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Ready for anything: A full-court play with 1 second on the clock
Coaches, especially young ones, often don't spend enough time game planning for specific situations. You need to be ready for anything when you're on the basketball court, which is an important lesson I learned from studying the likes of Morgan Woote...
Statistical Analysis: To Hack Or Not To Hack-A-Shaq
IN MY 31 YEARS of coaching basketball I repeatedly heard the phrase "Never foul the jump shooter." At first glance the statement seems reasonable. If a jump shooter with a 50-percent field-goal percentage takes 10 shots he or she would accumul...
Developing consistency throughout all levels of your program
It's a must for varsity coaches to take an active part in developing players during their early years of competitive play. This gives all players a head start when they reach the high-school level. It's almost impossible to have high school players w...
Reversing the ball makes half-court offenses tough to defend
One of the most dramatic things a coach can do to improve his or her team's half-court offense is to teach and reinforce effective reversal of the ball. Failure to consistently reverse the ball results in "defensive loading." Your offense becomes st...
S.O.S. — Save our sportsmanship
The state of sportsmanship in today's athletic culture is at an all-time low. Headlines regarding embarrassing or unethical behavior and shameful violence have become commonplace. The National Alliance for Youth Sports estimates that 15 percent of pa...
Properly developing player leadership
Vince Lombardi once said, "Leaders are made, not born." In our program, we believe this statement and work hard to put it into action. The most important part of a basketball program is the kids. Peer pressure, whether positive or negative, is a gre...
Promoting your girls basketball program
Getting fans in the stands can be difficult for any basketball program. But getting fans in the stands for your girls basketball program may present even more of a challenge. Patrick E. Auerbach, director of operations of women's basketball at the U...
Preparing to coach an inexperienced, bad team
If you're coaching for very long, at some point you'll probably coach an inexperienced, bad team. One of your greatest challenges as a coach is to turn a losing season into a fun and enjoyable experience for all involved. I faced this situation as a...
More Ways Plus/Minus Ratings Can Help You Evaluate Players Lineups
EDITOR's NOTE: The following article is a continuation of an article that ran in the January 2002 issue of Winning Hoops. For a detailed overview of how to calculate plus/minus ratings check out the January 2002 issue - available now!PLUS/MINUS RATIN...
Stressing post fundamentals in your program
So many factors are critical in having a team that's competitive, game-in and game-out. But perhaps none are more important than being fundamentally strong in the post. This doesn't necessarily mean that you need to have the biggest players in the wo...