THE COACH MEYER WAY OF EVALUATING A GAME

Via Steve Smiley, we see the various ways the Coach Don Meyer utilized to evaluate a game.

Tools that we use to determine how well or poorly our team actually played. Many times the scoreboard is a poor judge of your team’s performance.


1. Turnover Margin: Looks to see if your team has “sureness” with the ball on offense and whether your team can create turnovers on defense. As the coach, you might have a goal of having a +5 margin, for instance, or you might set a mandatory goal of, for example, always having less than 10 turnovers and having a goal of forcing at least 15 turnovers.

2. Rebound Margin: Using a rebounding margin is a good barometer of how well you competed on the glass, and is probably better than measuring your rebounding effort with absolute numbers. For example, having a goal of out-rebounding your opponent by +10 is probably more realistic than saying that your goal is to get 50 total rebounds every game. Each game will have a varying number of rebounding opportunities due to the pace of the game, referees, etc.

3. Field Goal Attempts: If everything is equal, the team that gets the most and the best shots will win. Newell’s Rule = “Get better shots than your opponent and get more of those better shots.”

4. Field Goal %: Two rules that your program could live by are; your best shooter should have the most shots (shooting isn’t equal opportunity) and your worst shooter should have your best FG% (only takes lay-ups, wide open shots).

NSU Grading System:

4 = Wide open lay-up

3 = Wide open shot by good shooter

2 = Contested shot by good shooter

1 = Terrible shot

0 = Turnover

5. Free Throw Attempts: The golden rule is to make more free throws than your opponent attempts.

6. Free Throw %: It’s one thing to get to the free throw line; it’s another thing to make your free throws. Great teams make their free throws.

7. No player scores more than 15 points: We like to use 15 points as a barometer to see if any one player really hurt our team. Most teams may have one or two stellar scorers that require special attention on defense and if our team can’t slow those players down, it will be a long night. Holding great scorers under 15 points is a great measure of how well your team is playing team defense, because it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to stop a great scorer with one defender; help-side, rotations, and an overall effort by all five players on the floor is required.

8. 3-Point Game: Refers to both on offense and on defense. On offense, it’s simple enough – your team must make open 3’s. The players that are great 3-point shooters need to be the ones taking those shots. On defense, we always stress the concepts of “No 3’s to a 3” and the concept of a “Dead 3” 􀃆 A player that has at least 50% of his / her attempts from the three-point line. A Dead 3 gets no standing looks; he / she must dribble to a shot. Thus, how well did your team defend the 3-pointer? Also, how well did your team get your 3-point shooters open?

9. Floor Game: The floor game encompasses a wide range of possibilities, including getting loose balls, taking charges, saving the ball from a turnover (saver-savee idea), etc. Your team could have a goal of taking a minimum of 2 charges, or getting 90% of all loose balls, etc.

10. Assist Game: The assist game can mean many things. As a coach, you can look at your team’s assist: turnover ratio, possibly with a goal of 2 assists to 1 turnover (2:1). In addition, you can look at the assist to made basket %. Another, less subjective way of tracking assists would be to track how many “screen assists” your team has in a game; the number of times that a team member’s screen (possibly a back or flare screen) led to a wide open shot or lay-up.

PRACTICE POINTERS #4: PLAYER NOTEBOOKS

We used notebooks at LSU and I am a big believer in the effect it has on our team. That's why I was so pleased to know that the UCF program also greatly utilizes player notebooks.  There have been studies that suggest some of the most successful people in all fields have been great note takers; it is a skill within itself that we can teach our student-athletes.

At UCF, practice it like a class...we want them learn mentally from it as well as through the physical execution of practice.  We may stop practice and have them take notes during a rest. We may tell them something at practice and ask them make sure they write it down in their notebooks.  It helps greatly with the retention of concepts.

The notebook is something that the players are required to have with them at all basketball related activities including video sessions, practices and road trips. Here is a photo of the front of our player notebooks for this year.

Possible sections for a notebook would include:

GUIDELINES AND INFORMATION
In this area we would include the various guidelines we have for our team including academic and study hall guidelines. We outline our expectations in terms of appearance in class and while we travel. This also would includes a section with phone numbers of their teammates, managers, coaches and other essential members of our athletic department.

MEETING NOTES
This section is designed for the players to take notes anytime they are involved in a meeting. The majority of the time this is in the video room where our team is watching video on practice, games or our next opponent. It could also mean an individual video session with one of the coaches or a meeting with her academic advisor. We will at times stop practice and have them right something down in regard to how we play. This is especially true during the fall in our early developmental practice sessions. Here is what a page might look like:

PLAYBOOK
This is an area where we provide passouts for our players on the various phases of our system. They would store such things as an inbounds play, a motion entry, guidelines for defending screens, etc. This is a little different because it is already prepared for them to put in their notebook as opposed to them having to write it down. Here is what a playbook passout would look like:

SCOUTING
This is an area where they can store their scouting reports and take down notes on our next opponent. Our preparation is very important because of our system of play. This an important element of the notebook.

MOTIVATION
We give our players a great deal of motivational items. Many of them you can find under Motivation in the Winning Edge section on this website. We also like to give them something called “In The News” which would be an article from the paper or a website pertaining to something other than basketball that we believe they should be aware of.  Here is a sample of a motivational piece from our playbook:

Our philosophy is that we want to treat basketball just like a class. We often tell our players that the mental is to the physical as 4 is to 1. We want them to think the game as well as play the game. We believe the player notebook has been very important to our success. We will occasionally “test” our players on the info that we pass out. We will also from time to time, take a look at their notebook to make sure they are taking good notes. As Don Meyer has taught us, “it’s not what we say, it’s what they hear.”

30 DAYS TO A CHAMPIONSHIP: A PLAYER'S PERSPECTIVE

Coach Jim Boone: As we wind down the 30 Days to a Championship BLOG, one of our players, Colby Wohlleb, will share with you, his prospective on our first 30 days.

It is our hope, that the ideals and philosophy that we are teaching are being heard, understood, and accepted by your players – the absolute most important group of people in your program.

Colby Wohlleb: Since Coach Jim Boone has arrived, we, as a family, have been working hard to build off of last year’s amazing turnaround in our program, and to learn a new way of doing so. The core statistical producers are gone, but we return a great group of guys and have added some terrific talent to our program. Coach Boone’s positive approach, his enthusiasm, and his energy have all of us excited as we begin a new journey.

Most recently, we have been working on the details of our offense, grinding in the weight room, building up our cardio, and toughening our minds. We have a goal to be the toughest most physical team in the conference. I am confident we are achieving this goal.

There is a lot to learn with a new Head Coach and staff, however, Coach Boone has done a great job of giving us positive feedback in his approach to teaching. We are working extremely hard to absorb it all. I believe every player is truly grateful for the amount of time and energy this staff puts in.

Many of the players on this team played for Jeff Price last year, and returned to Wesleyan for the opportunity to play for Coach Boone. While playing for a new coach can have its downsides, there is always uncertainty of the unknown. Coach Price and Coach Boone are both basketball genius’s, and we have realized how fortunate we are to learn the game from them. The two regime’s have their differences, none of which are negative. I believe that there is always a positive side to everything. For instance, there are new off the court rules. No excessive facial hair, presentable haircuts, presentable attire, no hats in class, sit in the front two rows of class, no earrings around the gym, 8-10 hours of sleep, ten minutes early everywhere (Coach calls this, “Lombardi Time”), etc. While it would be easy for us to look at Coach Boone like he’s crazy, he is just so passionate in what he does and how he approaches everything, you can’t say no to anything. Coach was quick to point out, “This is your Team, but it’s my Program”, in addition, why not practice being ready for the real world? One of the many expressions I learned from playing for Charlton Young at Georgia Southern University, was “Prepare yourself for the Real/Business world”. Look at everything as a job interview, would you show up to an interview 5 minutes late, shirt untucked, unkempt hair, earrings in, on 3 and half hours of sleep? Absolutely not, so why show up like that anywhere else. These rules were not in place last year, and that is not a knock on Coach Price, a mentor of mine. It is simply different styles. Another difference is our offense. Not wanting to give anything away, I’ll just say that this year is much more intricate, while last year there was less structure, Coach Boone has already begun defining roles for each player.

Moving on, our weight training has changed dramatically. One would think not having an official weight coach would hurt productivity, but it couldn’t be any different. Having our staff in the weight room holds everybody accountable, and pushes us much harder. Our weight lifting sessions are shorter, but much more intense, and again the energy and enthusiasm by this staff is non-stop.

Lastly, on the court, and most importantly, there is a major focus on our defense. Everywhere you turn, there is something about our Defense. From our lockers, to our bulletin board, to signs in our Team Room (Coach calls our locker room, our Team Room, I love this!) it is clear that our goal is to have “The Nation’s #1 Defense”.

One last thing, we have four morning sessions that Coach has named, “Boot Camp”. It’s been really challenging, very demanding physically and mentally – it’s been tough. But, through it I feel that we are boding as a team, that we are working harder than we have ever worked, and that we are getting tougher! I won’t lie, it’s been very challenging, but I know it’s going to help us achieve our goals.

We take pride to being Bobcats, and we hope to make our coaches, our school, our fans, and our town proud. I think Coach would agree that he inherited a group of good guys, and we look forward to building upon that in the near and distant future. GO BOBCATS!

BRIAN TRACY'S FOUR PARTS OF VISUALIZATION

How Often?
The first aspect of visualization is frequency, the number of times that you visualize a particular goal as achieved of yourself performing in an excellent way in a particular event or circumstance. The more frequently you repeat a clear mental picture of your very best performance or result, the more rapidly it will appear as part of your reality.

How Long?
The second element of visualization is the duration of the mental image, the length of time that you can hold the picture in your mind each time you replay it. When you deeply relax, you can often hold a mental picture of yourself performing at your best for several seconds, and even several minutes. The longer you can hold your mental picture, the more deeply it will be impressed into your subconscious mind and the more rapidly it will express itself in your subsequent performance.

How Clearly?
The third element of visualization is vividness. There is a direct relationship between how clearly you can see your desired goal or result in your mind and how quickly it comes into your reality. This element of visualization is what explains the powers of the Law of Attraction and the Law of Correspondence. The vividness of your desire directly determines how quickly it materializes in the world around you. Here is an interesting point. When you set a new goal for yourself, your image or picture of this goal will usually be vague and fuzzy. But the more often you write it, review it, and repeat it mentally, the clearer it becomes for you. Eventually, it will become crystal clear. At that point, the goal will suddenly appear in your world exactly as you imagined it.

How Intensely?
The fourth element of visualization is intensity, the amount of emotion that you attach to your visual image. In reality, this is the most important and powerful part of the visualization process. Sometimes, if your emotion is intense enough and your visual image is clear enough, your goal will immediately come true.

Of course, the elements of frequency, duration, vividness, and intensity can help you or hurt you. Like nature, the power of visualization is neutral. Like a two-edged sword, it can cut in either direction. It can either make you a success or make you a failure. Visualization brings you whatever you vividly and intensely imagine, whether good or bad.

Action Exercise
Continually feed your mind with clear, exciting, emotional pictures. Remember, your imagination is your preview of lifes coming attractions.  Learn how to accomplish all of your goals here.

KEVIN EASTMAN: 6 KEYS TO CREATE BUY IN

Thanks to Coach Phil Beckner of Weber State for passing these along:

1. Thoroughly study the game
.....a. Let them know that you know
.....b. Knowledge gains respect

2. Thoroughly study your system
.....a. Show them they can get better in your system

3. Catch them doing something right
.....a. Let them know you believe in them

4. All players have labels
.....a. Dispel labels, don’t believe it

5. It’s not just what you know, it’s what you bring
.....a. Develop skill, develop their head
.....b. Know how to talk to players

6. Tell your players the truth
.....a. They want to and need to hear it
.....b. Not in front of teammates
.....c. Deal in reality w/player

PRACTICE POINTERS #3: ECHO YELLS

A great thing that we picked up from Don Meyer many years ago is the technique of “echo yells.”

I can’t imagine a coach that doesn’t want to find a way for her/his team to better be able to communicate. We are constantly encouraging our team to talk more. We want them to talk to each other on the court. We want them to coach each other in practice and games. But as coaches, we always seem to think we could be a better communicating team.

The concept of “echo yells” is simple, but highly effective. When a coach calls out a drill, the entire team must yell back the call. For example, if I say to the team, “5 on 4 with an open perimeter.” The team will reply in unison, “5 on 4 with an open perimeter.”

If a coach says “5 on 5 Post Exchange with no dribble,” the team will repeat that command.  We want them to say it loud and say it in unison.

While I think this is very effective for getting teams to talk, I think an even more important factor is that creates an avenue to get them to listen to the coach better. After all, they have to hear what you say before they can repeat it!

THE ABSOLUTE BEST WAY TO IMPROVE YOUR TEAM

I am thoroughly enjoying reading John Maxwell's latest book "The 5 Levels of Leadership."  Very few people both understand the important concepts of leadership and have the ability to break it down in such a way to help others understand.

One of the concepts we have talked to our team about this fall is that "the best way to improve the team is improve yourself."  We are "process" program -- meaning we are more concerned with the journey than the destination.  Being "process-oriented" is about living in the moment and working hard to control only those things you can control.  As a player, I may have little or no impact in getting a teammate to improve.  But I have wide-ranging ability to improve myself.  If you get up every morning with the goal of making yourself better -- and you put the committed, purposeful work into doing so -- you single-handily will improve your team.  And when you get an entire group to buy into this philosophy, you are about to have a special journey.

Here are some of John's thoughts on this very subject:

Frequently I'll ask a group, "What's the one thing you would change to improve the effectiveness of your organization?"  Usually people name things that can be found on this list of Ps: products, promotions, policies, processes, procedures, pricing and people.  Seldom does anyone say the most important and impacting of all answers: "ME! I would change me to improve our organization."  Yet that seldom-heard response is the key to success.  If you want to lead, you need to grow.  The only way to improve an organization is to grow and improve the leaders.  If you want to make an impact, start with yourself.

30 DAYS TO A CHAMPIONSHIP: CLINIC SPEAKING AND THE BENEFIT OF RECRUITING

Coach Jim Boone: I been afforded the tremendous opportunity to speak at several coaching clinics and workshops this fall – it has been absolutely awesome, the relationships that I have made, the great people I have met through presenting, have been and will continue to be an invaluable resource.

Just this Fall, since taking over here at WV Wesleyan, I have spoken at clinics in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Dallas, Charleston (WV), and will address the Iowa High School Basketball Coaches Clinic in Des Moines (will be over 1,000 attendees) on October 29th, as well as, our own, 25th Annual Fall Coaches Clinic, to be hosted on our campus on October 22-23rd and, our clinic will be free of charge (for information, please e-mail me at Boone_J@WVWC.edu).

I thoroughly enjoy my clinic opportunities. To talk basketball, share ideas with other coaches, to remain fresh and current, it’s amazing. Again, the most gratifying part of this entire experience has been the development new relationships, as well as, catching up with old friends, priceless!

But, speaking at the clinics listed above has required a great time commitment on my part, both in my preparation and the actual travel and attending of the various clinics. And, as we all know, the lifeblood of a college basketball program is recruiting, and my speaking opportunities certainly cut into potential recruiting times. When trying to balance the two, I go back to a conversation I had with Herb Sendek, currently the head coach at Arizona State University, when he was the assistant coach at the University of Kentucky with then head coach, Rick Pitino. I had the pleasure to hear Coach Sendek speak at a local coaches clinic, and I knew that very same weekend, Coach Pitino was also speaking at a clinic in Chicago – my question to Herb, how does your staff find time to recruit with your numerous speaking obligations.

Herb replied, “Coach, they are one in the same – there is no better way to build a network for recruiting than to speak at a clinic to a captive audience of high school coaches.”

Therefore, I have always taken Herb’s advice, and used every opportunity possible to develop as many positive relationships as possible in order to create a vast recruiting network. Having been involved in coaching at the collegiate level for over 30 years, I have developed quite a rolodex of high school and junior college coaches. We are always looking to expand this network, and my opportunities to speak across the country has enhanced this tremendously.

As well, here at West Virginia Wesleyan, we feel that we have such a strong campus life, coupled with a College that processes an outstanding reputation for its liberal arts education, that we can most definitely recruit on a national level! And, obviously in taking over a new program, this has provided us with an invaluable opportunity to introduce ourselves across the nation as West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats!

I am looking forward to meeting more and more coaches, as we continue to build our network, and more importantly to continue to develop lifelong friendships through our great game!

PRACTICE POINTERS #2: EMPHASIS OF THE DAY

As official practice looms for us all, we will run a series of posts on ideas that might have a positive effect on your workouts.

While at LSU, for each practice, we chose an “Emphasis of the Day.” It’s a simple way to make sure that your team improves in one area each day. That sounds simple, but think about it. If you could do something that would ensure that your team improves in one phase of the game each day, wouldn’t you jump at the chance?

Well, we’ve had that type of success with this concept and here is how it works.

First, you must pick what you want to emphasize each day in practice. We have a couple of schools of thought in this regard. The first is obvious—pick something that you struggled with the day before. Maybe on Monday your team didn’t do a good job of blocking out. So on Tuesday you make blocking out your emphasis of the day.

The second way of choosing an emphasis is to look at your upcoming opponent. Maybe the next team on your schedule does a nice job of running with the basketball. Your next practice might have transition defense as your emphasis of the day.

Choosing the emphasis of the day is just the beginning...now it’s time to start emphasizing! This comes from several different means and they all need to be a part of the process for it to be successful.

First, when the players come to practice, they will find a sheet of paper with the emphasis of the day in their locker. On the way out of the locker room they will see that same sheet of paper on the bulletin board. When they walk on to the practice floor, they will see it taped up at each basket and at the water cooler. There will be no doubt in their mind that the coaches are going to work diligently that day to improve that area.
 

At LSU, we start each session with a “Pre-Practice.” In this segment, the team is broken down into smaller numbers for some individual attention and part-method teaching. Some of these drills will be devised to work on the days emphasis.

Following Pre-Practice, we will start regular practice by huddling up, at which time I will mention the emphasis of the day and why it is important. We will generally start practice with a drill that is specific to the emphasis of the day. Throughout practice, the coaching staff will constantly mention the emphasis in all drill work. The majority of the time, the emphasis will be related to a basketball fundamental: Blockout, Low Post Feeds, Shot Fake, Contest the Shot, etc. On occasion, it will be a mental emphasis: Concentration, Communicate, Listen, Intensity, etc.

We have also on occasion tied our video into the emphasis of the day. Before going to the floor for Pre-Practice, we might watch some video clips of what our emphasis of the day will be.

Below you can see a sample of our practice plan (click on it to enlarge it). At the top of the right hand corner, you can see our emphasis of the day. You can also see how it is worked into the fabric of that particular practice.

MY CHALLENGE TO ALL COACHES TO SUPPORT KARA SUPPORTING COACH SUMMITT

As someone who has been involved in coaching for over 30 years, I have had the opportunity to see first hand some of the very people who not only had a major impact on their own program but have changed the game nationally.  There are two that stand out in my mind this morning.  One is Coach Don Meyer and the other is Coach Pat Summitt. 

Their tireless commitment to teaching the game a certain way -- to holding their players to a certain standard -- to sharing what they do with the masses -- has not only made their own programs special but has changed the game itself.

You see Coach Meyer and Coach Summitt have coached in such a way that their reach has gone beyond all boundaries.  I can say with certainty that the game of women's basketball has an incredible Hall of Fame located in Knoxville in large part because of Coach Summitt.  We have a professional league here in the United States and Coach Summitt is a major reason.  She has impacted our game from the very early youth levels through her camps all the way to the international level with her involvement with USA Basketball.  Women's Basketball being televised to the extent that it is now comes because of Coach Summitt and the national draw of the Lady Vols.

And now it's time to say thank you Coach Summitt!

I want to challenge every junior high, high school, junior college and collegiate team to help support Kara Lawson.  Kara was an All-American player for Coach Summitt and has since enjoyed a great career in the WNBA as well as a Gold Medal for our Olympic Team.

Now Kara and Damien Barling (Kara's husband) are running to raise awareness and funds for the fight against Alzheimer's in Coach Summitt's honor.  Kara is running a 5K while Damien will be participating in the New York City Marathon.

I want to challenge each school to make a donation to Kara in honor of Coach Summitt as a way of thanking her for all she has done for us and the game.  Each school can easily ask each player to contribute a dollar and make a $25 donation on Kara's site:  http://www.alznyc.org/karalawson/

Here's all you have to do as a coach....

STEP ONE
Please take the time to read about Kara Lawson, her relationship with Coach Summitt and how she is running a race to raise funds to fight Alzheimer's in honor of her coach.

http://es.pn/owEBj7

STEP TWO
Share this information with your team.   It is a great opportunity to give them a little history lesson on Coach Summitt and what she has done for all of us.

STEP THREE
Ask each of your players to donate a dollar. Then please take the time to click on this link http://www.alznyc.org/karalawson/ and make a donation.

STEP FOUR
Forward this to other coaches you know and ask for their support. It would be an amazing way to help Kara pay tribute to her coach, show Coach Summitt how much we appreciate her, and help fight this terrible disease.