty right? Here’s the problem. Besides the fact that players with the ball may take their eyes off the rim, once the foundational layers are finally complete, it is hard to get cutters to break the habit of filling and take advantage of their many options as a cutter.

Teaching Pass & Cut right before the Next Best Action (NBA) layers gives coaches the opportunity to tie NBA’s to the end of the Pass & Cut layer instead of having to go back and break learned habits. Cutters can do more than just fill an open spot. Teaching it in this way helps gives equal value to all of these options. Building this habit too early makes players think that filling is more important than posting up or screening because they’ve done it for so long.

Conclusion

Players may take more than a full season to react to dribble penetration correctly most of the time. You can still score even if they don’t react exactly right all the time. Teaching the Attack Dribble first gives coaches the opportunity to constantly reinforce these habits. They can and should move on to other layers before this one is mastered. However, players must know that their coaches want them to be aggressive. Players must take advantage of defensive players who are out of position.

When teammates expect each other to be aggressive, they will be more ready to make themselves open on penetration. Once players understand what to do when teammates attack, they can be taught how to use the dribble in other ways as well as how to pass and what to do when a pass is made. Once these basics have been taught and drilled, a variety of other offensive concepts, from back screens, ball screens, and staggered screens, to dribble handoffs, post play, and weakside screens, are options that the offense provides. How these options are implemented are only as limited as the coaches who are teaching them and the players who are executing them. Regardless, teach the Attack Dribble first.

That’s almost the end of the introduction. Before we get into the layers, I need to explain one more thing. Then we’ll get down to the business of breaking down each layer.

Fundamentals are Required

The offensive system and style of play described here include the individual and team fundamentals of offensive basketball. Fundamental skills and athleticism are the ingredients for success. They are not the icing on the cake. The offense is a means to score points in game situations, but also a way for improving players on both ends of the floor.

The system is simple and complicated at the same time.  However, the system isn’t complicated because of the individual layers. It’s all about the execution of the fundamentals.  The list of fundamentals for offense is quite long.  Defensive fundamentals make this list longer.  As a result, coaches need an organized and detailed plan for the instruction of the skills required to be a good player and to build a good team. The game is simple. The game is not complicated. However, there is an art and a science to teaching the game of basketball well.

Learning Fundamentals

Players and teams who are strong fundamentally will pick up the offensive concepts quickly and will enjoy playing this way.  Players and teams who are not fundamentally strong will probably struggle initially and it may take a while for them to be good at it. Additionally, successful execution of this system requires the team concepts of spacing, floor balance, and movement, along with the individual skills of ball handling, passing, cutting, and footwork. Naturally, successful offense requires all of these things.  The offense allows coaches to teach these fundamentals with every repetition of every drill. Coaches will have to be patient through the team’s struggles. 

Remember, changing habits is tough and can take a long time.  The habits and instincts that constitute the Read and React can take time to learn. Just as every player learns math at a different pace, the same applies to these habits. The only requirements are time and repetition.

Successful offensive teams will execute the offense because they are executing the basics. Regardless of a coach’s defensive philosophy, the Read & React system provides opportunities to teach defensive concepts as well. The lack of predictability in the offense helps prepare defenses for opponent’s offenses. Defending an unpredictable offense in practice makes defending a predictable offense in games easier.

Teaching Fundamentals

Players learn through detailed teaching which reinforces the importance of the basics. Teams will achieve offensive success when they consistently execute offensive fundamentals in conjunction with good movements and positioning.

Coaches don’t have to teach the skills separately from teaching the offense. Teach them together. Every offensive system requires fundamentals. However, many coaches stress the movements and positioning of offense instead. We want to teach fundamentals in everything we do, not just as a few drills that we run at the beginning of practice. When implemented properly, this offense will improve the skills of your players as well as the effectiveness of your team.

I know you’re waiting for some more specific details. However, the fundamentals are more important and so it is important to cover them first.  The next post will start talking about offense.

Promise.

Faith is in a constant battle with fear. In other words, both of them are monsters that we can choose to starve or feed. One is a good monster and one is an evil one. Neither of them will ever go away completely. In addition, they provide us with decisions that we have the opportunity to make every day. Inevitably, our choices will feed each one of those monsters every day.  The more we starve the evil monster, and the more feed the good one, the better we will be. We have to answer these questions every day.  What do we choose?

1. Are we afraid we might get fired?
2. Do we lead our teams fearlessly?
3. Are we afraid of losing?
4. Do we allow them to take chances? 
5. Are we afraid of being rejected? 
6. Do we take chances?
7. Are we afraid of failure? 
8. Are we afraid someone won’t like us? 

There’s nothing wrong with being afraid. The mistake is when we let that fear darken our faith. Fear is that thing that keeps us from taking that step. Faith is the courage to take the step. Fear is the thing that keeps us from taking chances. Faith is the courage to take a chance with the understanding that even failure is an opportunity to learn. Fear is the thing that keeps us from working hard because we might fail. Faith says work hard even if you do fail because failure is great. Fear is the thing that makes us make poor decisions. Faith gives us the courage to make good decisions even if they aren’t easy ones.

We hope that today you operate from a perspective of faith. Furthermore, make more decisions out of faith than out of fear. Finally, share that message with your family, friends, players and strangers. If we help you be a little bit better, and you help someone else be a little bit better, eventually the whole world will be a lot better.

WIthout any scientific research to really back this up, I would wager two different points regarding fundamental skills and athleticism.

1. Most people refer to fundamental skills as passing, dribbling and shooting and maybe screening and defense
2. Most people refer to athleticism how high you can jump, how fast you can run or change direction.

What really makes a basketball player skilled?

What really makes a basketball player athletic?

The fundamental skills are rooted in the basics of athleticism, movement and competition.

True athleticism is the ability explode and stop, jump and land, and control the body while performing skills in game situations.

Hoops College wants to bridge the gap between skill and athleticism.  We want to help players be the great athletes with multidimensional skill sets regardless of their genetics or their backgrounds. We are a resource for coaches and players alike to help you make the most efficient use of your time. While you’re working hard, we want to make sure you’re working smart as well.  If you have ideas you would like to share, let us know.

Each of these perimeter spots is at least 1 step and at most 3 steps behind the college 3-point line. Concurrently, successful execution of all of the layers of the offense requires that players work from these areas.

In order to streamline the implementation of the Read & React Offense, the teaching progression and all drills assume a 5 out configuration initially. Your team may use a 3 out 2 in or 4 out 1 in as its primary set. After players understand the offense from a 5 out configuration, the adjustments to a 4 out 1 in or 3 out 2 in alignment are fairly minor.

Outline of the Layers

1. Dribbling Layers
   1. Attack Dribble
   2. Circle Movement
   3. Baseline Drive
   4. Post Slides Basic
   5. Dribble At
   6. Power Dribble**
   7. Post Slides Advanced (Circle Movement)**
2. Passing Layers
   1. Pass, Cut & Fill
      1. One Pass Away
      2. Read Line
      3. Skip Pass
   2. Post Pass Basic (Laker Cuts)
   3. Zone Adjustment (Hook & Look)*
   4. Post Pass Advanced (Relocate, X-Cut)**
3. Next Best Actions
   1. Posting Up
   2. Back Screens
   3. Multiple Screens**
   4. Corners**
   5. Pin & Skip
4. Post Screening Actions
   1. Ball Screens*
   2. Weak Side Off Ball Screens (Pin Screens)
   3. Ball Side Off Ball Screens*
5. Team Concepts
   1. Transition**
   2. Press Break**
   3. Changing Alignments**

The asterisks (*) in the outline denote “advanced layers.” The double asterisks (**) are high-level layers. Initially, all players must learn the basic dribbling and passing layers. In addition, they must be able to execute them sufficiently before the other layers are taught.

Some of the layers apply only to perimeter players. These are colored in GREEN. Other layers require a combination of post and perimeter player interaction. These are colored in BLUE. Finally, the last group of actions is team concepts that integrate each of the other layers.

Perimeter vs. Post

Perimeter players are players who are on the perimeter when an action occurs, not just “guards.” Post players are players who are in the lane when the action occurs, not just “post players.” Keep in mind, any player could be on the perimeter or in the post at any given time. A player’s role can change from one to the other in a matter of a couple seconds. It is important that all players are able to react from either position.

Players will be taught to react properly from perimeter positions first. Then they will be taught how to react from the post. Foundational layers are layers that are necessary to execute the offense. The action of the ball handler determines what the other players do in the foundational layers. While the action of the ball handler starts the execution of some of the supplemental layers are dictated, players without the ball initiate some of these layers as well. The fundamental layers will be taught in the following order.

1. Attack Dribble
2. Circle Movement
3. Baseline Drive Adjustment
4. Post Slides (Basic)
5. Dribble-At
6. Pass, Cut, & Fill (One Pass Away, Read Line, Skip Pass)
7. Post Pass Basic (Laker Cuts)

From here, the coach decides which of the “Next Best Action” layers to implement next. If the team is going to play with at least 1 post, the coach can introduce any of the post-screening actions.

Do I Need All of Them?

A complete workable offense requires the basic layers. These layers will serve most youth teams. However, mastery of these layers allows for smooth progression to the others.

The team concepts are optional as well. Teams can employ any transition offense to get into movement of the offense in the half court. Teams can start with very basic strategies and get more advanced as the season progresses. Also, the configuration of the offense may change from possession to possession or even within a single possession without the team even realizing it. Regardless of the configuration, players must maintain good spacing. Initially, players should play from the predetermined spots, so the team maintains proper. As players become more accustomed to proper spacing, operating from each of the “spots” is less critical as long as the team keeps proper spacing.

You got the WHOLE. The next post will start to cover the PARTS.

Admittedly, coaching in the Read & React framework is significantly different from coaching from traditional systems. While the change may seem difficult at first, it can liberating and powerful for players and coaches. There are numerous advantages to playing this style of basketball.

1. Emphasis on Offensive Team Fundamentals
   1. Spacing
   2. Player Movement
   3. Ball Movement
   4. Cutting and Screening
   5. Drive and Kick
2. Coaching Advantages
   1. Compression of time frames in practice
   2. Provides framework for developing strengths and weaknesses
   3. Ability to use the same drills to teach offense and defense
3. Player Advantages
   1. Allows players to take advantage of their strengths
   2. Hides players weaknesses
   3. Reduces need for a specific type of player
   4. Reduces what players have to think about
   5. Allows players to make plays
4. Competitive Advantages
   1. Constant movement
   2. Incorporates any offensive concept
   3. Works against any defense
   4. Unpredictable movement

Offensive Qualities

Spacing, ball movement, and player movement are the three most important qualities in any offense. We will talk about this in depth later. Playing in this framework has these three qualities inherently. There is no hoping that your offense has these qualities. If your teams stick to the very basic teaching points that you teach and emphasize every day, they will space the court. They will move the ball, and they will move. In fact, it becomes difficult for them not to play offense without these three most critical qualities in this framework.

Coaching Advantages

As a coach, I always think we need to cover more information. Practice is never long enough. I always feel like we need to spend more time working on something. The problem is that I know that 3 and 4-hour practices are rarely productive. Players can’t be expected to have the mental or physical energy to perform at a high level for that long.

This framework doesn’t change that feeling, but it does allow us to cover more in the time than we could traditionally. Skill development occurs every day and all the time. It becomes part of the same drills that are used to teach offense or defense. Defensive drills are the same drills that we use to teach the offense. The drills don’t have to change. All that we have to change is the emphasis depending on what we’re trying to work on.

The number and types of drills are only limited by our creativity. If one drill gets “boring,” there are plenty more that we can use to teach skills or team concepts. Regardless, every time we do a drill, we are working on some aspect of the offense, even though that may not be the emphasis at that particular time. Habits are methodically being created every day as we repeat the actions over and over again.

Player Advantages

This style of play allows players to use their strengths to be successful. Shooters can find ways to get open shots. Numerous driving opportunities will be created for penetrators. Versatile players can take advantage of mismatches that may occur. Post players can play to their own strengths without having to worry about their weaknesses. Highly skilled players will have more success in this offense. However, even one-dimensional players can find success in the R&R without the coach having to make special accommodations for that player. Less skilled players can also find a role to help their team succeed.

Championship teams aren’t usually comprised solely of role players. This framework doesn’t change the fact that talent matters. However, different kinds of talent can make it work. Teams don’t need to have a specific composition to be successful. They can all have similar skill sets or they can all be different. Simply, each player is able to do what they do well, while the offense will continue to function.

Some people say that my players aren’t smart enough. I believe this offensive doesn’t require “basketball IQ”. Additionally, I believe it helps teach it. Of course, it helps to have a “high IQ”, but I think this allows us to teach “IQ” as well. Although the offense’s name starts with the word “READ”, the reads are simple and the reactions are predicated. If the player passes, they cut to the basket. This is a learnable and drillable habit. If a player attacks the basket to the right, the other players rotate in the same direction. No thought process is involved with this read as long as we teach it.

Again a high IQ player will be able to use that IQ to take better advantage of the opportunities that the offense will create. As players spend more time in the offense, their IQ will grow. When certain actions become a habit, they begin to see other options that the offense gives them. As coaches, we can dictate that certain players do certain things if they don’t do it on their own and if we think it is important for them to do so. We can foster the development of their IQ, but it is not a requirement for the offense to work.

Competitive Advantages

This style of play is very unpredictable. Furthermore, players have significant freedom to make the offense work. Coaches can add rules to the offense as they deem necessary. However, in its purest form, players follow their trained habits until they find a scoring opportunity. Since the offense is always moving, defenses must continue to work to defend it. There are very few breaks for defenses. Especially if the offense is aggressive, one small slip up by the defense will likely lead to an open scoring opportunity.

This helps make drills less predictable as well. Have you ever been in practice and the drills aren’t very game like? How much of that is because when players have the ball, they feel restricted to certain actions? What if players felt more freedom in drills? Your defense will improve because they won’t be able to easily predict what’s about to happen. In addition, you can make every drill game like.

The offense also incorporates any offensive concept that a coach prefers. A well-oiled team would be able to emphasize specific actions for a certain opponent based on their defensive strategies. Additionally, they would be able to employ different concepts as needed without having to draw up a new set of plays. It is only up to the players on the court to convert their opportunities.

This offense is flexible enough to be able to attack any type of defense. As a result, only a couple small adjustments need to be made in order to play against zone defenses. The same concepts and principles work against press, trapping, and junk defenses. Players don’t have to worry about what defense the other team is in. They just have to follow their rules and they will find ways to score. Again, the question is can they convert?

Scouting Reports

So many coaches are worried about being scouted. Please scout us. Can I send you film? The more time you spend worrying about us, the less time you focus on your team. We don’t know exactly what is going to happen from one possession to another. However, I do know that we are going to be spaced, we are going to move the ball, and we’re going to move without the ball. We’re either going to get a shot attempt in the lane, get an open shot from the perimeter, get fouled, or make an aggressive turnover.

Honestly, I don’t know how that’s going to happen on any given possession. Most of all, I don’t really care how it happens. In the end, I am confident that we will find a good scoring opportunity more often than not. This means that if we don’t make our first shot, we’re probably going to be in pretty good offensive rebounding position. The question becomes are we consistently able to put the ball in the basket (and do we defend).

You can tell your team that we play basketball in this way and scout our tendencies. You can play with 5 defenders in the lane pressure us. It doesn’t matter to us. No defense can take away everything. We will take what you give us. If you have better athletes than us, you may win. If we have better athletes, then we’ll probably win anyway. However, if we’re even athletically, our style of play is going to be tough for anyone to play against. Basically, you have to hope that we struggle to put the ball in the basket (and that we don’t play defense ourselves).

Coaches are judged fairly or not by their ability to make adjustments during games.

Sometimes we think we shouldn’t adjust. Is it because our team can’t make the adjustment?  Is it because the other team will take advantage of the adjustment?  Is it because player who would be would benefit most from the adjustment is injured or in foul trouble?

Sometimes we might not be able to adjust. Maybe we haven’t practiced the adjustment. Maybe we don’t have the personnel to adjust the way we would prefer. Maybe we want to be able to talk about it first in a timeout but a using timeout isn’t worth it at that moment in the game.

Sometimes we make an adjustment and it works. Isn’t it great when our team makes us look good?

Sometimes we try to make a change and it doesn’t work. How many times do you call a play and the other team changes defenses? Have you ever tried to adjust and your team just doesn’t execute?

1. 1. When do you adjust?
   2. What adjustments can you make?
   3. What happens when playing hard isn’t enough?
   4. Does your team believe in the adjustments that you make?
   5. Are your adjustments things you prepare for in practice?

We want to help you figure out how you can make better adjustments.

High school coaches are the most important coaches in the game. They have the opportunity to work with players on a regular basis at an age where players can be molded. This development is certainly physical, but it’s also mental. High school coaches who can help players understand what it means to compete, be a good teammate, and excel on and off the court help prepare their athletes for success in the future whether that includes playing basketball or not.

By the time players get to college, many of them have established habits and mindsets that can be tough to break. Sometimes, their high school coach has tried to help the player improve. Sometimes, youth coaches allow players to get away with things because they are afraid what might happen if they hold them accountable. Understanding the perspective of high school coaches can help coaches at all levels be better with their teams. Middle school and AAU coaches can learn what’s important to high school coaches.  The more everyone is on the same page, the better things will be. In addition, college coaches can have a better understanding of what high school coaches have to deal with and how they can better relate to players once they step on campus.

Marcus Dilligard shares his perspective on coaching his team. He talks about dealing with parents, playing defense, and how to make things better.

1. Dealing with parent expectations
2. Man or zone?
3. How do you try to score against zone defense?
4. What is missing in today’s high school game?

Coaches at every level have to interact with parents. This isn’t always a bad thing. Parents are invested in their child’s success. Even college coaches know that the parents can be just as critical to the recruiting process.  How do you interact with parents at your level? What’s your perspective? How can you make them part of the process instead of excluding them and then trying to go back and build relationships when things are already going downhill.

Mission

• Using basketball, we educate to develop and expose greatness.

Hoops College believes that there is greatness in everyone.  However, many people hold themselves back. In addition, there are tons of rumors and bad information that are almost accepted as truth because they have been going around for so long. In some cases, people just need a little help getting the exposure they need. We educate players and coaches so that they can understand what they need to do to accomplish their dreams.

Vision

• Participants will discover who they are and learn strategies for growth.

The first step in developing and exposing greatness is self-awareness. We ask questions that will force players and coaches to examine themselves to understand their strengths and weaknesses.  Then we provide strategies to help our clients grow.

Purpose

• Provide holistic learning platform
• Challenge craft mastery from basic building blocks
• Build global community of networks

Hoops College provides educational resources in all formats that are accessible by anyone, anytime, anywhere. We understand that everyone has gaps and we provide a platform for bridging those gaps. We believe that most gaps are a direct result of a lack of mastery of basic fundamentals. There’s nothing wrong with trying to learn something new and complex.  However, we believe greatness is a result of being great in the most basic things.  Basketball is a global sport. As a result, we use technology make our resources and content available to the world in order to help everyone improve and learn from each other.  We bring the world closer together through this great game.

We are going to make the game better, but we want others to join with us in our mission.  If you like what we’re doing and would like to join with us, email us.

Coaches often use timeouts as opportunities to communicate with their teams, but there are many other opportunities and ways to communicate without calling a timeout. There are at least 50 dead balls in every game.

1. Are you taking full advantage of these dead ball opportunities to communicate with your team?
2. What other opportunities or strategies can you use to help foster communication without calling timeout?
3. Can you make a substitution instead of calling a timeout send a message to one player or the rest of the team?
4. How do you implement your systems and philosophies in practice?
5. How can you foster communication between the players on your team?
6. Is it better for you to tell a player something or have another player give that player the message?
7. Do you talk with your staff and the players who are not in the game?
8. What are you trying to tell your team?
9. Is it timely?
10. Is it digestable in the time that they have?
11. Communicating to the players without the ball or not guarding the ball can be just as effective.

Every timeout is precious.  We have a limited number of timeouts so we must choose to use them wisely. Every coach has their own philosophy about why you call a timeout, but we want to challenge you to think about why you call them. Do you call them for any reason or do you call them for only a couple of reasons?  Does your team understand why you call them? If you’re on the same page with your team and your staff regarding why you use timeouts, they will be better prepared to make the most of them.

1. Set our defense
2. Set our offense
3. Make a substitution
4. Rest, because you don’t want to make a substitution
5. Celebrate success
6. Point out Slippage
7. Change momentum
8. Prevent a turnover
9. Ice a FT shooter
10. Talk to official

Just remember that when you take a timeout, the opposing coach has the opportunity to do these other things as well. Maybe you don’t care what the other coach has the opportunity to do, because you what you want to do is more important.  Are timeouts the only way to accomplish what you want to accomplish at that time? Timeouts are so valuable in every game. Is it possible to find other ways to communicate your message and save your timeouts for when you really need them? Those snap decisions to call a time out just because you’re angry can come back to bite you when you wish you had one at another point in the game.

We all want our teams to have good chemistry. Most coaches want them to become better people off the court as well as on the court.  Coach Garrity at Wofford University discusses a team building program that he uses with his team.

1. Tell us about what you do in the off season to build team chemistry.
2. Where did this come from?  How did it start?
3. What’s the biggest key to implementing things?
4. How much time does it take?
5. How is your staff involved?
6. Do you do anything specific during the season to reinforce what players learned in the off season?

Coach Gayle Coats Fulks of Davidson College talks about gaining buy-in from her new team at a program that had not seen a lot of recent success.

1. Is it important to you that your team “buys-in”?
2. Is it important to your players that they “buy-in”?
3. What does buy-in look like to you or to your players?
4. Are there different levels of what it looks like?
5. When did your team feel like they were bought in?
6. When did you feel like your team bought in this season?
7. Why did they choose to get on board?
8. What were some strategies you used?
9. Was there a time that you thought you might not get what you were looking for?
10. Was there a time that you thought you might lose what you worked hard to achieve?

It won’t happen over night.  It’s a process that takes time, effort, and consistency. Do you have a philosophy that you can buy into yourself?  Are you passionate about it? Are you so passionate about it that every one knows it’s your philosophy without you even having to say it? Can you hold people accountable even when it seems like it’s not working?

Every team will develop their own identity whether you want them to or not.  It is up to coaches to shape and focus those energies appropriately. Coach Mock arrived at UNC Asheville and the program had a culture that she wanted to change.  She discusses how her program evolved into a program that won back to back Big South tournaments and earned back to back NCAA tournament appearances.

1. What was your team’s personality?
2. Why was it that way?
3. What did you want your identity to be?
4. What strategies have you used to “get there”?
5. If you’ve “arrived”, when did that happen? How long did it take?
6. What’s next? Maintain or evolve to something else?

As she discusses, it’s always a process. It always takes attention and effort to make sure your team is what you want them to be. It’s impossible for players to flip a switch.  However, if we’re always focused on what it takes to improve every day, our team will develop the identity that we want them to.

Do you know what is important for you and your team? Have you ever felt like you and your players weren’t on the same page? It seems like your team just doesn’t think what you say or do matters. You’re probably right, but then you have to decide what to do. You could just kick everyone off and start over next year, but let’s examine ourselves first to see what we can do better.

The truth is that everything you say and do matters to them. The problem is if you’re trying to say or do too much, they get confused.  Keep it simple and make it easier on yourself and everyone else.

Decide on your priorities

1. Pick something.
2. It can’t be everything, otherwise it is nothing.
3. It has to be something, otherwise it is everything.
4. Less is more.

Communicate your priorities

1. Words
2. What gets emphasized in practice
3. How you spend your time in practice
4. How you react to success or failure in game situations
5. Who gets to play in games

Ask them what they think you think is important.

Ask them why they think you think it is important.

Here are 8 reasons why you might dread a certain part of practice.  In this episode we discuss some strategies to help you address these situations. Your players probably enjoy your favorite part of practice. Your energy is definitely contagious to them. Maybe you have to fake your energy, or maybe there is a better way for you to execute those parts of practice that are traditionally not very fun for you. If you have a scenario that you’d like some feedback on, let us know.

1. Players think it is pointless
2. It’s at the end
3. It’s at the beginning
4. Intensity always seems to go down
5. It’s too hard for players
6. Players don’t understand it
7. You’re not comfortable with it
8. It’s hard to keep everyone engaged

Practice is our classroom. If we don’t get excited when we get to teach this game, then we probably should find a new profession.  Of course, we can still get excited on game day, but we need to value the process. We need to enjoy our limited opportunities to help our players and teams improve every day. Coach Wierzba talks about his favorite part of practice.

1. What is your favorite part of practice & why?
2. Where does your passion come from?
3. How do you make practice unique?
4. If you could only use one word, what would you say is most important quality of a practice?
5. What is one attribute that stands out that separates a good practice from one that is not?

Hoops College likes to ask and answer questions.  We want to figure out what works, what doesn’t work, and how we can do it better. We will provide a holistic approach to teaching and learning to play the game of basketball individually and collectively.  It is not enough to just have a good culture or just be good at skill development.  It is not enough to just play good offense or defense. The best teams might not be the best at everything but they certainly don’t have glaring weaknesses.  We want to help players, coaches and teams be elite at what they are great at, and improve at the things that might be glaring weaknesses that keep them from reaching their potential.

For example, teams certainly play offense and defense separately, but one inevitably impacts the other.  It’s easier to play good defense when you score.  It’s harder to play good defense if you struggle with turnovers or shot selection. Then of course, there is the transition from one to the other which in many cases leads to a good offensive or defensive possession. We will provide expertise and perspectives from all angles. You don’t have to agree with everything. You don’t have to agree with anything. We just hope we can challenge you to think in a way that will make you better.

The better we teach the game, the better our players will learn it. Extensive experience, research, and conversations have led to the development of the philosophies and practices we will discuss. Hoops College does not claim to have the best way or the only way.  However, we hope our philosophy can help make yours a little better.

We are always learning and will be incorporating new ideas into this ever-changing documentation of coaching and playing the game. However, the foundation of this philosophy comes from the basics of the game. This approach holistic, progressive, and aggressive. It teaches offense and defense from the ground up, in a way that provides players and teams a path to success.

There are a few questions we’re trying to answer. How can we…

1. Better teach the game?

2. Grow our game?

3. Help players quickly adapt to any situation they face?

4. Mold our philosophy to coach more types of players with fewer changes in what we teach?

5. Teach offense and defense at the same time and be great at both?

6. Help players improve the most?

There is no way for one blog post or one podcast will answer questions. For us, this is an ongoing quest for the best ways to do things. Then we want to ask how we can do those things even better. We hope that you will join us. Maybe you never share until that one thing hits you. Maybe you always share because you have lots of ideas. Whatever the case, we want to invite the world to join us in trying to make the best game in the world better.

The Framework’s Framework

We are providing a framework for growth and improvement.  We believe that a strong foundation in fundamentals will lead to success. The more we coach players, watch players be coached, and observe the game in general, the more we learn. The Read & React offense provided the inspiration to start the blog 8 years ago, but there is so much more to consider.  Culture, defense, transition, and individual skills are only a few of the topics we will address. We will cover other offensive systems too. Ask us questions and we will provide some ideas on how you might want to answer them but we don’t know your situation as well as you do. We want to provide a resource that will help coaches and players no matter what their system or philosophy. It’s about more than just Read and React. We want to improve the game. It’s about teaching and playing the game of basketball better.

Blog Beginnings

Since this blog started years ago as a discussion of the Read and React, we will start there. However, I promise we won’t stop there.  This is just a framework to start the conversation. We define the Read and React offense as a layered collection of offensive basketball concepts that give players with the ball the freedom and players without the ball the structure necessary to generate scoring opportunities in an unpredictable yet organized and coordinated manner.

Framework Basics

The layers that make up the Read and React offense provide the opportunity for coaches to implement a variety of different offensive strategies, while continuing to keep everyone on the same page. The first few layers are basic in some way to most any offensive system. The mastery of these basic layers, no matter the philosophy, will provide numerous scoring opportunities for teams at all levels. At the same time, as defenses become more advanced, advanced layers provide the complexity necessary to score against the best defensive schemes.

We want to allow players to utilize their strengths and hide their weaknesses while at the same time providing a cohesive framework for the team to function. However, simplicity does not imply that players will be able to execute it immediately. Offensive execution still requires breakdown and consistent practice. Players can learn to improve every day in team practices or individual workouts. Repetition can occur during offensive or defensive segments.

Whole practices can be designed for any type of player for any type of game plan or philosophy using this framework. When executed properly, fundamental offense will expose poor defensive habits in your team as well as your opponent. Execution of fundamental offense concepts will also expose individual and team weaknesses as well as provide a tool for improving both offensive and defensive skills. It is up to each coach to determine how they spend their time. However, we want to help you answer those questions in a ways that work for you.

Using Fundamentals as a Framework

Many coaches try to tailor their offensive playbook to their team’s strengths. Teaching players to play fundamental offense takes advantages of those strengths and improves those weaknesses. Now coaches can focus more time on devising defensive strategies for their teams.

The breakdown of these defensive strategies fits in with the design of the offense in such a way that allows each layer of offense and defense to be taught in an order and progression that builds a team’s whole system logically. Coaches can be more organized and efficient with limited practice time.

If we teach OFFENSE, as opposed to AN OFFENSE, players can use these fundamental habits in pick-up games anywhere they are. Teams and individuals can always practice team offense even if coaches aren’t around. It gives players structure for pick up games that still lets them “just play”. Also, the concepts are easily transferable from one player to another. Coaches may have to hammer the little details, but at least the players can have a general idea of how to play from each other. Knowing how to play offense is very simple. Executing it takes time and repetition.

Hoops College was once a way to share philosophies on offensive basketball.  Then it evolved into sharing all sorts of thoughts on not only basketball but leadership and just life in general.  Hoops College will still do that, but it is doing more. We know we have a bigger purpose. We are excited about sharing it with you.

Now Hoops College is a resource for players and coaches to get very specific help. Maybe you are great at something and you want to be elite.  Maybe you are not great yet, but you want to be better. Hoops College will provide content and resources in multiple formats to help players and coaches improve. We want everyone to feel like they have the help and resources they need to be successful.

It’s not about us

Hoops College understands that there are multiple right ways to get things done.  However, there are lots of wrong ways too. We want to help guide you down a path that will lead to success, even your path might be different from the next persons.

Hoops College has courses for coaches to help them and their programs improve.

Hoops College has courses for players to help them improve as individuals as well as understand the recruiting process.

We will help you accomplish your dreams by bridging your gaps.  Yes, you have gaps.  We all do.  Together, we will be better. Above all, we want to get better, but we need your help to do that.

We know that there is a lot of information already out there.  Some of it is good and some of it could be better. Hoops College content will be accessible, organized, and thorough. It will make you think differently and challenge you to be better.

Our podcast is live. We’re giving you content daily on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and any other place we can find. We want your thoughts, questions, and interaction.  We want to know what you want to know so that we can provide content that is helpful to you.  We are here for you.  We will be asking you questions.  We want you to answer them.

We are learning too. Be a part of our purpose. Let us be a part of your process. In conclusion, let’s make things better together.

Implementing the Read & React with Your Personnel

1. How are we most likely to score?
2. How do I get my shooters shots?
3. What can I do to make my players most consistent game to game?
4. How do I implement running sets and running the Read & React?

1. Are any layers more important than the other?
2. Does one layer require more emphasis?
3. Is one layer more important to scoring?
4. Does my alignment affect what I teach first?

We mentioned in the last episode teams have a defensive advantage when the ball is out of bounds on the baseline.

1. The inbounder can’t dribble or score. It is about being in good position, defending cuts and screens.
2. The backboard defends part of the court, part of the court is difficult to pass to
3. It is 4 on 5. You have an extra defender because you don’t have to guard the ball.

What are the different ways to take advantage of the extra defender?

1. Ball Pressure.  Impact their vision. Make it hard for them to see open players.
2. Inside the inbounder. Parallel to the side trying to force strong side pass & protect the basket.
3. Outside the inbounder. Take away strong side pass and trust defense at the rim.
4. Double Team the other team’s best player. Make someone else beat you.
5. Help & Tag. Stay or Switch.
6. On ball in a zone.
7. Off ball in a zone.

Why do so many teams lose this advantage?

1. Players don’t know how to defend when the ball is below them.
2. Teams need to spend more time practicing these situations.
3. Teams need competitive ways to practice them.
4. Players don’t know what they are supposed to do.  They just know they aren’t supposed to give up a layup.

In the first episode of the Hoops College Coach’s Podcast, we discuss ways for you to get an offensive advantage on a baseline out of bounds play. Sometimes those one or two possessions in the middle of the game can make a big difference in the outcome. Maybe having a good offensive BLOB strategy can help you steal an easy bucket without having to call a timeout. Yes, some out of bounds plays might be better than others. However, sometimes it’s not about the plays you run, but how you teach them or how you disguise them so that the other team can’t predict what you’re going to do.

1. Making use of the time between when the referee blows his whistle and your player touches the ball
   1. How to get the call
      1. You say one thing but your assistant is calling the play through hand signals.
      2. Can your players call their own play in a huddle? If they call it, they might feel more ownership and actually run it better.
   2. Having more than one “play” in an alignment
      1. This could be about teaching your players to read the defense.
      2. It could just be simply about having multiple calls out of one alignment.
      3. One alignment with multiple looks is better than one look out of multiple alignments.
   3. How to control “getting set”
      1. Players should have a sense of urgency to get where they need to be.
      2. The inbound should step out of bounds when they want to, or they should make the referee tell them to.
   4. How to know when to go
      1. Since we have hustled to our spots, we will go when we want to.
      2. We don’t need to smack the ball.
      3. If everyone is watching the inbound, we can go as soon as the in-bounder has the ball.
2. Helping the players be most successful by keeping it simple
   1. Same plays vs. man and zone
   2. Any moment could be a scoring opportunity
      1. Sometimes you don’t even have to run the play because someone is open already.
      2. Are you running the play or are you reading the play?
   3. Sometimes just getting it in is ok.
      1. Do you players know time and score?
      2. Do you have a better chance scoring out of your half court offense?
   4. Crossing the midline
      1. The ball might not be able to change sides of the court, but your players can.  Defending players with the ball out of bounds is not a natural thing.  When players cross the midline, defenders have more chances to make mistakes.

We would love for you to share how you gain offensive advantages on BLOBs.

The blog was alive and well for over 7 years.  It started as a way for one person to share thoughts about offensive basketball. Then it evolved to provide content about basketball, leadership, and life. Thousands of people all over the world were readers of the content.

When internet criminals brought the blog to its digital knees, all of the advantages of the technology came crashing down. Therefore, the blog disappeared for a few months. However, we have had numerous requests to bring it back. This post is notice to the bad guys that we’re back. Now, the content will be revived

d and refreshed. It will be more diverse and at the same time more specific. The blog will contain content in a variety of forms about all kinds of topics.

Thank you for your patience as Hoops College is been in the dark working to build a resource to improve the game of basketball through improving the individuals that participate in it.

We love the game, but even more, we love having your back. We want to impact your life not only your experience on the court.  Along with the blog, we are now offering courses for coaches and players to help them improve.  Also, we are producing podcasts for coaches and players. Those episodes will be available within the next two weeks.

We would love your questions, feedback, and suggestions. We are excited to work to make the game better one coach and one player at a time.