A coach needs to understand the strengths and weaknesses of every player who plays for him, and make them understand too.
Only take shots that have over a 50% chance of going in.
Show zone when an opponent comes down the court then after about 10 seconds go to man.
On offense, your players don’t take bad shots. They don’t throw the ball away. They move without the ball. They help each other get open.
A good defensive player can never lose sight of the basketball, because it is the ball that has to be stopped not a particular player.
If the opponents play some form of man-to-man defense, they can determine who will guard our particular players, but I will determine where our guys are going to play.
If it is a pressuring man-to-man, we have got to take the ball to the bucket- catch the ball, face, fake, and drive. Do that, do it well and you’ll be on the foul line.
Kids will be satisfied with what you tolerate.
You are trying to get players to understand that how they play is a hell of a lot more important than whether or not they win.
Winning is a by-product of preparation and work at practice.
Basketball is the ultimate team game, but no game built around a team principle utilizes individual skills more. You do not have to score to be a good basketball player. There is some role for everybody.
We coaches constantly harp on spacing, how important it is to maintain fifteen to eighteen feet spacing among all the players. I think spacing is one of the two keys to utilization of the court in offensive play.
We spent a lot of October practicing four-on-four and five-on-five with out allowing a dribble. There we were truly playing Pass, Cut, and Screen.
The only obligation you have to your players is that they know you are starting the best lineup you have.
Understand, Listen, and Learn!
We don’t have to have the best talent to win.
Reasons why a team loses—sloppy ball-handling, poor defensive effort, lack of blockout, poor shot selection.
I’ve never expected anyone, including players, to agree with all that I do. But to the absolute best of my ability, I’ve tried to provide them with a work ethic, and ability to excel at crucial times, and a determination to be as good as they could be at whatever they do.
