BASKETBALL THOUGHTS - JERRY WEST NEWSLETTER # - 006-07 Coaching is difficult. The profession has changed. It's very special for a team to be close. Is there a better feeling than being in a locker room ready to compete? Have "moral fiber" as a coach. Be quick to praise other coaches. A coach gets fired for various reasons. Why don't more general managers get fired? Don't mess with kids that have problems, go to bed at night feeling good as a coach. The character of players and coaches is very important. Make an impression on the court not in the newspaper. Enormous change has occurred in the game of basketball because of the TV exposure. Any comment, criticism will be blown out of proportion. There is a lot of pressure on coaches. A lot of money is being made. The best coaching jobs are at the smaller schools, lower levels of college. Players are there for years and there is more consistency. As a head coach, hire assistant coaches that have the same beliefs and values that you have when taking over a new program. Have conviction as a coach. College coaches take bad NBA jobs a lot of times and can't win. If they are successful in college, they'll be successful in the NBA with the right organization. The Europeans know how to pass the ball ahead. They pass the ball and play off of that. Terrible footwork by a player falls on the teacher. At the early ages of the game, encourage passing. Don't allow an individual to dominate the ball with the dribble. Two big questions I have about an NBA player are, can he dribble drive and can he go full speed with the ball and then stop under control? Don't expect perfection as a coach, keep coaching the players. This game is about will. Boxing is the ultimate game of will. Great teams, players and coaches have great will. This becomes evident in close games. Fatigue makes cowards of everyone. Have a great conditioned team. Some of the best life lessons are learned on the basketball court. I want to encourage you to coach with your personality. Be flexible as a coach, adapt when necessary, but also be demanding. Constantly ask the question, "how do you get better as a coach?" In today's culture, players are taught to be selfish. Xavier University - Men's Basketball - 800 Victory Parkway - Cintas Center - Cincinnati, OH 07 - () 7-7 - (887) WE ARE XU
-ON- FULL COURT DRILL - ISIAH THOMAS. The drill starts at the half court line and utilizes six players in a three on three format. The offense dribble weaves one or two times each. The defense is opening up and getting through defending the weave.. Once the weave action ends, the three offensive players attempt to score without using a dribble. They are working together with screening actions that can lead to an open shot. They are allowed to utilize the entire half court area.. On a make or a miss by the offensive team the defense converts to offense and the offense converts to defense. On the conversion two things take place: A) A coach outlets the ball to the converting offensive team. This coach has a ball and is standing along the baseline. B) This conversion takes place either down the left side or right side of the court. However, the action from this point on takes place in only half (meaning a side) of the full court. No dribbling is still in effect in the entire length of the court, for the converting offense.. As the action takes place now at the opposite end, keep in mind no dribbling took place in transition, the offensive team can utilize any offensive concept to score or they can be required to execute a certain offensive concept before shooting. For example, they have to set a "pin down" screen before shooting. Once a shot or turnover happens and a change of possession occurs, a coach outlets the ball on either the miss, make or turnover. A conversion once again occurs which means "no dribble" is in effect and only a side of the entire full court can be used.. The first team to score three baskets wins. The winning team is Perhaps one of the only disadvantages to having a sold out arena on a regular basis is the inability for us to accommodate entire high school teams. The Cintas Center is sold out for virtually every home game, and in a case where a game is not sold out, only single tickets usually remain. Because of this, we have been given permission to allow all high school teams into upcoming games for free: NOVEMBER : TUSCULUM COLLEGE NOVEMBER 6: NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY Please contact me as soon as possible to make arrangements to attend either game. I will need to obtain a list of the names of the players and coaches that will be coming to the game. Your team will need to report to the will call window at the Cintas Center and will be granted admission via a passlist. Walk up admission will not be allowed. Only a limited number of tickets remain for each game! We look forward to the chance to have you and your team on campus!! CONTACT: Mario Mercurio, mercuriom@xavier.edu Xavier University - Men's Basketball - 800 Victory Parkway - Cintas Center - Cincinnati, OH 07 - () 7-7 - (887) WE ARE XU
PLAY OF THE WEEK - MAN OFFENSE # BREAK SET - DRAG A # Break alignment. passes to. searches across the lane. gets to the right block. B dribble hands off to. gets in position to backscreen for. C backscreens for. sees the lob off of his middle dribble. D If is not open, passes back to. then passes to as "button hooks" in the post. Xavier University - Men's Basketball - 800 Victory Parkway - Cintas Center - Cincinnati, OH 07 - () 7-7 - (887) WE ARE XU
PLAY OF THE WEEK - MAN OFFENSE # BREAK SET - DRAG HOLD A B # Break alignment. passes to. searches across the lane. gets to the right block. dribble hands off to. C D After receiving the hand-off from, dribbles middle and passes back to who is fading. catches the pass and passes to in the post after "button hooked" to get position. Xavier University - Men's Basketball - 800 Victory Parkway - Cintas Center - Cincinnati, OH 07 - () 7-7 - (887) WE ARE XU
"When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct. My dream was to become a pro. " "A winner is someone who recognizes his God- given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals. " "Push yourself again and again. Don't give an inch until the final buzzer sounds." Xavier University - Men's Basketball - 800 Victory Parkway - Cintas Center - Cincinnati, OH 07 - () 7-7 - (887) WE ARE XU