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May 2, 2017

‘Mouse’ counters help defense, attacks players in foul trouble

by Barry Hecker, former assistant coach, Memphis Grizzlies

Coaches are always thinking of new plays to attack the defensive schemes they encounter during the season. Basketball is a game of adjustments, with one coach or team running a play while the other coach works to take away that play. The other coach ...


April 26, 2017

10 tips for breaking zone defense

by Chris Hackett, Frank Phillips College, Borger, Texas

This article looks at offensive concepts against the zone defense. Rather than provide specific plays or actions to run, I want to look at certain concepts that enable you to tailor your offenses to fit your personnel, your style and the variations o...


September 19, 2016

11 myths about free-throw shooting

College teams average about 68 percent, and professional players are all the way up to a whopping 72 percent. That means that there is only about a 7-percent difference between a highly paid professional and the teenager down the street who plays fo...


July 22, 2016

Managing the final minutes with a lead

Sooner or later, every team faces a single "moment of truth." A close game, a slim lead, a minute on the clock and possession of the ball combine to create a pressure situation that's the difference between winning and losing. You want your team to ...


July 15, 2016

How scripts can help basketball coaches

There are not many things that transfer from the gridiron to the basketball court. But using a script at the start of a game, quarter or half is something used in football that basketball coaches should consider. As basketball coaches, we pride ours...


February 13, 2016

Four point guard rules for attacking zone defense

Point guards need to know the difference between being a passer who hits the open player, and one who creates openings. Anyone can throw a pass to an open player, but the great point guards know how to find and attack openings, especially against a z...


September 20, 2015

Beat those tough zone defenses

The following is a simple, highly productive zone offense with a number of options that consistently result in open shots. The offense makes use of some standard zone-attack principles, such as a dribble-entry and shallow-cut replacement, overloading...


June 2, 2014

Versatile press breaker thwarts zone, man defenses

Our team recently started using a press breaker that's successful against all types of presses — zone and man-to-man. This press breaker not only gets an offense through the press, but it also aggressively attacks the basket and offers numerous sho...


January 13, 2014

The seven ‘S’s of the pick-and-roll

For decades, coaches at every level have regarded the pick-and-roll as arguably the single most efficient offensive tool in their playbooks. Regardless of the offensive set, a well-executed pick-and-roll is effective and can create an array of scorin...


January 13, 2014

Offense or defense: What gives teams the best chance to win?

"Offense sells tickets, defense wins championships." How many times have you seen that line on the back of a summer camp T-shirt? NBA world champion and TNT analyst Kenny Smith is the first person I heard say, "Good offense will always beat good def...