Let’s honor the 2019 WNBA season and its first-class talent by rolling that same energy into your 2019-2020 hoops season. This year, ladies across the league showed us that representation matters. Through unmatched leadership and outstanding gameplay on the court, to using their voice and individuality to raise awareness around the game’s most sensitive topics…
Employee X’s & O’s – Daniel Oakes
The secret is out: we have a thing for X’s and O’s. X’s and O’s are the foundation of our preparation both on the court, and here in our Chicago-based HQ. In your case, your X’s and O’s may be your team – in ours, it’s our employees. In both cases, we arrange our X’s…
Strive To Be A Positive Part Of Your Players’ Memories
How will your athletes look back at playing for you? Being intentional about building positive, impactful relationships is key. *I originally wrote this post over on my site – www.greatresourcesforcoaches.com – this past spring (2019) at the end of my son’s high school basketball career. I thought it would be appropriate message for basketball coaches to consider ahead…
Yes, Zone Offense Works vs Junk Defenses – Here’s How
Several examples of zone offenses that will provide success against junk defenses, such as a Box & 1 or Triangle & 2. When looking at attacking junk defenses, there are a few questions coaches should ask themselves: Do you run normal offense versus junk defenses? Will you use quick hitters, continuities, or special offenses versus junk…
8 Easy Ways to Build Automatics Into Your Offense
Automatics provide numerous offensive benefits, such as maximizing advantages gained and having players on the same page. Offensive automatics (also called triggers) can simultaneously help give your offense more structure, while at the same time allowing freedom to quickly adapt and get into advantageous actions. Automatics/triggers are built in actions within an offense based on a…
Building Your Playbook: Add Sets With Multiple Actions
There is incredible value in running sets with multiple actions, and the options are nearly endless – here’s a few to get you started. For those who read last month’s article on plays with consecutive actions, you may have already begun tweaking your playbook to include a few more of these types of sets. Before you get…
Georgios Bartzokas: The 9 Rules of Switching Defense
The iconic EuroLeague coach won many games with his switching defense strategy. Here’s a breakdown of his rules with FastDraw diagrams. Georgios Bartzokas Profile One of the most successful and charismatic coaches in European basketball, Georgios Bartzokas claimed a EuroLeague championship while being named Coach of the Year in 2013 with Olympiakos. Bartzokas also was a Final Four…
Team-First Culture Begins with Coaches Modeling Behavior
Coaches can’t expect players to exhibit team-first attitudes and behavior if they don’t demonstrate it themselves. As coaches, we are constantly preaching to our teams about the importance of each member of the team having a “team-first” attitude. Our focus is generally on the fact that, while they need to develop their skills to become…
Here’s Why Double Low Alignment is an Effective Zone Offense
Unlock scoring opportunities with double low alignment – placing both post players on the low block with a focus on screening and slipping. Hopefully by now, you’re aware that I’ve been writing about offensive concepts this off season, including zone offense tips and 1-4 sets to score. This post will dive into how to break down odd front zones…
Zone Offense Philosophy + 8 Attacking Principles!
A comprehensive checklist on zone offense to go through before the coming season, including 8 principles of attacking zone defenses. At the time of writing, it is the end of July – meaning basketball season will be here before we know it. As all of us coaches know, summer is the perfect time for professional development. Every year I…