Teaching your players to be true point guards

Editor's Note: Shaka Smart wrote this article for Winning Hoops in 2002. At the time, Smart was the coordinator of basketball operations for the University of Dayton. Good point guards are hard to find. Sure,... more »

Keys to longevity and stability in your coaching career

Retaining qualified coaches is a constant battle for athletic directors, and turnover has become a regular part of the school year. Each state, division or league has a dean of coaches who has been in... more »

5-out motion offense helps players read the defense

Our high school is small and our team lacks size. As a coaching staff, we felt that we needed to develop an offense that would help overcome this size differential and allow our players to... more »

Take advantage of free professional development courses

Athletic directors and coaches across the country feel overworked, overwhelmed and totally maxed out the majority of the time. This is simply what they face day-to-day and week-to-week with increasing expectations, responsibilities and things to... more »

Eight ideas to help fund coaching education

Even in good economic times, athletic budgets are usually strained and pushed to the limit. Considering all of the necessary safety equipment, team travel and other expenditures associated with operating an athletic department, this is... more »

Three tips for young basketball coaches

This year, at 32 years old, I completed my 10th season of coaching. During that time, I quickly went from coaching junior high basketball to spending two seasons as a head coach at a small school before arriving at... more »

17-seconds drill

This is a great drill to develop trapping abilities and defensive footwork within your team. It also works on transition play and encourages passing the ball while under heavy defensive pressure. DIAGRAM 1: Position players... more »

Team captains must not be normal

We expect captains to hold teammates accountable and unite players at difficult junctures of the season, but that’s not what makes them remarkable leaders — that’s just doing their jobs. To be special, team captains... more »

Effectively using brush screens in your offense

The brush screen is more popular in the college game and has been modified from its original form: the downscreen. With a brush screen, the cutter breaks from a screen that is in motion and... more »

Game scheduling basics for coaches, athletic administrators

What’s so hard about scheduling games? The phone rings and you simply plug in the first, second, and third teams that call. You’re done in a jiffy. If it were only that simple! There are,... more »