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5 ways to combat the preseason grind
From August to November, our basketball team is in the preseason grind. If we’re all honest with ourselves, by the time October rolls around we’re ready for games. One of the coaching challenges I face daily is keeping our team energetic and foc...
How Ryan Odom and UMBC upset No. 1 Virginia
No. 1 seeds carry a 135-1 record in the opening round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Their single loss came earlier this year, when the University of Maryland Baltimore County shocked the top-seeded Virginia Cavaliers, a team that most pu...
Teaching players to attack opponents with both hands
Unless an aspiring young basketball player is lucky enough to be born ambidextrous, a tough learning experience lies ahead. As every coach knows, to be truly successful, a player must be able to cut, pass and dribble equally well to both the right an...
Use technology to take you forward as a basketball coach
The offseason is a time for evaluation and correction. Whether you run a program that just won a championship or one that struggled to win a single game, it’s the one thing all teams have in common before next fall. Where you differ is how you go ...
Creating a summer open-gym regimen that gets results
Offseason open-gym workouts — in which specific skill areas are focused on — have proven critical in preparing our teams for the following season. There was a time when we wanted to play as many summer-time games as possible. A couple of years a...
The 55-minute shooting workout
Teaching the correct fundamentals of shooting can be frustrating at times, but it’s a must for every high school and middle school program. These days, it’s becoming commonplace to see players with a plethora of bad shooting habits. Many of these...
Scouting the opposition
Tips for gathering and dissecting information that matters Scouting is agonizing for some coaches and simple for others, but the process of identifying tendencies of upcoming opponents is a lot easier for everyone if they have a system. Honey Brown,...
Building tenacity in players and teams
As we approach tournament time, the most important time of the year, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. This is by far my favorite time of the year. A time where teams literally separate themselves from the pack. I want to share some...
13 tips to sharpen your daily practice plan
A major part of coaching is the ability to prepare your players and your team. That process takes place on the practice floor. The limited time you have for practice is sacred. It’s the time that you have the most influence on your players’ prog...
Structuring a well-organized plan for practices
After more than 40 years of coaching high school basketball, it has become apparent to me the importance of having an organized practice plan. How a coach sets up his or her practices and how effectively they are run ultimately determines a team’s ...