Join Mark and Tyler for a special Mailbag episode of The Hours podcast! Celebrating over 600 members in the Savvy Basketball community, they tackle listener-submitted "smart questions" that show effort and application. This episode dives deep into coaching philosophy, from youth development to high-level defensive strategy, emphasizing principles over prescribed plays and function over form.
Get ready for an in-depth discussion on how to teach modern basketball, why reacting to your opponent means you've already lost, and how to improve shooting effectively mid-season.
💡 Key Points & Timestamps
- Youth Coaching: Spacing with Non-Shooters (4:12)
- Crucial Principle: Spacing is for passing, not for shooting at that level.
- Third graders can shoot from distance, but they need to be taught a system that generates power and functionality over traditional form shooting.
- Head Coach Problem: Utilizing Capable Assistants (14:38)
- Recommendation: Ask the assistants to write their own job descriptions and identify their "areas of genius".
- Example roles: Scouts, running practice sections, shooting coordinator, game subs, driving competitiveness, extra work/gym-opening.
- Disruptive Defense: Guarding Stagger Screens in Lock Left (19:03)
- A coach asks how to guard stagger screens in the "Lock Left" defense.
- The Goal: Disrupt timing by making the ball "go to jail" (forcing the ball handler to the left side/sideline).
- The 5-Step Savvy Coach Checklist:
- Why do you care? Focus on what you can do, not what they do.
- Check the math. Is this action truly hurting you, or did one play just feel bad? (Look at percentage of possessions and points per possession) .
- Rewind the tape. What happened before the stagger screen that allowed them to run it? (The on-ball defender didn't make the ball go) .
- Create your problems (e.g., getting better on the wall, rebounding) rather than fixing theirs (stagger screens).
- Shooting: Function Over Form (44:20)
- Observation/Fix: Players often have feet that are too narrow and a ball load position (Position 1) that is too high (chin-level), limiting their ability to transfer force from the ground.
🎯 Action Items for Coaches
- Redefine Winning: If you coach youth, evaluate your practice plans. Are you coaching for long-term development or short-term wins? Use the Big/Small/Big perspective.
- Assign Autonomy to Assistants: Ask your assistant coaches to write their own job descriptions detailing their roles and areas of expertise to give them ownership.
- Stop Reacting to Opponents: Apply the 5-step checklist. Before defending an opponent's specific action (like staggers), check the math to see if it's a real threat and rewind the tape to see what your team did (or failed to do) to allow the action to happen.
- Teach Functional Shooting: Do not start with form shooting close to the rim. Adjust foot width and ball position to generate maximum power first. Do not move in if a player can't reach—force the functional adjustment by shooting from the desired range (or even further back).
