Preface:This is the second entry is my "The 3 Types of Bigs" blog series. Once again these are written from a player development POV. Comments/Feedback welcome...

The next type of Big I would like to talk about is what I call “The Space Eater.” This is your individual who takes up space in the interior and gives muscle to your team. They’re usually good on the boards and good position defenders in the post. They can push people around and set good screens for shooters or play well in…

Mark Slessinger is a successful Division 1 College Basketball Coach at the University of New Orleans, but he is much more than that. This great article tells the story of Slessinger's role as a foster parent, helping to make a much better future for young children that come from bad backgrounds.…

TPG Sports Group invites you to attend the 2^nd Annual Masters in Coaching Clinic this September 7-8 in Charlotte, NC. The TPG Masters in Coaching Clinic is a one of a kind basketball coaching clinic that will give you the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest clinicians in the country. 

2013 Clinicians include Bob Hurley Sr. (St. Anthony High School/Basketball Hall of Fame), Fran…

Preface: This is my first blog on the first type of the 3 "Specialist Bigs", this is written from a player development POV so I'm sure others will have different takes on what I suggest...Open Discussion welcome

The 3 Types of Bigs: #1 ‘The Protector”

As I spoke of in my last entry, I believe that the “Bigs” of today have evolved into specialists. When I use the term ‘specialist”, the definition is that the player is extremely skilled in one particular area, so much so…

The De-Evolution of the Back-to-the-Basket Big

If you’ve watched, coached, played or refereed any basketball in the last decade, the basketball purist has seen a steady decline of back-to-the-basket big play like Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar, Moses, or yes, even the overly pugnacious Bill Walton (I can still only take his commentary in small doses). With the game moving at an even faster pace and the institutional popularity of the three-point shot, the inside post game has become less…

Is your state's highest paid employee a coach? Here is an article about the fact that many states have a coach as their highest paid employee. If you look at the map, the colors show that the majority of the United States is covered in colors that represent coaches as being the highest paid. It's worth taking a look at.…

When college coach contracts are released people spend a lot of time looking at the salary amount and the duration of the deal but there is another figure that often remains ignored. The buyout amount for a coach often has a big impact on whether a University can even begin to examine the idea of bringing in a new coach. The Fred Hoiberg contract buyout article below is pretty good example of the other dollar amount that goes into hiring and/or firing process of a college basketball…

I always liked Penny Hardaway. I'm not sure if it was because of his unique first name Anfernee, his role as Butch McRae in Blue Chips or maybe it was just the way he played the game.  But after reading this article on CNN.com about…

Many big coaching moves have already been made this off-season. This article grades the new hires that have happened in 2013. What do you think of these grades? Share opinions about whether you agree or disagree.…

There is a proposed change regarding practice in NCAA basketball that would allow teams to start practice as early as the last week of September. If the change goes through, it will allow teams to practice 30 times before the first game of the season. In this article Tom Izzo and John Calipari talk about how this new practice plan could allow teams to ease into the season, protecting the health of players.…

Looks like Minnesota coach Richard Pitino's new assistants are getting a sharp increase in salary from fomer coach Tubby Smith's assistants.  Per NBC College Basketball Talk

Dan McHale, formerly of Seton Hall, will be the highest-paid assistant coach on staff at $215,000. The lowest-salaried coaches, Ben Johnson and…

Today it seems like top-recruited players get treated with more perks than they actually earn. Some believe players are rewarded and given opportunities without putting in any hard work. In this article, some coaches share their opinions on what they believe is going on with this generation of young athletes. Do you think this sense of entitlement is only from the players themselves? Or does some of the fault belong to the programs, coaches, and fans, who seem to spoil these players until…

If any AAU teams in the Northwest Puget Sound area in Washington State looking for a coach. Email me some info and I will send back my coaching resume. My email is masmith210@msn.com 

Interesting read in the USAToday from Daniel Uthman about the historically low levels of scoring and fouling in the NCAA this year.  The article sites some stats from the NCAA's 2013 final trends report:

• Scoring in Division I men's basketball is at its lowest point since 1951-52. Teams averaged 67.5 points per…

With the college season over, the coaching moves are already well under way. It is always interesting to see which programs and head coaches decide it's time for a change. This article reminds us of some of the most unexpected coaching changes in college basketball.…

G.G. Smith has always been on the move, getting in and out of coaching jobs. The sacrifices he made to stay with his wife while she built a career meant that he wasn't in one place for very long, and he took jobs wherever she found hers. However, a move to Baltimore gave Smith a chance to be hired as the new coach for the Loyola basketball team.…

It's old news by now that Indiana is losing Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo to this year's NBA Draft. This was not at all unexpected, but when asked about the situation, Coach Tom Crean said that this is part of the reason they oversign players. This practice somewhat frowned upon practice is when more players are signed than there are scholarships. This ESPN article gives some insight into oversigning at Indiana. Should coaches and programs encourage this? Or is it unfair to the signed…

USA Today put together this table of the salaries of every basketball coach that made the NCAA Tournament. Crazy to see some of the disparity between Mid-Majors and BCS schools.  Regardless, pretty sure all these jobs would be great to have!…

Found this video on how the GS warriors use a modified version of the flex to set-up their superb shooters

http://ballislife.com/golden-state-warriors-use-elevator-screens-to-get-steph-curry-and-klay-thompson-wide-open-shots/

Another topic that I believe is a hot topic in player development is when or if you should change a player’s shot? There are some coaches out there who think that as long as it’s’ going in, don’t change anything. While that may be true, I think you have to take a hard look at the consistency of the shot and how often the player can repeat his or her current technique enough to have consistent success because as we all know, successful shooting is fleeting like a leaf in a strong wind, it…