Preview: The Baylor Bears (#9, West Region) will face the Syracuse Orange (#8, West Region) and their vaunted 2-3 Zone in the first round of NCAA play. In general, #8 versus #9 matchups offer intrigue in NCAA first round play. They feature evenly matched teams who had similar seasons and the winner gets a shot at…
Ball Screen Defense: Analyzing Effective Methods
Experimenting with a new ball screen defense in addition to your primary strategy could have huge benefits for your team. What is your team’s primary method for defending a ball screen? I recently asked that question via Twitter poll. What is your team’s primary method for defending a ball screen? (If vote is “other,” please specify.)…
FastModel Sports x NACBM: The Team Behind The Team
We teamed up with the National Association of Collegiate Basketball Managers (NACBM) for a Final Four celebration. Any basketball coach understands how important it is to have a dedicated managerial staff in order to run a smooth and successful program. At FastModel Sports, we know that many of these young, hard working individuals will be coaches…
Focus Is More Important Than Genius
Counseling Coaches Series: How focused you are on what you do is more important than how much you know. In this day and age, the ability to filter out information is a Coaching Superpower. In the hundreds of hours each year I spend counseling coaches this is a constant battle; especially when they are faced…
Motion Strong Entries And Options
Two “Motion Strong” entries and options from five-out featuring the Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets (35-33, 7th in East) have taken Motion Strong, a long-time staple of the San Antonio Spurs, and opened up the spacing with a five-out alignment from transition. Like the four-out version popularized by the Spurs, the Nets’ version features a staggered screen and different options…
The Throw & Go Handoff
The “Throw & Go” handoff can be an effective two-player action for creating an advantage. Simply put, a throw & go handoff is when a player, typically a guard, passes to another player, typically a big, on the perimeter and chases their pass for a handoff. The guard throws a pass and goes immediately into a handoff…
Spread Ball Screen vs. 2-3 Zone
Using Spread Ball Screen versus 2-3 Zone can provide carryover from your man-to-man offense to your zone offense. Many coaches have a high desire to use the same or similar offenses versus man-to-man and zone defense. By using spread ball screen concepts versus a 2-3 Zone you may accomplish this. This allows your transition offense…
Goal Coaching: Turning Actions into Habits
The third post in our Goal Setting for Coaches series discusses the process of actions evolving into long term habits. In the last couple of weeks, I have been discussing goals. In the post, “Be Goal-Driven,” I started the conversation by discussing the importance of setting achievable, challenging goals. In last week’s post, “Be Action-Oriented,”…
What Do YOU Think?
Counseling Coaches Series: What Do YOU Think? Forming your OWN thoughts about basketball matters. (Note: This blog originally appeared at radiusathletics.com and is reposted with permission.) In the summer of 2015 some coaching friends encouraged me to begin sharing basketball info on social media and in blogs. This information was well-received and thanks to some…
Pack Line Playbook: Post Defense
Three post defense concepts – walling up, choking the post and post traps – from the Pack Line defense. The focal point of post defense within Pack Line principles is to limit deep catches. Pack Line teams want to keep the ball out of the “Post Box” altogether (see diagram below). When the ball does…