Last One Holding The Chalk...Usually Wins!

(December 2006)

Assortment of plays, drills and ideas to help your program improve.

Ultimate OB Play (Same Alignment - Several Options)

I used this out-of-bounds under "series" exclusively last season. I was extremely pleased with the variety, options and results. I will use extensively again this season.

OB Under Series (click)

Q & A

Over the years I have been asked several questions in regards to this great game. Although I certainly do not proclaim to be an expert in any area, I do feel with over 20 years of experience in the profession I have some insight to offer. Today I would like to offer suggestions to FOUR of the most popular questions asked....

1) How do I move up in the coaching profession?

First off, I admire your desire and enthusiasm to grow in this profession.

You have the right mind set...you are hungry and searching for knowledge. That will get you places. Don't ever lose that quality. We live in an age where basketball information is readily available on the Internet 24 / 7. Use whatever means available to you to increase your knowledge of the game, from both a skill teaching and game tactical standpoint. Desire and motivation are important, but I believe inspiration without knowledge will quickly lead to mediocrity.

The old adage of "it's who you know, not what you know", whether good or bad, is of course pertinent again in this profession. Getting out and meeting as many people in this profession is critical. Working basketball camps and clinics is a great place to start. I would suggest one thing in regards to basketball camps and / or clinics. Make sure you do a good job of introducing yourself and then staying in touch with the various people you meet. Not just the people running the camp or clinic, but the people working with you. I met Steve Lavin many, many years ago at a Bobby Knight basketball camp. We were both just starting out in the coaching profession, none of us had jobs. I stayed in touch with him, worked his family camps in Northern California and he spoke at some of my basketball camps in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He always said, "if I ever get a big-time job, you are coming with me". Well, a handful of years later and one of the fastest coaching climbs in the history of college athletics puts Steve Lavin as head coach of one of the most prestigious jobs in all of college basketball....UCLA. He was true to his word and gave me six great years as his assistant in Los Angeles. An experience I will never forget.

So, stay in touch with those "contacts" you meet. Don't drive them crazy, but keep in touch....through e-mail now and then, maybe a congrats note after a big win....or perhaps say hello in person when and if they play in your area. And it doesn't always have to be the head coach....many of these assistants are going to be head coaches somewhere....don't make them feel they are "chopped liver" and you are only concerned about getting to his or her boss. They will see through that in a minute and cut you out quickly.

If your passion is not just to coach, but to coach at the highest level, then I offer you some advice in this regard. Moving up in the coaching profession is extremely difficult. Our profession is saturated with young coaches who all want the same thing. Sometimes it takes volunteering at a school or working for little money. I was fortunate to have parents that believed in my dream and had the financial means to help me out from time to time. That was crucial. I promise you, it will make your climb much harder, perhaps improbable, if you are unwilling to sacrifice financially for the chance of something better down the road.

With all of that said, it is an incredible profession but also a very difficult profession if you are interested in climbing up the NCAA Division One ladder. There is so much competition, with a ton of "Insert your name here" all vying for the same thing. If you truly love the game, and I am confident you do, be prepared for some bumps in the road or perhaps some jobs that are not too glamorous. I know you may have already had some of those. I decided to leave high school coaching for an assistant women's job at the Div. 2 level. People thought I was nuts, but I wanted to coach college basketball and didn't want to be in a classroom all day. I prefer my classroom be a gymnasium. And that is not to say being a high school coach and teacher is not an admirable job...it certainly is...but not a job I wanted to make as my life's passion. So, one year as an assistant women's coach and I got another opportunity of a lifetime. The head coach at Bradley at the time, Stan Albeck, just happened to be good friends with one of my father's friends and my former high school athletic director. One phone call to him, another to Stan Albeck, and I was on my way to Peoria, Illinois as a Division 1 assistant coach at the age of 26. Stan was an NBA coach for many years and was Michael Jordan's rookie coach with the Chicago Bulls. Needless to say, Stan opened many doors for me as well. He got me hooked up with Jim Larranaga at Bowling Green State University. You might remember that name from the NCAA tournament this year. He was the head coach of the most unlikely team to ever reach the Final Four...George Mason University.

I grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, just about an hour from where Tom Izzo was born and raised. I made contact early with Coach Izzo at Michigan State and worked their summer camps under Jud Heathcote, then head coach of the Spartans. I developed good relationships with not only Jud, but Coach Izzo and the rest of his assistants. So, as you can see, with Jud Heathcote, Tom Izzo, Stan Albeck, Jim Larranaga and Steve Lavin behind me....it made each step a bit easier. But they didn't come easy....I developed and worked at those contacts just like I mentioned earlier in this email.

Things happen that way sometimes..of course often times with a lot of luck. Some good old-fashioned hard work and talent doesn't hurt your chances either :).

I wish you great success in your career and hope that you will keep me posted on your travels. Please know that I will do whatever I can to help you.

Good luck!

2) I need a good press-breaking offense. Do you have any suggestions?

In regards to the press breaker. I have always gone with a simple approach against all types of zone pressure and have never had a problem. I attack 2 - 1 - 2 and leave the man in the middle. Usually a guy with good hands and can handle it a bit. I do have my #4 or #5 passing it in. They will inbound and step opposite the ball. The will look to get the ball in the middle when it is available or look to pass back to the guard who can look to pass middle or attack up the court. We look to get it in and then either throw over the top or reverse the ball and then look inside. Usually when teams are rotating defenders on ball reversal is when the middle man will be open....that is why I don't have him leave and send another man in to the middle. This plays into the defenses hands, giving them time to cover the new middle man. If you leave a man in the middle as the ball is reversed from one side to the next, you will be able to attack on the pass to the middle. If they match-up, we look to penetrate. When the help comes from the penetration, we make the pass to the open area. The middle man will stay in the middle all the way up the floor looking to be a receiver and "jump" to meet each pass.

This is what it should look like (click here)

3) I am looking to start a summer basketball camp business much like the one you started. Any advice?

Some coaches have a passion to teach and want advice on running their own basketball camp. I made the smartest move I thought possible in starting a camp....I began in my hometown area (or at least a 50 mile radius). I had name recognition and I knew most of the coaches in the area. I started small, extremely small...about 20 or 25 kids in camp. Didn't charge much at first and gave away the farm on awards day! I worked hard at finding local and national sponsors, which made things a bit easier, and again stayed in touch with the coaches that were helpful to me in securing summer camp locations. When I retired from the camp business after 20 years I was averaging about 150 to 200 kids per week of camp. I was pretty proud of that accomplishment and wished I could have continued...but I was just burned out. I was "phoning it in" as they say at camp. My heart wasn't in it the past year or so and felt so guilty taking the money. Glad I got out before it got any worse.

I would warn you to make sure you have a strong passion to teach young people if you are interested in moving forward with a basketball camp business. Develop a philosophy of your camp and stick to it. All of your drills and teaching should reflect that philosophy each day. If your your primary goal of the camp is to make money, it will show in just about everything you do and will ultimately lead to your business downfall.

4) What rules do you have for your Motion Offense?

Unfortunately, I cannot help you much with the Motion Offense, as I don't put a tremendous amount of emphasis on it. I run a very "basic" motion with simple rules at the conclusion of my "somewhat" structured offense or whenever there is a breakdown. The Motion Offense to me always seems to end up being "dribble, dribble, pass, pass, ok my turn to go one-on-one."

I spelled out my rules for my motion offense in a previous newsletter edition. Rather than include the information here again, I encourage you to look in the "previous issues" archives under "Last One Holding the Chalk" for the month of December (2004).