Preseason Games Carry Less Significance Than In Years Past September 7, 2016 Issue 153 $5.99 > Spain s men s team rallied How Would You Handle A Kaepernick-Type Protest? Sideline OOB Nets A 3-Pointer Successful Set. 2 Handoffs Set Up Backside Cut Maximize Your Final Seconds Install Efficient OOB Plays To come Back Create A Last-Second, High-Percentage Shot At The Rim
September 7, 2016 Issue 153 $5.99 > SpaIn S men S team rallied Contents Preseason Games Carry Less Significance Preseason Games Carry Less significance Than in years PasT CreaTe a LasT-seCond, high-percentage shot at The rim Basketball Coach Weekly Issue 153 Basketball Coach Weekly 9325 SW Iowa Drive Tualatin, OR 97062 Editor-in-chief Michael Austin michael.austin@basketballcoachweekly.com Illustrations Mike Renwick Pictures Action Images Design Andy Shore Customer Services customerservices@greenstarmedia. net Managing Director Andrew Griffiths How would You Handle a KaepernicK-TYpe protest? Sideline OOB nets A 3-POinter SucceSSful Set. 2 Handoffs set up BacKside cut MaxiMize Your final seconds InStall efficient OOB PlayS to come Back (c) Green Star Media Ltd. All rights reserved. Click here to read the full disclaimer. To subscribe to Basketball Coach Weekly please contact Customer Services at Green Star Media Ltd, Meadow View, Tannery Lane, Bramley, Guildford GU5 0AB, UK. You can contact Customer Services via Skype at basketballcoachweekly or via email at customerservices@greenstarmedia.net I ve been keeping an eye on the NFL preseason. No, I m not actually watching any of it but I need to pay attention to what s happening as it impacts my fantasy draft coming up Monday. As I plunge deeper and deeper into research, there is one common thread through all of it injuries. Injuries as a whole are the main storyline coming out of NFL preseason year after year (unless you count Colin Kaepernick this season see below in Quick Hitter). Basketball is a constant in their lives for the better part of 12 months If you are a football fan, the only thing you want coming out of the preseason is for a healthy team entering Week 1. Unfortunately, most fans are disappointed. The Buffalo Bills lost their first two draft picks. Benjamin Watson is going to miss the season for Baltimore after a torn ACL. Tony Romo (again) has sustained an injury. Cincinnati s big-time tight end Tyler Eifert is expected to miss a quarter or more of the regular season. This got me thinking of our audience how important is it for your team to play preseason scrimmages and games? This isn t like a few decades ago where players put down the basketball in March, maybe picked it up on the QUICK HITTER The recent biggest sports headline (once again) comes from something occurring off the court or field. Colin Kaepernick, quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, has refused to stand for the national anthem prior to games due to his perceived feeling of the United States oppressing black people and people of color, as he explained. playground a bit in summer but didn t start working on their game again until late fall. Nowadays, many players treat basketball as a year-round sport. They are on a travel team (or two). They go to camps. They help run clinics. Basketball is a constant in their lives for the better part of 12 months. By the time regular-season games start in late November or early December, your players are ready to go. And, coaching staffs are much more involved now too. You know who (most likely) is going to start for your team this winter. You ve received reports on how they performed in the summer. You ve checked with players to see how they are progressing on their offseason goals. By the time regular-season games start you are ready to go too. The counter to all of this is that injuries can and will happen at any time. A player can land improperly at practice just as easily as in a game. So where do preseason scrimmages and games fit into the equation in 2016 and beyond? Do you still use preseason games to determine your rotation? Are you simply hoping to emerge from these games without injury? Do the benefits outweigh the potential negatives? Email me at michael.austin@ basketballcoachweekly.com so I have a better sense of how coaches today are handling the preseason and if it s changed in the last 5, 10, 20 or more years. Michael Austin Editor-in-chief In this issue... What s Your Stand On Kaepernick s Refusal To Do So? Of course this issue has elicited strong arguments from both sides, but as a basketball coach, how would you handle a player who makes to make a political statement within the framework of your program? Let s take the Kaepernick story as an example. What is a player refused to stand for the national anthem before your games? What would be your response? Is it a punishable action Is the main goal of preseason games to remain injury-free? Maximize Your Final 3 Seconds Timeouts and efficient out-of-bounds plays are critical when attempting to overcome a last-minute deficit Sideline Set Nets 3 4 An inside double screen with a shooter coming high baits the defense before flaring a screener for a 3-pointer Create A Last-Second 5 Layup When you need 2 points in the closing seconds, create the highest-percentage shot possible 6 2 Handoffs Set Up Backside Cut There are a lot of extra actions used to create defensive confusion, which leads to a perfect backside screen and curl within the guidelines of your program and team rules? Or, would you encourage a player to use his or her status as an athlete to bring attention to what they see as an injustice? I d love to run some of your comments in an upcoming issue. Shoot me an email at michael. austin@basketballcoachweekly.com with your name, school, city, state and comments. www.basketballcoachweekly.com Issue 153 BASKETBALL COACH WEEKLY 2
Spain OOB Plays Spain dropped its first two Olympics games but rallied to win the bronze in Rio Maximize Your Final Seconds Timeout and efficient out-of-bounds plays are critical as you attempt to overcome a deficit in a game s final minute learn from the Spain men s team at the Olympics Last month at the Olympics, the Spain men s national team was expected to compete for a medal. While the United States was the overwhelming favorite, Spain, which had its fair share of NBA athletes on the roster (including Pau Gasol, Ricky Rubio and Nikola Mirotic), figured to give the Americans a run for their money. But after two games in pool play, the Spanish men found themselves without a victory and a pair of stinging losses on their resume. Eventually, they bounced back. After victories over Nigeria, Lithuania and Argentina, Spain battled into the singleelimination portion of the bracket. After a quarterfinal waxing of France, Spain pushed the U.S. to the brink in the semis, eventually falling by six. The group rebounded with a victory albeit a controversial one due to a questionable foul call in the final seconds over Australia in the bronze-medal game. The win against Australia showed how deep Spain could dig, but it was a loss in pool play that showed me how well they are coached. Spain opened the Olympics with a 72-70 loss to Croatia. It s not typically the type of game from which you d think to pull some ideas, especially when Spain did not play all that well. But, the game s closing moments offered a pair of fantastic coaching calls that are pertinent to how you build your late-game strategy, especially if you have timeouts at your disposal. Sure, you can t advance the ball to mid-court after a timeout, but if you get your point guard to speed dribble into the frontcourt, then call one, you have the opportunity to set up a sideline out-of-bounds play. And if you are in need of three points, take a look at what Spain ran in this exact situation against Croatia. Spain actually was down by four with 17 seconds remaining, so a two- or three-pointer would suffice, but Sergio Scariolo opted for a longdistance call. The play used a low double screen to bring a shooter to the perimeter as a decoy, only to have one of the screeners peel off and flare to the opposite wing for an open shot. Down by two with just 1.8 seconds remaining, Scariolo made the perfect play call but the Gasol s shot was blocked. Despite that outcome, I love the actions because it created an open layup that required a huge defensive effort to stop it. Words by: Michael Austin www.basketballcoachweekly.com Issue 153 BASKETBALL COACH WEEKLY 3
Spain OOB Plays Sideline Set Nets 3 An inside double screen with a shooter coming high baits the defense to shift left as one of your screeners flares right for an open 3-point opportunity WHY USE IT Trailing Croatia by four with 17 seconds remaining in the Olympics, Spain s men s team ran this sideline play to create an open 3-pointer on the right wing. The movements are perfect for a high school or youth team looking to increase its number of endgame plays so your opponents don t know what s coming. SET UP Have 2 and 1 stand next to each other in the lane. 3 takes the ball out of bounds. 4 is at the ball-side elbow. 5 is situated near the top. HOW TO PLAY 5 steps low and sets a screen for 1, who comes up through the lane, runs his player off the screen and is free for the inbound pass from 3 [1]. 5 now joins with 4 to set an inside double screen as 2 runs through the middle of it. 2 curls toward the ball on the perimeter and the defense is certain to think the ball is heading in that direction. After helping set the double screen, 4 flares to the right wing as 1 dribbles to that side [2]. 1 passes to 4. 4 catches and shoots as 5 crashes the boards [3]. TECHNIQUE 1 wants to look at 2 as 2 comes through the double screen to sell the idea of the ball being passed to the left wing. Be sure 4 doesn t release from his or her screen too early as it provides an extra moment for the defense to move left before 4 releases with even more room on the right. 22 comes through the double screen with ready hands and looking for the ball to sell the idea of a pass going to the left wing 41 takes a couple dribbles to the right to ensure a clear passing angle to hit 4 in his or her shooting pocket 15 steps down a step or two and picks off 1 s defender this is critical to get the ball into play to your best ball handler 34 holds his or her part of the double screen until 2 has cleared, then flares to the right wing 54 catches and shoots before the defense rotates back this needs to be a quick shot, especially if you are in need of points and battling the clock near the end of the game Player movement Ball movement Dribble Shot www.basketballcoachweekly.com Issue 153 BASKETBALL COACH WEEKLY 4
Spain OOB Plays Create A Last-Second Layup When you just need 2 points in the closing seconds to tie the game, you want actions to get the highest-percentage shot at the hoop when inbounding from the baseline WHY USE IT Now trailing Croatia by two with 1.8 seconds remaining, Spain ran the following actions for a perfect layup opportunity at the buzzer. The shot was blocked but the movements worked beautifully and have a place in your playbook. SET UP 3 has the ball on the baseline. 2 is standing near the hoop. 5 is on the ball-side elbow. 1 is positioned just to 5 s left. 4 is shifted slightly to the left of the top. HOW TO PLAY 1 and 5 step toward 4 to set a double screen. 4 curls hard around the screen and comes toward the ball-side corner. If 4 is a decent shooter, this causes the defensive attention to shift in this direction [1]. After setting the screen, 5 now curls into the lane and runs toward the hoop off a screen from 2 [3]. 3 passes to 5. 5 shoots the quick layup before time expires (and hopefully before the defense shifts back to block it) [3]. TECHNIQUE The defense typically fronts 2 in the lane to start. This means when 2 comes high to screen for 5, 2 s defender is on the wrong side of the lane to provide help back on a cutting 5. If 2 sets a strong screen on 5 s defender, then 5 has a clear path to the hoop. 14 wants to curl hard close to the outside shoulders of the double-screen defenders 1 and 5 must pick off 4 s defender to create the dummy action to the corner 35 makes sure to take the proper angle to use 2 s screen while setting himself up for a good layup opportunity not directly under the hoop or too far wide in the lane 5Catch the pass and go up strong worst case is you want to draw a foul while the best case is to tie the game with a layup 24 runs to the corner with ready hands and calling for the ball, which draws defensive attention away from where they ball eventually will go 42 s defender typically is on the ball side of the court, which means no one is covering the backside when 2 picks off 5 s defender Player movement Ball movement Dribble Shot www.basketballcoachweekly.com Issue 153 BASKETBALL COACH WEEKLY 5
Successful Set 2 Handoffs Set Up Backside Cut There is a lot happening in this set but the extra actions add to the defense s confusion, which eventually leads to a perfect backside screen and curl for a layup WHY USE IT Iona may have lost to Iowa State in the opening round of the men s NCAA Tournament, but it was not due to this fantastic set play the Gaels ran. Yes, there are a lot of movements within it, but if you have a patient team willing to work for the best shot possible, then add this one to your playbook. SET UP 1 has the ball on the right wing near mid-court as 3 is on the opposite side. 5 is at the ballside elbow. 2 is on the ball-side wing with 4 on the weak-side wing closer to the corner. HOW TO PLAY 1 dribbles at 2. 2 steps high and takes a handoff from 1. 4 relocates higher on the weak wing and receives a crosscourt pass from 2. 3 relocates to where 4 originated and receives a pass from 4 [1]. 5 screens for 2. 2 runs backdoor. 5 then screens across for 4 as 4 shifts from left to right wing. 5 pops to the left wing and receives a pass from 3. 5 then passes across to 4. 4 dribbles at 1 [2]. 1 takes a handoff from 4. 1 now dribbles toward the top. As 1 is dribbling, 5 moves across the set again. 1 passes across to 3. 5 sets the backside screen for 4. 4 curls into the lane and receives a leading pass from 3 for a shot at the hoop [3]. TECHNIQUE Make sure 3 knows to lead 4. A bad pass behind 4 and the defense stops this play. 14 needs to come high enough where it s a manageable pass from 2 to 4, while keeping in mind 4 needs to make a pass to 3 as 3 relocates toward the corner 35 sets a bunch of screens in this set, so be sure this player is up to the task of holding his or her ground 54 curls to get into a position to shoot a clean layup and 3 throws a leading pass so 4 doesn t have to adjust his or her curl 22 may be open on the backdoor cut off 5 s screen 3 can make this pass but only if 2 is uncovered 4Here is the key to the play 5 picks off 4 s defender, allowing 4 to curl into the lane Player movement Ball movement Dribble Shot www.basketballcoachweekly.com Issue 153 BASKETBALL COACH WEEKLY 6