WENDI JONES: HONORING A LIFE WELL LIVED

It was a difficult drive on Wednesday to the northern part of Texas to celebrate the life of Wendi Jones who passed away after a second battle with breast cancer.  As I pulled into Keller United Methodist Church I for some reason parked towards the back and entered on the side.  Walking through the door I found myself on the church basketball court. 

How ironic! It was basketball that first introduced me to Wendi. 

I was a member of Dale Brown’s staff at LSU while Wendi played for the Lady Tigers.  There was a such a great respect for both programs and we supported each other in every way imaginable.  The women would practice from 12:30 until 3:00 PM while we would take the floor at immediately after.  I loved watching Coach Sue Gunter teach and would often head over to the gym well before our practice time to watch the Lady Tigers.  Their teams in that era were excellent.  Three things I remembered about Wendi was that she had an element of toughness, she played extremely hard, and she was a wonderful teammate — always with a great attitude.  These intangibles would served her well through life.

Later when Coach Brown retired, I had the opportunity to join Coach Gunter’s staff and one of my responsibilities was alumni relations.  My conversations with Wendi turned to alumni weekend visits and updates on her life and family.

The next link to my relationship with Wendi came about through breast cancer.  My wife Sherie, was diagnosed in 2007.  We made a decision to be public in our fight and see if we could raise awareness and money.  I think it was because we went public that Wendi’s husband Trent felt comfortable reaching out to me when she was first diagnosed.

Over the course of the next few years there would be various conversations, text messages and communication through Facebook.  I never ended one without thinking what an amazing attitude Wendi possessed.  I rallied our Lady Tiger family around her reaching out to our professional players as well.  Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, Temeka Johnson and others reached out to her and sent her things like their pink WNBA game shoes, head bands and more.

The last time I physically saw Wendi was at an LSU basketball game two years ago — alumni weekend.  I was by then on the staff at Texas A&M but couldn’t wait to see her and for the first time meet her son Ryan.  On that day, I wore a special pink Breast Cancer Awareness tie in her honor while she and Ryan were decked out on purple and gold.  It was a great day.

I was out of town a few weeks ago when Trent let me know that Wendi’s time was near and that she was at peace with everything.  I couldn’t help think how fortunate she had been to have Trent along for this journey.  Unless you have held down the responsibility of caregiver, it’s hard to understand the energy, effort and toll it takes.  Trent was amazing and I have so much respect for him.

It was a beautiful service with teammates Barbara Henderson and Shelly Raines there.  Barbara spoke and told some stories about Wendi that brought out her caring nature and her sense of humor as well.

As I looked around the church, it was at near capacity — a testament within itself.  As Coach Don Meyer would say, “You can tell more about someone at the funeral than you can their wedding.”  Among those in attendance were many junior high and high school students — too many to count.  Wendi was a teacher — it would be shared by her friend Lisa Bradley that was named Teacher-of-the-Year three times though it was already obvious how well she did her job by those students in the pews.

I thought of the quote by Henry Brooks Adam, "A teacher effects eternity, and you can never tell where the influence stops."  Looking at all these young faces I knew that the lessons they learned in Wendi's classrooms were important but the example she lead will be with them forever.

Wendi had also coached and Lisa gave great insight as to why she was a great teacher by saying “Wendi enjoyed practices far more than games.”

The family asked that in lieu of flowers that we “donate to a Breast Cancer charity of your choice.”  Today I will make one to the Kay Yow Fund in Wendi’s name.

I would ask that all of us that knew Wendi do one other thing.  I firmly believe that the best way to honor someone you’ve lost is by the life you live.  Wendi has given us all a great blueprint in her servant leadership example.

Thank you Wendi.  You will be missed but certainly not forgotten.  For as Barbara Henderson reminded us, Sue Gunter taught us the on the court or off the court is it always US.

LEAVING A LEGACY

Excuse me, if you don't mind me drifting from the beaten path this morning, but thought I would take a little different direction on my blog with some commentary about a special group of young ladies -- the 2012 Senior Class of the LSU Lady Tigers.  Last night LaSondra Barrett, Swayze Black, Destini Hughes, Courtney Jones and Taylor Turnbow battled one last time together, as Lady Tigers.  The result was a hard-fought 90-80 loss to #11th ranked Penn State.

You could frame the accomplishments of these five special ladies by looking at their record on the court and come away being impressed.  They posted an overall 82-45 record, averaging over 20 wins a season, playing in the tough SEC along with competing against the nation's best in non-conference play.  They averaged over 9 SEC wins a year.  Their SEC total over 4 years sits at 37 wins, topped only by Tennessee with 52 and Vanderbilt with 38.Without question, LSU's SID Bill Martin could real off a lot of team and individual accomplishments. But those outstanding numbers don't begin to weave the proper story of their achievements. 

I had the privilege of coaching this group for three years at LSU and one of our constant themes throughout the years was "Leaving a Legacy."  It was a concept that started with our Final Four runs through the work of Felicia Hall Allen who came to work with our teams.  She did an amazing job because the players grabbed that concept -- it meant a lot to them in terms of how each group of seniors left the program for the next season.

Boogie, Swayze, Destini, Courtney and Taylor came to LSU in a great time of turmoil.  Our program was climbing out of a scandal and we were looking for talented basketball players and quality people to help rebuild.  We had a new staff and were graduating nine seniors.  We weren't looking for a few recruits -- we were looking for an entire team -- the new future of Lady Tiger Basketball.

They weren't the only five we signed that year -- but they are the ones who stayed and cemented their legacy.

What makes these young ladies special is that they took a chance on LSU...they said that despite the adversity and challenges they "wanted to be Lady Tigers!"  And for that, I -- and a lot of other LSU alumni and fans -- will be forever grateful.

And they hit the ground running!  Their first game wearing the LSU uniform we played nationally ranked Notre Dame with two of them starting and all five playing significant minutes.  Other non-conference games their freshman year included nationally ranked Xavier, Florida State and Nebraska.  And then there was a trip to Connecticut on national television -- a close game until the final minutes before losing by 13.

There was a five-game winning streak to close out the SEC portion of play including a victory over Tennessee.  A first-round NCAA win over Wisconsin-Green Bay was followed by a close loss to eventual Final Four team Louisville.

It was an amazing season for a group of freshman!

But again, that's only part of the story.  They have all gone through personal adversity on and off the court.  They are separately unique individuals.  Boogie is an amazingly competitive person with a great basketball IQ.  Swayze is an amazing athlete but an incredible teammate that might be the most admired among the group.  Courtney has a charming personality and enthusiasm on and off the court that can be contagious.  Destini is a very spiritual person that cares deeply about people (and animals).  Taylor is a unique young lady that cares more about playing defense than being a scorer. A common denominator? They all came from great families -- that makes a difference!

Together you have five outstanding students.  Some graduated early -- the rest will graduate this spring.  No discipline problems. They care about each other.  They have a great appreciation for the alumni whom steps they have followed in.  They were wonderful in community service.  They respected and loved the great fans of LSU.

They are now alums!  When you look to the rafters of the PMAC, this class will not have hung a Final Four banner but I guarantee that the next time it does happen, I hope that someone mentions the role of these five seniors.  They will have been the glue in a tumultuous time.  Just as Katrina Hibbert, Latasha Dorsey, Marie Ferdinand, Elaine Powell, Keia Howell, Cornelia Gayden, and many more never hung a a Final Four banner -- they created a culture of excellence and started the legacy that lead to the Final Fours.

I am very proud of all five -- not just as basketball players -- but as young women!  Your legacy will live forever!

I am also thankful for the current LSU staff who came in and blended them in such a way that they could finish out their careers with a very successful season. 

One of the things that we've always tried to impress with any team we've coached is that down the road you won't recall the scores of games or the total of victories you acquired, but you will remember the life lessons learned and the relationships you developed.  I thought I'd close with a few words from Boogie at last night's post-game press conference:

"I am extremely proud of our team to battle all the adversity that has been sent our way and for pulling through. To me it is a lot bigger than basketball, it is more personal with these girls because of the relationship we have and knowing that everyone's heart is in it. I don't look at my senior season being defined by a Penn State loss, I look at all of the other stuff whether it was us having to battle after Destini's (Hughes) injury or me having to play point guard or all the other personal stuff we had to go through. Those things are what I look at and those are what I will remember as highlights in my future."

-LaSonrda "Boogie" Barrett

OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING AND TRANSITION DEFENSE

Was sharing some thoughts via email with Josh Keys, the assistant coach at the College of Charleston this morning on transition defense.  He wanted to know our philosophy and this is what we shared with him.

the first thing we talk to our team about in terms of transition defense is out offensive responsibilities. Each player on the court has a specific role that she must fill in order for our team to be successful. This is true when we shoot the ball. Once the ball is shot you have one of two responsibilities: crash the offensive boards or sprint back on defense. The worst thing you can do is stand and watch. Here are the guidelines for our team regarding offensive rebounding.


1. IF YOU ARE A 4 OR 5 PLAYER, YOU AUTOMATICALLY GO TO THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
One of the basic advantages of motion offense is that it makes our offensive players “hard to guard.” It should also be noted that because of the movement of the ball and our movement within the offense, we should be equally “hard to blockout.”

2. IF YOU ARE THE POINT GUARD, YOU ARE SPRINTING BACK
It does not matter where you are on the offensive end of the floor — when the ball is shot you are sprinting to half-court and then turning to find the basketball.

3. A PERIMETER PLAYER BELOW THE MOTION LINE IS TO ALWAYS GO TO THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
Any time a perimeter player finds herself below the motion line when the ball is shot, we want her to aggressively attack the glass.

4. A PERIMETER PLAYER ABOVE THE MOTION LINE IS TO SPRINT BACK ON DEFENSE
Any time a perimeter player finds herself above the motion line when the ball is shot, we want her to sprint back defensively.

5. POINT GUARD DRIBBLE PENETRATION EXCEPTION
If the point guard penetrates to the basket, we want the #2 player to start rotating to the top of the key area and if the ball is shot, she is responsible for being the first player back.

6. STRADDLING THE MOTION LINE PRINCIPLE
If you are straddling the motion line, you can go to the glass if you think you have a chance — if not, sprint back. But whatever you do, don’t stand and watch!

I heard a great line last week that as soon as the ball as shot, a coach watching film of his team should be able to hit pause and see the players responsible for offensive rebounding moving towards the glass and the players responsible for getting back moving towards the other end – there should never be a still-shot of a player standing.

In terms of transition defense principles we give our team the following:

#1 Convert mentally...once the defense has secured the ball, know where you have to be and get there.

#2 Don’t try to steal an outlet pass or steal the dribble from the point guard on the outlet pass...get back.

#3 In getting back, we are looking to straight line sprints...you are immediately sprinting back towards the paint...our goal is to have five players sprint back and get at least one foot in the paint before approaching their offensive player.

#4 Low post defense in transition starts at the free throw line...we want to meet all post players at the free throw line and make them cut behind us to get into the low post...this is a great place to pick up a charge on a slow-footed post player.

#5 Allow no shots in the paint in transition and allow no open looks for 3-point shooters.

#6 Once we have stopped the opponent’s break we want to immediately get into our half-court defense (it doesn’t matter if we are in man or zone)...don’t relax!

TRANSITION DEFENSE GOAL: ALLOW OUR OPPONENT NO EASY SHOTS!

CENTRAL CONCEPTS TO LSU LADY TIGER DEFENSE

WE WANT TO TAKE AWAY THE PAINT AT ALL TIMES
◄When the ball gets to the paint it creates easy shot opportunities in the paint
◄When the ball gets to the paint it creates easy perimeter shots (especially 3’s)
◄When the ball gets to the paint it creates help and recover situations
◄When the ball gets to the paint it creates closeout situations
◄When the ball gets to the paint it creates fouling situations
......taking away the paint starts with transition defense
......stance, head, eyes and footwork are critically important
…...team defense — having the ability to help early — is a necessity

WE WANT A HAND ON THE BALL
◄When the ball handler has the ball and has not dribbled…
......we want to have a hand on the ball — constantly mirroring the ball!
◄When the ball handler is dribbling…
......we want the defender to have a hand on the ball as it is dribbled!
◄When the ball handler is attempting to pass…
......we want a hand on the ball as it is passed with the goal of deflecting it!
◄When the ball handler is attempting to shoot…
......we want a hand on the ball to block or alter the shot!

WE WANT TO TAKE AWAY THE OPPONENT’S STRENGTH
◄This will come from scouting and game preparation

WE WANT TO HAVE A COMMUNICATIVE DEFENSE
◄We want to be constantly talking at all times
◄This will increase our concentration and execution

WE WANT TO DO ALL THE ABOVE WITHOUT FOULING
◄Do not give your opponent’s easy scores and free throws are easy scores
◄Don’t bail out bad shots or bad plays
◄Make our opponent’s make plays

WE WANT TO FINISH WITH A BLOCKOUT AND A REBOUND
◄Grabbing the rebound is like picking up your paycheck at the end of the work week.

LISTENING AS A TEAM

"When you explain a point to player X, the other players should listen so that they know about that point as well.  There's a tendency for players to believe that because the coach is talking to someone else, they don't have to listen.  If they're all listening, the coach won't have to repeat the same thing to the guys who weren't involved, and everyone will know what player X is doing on a particular play, and therefore what his options are.  Each player has to have an idea of what everyone of his teammates is doing.  Not only does it save time when you are teaching something, but it enhances the effectiveness of what you are trying to do."

-Pete Caril

We try to make sure are players are constantly listening with the following measures:

1. Eye-to-eye contact with the speaker.

2. When the coach speaks, the gym is silent.

3. Echo yells (team repeating instructions from coach)

4. Consequences for team when a player repeats a mistake caused by not listening.

MAKING THE MOST OF TODAY: THE LADY TIGER'S WIN TODAY WORKBOOK

There have been a handful of books that have had an extreme influence on me and one of those is "Today Matters" by John Maxwell. It has had a profound effect on me in terms of how I view each day as well as how we want our team to view each day. We have t-shirts for our team that they wear the year round that simply says "Win Today." And by "Win" we mean being the absolute best we can be everyday. We have purple bands that they players wear around their wrists in the off-season. One one side is say "The Lady Tiger Way" and on the other side it says "Win Today." We recently presented our team with a booklet we made in the office on winning each day. On each calendar day it has a quote (90% of them come from Maxwell's "Today Matters" book.) And we ask them each day to do one thing above and beyond what is scheduled to make them a little bit better.

If you'd like a PDF copy of the 42-page booklet, simply email me at: rstarke@lsu.edu and ask for the "Win Today Workbook."

Here is John Maxwell talking about how successful people decided on principles for themselves and then work each day based on those principles.

LADY TIGER WAY OF VIDEO

Video is a big part of the teaching environment at LSU. We obviously video our games as well as every practice. We utilize video in scouting opponents and use motivational videos. Here are some various thoughts as to how we do it.

1. We watch video nearly every day.

We may watch before practice. We may watch after practice. At times we have done both. On a long practice, we might watch video in the middle of practice to take a break and learn at the same time.

2. We watch short spurts of video.

We rarely have more than 10-15 minutes of video to show our team. Even when watching video of a game we played the night before, we won't watch more than 20 minutes. Their attention span won't allow them to concentrate long enough for it to be effective. We might watch 10 to 15 minutes of our offense before practice and maybe watch our defensive clips afterwards or the next day.

3. We will ask our players questions during video.

We might stop the clip and ask our players "is everyone positioned properly?" In regard to our motion, we might freeze the video and ask a player "what are your options right now?" Asking them questions gets them involved and keeps them alert.

4. We chapter our video clips.

For instance, we will watch all our transition offensive clips in one segment. Then we will watch our motion offense clips in one segment. We think by "chaptering" we can really concentrate on one phase with our team and increase their retention. We do the same thing with our scouting video.

5. Utilize balance.

After a well played game we will obviously view clips of us executing well. But we will go out of our way to make sure we have clips of areas that fell short of what we wanted to let our team know that we still have room to improve. The same holds true when we play poorly and there are a lot of clips of our mistakes. We still want to make sure they see some good clips.

6. Utilize example video clips.

We have used clips from teams other than our current ones to show our team what we want. We have used video of past teams playing at a high level to show defensive and offensive clips. Several years ago, we put together a clip tape of the men's team at Texas Tech running Triangle Motion to show our players the type of spacing and screening/cutting combinations that we would like for them to use.

TODAY ALWAYS AFFECTS TOMORROW

I thought I'd share an email I sent our team last night --

Lady Tigers:

I just posted a great quote on twitter and it made me think about us. Here’s the quote:

"How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I'm committed to?"— Tony Robbins

It could be paraphrased a variety of ways:

"How am I going to practice today in order to be tomorrow the player I’m committed to be?”

Or…

“How are we going to work today in order to be the team we are committed to be in March.”

Comes back to what? WIN TODAY

LADY TIGERS CHOOSE BOOK FOR THE SEASON

Each year we give our team two books to read. We give them one in the summer and another one when basketball season begins. The summer book taps into something away from sport, usually academics or a self-development area. For example, this summer our book was "Up From Slavery," by Booker T. Washington. Our book this year for the basketball season will be "Talent is Never Enough" by John Maxwell. It is the perfect book for our team that has some talent but must continue to learn that indeed there is a lot of responsibility and hard work that goes with talent in order to achieve your potential.

Duing the season, we will asign our team a section of the book to read and then give them a worksheet to complete. The thought behind the worksheet is to provoke thought and make sure they are understanding the lessons we want them to learn. Maxwell's book, as all of his are, his extremely well organized in the concepts that make them perfect for teaching our team.

Chapter 1 it titled: "Belief Lifts Your Talent" and the first paragraph reads:

The first and greatest obstacle to success for most people is their belief in themsevles. Once people figure out where their sweet spot is (the area where they are most gifted), what often hinders them isn't lack of talent. It's lack of trust in themselves, which is a self-imposed limitation. lack of belief can act as a ceiling on talent. However, when people believe in themselves, they unleash power in themselves and resources around them that almost immediately take them to a higher level. Your potential is a picture of what you can become. Belief helps you see the picture and reach for it.

FLEXIBILITY IN A DEFENSIVE SYSTEM

The anchor of our basketball success has always been good defense. And while our overall system has included full-court pressure and some match-up zone, the most important phase of our defensive philosophy has been our man to man defense. It is the fundamentals of the man to man defense that makes our full court pressure and even our match-up zone successful.

Our philosophy in terms of our man to man defense is very simple: pressure the basketball. In addition to good ball pressure, we also want to make it difficult for our opponent to complete penetrating passes while we also provide good helpside to help defend cuts and drives to the basket. No good defensive system is complete without a means of securing the basketball at the end of the possession — defensive rebounding.

And while our overall defensive philosophy is simple, our means can vary. Often times pressure on the basketball means picking it up at half court and trying to turn the ball handler a couple of times before steering the ball to the side. However, sometimes the best pressure is no pressure. Some players and offensive teams like pressure because it allows them to spread the floor and create driving opportunities.

It is important in our defensive thinking to do a good job of scouting our opponent and deciding what their primary strengths are and then designing a game plan to take them away. Of course it is important to find a weakness in your opponent especially if it is something that you can exploit. But the critical part of scouting is to find what they are best at and work at taking that away.

To do this, you must have flexibility within your system of play. At LSU this goes beyond having a zone and a man to man defense to mix up. Within each of our defenses we have a lot of freedom to adjust depending upon what we want to accomplish on game night. The one common denominator is fundamentals. Regardless of whether we are tightly defending the ball or backing off and giving a player a couple of steps, we must still teach stance and footwork. We still expect the defender to jump to the ball on the pass. The primary base of our defense is still intact.

Having said that, you should know that we place a premium on teaching. We work defensively everyday in practice in both part-method and whole-method form. Even when in the middle of the Southeastern Conference season we will find time to break down our defense in practice. We must constantly teach and hone our fundamental principles before we even think about defending an opponent.

At LSU, this is a special process.

First, there is the constant teaching of fundamentals. As we have mentioned, we will work daily on various parts of our defense in a part-method form. These drills can be specific to an opponent but still fundamental in nature. For instance, if we are playing someone that relies heavily on ball screens in their offense, we might do a 2/2 or 3/3 ball screen drill. We are breaking down that part of our defense, but still giving some specific attention to our next game.

We also provide written scouting reports for each member of our team that is accompanied by a scouting video. We expect each player to read and view their opponent. We will also watch the video as a team to make sure they are seeing the specific areas we need them to see. At LSU, we have a male-scrimmage team that will come to practice and run the opponent’s offense. This has been extremely helpful for us in terms of preparation. On game day we have a “Walk Through” in which we come in five hours before a game and walk through what our opponent will do and what we will counter with defensively.

As you can see, there is a long process for us to prepare defensively. This is important because of the various looks we can give an opponent. It has been successful for us.

JEFF VAN GUNDY DEFENSIVE GOALS

Jeff Van Gundy builds his defense from transition and rebounding. He is also a big believe in Individual Responsibility which is why they don't switch. The following were he team defensive goals while coaching the Knicks

Field Goal Percentage - 42%

Free Throw Attempts = -25

3 Point Field Goal Percentage = 30%

Fast Break Attempts/Conversion Percentage = -12 @+50%

Defensive Rebounding Percentage = +74%

Deflections = +30

Momentum Changing Players (Blocked Shots/Charges) = +8

I thought these were very interesting. I think what's important is that he has measurable goals in areas of importance to his team in regard to his philosophy.

At Texas A&M, our defensive goals this year will be as follows:

Field Goal Percentage = 40%

3 Point Field Goal Percentage = 25%

Deflections = +45

Defensive Rebounding Percentage = +70%

Opponent's Points Per Possession = .65 or less

Opponent's FT Per Possession = .15 or less

Opponent's Turnovers Per Possession = .18 or more

Transition: Open 3's or Lay-Ups = 0

What you chart and what goals you have should be set by based on a variety of factors:

1. Your philosophy...a pressure defensive team should have a higher goal in forcing turnovers than a team that plays a pack style of defense.

2. Your team...the talent level and experience of your players will have something to do with the goals you set.

I once heard Roy Williams of North Carolina say that the most important statistic to him was opponent's field goal percentage and I think there is a lot of merit to that thought. I certainly think it is the most important stat in terms of defensive play.

Once you have set goals for your team, it is important that you share and implement. Your team needs to know the standard that is set and they need to be reminded on a daily basis. As Coach Don Meyer says, "It's not what you teach, it's what you emphasize."

Implement it with your practices. You must drill and teach in such a way that you our system is gears to reach those goals. Chart those goals in practice. If you can't do it daily, at least do it occasionally. Your team needs to see its progress in practice before they can reap the benefits on game day.

A FEW THOUGHTS ON SCREENING

Samford assistant Katherine Katz came by yesterday to spend a day talking basketball. She was specifically interested in screening and scouting. We spend a lot of times talking about screening here are some brief notes:

DOWN SCREEN

Communicate screen with cutter early (both verbally and by pointing)

Set up with a v-cut (make them take away the basket cut first)

Sprint to screen (headhunter mentality)

Proper screening angle (back to the ball)

Proper stance (knees bent, feet shoulder's width, wrists crossed at chest)

Utilize a "1-2 Quickstop" (as opposed to a pure jump stop) *

Hold screen (give cutter time to use it)

Screener must read defenders for slip possibility

Screener must read the cutter (to initiate the proper 2nd cut)

BACK SCREEN

Post up first (be a threat -- be hard to guard)

Communicate screen with cutter early (both verbally and by pointing)

Sprint to screen (headhunter mentality)

Proper screening angle (back to the ball)

Proper stance (knees bent, feed shoulder's width, wrists crossed at chest)

Utilize a "1-2 Quickstop" (as opposed to a pure jump stop) *

Hold screen (give cutter time to use it)

Know your role...some players we want to look to pop, others we want to look to go back and re-screen for the cutter.

RE-SCREEN (FROM BACK SCREEN)

Allow cutter to get the basket (we want cutter to put her "head in the basket")

Communicate screen with cutter (both verbally and by pointing)

Sprint to screen (headhunter mentality)

Proper screening angle (back to the sideline)

Proper stance (knees bent, feet shoulder's width, wrists crossed at chest)

Utilize a "1-2 Quickstop" (as opposed to a pure jump stop) *

Hold screen (give cutter time to use it)

Screener must read defenders to slip possibility

Screener must read cutter (to initiate 2nd cut)

ELBOW SCREEN

Communicate screen with cutter (both verbally and by pointing)

Set up with short v-cut (to help with angle)

Sprint to screen (headhunter mentality)

Screening angle (back to the corner)

Proper stance (knees bent, feet shoulder's width, wrists crossed at chest)

Utilize a "1-2 Quickstop" (as opposed to a pure jump stop) *

Hold screen (give cutter time to use it)

Screener must read defenders (for slip possibility)

Screener must read cutter (to initiate 2nd cut)

* We teach a "1-2 Quickstop" as opposed to a pure jump stop. We started doing this seven years ago while working with our trainer in regard to ACL prevention. We teach our players to land softly, knees bent with 1 foot landing right before the other. We also work with our players in terms of landing with knees bent.

THE FUNDAMENTAL C'S

The word fundamental is a very basic and simple word that means “essential.” With this definition, players often come to think of fundamentals as unimportant, too trivial and even boring…but without it, we cannot reach our potential. Within this framework, we have developed the Fundamental C’s. The secret to the Fundamental C’s is that you only have to work on the first one and the other three will fall into place for you.

The first C, the one you are responsible for is concentration. It involves you blocking everything out of your mind when it comes time to practice. You cannot be thinking about shopping, or heading to the movies, or playing with your friends while you are practicing. You have to dedicate yourself to focusing in on that which you are presently doing. Concentration is one of the most difficult things for a player on even the highest level to obtain and then to maintain.

“Concentrate...for the greatest achievements are reserved for the man of single aim, in whom no rival powers divide the empire of the soul.”
-Orison Swett Marden-

Concentration makes it possible for a good one hour workout with maximum results. Without concentration, you could be out on the court with a basketball for the entire day and not achieve as much.

A great story on concentration is told of golfing legend Ben Hogan. Of course Hogan is considered one of golfing’s all-time greatest. He is one of only five golfers to capture the Grand Slam of golfing while winning PGA Golfer of the Year four times. Hogan was in the middle of a key putt when in the background a loud train whistle sounded. Without any problem, Hogan sank the putt. A member of the group which Hogan was golfing with asked him if the whistle had bothered him. His reply: “What whistle?” He was so focused and concentrated on the immediate task at hand that he had blocked out all possible distractions.

With proper concentration comes control. You can control the basketball, you can control your body, and most importantly, you can control your thought process. By concentrating on doing everything you do as well as you possibly can do it, and within the fundamental guidelines, you will find that you will be able to have control over situations that you couldn’t before. It is difficult to improve greatly on foot quickness but if you work on concentration during your drill work you will seem quicker. Yes, you will be a little quicker but the majority of it will come from being in complete control on the court.

By adding both concentration and control, we arrive at confidence. I have never seen a great player that didn’t have confidence in herself. Let me take that one step further and say that I have never seen a great player that didn’t do the things necessary to gain the proper confidence. You see, players aren’t born with confidence and they can’t go out to the mall and buy it. There are some athletes out there that show false confidence by bragging, but the truly great ones, the ones who reach their maximum potential know that they gained confidence from proper work habits day in and day out.

The final Fundamental C is consistency. That means doing what you do as well as you do it and doing it that way all the time. Working hard is not a sometime thing. Concentrating is not a part-time job. You want to be consistent in your approach in everything you do. It takes mental toughness to come to practice everyday and consistently give it your best mental and physical effort regardless of everything else going on. Hall-of-Fame baseball player Willie Mays summed it up perfectly when he said:

“In sports, it isn’t hard to be good from time to time. What’s tough is being good every day.”

A simple formula is:
CONCENTRATION leads to CONTROL…
CONTROL leads to CONFIDENCE…
CONFIDENCE leads to CONSISTENCY.

What is important to understand about confidence is that it is a result of the Ladder of Success along with the Fundamental C’s. One of the key factors in confidence is that key component of preparation. In other words, if you do your homework, you don’t have to worry about your test score.

“Confidence comes from planning and practicing well. You get ready during the week and the confidence will be there on Sunday. This confidence is a difficult thing to explain. But you do get it and the team gets it if you have prepared properly.”
-Vince Lombardi-
NFL Hall-of-Fame Coach

“One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation. Complete mental and physical preparation has to do with sacrifice and self-discipline. And that comes from within.”
-Arthur Ashe-
Legendary Tennis Player

“Confidence comes from preparation and the only way to be fully prepared is to practice something until you have it down so well that you know it will work.”
-John Havlicek-
NBA Hall-of-Fame Player

One final thought on the intangibles needed to become your absolute best is simply to maintain a good attitude. Attitude affects everything that you do on the court, in the classroom and in life. You must learn to be proactive in approaching your workouts. Our attitude is our greatest possession because it is something we completely control regardless of any and all outside benefactors. The power we have to choose our own personal attitude is tremendously important in our success. As President Thomas Jefferson said:

“Nothing can stop the person with the right mental attitude from achieving their goal; nothing on earth can help the person with the wrong mental attitude.”

MOTION PROBLEMS

Coach,

I'm in my first season as head coach. I am teaching motion to our players, as you know very difficult to do. We have come a long way since last spring, but still I find us doing a few things that we need to get better on: 1- playing way too fast; 2-not waiting for screens; 3-not looking at their man to read the defense (we want to watch the ball).

We do pretty well at 2 on 2 drills, but when we go 3 on 3 or 4 on 4 and definitely when we play open gym, the pace goes way too fast for them to make correct reads.

Any quick suggestions you could send my way would be appreciated.

My reply:

Dear Coach:

Your problems with motion are extremely common -- even on the collegiate level.

1. Playing too fast

We make our receivers hold the ball for a 2 count and if we are playing too fast in practice we make them count it out loud

We tell our players we have three rules for the cutter.

Rule #1 is "wait"...Rule #2 is "wait"...Rule #3 is "wait."

Restrictions is another way to help. If in playing too fast you are missing the screen the passer action (because you are reversing the ball) then we will add the restriction that you can only score off a screen the passer action. We do the same thing when we don't reverse the ball enough. We will tell them they must reverse the ball twice before a jump shot. In all restriction drills we never take away the dribble.

2. Not waiting for screens

We have our cutters hesitate at the screen to read the defender and this helps them to wait...still we will have a few that want to "hurry" before the screen is set. For repeat defenders, we will add a penalty of a sprint if they can't concentrate long enough for the screener to get set.

We will also play 4/4 or 5/5 and keep score by something other than points. For instance, we might play 4/4 and give a point for each good screen. Of course this must mean the screener sprints to screen and has the proper angle and the cutter must set up the defender and use it properly before we will give them a point. Play to 15 points or a set time and losers run. Putting a point value on a good screen and cut (along with running for losing) will greatly help their concentration level!

3. Watching the ball

Most difficult thing to teach offensive players on any level is to read the defender and not worry about the basketball...we tell our players to read the defense properly and "the ball will find you."

We do a lot of cutting/screening drills early without the ball. For instance, we might do 2/1 or 2/2 Down Screening and lay the ball on the court at the opposite wing. We want them to execute the down screen, the cut, and the screeners 2nd cut.

We will also work on this 1/0 in shooting drills. We will have a coach as a passer and a player as a cutter. We will use a chair as a screen. We will place a coach on the baseline below the chair and as the player nears the screen (chair), she must turn and look at the coach on the baseline who will be holding up fingers...1 finger = curl cut, 2 fingers = straight cut, 3 fingers = flair, and 4 fingers = back cut. We also demand our players to always verbally call out their cuts in every drill that we do.

Hope this helps!

EMPHASIZING SCREENING

I received an email yesterday that read:

Coach Starkey,

How do you and the staff "chart screens." I remember reading one of your blog entries about approaches to emphasize screening. Our men's team has always been just a good screening team. We are thirsty for some coaching techniques that might take our screening game to the next level.

My reply was as follows:

Coach, from the Don Meyer school of coaching, we are big believers in “it’s not just what you teach, it’s what you emphasize.” We make a big deal out of screening with our team.

1. We spend time teaching screening – techniques, timing and angles…we will work on screening in some form every day in practice (as a motion team you have to)…I am attaching a chapter from my motion book (that hasn’t been released yet) that has our screening philosophy in it.

2. We chart screens each and every day in practice and in games…first, as a staff we want to know who is screening, how often and are they doing a good job…to do this properly, I chart the screens myself off of video…after practice, I pop it in and utilize the chart that I have also attached. We chart number of screens set. We also, however, chart if the screen was set properly – did they sprint to screen, did they get the right angle…we also chart whether or not we got a score off of it – which is the ultimate screen. We also chart illegal screens (even if the official did not call it). We set a lot of screens and very few of them are illegal and I think it’s because we chart it and talk about.

3. We make sure that each day in video session that we have clips off good screens as well as screening opportunities missed or poorly executed from the previous practice or games…we talk about how the screen created a scoring opportunity either directly or indirectly. For instance, it’s easy to see that a cutter that cuts off a back screen for a lay-up can thank the screener in part for the score. But we also point out that a down screen on the opposite side of the floor “occupies the help” when we drive the ball and score. That’s just as important.

We make sure that we point out as much as possible to our team, the fans and the media who our best screeners are…a few years ago we had a player on our team Wendlyn Jones who was a great screener. She actually went to Kinko’s and had some business cards made that said “Wendlyn Jones: Professional Screener.” It was funny but it also showed that we were getting our message across. It is a common occurrence for a player to acknowledge a screener the same way some players do a passer.

Most everyone has seen our stat package but if you'd like a copy of our "Screening Stat Sheet" email me at: rstarke@lsu.edu.

THE MOST IMPORTANT 45 MINUTES OF THE DAY

The following comes from Jack Canfield titled the "The Most Important 45 Minutes Of The Day." I'm a big believe in this philosophy. From the management standpoint, Don Meyer has taught us all the value of plan the next day the night before. From the standpoint of attitude and motivation, I can recall in the 2007 NCAA Tournament in the Fresno Regional that our team was up against a talented and powerful UConn team. Dr. Kevin Elko who helped guide our team to the Final Four gave me the following instructions to give to our team. He told me the night before we played, following our scouting and motivational video, to give our team this assignment:

"When you climb into bed, close your eyes and think back to the best game you have ever played in your career. If could've been in college, high school, AAU or any other time or place. Think about how you felt during that game -- being in the zone. Do you recall in sounds or smells from that came? What was it like know that you were playing at the highest level you have every played before? Think about how you felt after the game knowing you had reached such a great level. Let all those thoughts take you to sleep.

The result was a stunning 20 point victory which sent us to another Final Four. Here is Jack Canfield's take on such an exercise and why it works:

An important part of any focusing regimen is to set aside time at the end of the day -- just before going to sleep -- to acknowledge your successes, review your goals, focus on your successful future, and make specific plans for what you want to accomplish the next day.

Why do I suggest the end of the day? Because whatever you read, see, listen to, talk about, and experience during the last 45 minutes of the day has a huge influence on your sleep and your next day. During the night, you unconscious mind replays and processes this late-night input up to six times more often than anything else you experienced during the day. This is why cramming for school exams late at night can work and why watching a scary moving before bed will give you nightmares.

As you drift off to sleep, you enter into the alpha brain wave state of consciousness -- a state in which you are very suggestable. If you drift off to sleep while watching the 11 PM news, that is what you'll be imprinting into your consciousness -- war, crime, automobile accidents, rape, murder, executions, gangs wars, drive-by shootings, kidnappings, and scandals in the boardroom and on Wall Street.

Think how much better it would be to read an inspirational autobiography or a self-improvement book instead. Imagine the power of meditating, listening to a self-help audio program, or taking the time to plan the next day right before you go to sleep.

THE BENEFITS OF A GOOD FAKE

One of the simplest yet most effective ways to move the defense is by the use of the shot fake or the pass fake. Any player, regardless of their size, strength, or skill level can be effective with the pass or the shot fake. Generally you can utilize the shot fake to get the defense up and out of their stance. They will stand up momentarily or, if the fake it good enough, they will leave their feet in an attempt to block the shot. A pass fake will move the defense from one side to the other. The good thing about a pass fake is that it will often move more than one defender. Not only will the player on the ball move but often the other players will moves as well in anticipation of their defensive jobs chancing. A fake pass on a skip will often take a helpside defender out of help in an effort to get her a start on her closeout.

A key teaching point for the shot fake and pass fake is to limit it to six inches. A fake that goes beyond six inches will allow the defense an opportunity to recover. A fake that is shorter than six inches will not give the defense an opportunity to go for the fake.

There are five things that an effective fake can do for a player.

Move the defense to create a shot opportunity
A good shot fake will get the defense in the air and then while they are coming down, you will have a better opportunity to get your shot off. A good pass fake will move the defense. An example would be against a zone defense. The point guard comes down and makes a pass fake to the right wing shifting the entire zone defense to that side. She then makes a good quick pass to the left wing who is open for a shot.

Move the defense to create a pass opportunity
A good pass fake can open up a passing ally. There is truest most when feeding the post. A player with the ball who is trying to feed the post can definitely expect some good ball pressure. Our key teaching phrase for our players is, “fake a pass, to make a pass.” If we want to make a bounce pass into the low post, then we will fake a pass high, get the defender up out of her stance with high hands, and then bounce the ball in the post. The exact opposite is also true. If we want to make a good two-handed overhead pass into the post, we can fake the bounce pass, get the defender’s hands down, and then deliver the overhead pass. The pass fake is also a great tool to set up the back door cut. If the defender is pressuring the wing, fake the pass to the wing and when the defender bites, cut back door for the pass and a lay-up.

Move the defense to create a driving opportunity
The shot fake is an especially effective tool to set up the drive. In fact, if you are good perimeter shooter, you should work diligently in perfecting the shot fake. First, because you will be able to use the fake to get your defender up out of her stance to set up the drive. Second, because once the defense knows you will fake and drive, they will often pull up short on their closeout which will lead you to an open shot opportunity. We spend extra time at practice with our shooters, especially the 3-point threats, on their shot fake. Anytime the ball is skipped or passed quickly to the helpside of the floor, we put the defender in a situation where she must closeout. We want her closing out on the ball worrying about whether a drive or a shot is coming. When the closeout is high and hard, we want the shot fake and a drive.

Freeze the defense to create more vision time.

The ability to fake and freeze the defender can allow the offensive player a split second or more to see things as the develop on the floor. It may be that allows the ball handler just a second more to allow a cutter to become open. It could be that the fake allows just a second more for the post player to get a better piece of the paint. It could be that this allows the player holding the ball to hold it long enough for a screener to get to a cutter. And, in motion of course, a good fake could allow all of the above or various combinations to occur.

LADY TIGER BASKETBALL WORKOUT (9-9-09)

Heres a look at our team workout today. NCAA allows us to work with players in groups of 4 or less up to two hours a week on the court. Today we had two post and two perimeter players in a group and these are the things we worked on:

12:30-12:38 BALL HANDLING & DRIBBLING
2 Ball Stationary Dribbling
2/0 2 Ball Passing (Hvy Trainer/Tennis Ball)
Alford Drill

12:38-12:41 SHOOTING
Partner Shooting (Jumpers/3’s/Shot Fake)

12:41-12:46 PASSING
2/2 LPF w/Relocation

12:46-12:58 CUTTING & SCREENING
8:00 2/2 Down Screen (Use Player as Passer--Call out Cut)
8:00 2/2 Back Screen to ReScreen (Use Player as Passer--Call out Cut)
6:00 2/2 Elbow Screen (Use Player as Passer -- Call out Cut)

12:58-1:02 SHOOTING
Free Throws Shoot 2, Rotate & Record

1:02-1:08 CUTTING & SCREENING
2/2 Ball Screen (Vs. Hedge Defense)

1:08-1:15 SHOOTING
2/0 DS Shooting w/2 Balls (Cutter Calls Out Cut)

1:15-1:20 DEFENSE
2/2 Contesting

1:20-1:30 OFFENSE
4/0 PE

THE LSU PHILOSOPHY - GET THE BALL INSIDE

At LSU, our offensive philosophy is simple — GET THE BALL INSIDE! It doesn't necessarily mean that we have to shoot from the lane. We can use the paint touch to set up the perimeter shot and in face, it's still the best way to set up a three-point shot. Now there are a variety of ways we can do this, such as:

◄Beat the other team down the floor in transition.
◄Pass the ball inside to one of our post players.
◄Pass the ball inside to one of our perimeter players that may be posting.
◄Pass the ball to a player cutting to the basket.
◄Take the ball to the basket off the dribble.
◄Grab an offensive rebound.

THE LADY TIGER WAY #6

EMAIL ASSIGNMENT #2

Last week we shared our email assignment that we gave our team. We got some really positive responses so here is Email Assignment #2:

I was really pleased with the entire team in our first email assignment from the book, “The Essential Wooden,” so it is time to try another passage and see how it best relates to you and for you to share what you got from it:

Team Spirit: Six plow horses pulling in the same direction represent teamwork. However, this is not good enough – merely pulling in the same direction. Great organizations have a quality beyond simply moving toward a common goal. I call this quality Team Spirit, and I define it as an eagerness to sacrifice personal interests and glory for the good of the greatness of the team.

It is a selfless devotion to the group’s welfare and interests; it means putting ”we” ahead of “me,” which is a formidable task for the most people, including leaders. The most important team player is you. Leaders must teach those under their supervision that the team’s success is their own personal success. Selflessness is the leadership key to Team Spirit. When you and your organization are infused with the spirit of sharing – ideas, credit, work, information, and experience – here’s what happens: The team is greater than the sum of its members.

I think we can all agree that “teamwork makes the dream work!” But here is your assignment…name one thing you can do better or something you can start doing that would make you a better teammate in regard to Team Spirit…is there something you can eagerly sacrifice or contribute for the good of our team?

I look forward to your answers!!!

Have a great weekend!

NOTE: We are utilizing the book "The Essential Wooden" by John Wooden and Steve Jamison for these assignments.