RICK MAJERUS SUMMER PICK UP GUIDELINES

This is certainly a specific set of summer pick-up guidelines from Coach Majerus but you can absolutely see what he is trying to emphasize with his team.  What your points of emphasis in pick up that will help improve your team?

1. Deny every pass; get back-doored every time = Overplay, ear in chest, on & up the line

2. On catch, put your nose on the chest, force dribble, and level him off.

3. Stance = On ball, Denial, Help.

4. Front the Post = At all times when ball is outside of the funnel

5. Foul Shots – All great shooters know their exact FT%; all bad ones preface with “about”

6. Close out to everybody as though they are a great shooter = no jump shots

    Get a nose in their chest;  force baseline

WHAT ARE YOUR SUMMER PICK UP GUIDELINES AND GOALS?

I'm a big believer that what a player and/or team does when the coaching staff is NOT around goes a long way into the success level of said player and/or team.  Discipline is about what you do when no one is around to watch.  Obviously, there is no bigger range that the summer months when on the collegiate level, we have no access to our players in regard to what they are doing on the court.

Keys to a good summer should include:

1. Commitment: The staff can make the gym available but it is up to the player and the team to make use of it.  During our Final Four run at LSU, the players would drive us crazy to open the gym for them.  Seimone Augustus would play 2 hours of pick up with the Lady Tigers and then drive across town and play pick up with a boys high school team.  Several of our players would head to the rec center to play with men after pick up.

2. Concentration: It is not enough just to walk in a gym and play.  The great players/teams go into each opportunity knowing there are specific things that they need to work on and they must have a high level of focus during pick to improve upon those areas.  Habits can be developed and improved upon in the summer --good ones and the bad ones -- based on the commitment and concentration of the player(s).

3. Effort: The average player goes through the motions in pick up and in their summer workouts.  They will give a little effort at times but nothing consistent.  And that is largely why they are "average" players.

While we can't be there with them, there are ways for us to enhance the off-season process for the players.  The first thing is to meet with the players individually and the team as a whole and talk to them specifically about the areas that need to be worked upon in the off-season. 

My suggestions would be to give each player something they do well and encourage them to continue to improve in that area.  John Maxwell talks often about how the great ones know what their strengths are and work hard so that it remains a strength.

Obviously you should also give them a couple of weaknesses to improve upon.  With some players, you might be able to list 7 or 8 things -- don't.  Less is more.  Pinpoint a couple and challenge them to come back in the fall better in those areas.

Be specific in how they need to go about improvement.  It is not enough to tell a player to work on her dribbling with her weak hand in the off-season.  Give her some specific drills that she needs to do during the summer and how often you think she needs to do them to gain improvement.  We had one player at LSU that was a very good player but had a poor left-hand.  We gave her a list of drills to work on her game.  But we also told her she was not allowed to use her right hand in pick up -- and we told her team this as well.  We wanted everything she did (other than shoot) to be off of her left hand.  Don't expect to tell a player to work on something and not tell her how. 

Finally, you should be specific in what you expect to see in them when workouts in the fall start. Paint a picture of what you want to see and share that vision with them.  Part of this process should be follow up. 

"How's the work on your left hand coming?"

"Are seeing and feeling any improvement?"

The other thing we did at LSU and now at Texas A&M was to create guidelines for playing pick up.  These not only applied in the summer but anytime during the fall and spring when we were out of season and playing pick up.  Obviously they need to specific to your philosophy and how you play the game.  These were typed on a sheet and placed in their notebooks and we went over them with the team in detail early in the fall and right before summer.

 Here is what our guidelines at Texas A&M are for pick up games

1. ALWAYS PLAY MAN TO MAN DEFENSE
Good pressure on the basketball (even if you get beat on the drive)
Get a hand up on every shot
Make contact, blockout, and finish the possession
Get in the passing lanes
No switching

2. RUN OUR OFFENSIVE SETS
Spacing: High and Wide
Minimize your dribble usage
Take good shots
Set good screens to get your teammates open
No ball screens
No plays or entries

(This is also a great opportunity for your veteran players to teach your new players a few of your offensive sets)

3. START WITH HALF COURT GAMES
Even if you have enough for 5/5, start with a couple of half court games
Will help us to develop our man defense and offense principles

4. UTILIZE CONVERSION
After half court games, finish up with full court games

5. GET BACK ON DEFENSE
Even 4/4 games can be played full court

6. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY
3/3, 2/2, 1/1
Play, play, play

7. BE A GOOD TEAMMATE
Encourage teammates
Upperclassmen teach our freshman how we play
Help freshman to understand offensive/defensive principles

8. PLAY HARD
Is there any other way?!

A few weeks ago I attended a Coaching Roundtable in Arlington, Texas with some very bright coaches from the collegiate and professional ranks.  One of the topics that was brought up was maximizing summer pick up.  Here are some of the things I took way from that discussion.

1. LET PLAYERS PICK THE TEAMS

Gives them a chance to know where they stand with their teammates.  Makes captains give thought as to who they think can help them win.

2. PLAY SHORT GAMES

Play to 7 or 8 points.  This creates a greater sense of urgency and can cultivate more intensity.

3. VALIDATE THE WIN WITH A FREE THROW

After a team gets to the point total needed to win, a player (selected by the losing team) must hit a free throw for the victory to be complete.  Otherwise another game is started at 0-0.

THERE WILL COME A TIME

WHEN WINTER WILL ASK,

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE THIS SUMMER?”

GREAT OFF-SEASON CHECKLIST VIA MITCH COLE AND AGGIE BASKETBALL

Another great email newsletter from Coach Mitch Cole of our men's basketball staff here at Texas A&M!  I've posted a couple before but I strongly encourage anyone that has not signed up to get these monthly emails from Mitch to do so -- everyone is packed with great information.  Email Mitch and request to be on the list and you will regularly get stuff that will help your program.

Here is a sample from the one that was sent out today -- timely because it's about summer improvement:

SUMMER THOUGHTS

More and more, coaches are finding that the summer is when the most improvement can occur for our players and our teams. Every level from High School, to AAU, College, and the Pros, there are limits to what coaches can and cannot do regarding time spent with our athletes. Regardless of the limitations, coaches need to find the best approach within the rules to insure that the players are developing and improving throughout the summer. 

Below are a few Categories with questions/ideas that staffs should consider regarding PROGRAM GROWTH in the summer:

Skill Instruction
Do we have a plan for our players Development this summer?

If we can’t work with them, have we effectively communicated which areas they need to grow in and improve?

Is there a way we can get our older players to initiate time in the gym with the rest of our team?

Recognition, awards and charts can be a good way to provide incentive for improvement in the summer.

 

Strength and Conditioning
Are we measuring improvement from our athletes? Do we have checkpoints every 6-8 weeks? (Recognition for summer improvement could be a way to keep them motivated during the off-season.)

 

Are the methods we are using productive, but still interesting and fresh to avoid burnout?

Do our athletes understand the importance of rest, nutrition and safety in training?

Send them interesting articles on pro athletes and their testimonials on how they achieved greatness through hard work!

 

Open Gym
Is there a regular time for the players to shoot and play pick up games? 

 

Are the pickup games competitive? (Lost are the days when you played in a packed gym of players dying to get on the court, but knowing if you lose, you may sit 3 or 4 games waiting to play again!) Can we create that environment?

Most pickup games hardly resemble a real game. How can we make open gym more game-like? Consider shooting Free Throws for fouls, starting possessions at half court, extra points for put-backs, etc. 

Basketball Camps
Do our camps provide a healthy balance of fundamental skills teaching, shooting competitions, and 3v3 or 5v5 games?

 

Are our older players engaged in camps, willing to participate and impact the younger kids in the area?

Are we working to build our camps and promote the program in the community? 

T-Shirts and gear are natural Billboards for your program. Buy T-Shirts in bulk and provide as many as possible!!!

Academics
Are we aware of the “at-risk" guys in our program that might need to recover classes or get ahead in the summer? Losing a player due to grades can be a program killer!

 

It’s been said that most students fall behind in the summer in Math and Reading. Can we incorporate a plan that might stimulate our players to read, write, or be engaged academically? 

Weekly communication with links to articles, or book suggestions followed up with conversations could be useful.

 

Team Building
Is there a time in the summer to get together as a team and cast a vision for next season? 

 

A short trip to a baseball game, a Team Camp, a mid-summer “Weekend of HOOPS,” a Sand Volleyball game, BBQ? 

Weekly communication with positive messages or articles on TEAMWORK and STRONG RELATIONSHIPS

Are we thinking through how to eliminate distractions to our team’s growth? 

 

Staff Development/Rest
Are we growing in knowledge as a staff each summer? 

Challenge each coach to think through a few new ideas that might help in each of the above categories. Have someone on the staff take different categories like Motivation, Offensive and Defensive Concepts, new and improved Strength and Conditioning ideas, work a different basketball camp, or read a few books on leadership development, etc.

Lastly, is the staff taking time to get away? Sometimes great ideas begin to form when we have removed ourselves from the day to day activities. Recharge the batteries before the fall arrives! 

9 BLOG POSTS TO IMPROVE YOUR OFF-SEASON

Here is a series of blogs that we posted in the past to help coaches maximize the off-season:

John Maxwell on Making the Most of Your Off-Season
Everyone that follows our blog knows how much we admire and respect John Maxwell.  Here are five areas he says for us to work on between seasons.

Rick Majerus Concepts of Summer Pick Up Games
A great set of guidelines for Coach Majerus who was obviously dedicating his team's off-season to pressuring the ball and the passing lanes.  The key question is what guidelines have you gave your team to help develop in the areas that important to you.

Individual Ball Handling Drills from Coach Don Meyer
No better teacher in the game than Coach Meyer.  Here is one of our blog posts that includes a video of some of Coach Meyer's players executing some of his dribbling maneuvers.

The Advantages of Individual Workouts
Here is a short post with some great concepts from another great teacher -- Bill Walsh.

Morgan Wooten: Post Season Evaluations
The ability to take a reflective look back on the season and be able to decide what needs to be adjusted is a key to growth. Here is a good checklist from one of the greats in our business.

Muffet McGraw on Players Expanding their Roles in the Off-Season
Several excellent excerpts from a book written by Coach McGraw on how she motivates players through the off-season with the goal of expanding their roles through work and development.

Aggie Summer Pick Up Guidelines
Here is our list of summer pick up guidelines that we go over and give to our team.

Off-Season Shooting Program
This post has some good guidelines for how to operate a summer shooting program as well as a good video of a shooting drill by J.J. Reddick .

Creative Strength & Conditioning
Good stuff here from the Florida men's basketball program.  Strength and conditioning in the summer is difficult -- it has to be for gains.  But it can be made enjoyable for competitive athletes.  There's a video attached of some of the stuff done at Florida.

BRAD STEVENS OFF-SEASON COMMITMENT

Over the next few weeks, will share some posts on what you can do during the off-season to improve your team.  I'm a big believer that championships are won in the off-season, as must would agree.  But many think this is only conducive to players.  In fact, what coaches do in the off-season is often more important in the improvement or decline of their program.

Thanks to Brooklyn Kohlheim's email newsletter (sign up for it here), we were able to read how important the off-season is even to NBA coaches with an inside look at Brad Stevens and last year's off-season did to support a 15 win improvement and how he is approaching this year's off-season.  The article was written by Adam Himmelsbach for the Boston Globe and you can read it in it's entirety here (Great Read).  But here are some of my take aways:

During an interview with the Globe last week, Stevens detailed how last summer laid the groundwork for the Celtics’ 15-win improvement and playoff appearance this season. Unsurprisingly, it was a thorough plan rooted in research. And as the Celtics enter another critical summer, clues could be gleaned from how Stevens handled the prior one.

“I just kind of think of things I’d like to know, and I embark on a project,” Stevens said. “Sometimes they end up being worthless, and sometimes they help you. But it’s important to analyze, work, and scrutinize. Be critical of yourself, and start there.”

Stevens keeps a pen and notepad next to his bed so he can scribble a new play or idea when it pops up. Most often, though, the concepts come during the long flights that can be both a blessing and a curse during a grueling NBA season.

When looking back at 2013-14, Stevens knew the Celtics had faltered late in close games. In the final five minutes of contests in which the score differential was 5 points or less, the Celtics had a net rating — offensive rating subtracted by defensive rating — of -25.4, 29th in the league. Furthermore, in those situations they were averaging 16.1 turnovers per 100 possessions, the 28th-worst mark in the NBA.

The Celtics had not executed down the stretch and Stevens wanted to know why. So he began analyzing every possession in the last five minutes of every Celtics game that year.

There are generally about 200 total possessions in an NBA game, and the rate typically increases in the last five minutes because of fouls, so Stevens probably analyzed well over 1,500 plays.

“I broke down every possession in the smallest of details,” he said. “It was the most arduous — well, maybe not arduous, because it’s not real work compared to what some people do for a living — but it was the most boring yet helpful thing I probably did last year. It helped me figure out a lot.

“When you’re not in the season, you detach emotionally and you can see what guys are and aren’t doing, what guys struggle with, what you could have done to help them be successful and how you can be better moving forward.”

At the start of this past season, Stevens presented his findings to his players. His message was simple: You’re closer than you might think.

“He put it to us in a way that gave us confidence, that if we do these few plays a little bit better, it could result in making the playoffs,” guard Evan Turner said. “It gave us an idea of how slim the difference is between having a successful season and not, and we realized they were fixable mistakes.”

This season, the Celtics improved their net rating in late-game clutch situations from -25.4 to -7.5, and they lowered their turnover ratio from 16.1 to 12.6.

Stevens’s offseason focus was not solely on his players. He also identified about 35 stars from around the league whose games he admired. Then he assigned groups of them to his staff — also taking five for himself — and asked his assistants to dig in.

“We studied them inside and out,” Stevens said. “What made them great? What were their flaws?”

Shrewsberry, for example, was tasked with analyzing guards Damian Lillard, Kyle Lowry, Tony Parker, and Ty Lawson. He said the project helped identify traits that they could pass on, and it also gave the Celtics a head start on individual scouting heading into the regular season. 

OFF-SEASON THOUGHTS -- DAY #7: CREATIVE STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING

OFF-SEASON THOUGHTS -- DAY #7: During this 10-day period, we are going to load up our blog on thoughts that are relevant to developing or improving your off-season program.  We will delve on off-season topics from player development and drill work to motivation and team building.  It will be our sincere wish that over the next 10 days we can provide you with at least one item or thought that will help you and your program.

A part of summer has to be the improvement of strength and conditioning.  I have been blessed to have coached at some places with some outstanding performance coaches including Jen Jones here at Texas A&M.  What the best do is that they work the student-athletes in a fashion that they can enjoy that work as much as possible.  A big key is coming up with new and fresh ideas.  It is difficult for today's athlete to maintain good energy with  a monotonous, daily, regimented workout -- whether its on the basketball court, in the weight room or out on the track.  Jen is always coming up with great ways to get our strength, speed and explosiveness developed.  It's why I enjoyed this video of Florida's men's basketball team and their Summer Strongman Competition.

OFF-SEASON THOUGHTS -- DAY #7: SHOOTING PROGRAM

OFF-SEASON THOUGHTS -- DAY #7: During this 10-day period, we are going to load up our blog on thoughts that are relevant to developing or improving your off-season program.  We will delve on off-season topics from player development and drill work to motivation and team building.  It will be our sincere wish that over the next 10 days we can provide you with at least one item or thought that will help you and your program.

Below is J.J. Redick going through a series of shots he likes to work on when facing a closeout situation.  He has five that he works from in his shooting workout.  The question is, what shots are your players working on in the off-season.  Don't assume they know what they need to be shooting. 

Thoughts on developing an off-season program should include:

GAME SHOTS: Give your players the shots they need to hit for you as it relates to how you play offensively.  I was impressed that Redick had a routine for attacking closeouts. Have a plan of what is important to your offensive success and work your off-season program around that.

GAME SPEED: You players must know that game shots much be at game speed.  Be quick, but don't hurry.  Using a stop watch or clock can assist in creating a sense of urgency.

TECHNIQUE: Make sure you give them one simple teaching point for the drill that will help them with better execution.  They don't need a huge laundry list to follow -- because they won't.

MEASURE: A method of measuring makes is important.  The ability to chart improvement will help with their motivation.

FORM SHOOTING: While game shots at game speed are important, players should find time for basic form shooting to reinforce the fundamentals of their basic shot.

OFF-SEASON THOUGHTS -- DAY #6: AGGIE PICK UP GUIDELINES

OFF-SEASON THOUGHTS -- DAY #6: During this 10-day period, we are going to load up our blog on thoughts that are relevant to developing or improving your off-season program.  We will delve on off-season topics from player development and drill work to motivation and team building.  It will be our sincere wish that over the next 10 days we can provide you with at least one item or thought that will help you and your program.

From my days at LSU, I have always had a list of guidelines for our team to follow in pick up.  Let's be honest: pick will rarely if not never be a thing of beauty.  There is no atmosphere more conducive to slippage than that of players playing without supervision from a coach.  To me, there are four things needed for successful pick up play. 

#1 A Definition of Good Pick Up Play
As a coach, you must paint a picture of what good pick up will be and what it will achieve.  For us, a good game of pick up has energy and enthusiasm.  It is a group of players that enjoying playing with each other and playing the game of basketball.  It is also a noisy proposition.  Lots of talking and chattering.  Players are talking the game.  They are encouraging each other and holding each other accountable. 

#2 Leadership
Good pick up basketball has leaders that get things going.  It's time to play -- let's get it!  They have a sense of urgency -- here's out teams...Maroon ball...let's go!  They play hard and smart -- they set a visual example.  They encourage and correct their teammates.  They are the eyes, ears and mouth of the coaching staff.

#3 Committed Team
Good pick up basketball has a team that is committed to improving.  They understand that every time they step on the court they will either get better or get worse. Teams that get better during the summer are holding each other accountable for effort and execution in pick up games.

#4 Guidelines
I've always believed that a good set of guidelines can help a great deal.  The team is "navigating" through the summer without you but you can provide a "road map" with some good guidelines.

Here is our list:

ALWAYS PLAY MAN TO MAN DEFENSE
Good pressure on the basketball (even if you get beat on the drive)
Get a hand up on every shot
Make contact, blockout, and finish the possession
Ball Screens: Hard Hedge and Recover
Off Ball Screens: No switching

START WITH HALF COURT GAMES
Even if you have enough for 5/5, start with a couple of half court games
Will help us to develop our man defense and offense principles

UTILIZE CONVERSION
After half court games, finish up with full court games

Progression will always be: Primary, Secondary, Offense
Even 4/4 games can be played full court

Regardless of situation, all 10 players should cross half-court on each possession

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY
3/3, 2/2, 1/1
Play, play, play

COMMUNICATE
No music on during pick up
Talk: Encouraging, Corrective, Instructive 

 BE A GOOD TEAMMATE
Encourage teammates
Upperclassmen teach our freshman how we play
Help freshman to understand offensive/defensive principles

PLAY HARD
Is there any other way?!

THERE WILL COME A TIME

WHEN WINTER WILL ASK,

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE THIS SUMMER?" 

 

OFF-SEASON THOUGHTS -- DAY #5: WHAT IS YOUR EMPHASIS IN OFF-SEASON PICK UP GAMES?

OFF-SEASON THOUGHTS -- DAY #5: During this 10-day period, we are going to load up our blog on thoughts that are relevant to developing or improving your off-season program.  We will delve on off-season topics from player development and drill work to motivation and team building.  It will be our sincere wish that over the next 10 days we can provide you with at least one item or thought that will help you and your program.

A key part of off-season development is pick up games.  Most coaches are great to organize their pick up games by scheduling the gym time for the team.  Maybe even helping establish teams.  However, what can you to maximize the time spent by your team when they are playing without your watchful eye upon them?

A great example below are some guidelines that Rick Majerus shared with us one summer while speaking at Coach Don Meyer's Coaching Academy.  He obviously wanted to stress to his team pressure defense over the summer and these are the defensive guidelines he asked them to follow.  He was also quick to point out that if he his team worked to apply this pressure on defense in pick up games, not only would it improve their defense but force their offense to play against pressure in the summer as well

1. Deny every pass & get back-doored every time = Overplay, ear in chest, on & up the line
2. On catch, put your nose on the chest, force dribble, and level him off.
3. Stance = On ball, Denial, Help.
4. Front the Post = At all times when ball is outside of the funnel
5. Close out to everybody as though they are a great shooter = no jump shots
     a. Get a nose in their chest & force baseline without opening the game

 

What are you going to ask of your team when they are playing this summer?