One of the first basketball books I ever read was "Basketball Multiple Offense and Defense" by Dean Smith. It was given to me by Ron Chambers who I assisted at the time at Winfield High School. To this day, it remains one of the best basketball books I have ever read and it still greatly influences many things that we do offensively and defensively at LSU. To follow is Coach Smith describing the two primary types of coaches and how he falls in the middle of the two with his own philosophy:
A coach usually arrives at his own philosophy of offense based upon tempo and style of play, both of which may be effected by the personnel on hand. Some coaches continue to use the same system of play year after year. These coaches are referred to as system-type coaches. The system coach will make adjustments based upon the talent on hand, in order to get maximum efficiency out of the system he uses exclusively.
Other coaches will change their system from year to year, adapting almost exclusively to the talents of the players. These coaches can be termed flexible-type coaches.
Most coaches would probably conclude that their own philosophy rested some where in between system and flexible. In determining my own position, I would consider myself to be very near the center, bearing slightly towards the flexible end of the pole. I would further describe my offensive philosophy as follows:
1. Utilize personnel as effectively as possible.
2. Encourage team play -- achieve results through cooperation and unselfish effort on the part of every player.
3. Look to fast break at every opportunity.
4. Concentrate on the high-percentage shot with good offensive rebounding coverage.
5. Multiple offense: Major emphasis on a free-lance offense, with rules along with some set offenses to make use of personnel.
6. Eliminate element of surprise by having team thoroughly prepared to meet all possible defenses.
7. Vary the offense throughout each game to prevent the defense from preparing too easily, or becoming accustomed to a singular style of play.
