Why Transition Basketball

I received a ton of questions questioning the state of basketball... alot of traditionalists believing that the fast break game has ruined the half court game. I am not sure I agree. I will address some of the half court teams to watch next week, but I believe that transition basketball is a necessary component to successful basketball. The problem with coaches that present transition basketball as a free for all or do not allow it at all may be that they are asking themselves the wrong questions.

In dealing with transition basketball it's impossible to separate the offense from the defense because basketball is cyclical in nature. But, because I received a great number of questions on both I'll attempt to do so.

With transition offense, you want to stress speed and accuracy. The obvious bonuses are ...

1. easy baskets
2. great second chance opportunities and you will be tough to block out.
3. It gives us a chance to set out defense.

The obvious problems are:

1. turnovers
2. shot selection
3. players need to push and create
4. can you live with the tempo

Things to consider:

1. How many people does the offense send to the glass? Todays team tend to send three to the glass and send two back ... which gives us two free rebounders.
2. Where do you send your free rebounder? To the free throw line.
3. When do you break? I posed this question to my bloggers ... other than missed shots and steals I didn't receive too many innovative answers. Do you break on misses, makes, free throws, vs the press, vs traps, on jump ball, on made threes (got this from a coach in Spain).
4. How many breaks do you anticipate? Watch the NBA ... they get about 32 per game.
5. Who leads the break and/or slashes middle?
6. What percentage do you convert? 60% should be the baseline number.
7. Where do we want the dribbler to attack? Outer third top of the circle; outer third at the elbow; middle floor top of the circle. no matter where you attack, the eyes should never leave the rim!
8. How do we rebound to insure the outlet? On the block out we approach the outside shoulder of the offensive rebounder and force them middle. This clears a path to the outer third of the court.
9. How do you prioritize the advancement of the ball? (if people have questions on this please email me and I will provide a detailed answer to this portion)
10. Which moves do you employ regarding the advancement of the ball?
11. How do you approach the top defender? In a 3/2 and a 2/1 ...
12. Who is out on the break and what is there formation? For the wings, they should be 2 steps inside the sideline and angle to the top of the block. They should not look for the ball until they cross half court.
13. What are the post rules?

The above points revolve around the offensive portion. I won't be as long winded on defense but please do not take that as defense being less important. I am merely making a point that before we dismiss a very important part of basketball we need to give it its just due.

Here are some defensive thoughts:

1. How many to the glass and how many back on defense?
2. Who is back?
3. Can we attack the rebounder with a trap or a jam?
4. Can we take away the outlets?
5. How do we deal with the 3pt shooters?
6. How fast do the posts get down the floor?
7. How do we teach transition rebounding?

The best advice I have heard on transition basketball came from Red Auerbach, who coached great transition teams with the Celtics of old. His thought on both ends was much simplier than mine. Coach Auerbach felt that if you could teach your team go from offense to defense and from defense to offense without hesitation you could be a great fastbreak team ... even if you weren't fast. He felt the first 3 strides taken when possession changes hands determined who would win the transition battle. He held up the Bird led Celtics as a prime example of a great transition team that was slow... they weren't bad in the half court either...

One more question ... how many dribbles does it take your pg to go from top of the key to top of the key--- Chris Paul does it in 3 dribbles. How about from the 28 ft mark to the top of the key ... Paul does it in 4 dribbles. Your pg needs to know how many dribbles it takes them.

To all of those fast break haters ... don't give up on it yet. Examine the questions I posed and apply them to your team. Also, take a look at the professional teams in your country and watch the NBA a little more closely. The fast break is not ruining half court basketball ... it actually enhances it. You'll have to wait until monday for that one.

Have a great weekend.

DD

Potential

Tomorrow we'll get back to X's and O's -- I have a bunch of interesting questions about transition basketball to cover. I received a question at 4:30 am est that caught my attention and felt I needed to push this to the forefront.

The question came all the way from Italy and revolved around the frustrations of a coaching friend of mine. He has a player that has been labeled as a guy with all sorts of potential. He feels he has bent over backwards to help this guy grow but feels he is at his wits end ... but he has invested so much. When does he stop?

We have all heard the famous quote that the world is filled with unsuccessful people who have potential. I asked my buddy to take a look at the big games that he has lost and I was willing to bet that the guy that he bent over backwards for didn't produce. Didn't play to his potential.

Potential should be a four letter word. It is a coach killer. When you bend so much for a guy who does not respect you, you lose the respect of the other four guys out there. You have to ask yourself the question: "What prevents this guy from reaching his potential?

1. Is he coachable? NO
2. Why bend the rules? TO WIN
3. Did you win the big game? NO

My advice to this coach, after I asked the three questions above is this: Do not prioritize this person as the foundation of your program/team. If you continue doing so, if things don't improve, this will be the first guy to sell you out and point the finger at you as the blame for the lack of success.

Here are some characteristics that can help you sniff these players out.

• They have a low threshold for pain
• No idea what you are trying to accomplish on the court (Low IQ)
• Selfish- care about shots and minutes.
• Refuse to do the intangibles (charges, next pass, etc)
• Drugs/ Alcohol

I hope this helps out. Build your team around guys who do things the right way. You will find that you will enjoy yourself much more as a coach and your teams will ultimately achieve more.

Tomorrow we'll cover some transition thoughts I observed while reviewing this past Olympic competition and I'll share a little anecdote about having your first team meeting.

DD

Teammates

Possibly the greatest ballplayer of all time has on his tombstone: "He was a great teammate." I wonder how The Mick (Mickey Mantle) would chronicle todays sporting environments with the high priced salaries and ridiculous ticket prices. I don't want to come off like I am opposed to free enterprise ... I am certainly in favor of people getting the fair market value for time put in. My concern is this ... with all of the distractions that have been imposed upon the world of sports (specifically basketball), it has become even tougher for young kids to understand the importance of becoming a teammate.

I had a great question posed to me by a parent/coach of a 12 year old boy is actively being recruited by colleges right now. For all of those rules fanatics, it is technically legal because he is not considered a prospect until grade 9. Once the parent got through this rule, he had a question revolving around ethics. My reply to that question is simple: the family should impose the same ethical priciples on the recruitment process that it imposes on its own family.

In an era of individualism, I see a parallel issue. The Mantles, the Birds, the Magics, the Jordans ... those guys were superstars and made great money for their era, but they were also great teammates and demanded that their teamates fall in line as well. It makes me ask the question: What should you demand from your teammates?

1. They need to have a high IQ for what we are doing.
2. They need to display a high level of energy.
3. They need to exhibit a high level of responsibility.
4. They need to commit to getting the job done ... no excuses!

In thinking back on this parent/coach who is about to embark upon a roller coaster journey called recruiting- use the celebrity and attention that your young child is about to receive and utilize it to teach life lessons. Stand out in front of the process and keep your family values at the forefront of all communication. And for all of those moms and dads that think they have the next Mantle or Jordan or Magic or Bird in the bedroom next to them ... remember Mantle's tombstone as a message for your child:
"He was a great teammate."

See you tomorrow.
DD

The Magic Offense

Over the past decade we have seen several innovative offensive schemes positively influence the basketball world at all levels. The Triangle, Princeton Offense, West Virginia's Motion (now Michigan and formerly Richmond), Mike D'Antoni's up tempo style, and the dribble penetration offense started in Fresno and popularized by Memphis and John Calipari. I received over 100 questions from coaches on five continents feverously searching for that "magic offense" to help transcend their team to new heights. I am sad to say that it does not exist. However, if you carefully exam each of the offenses mentioned and countless others that are used at each level, you will see a common set of principles that could help you decide which offense is best for you.

The first question you have to ask yourself is ... "Is the offense for me, or is it for the team?" Too many coaches fall into this ego trap thus handicapping their team and its potential offensive prowess.

Below is a creed that you can use to see if your offense can be an effective tool or possibly help you design your own offense.

1. Does your offense have proper 15-18 foot spacing. I know alot of people get down on the offensive style of the NBA ... but watch more closely and tape games. You'll get a PhD in spacing if you pay attention.
2. Can you reverse the ball?
3. Does your offense allow you to leave an area and replace? I watched Georgetown last night and even though they arestruggling to get a win lately in the very tough Big East, they leave and replace as good as anyone.
4. Can we initiate the offense with a dribble entry, pass, ball screen, and post step out. Give you a different look-- to quote Bill Parcells ... if you get hit in the face with a skunk enough you begin to smell it after awhile.
5. Do you have a backdoor game
6. On catches within the offense, do you have a short pass and a long pass ... keeps you away from being trapped. Ideally you would like three outlets around the ball ... a player to the left, a player to the right, one in front, and a deep diagnol.

If you look at any of the aforementioned offenses you'll see the common denominators mentioned above. Look at offenses as we reach March Maddness and see if they pass the test. Remember, do not get caught up in running the offense because of all of the pretty movements ... make sure it is functional for your team. It's usual the space between the notes that makes certain teams more effective than others. Continue your individual search for the best offense for you ... but do not stray too far from the points I mentioned in #1-6.

Tommorow I will be addressing a hot topic regarding team chemistry. Until then.
DD

Competing when you have less talent.

I received an interesting question from a pro coach in Turkey. He painted a scenario in which he went from having the best talent in the league to the worst talent due to injuries. The question he posed pertained changing his style of play and philosophy in a 24 hour period.

If you coach long enough you will encounter a situation similiar to this where you are pressed to win with less talent. Your situation may not be the as exteme as this one ... but unless you have the top team in the league every year I am certain that almost everyone can relate.

1. You have to take care of the defensive glass. Good positioning on defense allows for you to be in good rebounding position. Force tough contested first shots and eliminate the high percentage second shot.

2. Get more shots through forced turnovers and second chance points on offense. Both situations put you in high percentage offensive positions.

3. What is your FT% and how many FTA do you get. You need an inside game ... and that doesn't always mean a traditionalpost game. If you can get your team to dribble penetrate and/or cut you can accomplish the same thing that the traditional post up does ... collapse and over rotation of the defense. On a similiar note, you can attack a better post up player in an attempt to get him in foul trouble. Their back up post may be less talented than your starter giving you an advantage either way.

4. Identify your best three players and get them shots in areas where they shoot a high percentage. You should know where your best scorers are most effective through charting in practice and games.

5. You need to score 60% of your opportunities on the fast break. Why wouldn't you attain this number???

• You don't teach the attack, the formation, and the finish
• Players don't know the difference between a bad shot and good shot.
• Turn it over too much

Tomorow I will address a common question I am receiving from youth coaches on 5 continents ... it must be an epidemic. It revolves around the "magic offense that can't be stopped"

DD

Welcome

I want to welcome you to my new blog site. As a basketball enthusiast and international basketball consultant, I have and will continue to travel the world teaching and learning about the game of basketball. Along the way, I will share anything and everything I encounter pertaining to growth in the game. Posts will occur daily ... some in response to questions and others a result of my personal basketball experiences. Please feel free to email me with questons, potential topics, and responses to my posts. Anything I can do to assist you in your quest to discover everything you can through basketball ... I will do.
The blog will begin after the NBA All-Start break.