Watching a game or scrimmage this time of year can be painful. Â Invariably, the defense is ahead of the offense causing turnovers, bad shots and missed open shots. Â When this happens, how a coach responds to what politely might be called a mess might very well determine the course of the rest of the season….
When any magazine or newspaper publishes its upcoming season preview for either pro or college basketball or football teams, there is often a feature wherein a coaching opponent or scout will give their take on a team other than their own.  And, often in these sections, an opponent’s coach or scout will say lines like,…
In conjunction with this post, you may want to quickly review the earlier Hoop Coach article, Examining NBA’s New Player Hustle Stats. Â The gist of that article was that last season the NBA starting keeping track of five Player Hustle Stats: Contested Shots, Charges Drawn, Deflections, Loose Balls Recovered and Screen Assists (the only offensive…
With the recent success of the Golden State Warriors the appeal of Small Ball is here to stay at all levels of play. After all, who doesn’t appreciate how the Warriors spread the floor, move the ball and put incredible pressure on the defense to cover the floor from sideline to sideline as well as…
I was fortunate in the early part of my coaching career to land a very good high school coaching job. Among the assets I inherited (talent, tradition, sensible parents and a very supportive administration) was a stat sheet provided by my predecessor who was an excellent coach. His season summary sheet and individual game stat…
I’ve always contended that if an offensive or defensive possession starts well, it has a good chance to end well-maybe not with a basket or a stop but with a good chance for either.  Today we’ll concentrate on the offensive side of the equation. There are numerous reasons why an offensive possession can start…
