Developing proper form for the mid-range jumper

The mid-range game is a major source of point production — if exploited properly. It's an excellent complement to both the low-post and perimeter player, and it has a substantially higher success rate than shooting... more »

Hurley’s Heroics

Editor's Note: This article appeared in the September/October 2008 issue of Winning Hoops. Read to the end of the article to see the movie trailer for last year's "The Street Stops Here, which opened a... more »

Basketball: Shaka Smart’s three best inbound plays

DIAGRAM 1: Inbound Play 1 (A). From a box set, 5 screens for 4. 4 heads toward the ball-side corner. 5 then receives a backscreen from 2. 5 rolls to the hoop while 3 shifts... more »

Shaka Smart a great hire for VCU

Editor's Note: This article appeared in the September/October 2009 issue of Winning Hoops, shortly after Smart's hire at VCU. In junior high school, he was writing up zone offenses. In high school, he set the... more »

Basketball: Two plays to create mismatches

'Toronto' DIAGRAM 1: 'Toronto' (A). 1 dribbles into the set and receives a screen from 4. 5 pops out. 1 passes to 5. 1 moves to the opposite wing. 2 and 3 pop to the... more »

Basketball: Tom Crean’s full-court play

Coaches, especially young ones, often don’t spend enough time game planning for specific situations. You need to be ready for anything when you are on the basketball court, which is an important lesson I learned... more »

Own the paint: 12 games of 1-on-1 to improve post players

Own the paint. Don't just take up space or clog the lane, but rather, have your players dominate this area of the floor. The better your team is on the interior, the more high-percentage shots... more »

Basketball: Get running off opponent’s missed free throws

In keeping with my coaching theory for controlling tempo and placing constant pressure on opposing defense's, I devised a defensive free-throw alignment that would accomplish this. Our teams have had a lot of success with... more »

Basketball: The 1-2-2 zone defense

Changing your defenses during the course of a game can be very effective. I have found a 1-2-2 zone can be modified on the fly by making calls from the bench. It also can be... more »

Drills for inbounding the basketball

Probably the most rewarding part of coaching basketball is breaking down the game to eliminate mistakes. The most successful coaches have the ability to see the little things that win or lose games. One of... more »