Can small sided games help improve a player’s athleticism, or do they only build skill and decision making? A study was discussed on the By Any Means Coaches podcast. The study came up with an actual number and the answer is a little more specific than a yes or no answer.

The 8 week study was conducted with players that were at least 16 years old, and had at least 3 years of playing experience. The study was divided into 3 groups.

The first group maintained their normal practice schedule. Nothing was added or deleted from their routine. It was concluded after 2 months there was no change in power, strength or speed.

The second group added 2 extra practices during the week that just focused on passing. They didn’t do any shooting. Zero finishes at the rim. So there was no jumping involved. The emphasis was on spacing, along with ball and player movement. Despite the extra volume, there were no neuromuscular changes to report after two months.

The third group also added the same 2 sessions per week. Everything was geared toward attacking the rim, defending the paint, and rebounding. Three point shots were not allowed. This group jumped higher, produced a lot more power, and got stronger. The landings were more controlled and softer.

Boomerang 1v2

1 works on attacking from all 5 spots off the boomerang pass. You can also build up to 2v2 and 3v3.

So adding more basketball did not do it. The possession group played two extra sessions a week and there was no change physically. With the focus on passing and not shooting or rebounding, the players didn’t do any jumping. The finishing group played the same amount and did show some improvement. Attacking the rim against live defenders involves jumping against contact and landing at different angles. The constant jumping and landing builds power. The finishing game creates a plyometric workout.

Loose Ball 1v1

You can start 2 players shoulder to shoulder at any spot on the floor. 1 tosses ball out in paint area. Players 2 and 3 work on sealing off and finishing. You can also have the passer become a second defender. Have the 2 players stay on for 30-60 seconds.

So why not just have them jump on air and skip finishing against a defender? Because you are eliminating a defender and a decision. Nobody has to be told to run faster when a lion is chasing them down. On air, a player is focused solely on the jump. In a finishing game they are thinking about scoring and the defender that is trying to block their shot. The defender makes every take off and finish different for every rep.

5 Spot 1v2

Defender tosses ball to offense and closes out on the left or right side of the offensive player. Offense attacks rim and reads 2nd defender walling up. Offense attacks from all 5 spots then rotates to paint defender.

There is one thing you need to keep in mind. Jump training can wear players down. So keep track of the number of jumps, not just the time. Sixty hard jumps and landings in one workout is a big day. The next day should be a lot less. Find out what your players are doing in the weight room. Avoid having back to back heavy jumping days. Mix in decision making games like 2v1/3v2/4v3 and 5v4 shooting games during the season to keep the legs fresh.

On air still fits, and a guided defender is low impact for the athletes. You are still able to emphasize repetition without repetition.

Give the shooter something to read on every rep. After the pass, the passer signals to the shooter. Hands held out means pass it back and relocate. Arms at the sides means shoot it. Arms above the head mean one dribble pull up. You can also add additional signals for a finish at the rim with the passer walling up. Now your players have to make a read before the catch.

Younger players probably get the most out of this. They are still growing and they have not done much jump training. Every jump and finish matters. You will see dramatic improvement with each session. They will become more confident and comfortable finishing at the rim against a defender.

This is one study, and the players were high school players and have been training for two to three years. They are not at an elite level. Strength training and plyometrics is already in place at the college and pro level. So the effect may not show up. And none of this makes anyone free from injury.

Think about a few things before you design a game for your athletes. What are you asking them to do physically as well as mentally? You are developing movers as much as shooters and passers. You can build them up and you can break them down.

Below the line are 4 more small sided games with diagrams that you can add to your practice plan.

Read more

Right after a switch there is a moment when the floor opens up and no one takes advantage of the open space.

The big ends up guarding the ball. The guard is now responsible for picking up the roller. When they turn and follow their new assignment to the rim, their back is turned to the ball. The moment they turn, the space behind the roller is empty.

That space is called the wake. The roller is the boat. Eventually the water closes behind them. But there is a small window of time and space that allows the ball handler to attack.

Why Players Miss It

The player is not only dribbling back to where the screen was set, they are dribbling toward two defenders. At first glance it looks like a dead end. But actually a big advantage has been created for the offense. The guard is scrambling to cover the roller and the big is out on an island trying to defend a smaller, quicker player.

Why the Space Stays Open

The guard ends up chasing the big and loses sight of the ball on the roll. The pop also creates the same problem for the defender. They lose vision and have a long close out.

Most defenses choose to handle the ball screen 2v2, offering little help as possible. Perimeter defenders stay attached to spot up shooters, not allowing any stand still 3’s.

This creates a double and sometimes triple gap for the ball handler in the middle of the floor. The other plus is the ball is in the hands of your best scorer against a slower, weaker defender.

How the defense adjusts

The peel switch has become the answer for most defenses. When the on ball defender is beat off the dribble, the wing steps up to stop the ball. The beaten defender peels off and takes the help defender’s man.

The counter to the peel is the Gortat screen. The roller seals the guard on his hip which makes it almost impossible to peel switch. Allows the driver an uncontested layup.

John Wall talks about how the Gortat Screen was created

The Wake Game

This concept can be introduced through a simple 2v2 decision based game.

Start out with a ball handler and screener against 2 defenders. Play live after the screen is set.

1 point for a normal score

2 points for a paint touch driving the wake

2 points for finding roller when both defenders stay with the ball

1 additional point if roller prevents a peel switch with a Gortat screen

Build up to 3v3

Players need to learn to not just use the screen. They need to learn what the screen leaves behind.

Don’t Teach it as a Move

This is a read off a switch or a hedge, not a rule for every ball screen. This is not a predetermined dribbling pattern. The crossover is not the skill. Reading when the wake is open is the skill.

Bones 🦴 over Cones

I can almost always tell why a player’s shot is broken. That part is not very difficult.

The hard part is helping them find the proper movement pattern that works best for them. I can see it, but I need them to feel it. While they are trying to discover what works for them they are doing some movements that feel uncomfortable. The fascinating part for me is what works for one player doesn’t necessarily work for the next one.

So I have to push them out of their comfort zone to the point where they are really struggling. The struggle is where the player gets to see where and why their shot is malfunctioning.

The number

A player makes 25 out of 50 on the 3 Point License in October. By December they have improved that number to 35 out of 50.

The license is not 50 spot up shots. It starts out stationary, then lifts and drifts, moves into transition off the dribble, and then another 10 off the catch. The last 10 come off cuts, starting out at the block from wing, then each rep slowly moves them shooting at the top of the key. Same thing is repeated on the other side.

3 Point License

The purpose of the license is to determine what areas a player struggles with their shot. Most players shoot a high percentage shooting spot ups. The misses start to add up for some when they are shooting off the move or off the dribble.

So when a player improves from 25 to 35, my first question isn’t whether they got better. I want to know where the 10 came from.

The biggest drawback is they aren’t going against a live defender. They aren’t reading a close out and nobody is putting a hand in their face.

Learning isn’t Linear

There is always a new habit or a bad habit that will creep into a player’s shot. The balance looks good on spot ups in the corner. But when they get run off the 3 and shoot a pull up they are landing off balance. Some things are old habits showing up and some of it never existed until now. So I am constantly adjusting.

Where it falls apart

What I like about the 3 point license is it challenges them physically as well as mentally. You start to see fatigue set in after 30 reps or so. When you combine fatigue with a few misses in a row, some fall apart mentally and finish with a low number.

It is surprising to me how quickly the shot breaks down around the 1 minute mark of continuous shooting. The legs get heavy so they have to find other sources of power.

Over time, several of my players can reach the 3 minute mark. There also comes a time when uncomfortable turns into drowning, and you can see it. You want to make sure you push them just a little bit more each workout.

Then before the session ends, we go back to what they do best. Every workout ends on a positive note, with the player feeling good about themselves and their shot.

What the number is good for

I am not against measuring. When a player improves from 25 to 35, they are walking on to the court with a lot more swag. The hard work paid off. The awesome part is they aren’t afraid to fail or look silly. They understand it is only temporary.

The game is still the test that matters most. Regardless if the number is 25, 30, or 35, your players should walk out of the gym feeling like they are Steph Curry.

Bones 🦴 over Cones

If you are ever in a room full of coaches and ask what you need to do to play a fast pace, you get a lot of familiar answers. Spacing, creating a 2 side, run deep and wide. I wouldn’t disagree with any of their answers. But none of it starts the break. The break starts on the rebound, and more importantly what the rebounder does in the air before the feet hit the floor.

What has always been taught

Jump high for the rebound, land on 2 feet, pivot, chin the ball, pivot to the outside, pass to the outlet. I taught it that way for years. It looks fundamental, but it is also slow and robotic. Allows the defense time to sprint back and protect the basket. They can also pressure the basketball.

The turn happens in the air

Landing like a quarterback means the rebounder turns their body while in the air. So when the feet hit the ground the shoulders are parallel to the sideline. The rebound and turn in the air is all one motion.

Why it works

Landing with shoulders parallel to the sideline allows better vision to see the defense and find open teammates. It also cuts down on reaching defenders. A rebounder that lands facing the baseline has no idea pressure is coming until it is too late.

There are also situations where the outlets are denied. The rebounder becomes their own outlet. They push the ball up the open floor and look to ( GUS) go until stopped.

Watch the clips

After watching a few possessions it is hard not to notice the shoulders of the rebounder. The ball gets up the floor much quicker when the turn happens in the air instead of a pivot.

So before you spend practice time running wide and deep, work on the rebound. Get your players to land like a quarterback.

Bones 🦴 over Cones

Bleach blonde hair is just as popular in this small town as it is in Mesa.

Regardless of age group, everyone was supportive of each other. They cheered each other on when they struggled and when they had success.

Chris Oliver does a masterful job of immediately getting into game like situations. They are playing right away. After setting up a particular game, Chris would just shrug his shoulders and say, “you just have to get them playing basketball.” What emerges from all the games is a lot of smiling, laughter and competition.

There was a little bit of struggle early on with proper catch discipline. Fight for your feet is a term that Chris used frequently, emphasizing ball in the air, feet in the air before the catch. The other area that was a struggle for grades 5-8 was spacing. Initially it was creeping inside the 3 point line on the catch, and also learning how to run triggers after the offense is stuck in neutral. The boomerang pass and across cut were the 2 triggers that were introduced. By Day 4 it was a beauty, using Canadian slang to describe how well they created a double gap with the across cut.

I mentioned earlier in the article about the term “fight for your feet.” One way that allows the athletes to focus on preparing feet before the catch is (BDT) basketball decision training. The game that was introduced was Side BDT Shoulder Game.

Most basketball shooting drills look nothing like the real game. Players catch, look directly at the rim, then shoot. The problem is this type of isolated shooting practice neglects the most important part of performance, decision making under realistic visual conditions.

Another addition to the trigger package was the touch screen. Where the screener rather than making contact with their body, they just touch the defender with their hands then ghost to wing or roll to the basket. It was covered in one of my articles in July.

Reach Out and Touch Someone

The touch screen and across cut causes uncertainty with the defense. Chris Oliver refers to it as cognitive distortion. This type of conceptual offense is a perfect fit for Magrath High School. They have a lot of size, athleticism and a lot of spot up shooters.

So excited to hear they will be playing in Arizona right before Christmas. When you spend 4 days with a program you find out very quickly what they are about. Everyone knows their role and they have a clear understanding of when to move the ball or hunt space when the offense is in neutral.

Really appreciative of Coach Chris Steed for allowing me to be part of his program for 4 days. He is an incredibly bright young coach that is a guru when it comes to analytics and team strategy. Learned a lot about his philosophy as a coach. He understands how to walk the line between being a player’s friend and being an authority figure.

So grateful for all the experiences I have had over the last few months. I have had the opportunity to meet coaches from all walks of life and from all over the world. Learned something new from all of them.

Sadly, the summer of Rory has come to an end. Excited to apply what I have learned in my upcoming workouts. But I am even more excited about what lies ahead.

Building relationships with coaches from around the world has created opportunities I never expected.

The summer may be over, but it feels like something much bigger is just beginning.

Bones 🦴 over Cones

Who I Met

Funny how small this world really is. A local man introduced himself to me and when I mentioned I was from Mesa, he said he served a mission with a companion from Mesa. Turns out I coached his 2 nephews and his brother who is a dentist, sees my two granddaughters.

What I Learned

Love how Coach Oliver jumps right into playing with grades 1-4. Everyone is moving quickly, and the most obvious thing of all, they are playing.

The first game was Rip 1v1, then it built up to 3v3. It is a lot of chaos, but that is the first sign that they are learning. The quickest way to lose a group at this age is to do a lot of talking and have them stand in long lines. They need a ball in their hands and exposed to different game like situations.

Which leads to my favorite ball handling game of the day. Chris has yet to give it a name, but it is steal the ball on steroids. The ball handler can start stationary, then move to skate or hang dribble. While dribbling, line up 3-4 defenders who run at the ball handler and try to steal the ball. Players learn different ball handling rhythms, as well as learning to protect the ball and create space. You can also add a second layer to the game. After all 4 defenders have attempted a steal, the offensive player escapes back and all 4 defenders attack again.

The next game was fight for your feet 2v2. Offensive players are loading up before the catch, ball in the air, feet in the air. As you can see from the clips, they need some work in that area. Their head and shoulders need to be facing the rim rather than the passer. Defense needs to work on jumping to the ball on each pass. Next player in line says “Go.”

Then 2v2 fight for your feet across cut. The next progression was adding a trigger when the ball is in neutral. Across cut was built up to a 3v3. The across cut creates a double gap. Allows the offensive player to attack open space with a player circling behind as a safety valve.

One Thing to Steal

From the older group, Exchange 4v4. Everyone passes and exchanges, then the across cut is added.

Bones 🦴 over Cones

Day 1

Day 1 of the Basketball Immersion Camp at Magrath High School

So excited and intrigued to visit Canada and to also visit this community of 2,500. The enrollment is roughly 400 students for the entire high school. They are officially listed as a 2A school but the majority of their schedule is against the 4A and 5A schools. They arguably have the best player in the area, Eli Steed who is a 6’6” power forward that is pretty much unstoppable once he gets downhill.

I have had the opportunity over the last 6-7 years to observe Chris Oliver in a clinic setting. The most recent was in Vegas at a Nike EYBL clinic during summer league.

Morning Session

He started out with grades 1-4. He called out 3 players from each sideline, bounced the ball in the air and they played 3v3 allowing only one shot.

Gradually, constraints were added. If you catch the ball you must pass immediately. He also added must pivot and stampede or stab dribble on the catch.

Just amazed at the simplicity and the sophistication of his teaching. While he is playing this game, he is evaluating the skill level he is working with and making a decision on what the next constraint will be.

At the younger ages especially, but all ages, they need to play the game. Learning emerges so much faster when decision making is involved.

Was it pretty all the time? Absolutely not. Learning is messy. What I did see was a lot of smiles and laughter. Pure joy.

Who I Met

Eric Fawcett, who is currently an assistant coach with the Edmonton Stingers of the CEBL in Canada. He is also a team strategy consultant for several schools at the D1 level, as well as professional teams throughout the world.

I recognized him from a podcast on Slappin Glass, where he has been added as a contributor. I have subscribed to Slappin Glass for a few years and I highly recommend you check them out.

Slappin Glass

Enjoyed talking with him about his role as a consultant and also what it’s like coaching in the CEBL. Obviously as a team strategy consultant a lot of it involves analytics. Breaks down player efficiency as well as points per possession out of sets and triggers. Life in the CEBL sounds a bit chaotic. Players are basically on a game to game contract, so players are constantly coming and going.

He also has me convinced to join him and Slappin Glass for their fall clinic at Chapman University this weekend. Will have to check with my travel agent, also known as my wife if it is doable. Huge lineup of amazing coaches. The coach that intrigues me the most is Kyle Bossier from Cal Poly SLO running his pace and space offense.

Evening Session

Chris worked with the older boys and girls in the later session, emphasizing the 2 side break and the importance of spacing. Introduced triggers that can get you back in your offense when you are in neutral.

Ran a lot of duets. That will have to be an entire separate article. Way too much to cover. We will discuss at a later date the across cut, boomerang, and the touch screen into a short roll or ghost.

One Thing to Steal

Boomerang Pass/Across Cut

No doubt Magrath, Alberta and the culture created at this program is another slice of basketball heaven. A standard is in place here and they all hold each other accountable.

Excited for Day 2

Headed to the Blue Goose Bar to pick up a soda and see what they are serving for breakfast.

Bones 🦴 over Cones

I did it for years. One player at the free throw line, the rest of the team standing along the baseline with their hands on their knees. Make two in a row and we are done. Miss one and everybody runs.

I told myself I was teaching a kid to shoot under pressure. I thought it was good game preparation. What I was really doing was associating a missed free throw with punishment.

I have former players who are grown adults now and they still bring up the outdoor practice. The wind was blowing, it was getting dark, and parents were waiting in the parking lot flashing their headlights and honking at us. That is the practice they remember. Practice is not over until we make two in a row.

Turnovers got sprints. Not blocking out got sprints. Not talking on defense got sprints. Miss a practice or show up late and you ran for it. We had a number of full court layups the team had to make inside a time limit, and if we came up short, we ran. It was common for me and it was common for almost every coach I knew, and none of us ever stopped to ask what it was doing.

A player who blew the layup did not get another rep at the layup. He got a sprint. Will running make a player more focused on making the next one? Rather than running a 17 (sideline to sideline) under 2 minutes, what if you added a guided defender on a finishing game?

Energy was the same way. Nobody is talking on defense, we put them on the baseline and have them run.

I get sick to my stomach thinking about some of it now.

What the running actually teaches

Steve Magness put a post up in July that got me thinking about all of this again. His argument is that using exercise as punishment teaches athletes to hate exercise, that it moves them into avoidance motivation, and that the research says it produces worse discipline rather than better. He called it lazy. That word is the one that stuck with me, because he is right about who the practice is really for. Running is easy to assign. It requires zero imagination for a coach.

Self determination work going back to Deci and Ryan holds that the athletes who stay in a sport and keep improving are the ones doing it for reasons that they own. Dweck and Leggett’s work on fear based environments points at something even more specific for us. Athletes in those environments get cautious. They become afraid to fail, and they stop taking the risks that skill growth actually requires.

If a player is disrespectful or unfocused, running does not teach him accountability.

The part I never see anybody talk about

Punishment makes players play scared. It also makes them play to look good instead of making the right play.

So he gambles for a steal in the passing lane. He misses, his four teammates are left playing 5v4 behind him, and they give up a wide open three as he is lying on the floor. Oftentimes, his teammates applaud him for his intensity and hustle.

What looks like intensity is in reality fake hustle. It is selfishness. He ignored the defensive principles we work on every day so he could prove something to me.

I have coached that player. I made that player.

The strongest case for the other side

I want to be fair about this, because there are good coaches who do it on purpose. When researchers interviewed university coaches about using exercise as punishment for the International Sport Coaching Journal, the coaches defended it in terms most of us would recognize. They believed it motivated performance and they believed it built team cohesion. Everybody runs for one guy’s mistake, so the team holds each other to it.

The other comeback I get is that running builds toughness, grit and discipline. I do not think anybody has to give any of that up. Design a defensive rotation game, a rebounding game, a transition game, and put them at a disadvantage. Players get the toughness and the discipline out of those, and they walk off the floor more prepared for the next opponent than they would be off running a down and back.

I just do not think the running is what creates that. A team that will play for each other got there through the way it competes together, and you can build all of that inside a game where the consequence of a mistake is that the other team scores.

Conditioning away from the game

Set the punishment question aside for a minute, because I have a second argument that has nothing to do with any of that.

Conditioning done apart from basketball is mostly wasted practice time.

The research on small sided games in basketball has gotten pretty clear. Compared against down and back sprints, game based conditioning produces similar aerobic gains and similar or better change of direction improvement. One study of young basketball players found the games group made far larger gains in dribbling and shooting under fatigue, while the interval group came out ahead on straight line sprint time over thirty yards.

Unfortunately, sprints really aren’t providing much benefit to the athlete. They are closed and predictable. The player knows every stop before he starts. You are better off playing dribble or passing tag. Tag simulates the stop and start and changing of speed that you see in every game.

I heard Phil Martelli say at a clinic years ago that until somebody started awarding his team points for running sprints, he was not going to run them. That line has stayed with me longer than most of what I heard at clinics that decade.

What I do instead

So if we are playing a small sided game focusing on transition and we give up a layup, how are they going to fix it by running? Just repeat the game and let them figure it out.

If you want to test toughness and fatigue have a defender play continuously in a 2v1 or build up to a 3v2 scenario. Start out with a 1 minute burst, then build up to 2-3 minutes. Focuses on next play mentality. No time for correction or adjustments made by a coach.

For mistakes, nothing. Mistakes are the information. In Decision Based Development the mistake is how a player finds a solution he owns instead of one he rents. If I run a kid for the turnover he made attacking a gap on Monday, I have no business asking him to attack that same gap on Tuesday.

Two minutes at half court

There is one more thing I have done for more than ten years now, and it is what every player gets excited about.

At the end of practice I give the high school kids two minutes to make a half court shot. If somebody makes it, nobody runs. If nobody makes it, they run. With the younger ones I move it in to a three.

Believe it or not, somebody makes one. And if the two minutes run out, I give them another shot at it.

The best part is watching them. They encourage each other, they coach each other’s release, they lose their minds when one goes in. I have had players tell me years later about a practice they saved everybody from running because they made one from half court.

Here is what they never knew. I was never going to run them. I was just going to keep giving them more time.

The question I would ask any coach

I have a player right now who cannot pivot and cannot finish with his left hand. Tell me how running fixes either one.

Four minutes on the baseline is four minutes gone out of a two hour practice, and I do not get them back. Every minute spent running is a minute not spent on the thing the player actually cannot do yet.

We are coaching basketball. We are not coaching track.

🦴 over Cones

The job is to make yourself unnecessary. Your coaching instincts tell you to do the opposite.

A player drives baseline and picks up his dribble. You blow the whistle and tell him that instead of picking it up he needs to bounce out, Nash dribble, or look to Barkley post up. Next possession he Nash dribbles under the rim and kicks out to the corner for a wide open three. That felt like coaching. It looked like coaching to everyone standing on the sideline. And what actually happened is that you gave him a solution he did not find, which means he does not own it. He is renting it from you. He was playing from a script.

That phrase I did not come up with on my own. It comes from Rolf Götz, who writes Tesseract Junction, and it is the best version of this idea I have run across. Own it or rent it. Once you hear it that way you cannot unhear it in a gym.

Rented solutions work fine while the coach is on the floor. The problem is that the lease runs out in the fourth quarter when it is crunch time and you cannot be out there walking and talking them through a full court trap.

Rent is cheaper up front

Telling the player an answer takes 10 to 15 seconds. Building an environment where he figures out the answer himself takes a whole practice, and while it is happening it looks like you are doing nothing.

That price difference is why most coaches rent. Not because they do not care about development. Because the cost of telling shows up on a completely different day than the purchase. You get the clean rep immediately but you are not preparing them for Friday night under the bright lights.

Talking is the only part anyone can see

Here is why it is so hard to stop. Nobody watching your practice can see that the game you designed is doing the teaching. They can only hear you talk.

So the coach who builds a constraint then stays quiet appears to not care, while the coach who narrates every possession is coaching them up. Parents see it. Coaches see it. One of those two coaches is developing players who can solve problems and the other is producing players who can follow directions, and from the stands they look like the opposite of what they are.

And that is really what drives the endless instruction. It is not that coaches believe reacting to every play develops anybody. It is that going quiet feels like standing in front of a gym full of parents with no evidence you are doing your job. So the coach talks. Not to teach the kid, but to prove to everyone that he is coaching. It is hard to stay quiet. You have to watch them struggle, and your first instinct is to jump in and fix everything.

Discovery is not rolling the ball out

Coaches ask me the same thing every time, and it is fair. A kid left alone with a problem he has no way to solve is not discovering anything. He is guessing. But what they are doing is discovering. Discovering what does and doesn’t work.

The environment is what separates the two. If the game you built does not put the problem right in front of them, you did not design anything. Sam Elsner said it about as well as it can be said. Coach does not install skill. Coach designs environment in which skill installs itself. Going quiet is not the method. The game you build is the method, and going quiet allows the player to discover.

Most coaches who tried this once and hated it were not running a bad idea. They were running a bad design.

I still catch myself

I spent the first part of my coaching life correcting everything. Whistle, stop, tell them, run it again. That was the job as I understood it, and I was good at it, and I was building renters the entire time.

I would like to tell you that I read the research and never did it again. What actually happens is that I still catch myself. A kid makes the same mistake for the third time in practice and the answer is right there in my mouth and I say it. Thirty plus years in.

What changed is what I do next, and I got that from Mike Mackay at camp this summer. Once you recognize you have given a player the answer, do not just feel bad about it. Build another game where the same problem shows up again, and let them run into it themselves this time. Then debrief by asking instead of telling. What did you figure out. What is better than it was. If they can tell you what they solved, it is theirs. If you have to tell them what they solved, you are going nowhere as a team.

That is the part I did not understand for a long time. It was never about never correcting. It is about what you do in the next ten minutes after you catch yourself.

It gets worse before it gets better

Every team I have coached this way plateaus before it improves. Some of them get worse first. The players are being asked to read something instead of recite something, and reading is slower than reciting until it is faster.

That stretch is where coaches quit, and almost none of them quit because they decided the approach does not work. They quit because practice after practice it felt like they weren’t doing their job. Feeling useless and being useless are not the same thing. The worst of it shows up right before the improvement does.

Try this with the kid at the top of the article

Play 1v1 from the wing or corner. Defender tosses the ball to the offense. Look for zero seconds on the catch. You can start out with a scripted defender closing out and forcing middle or baseline. Offense looks for a solution and can use the CP3 bounce out if the defender cuts off the drive. They also have the option of turning the possession into a Barkley post up. When using the Nash dribble, the player circles under the basket and looks for the Barkley post up. Again, we need to put them in situations where they have to discover for themselves what the best option is. The part that stings even more for a coach is when they find a better solution than the one you were going to suggest.

The debrief is the part I used to skip. I do not walk over and explain what happened. I ask. What was happening on the ones where you struggled. What did you do different on the ones that worked. What did your defender do when you created space? If he can put it in his own words, he owns it. If the coach is doing all the talking, the player owns nothing.

So the question you have to ask yourself is whether the things your players are doing well are owned or rented. The only way to find out is to build the environment first, then keep your mouth shut and let it build your team.

Bones over cones. 🦴

I worked with a player recently and we spent a little over an hour rebuilding his shot from the ground up. I didn’t tell him that his feet were staggered and outside his hips. Or that he had too much movement in his shot pocket. I put him in movements that let him see and feel what was best for him. We started at the feet and had him experience the difference between really wide and narrow feet. He also felt the difference between 10 toes to the rim and staggered. Another area he struggled with was sitting on the catch and using his lower half (legs) to generate power. So he felt the difference between jumping and no jumping. The final area was his shot pocket. Because he wasn’t using his lower half to generate power he had a lot of movement with the ball trying to create power and momentum. The negative motion resulted in a flat shot. Along the way everything started to click. He was landing on balance, everything was in a straight line. After every make he was smiling and nodding, now I get it.

As he moved into different movements like shooting off cuts and off the dribble, certain parts of his old shot would creep back in. He would stop and say what he was doing wrong. A player that can self correct is the goal for every coach.

While we were finishing up everyone was all smiles, including Dad. As we were shooting free throws I noticed his feet were staggered. I asked him where his toes should be pointing and he gave me the correct answer. Then he said something that I have heard hundreds of times over the years. My other shooting coach told me to shoot this way. I froze for a moment. It was that same feeling I have felt hundreds of times when I hear that line. The first thing you ask yourself is, did I just waste over an hour and a half on this kid? It has never been a waste. But it made me realize this kid has bigger obstacles to overcome than staggered feet.

One thing that every coach needs to understand. That workout was not a waste of time and the player is not uncoachable or was rejecting my feedback. His body was reacting the way it should.

But here is the part that has had me scratching my head for years. Why would a player go back to what is comfortable and unsuccessful than stay with something uncomfortable and experience success? Repeat that one more time. If a player is having success with narrow feet or a dip in their pocket, I am not touching a thing. I am not trying to create the perfect shot. Because it does not exist. And this is not just one player we are talking about. Parents call me weekly with the same line, my son or daughter’s shot is broke. You can read more about it here-What to say when the shot won’t fall

So these are players coming to me for help. Their confidence is in the dumpster and they are looking for answers. They came looking to change it, and they discovered for themselves what needed to change. They did it. They watched the ball go in. And in the end a lot of them still go back to the old way, because it is what they know. Comfort beats success more often than any of us want to admit, and it is not weakness. Familiar feels better than better.

Between the old shot and new shot there is a period where nothing feels right. They would prefer to go back to what is comfortable, rather than battle through the uncomfortable stage. What they don’t realize it is only temporary. It is up to them how long it feels uncomfortable. You have to be patient and persistent and push through it. Put in the reps.

For the 60-90 minutes in your gym, you control the environment. You put them through movements that help them find their shot. Then the session is over and they are again exposed to what built the old shot. The games, the GUN, the other coaches. So the real battle isn’t the feet or inconsistent shot pocket. You are battling everything that has shaped them so far in their basketball career.

The mind is the other half. A new correct shot feels wrong, because the old wrong one feels normal. That is why the player can say it did not feel right while the parent watching calls it the best he has ever shot. Same shot, two views, one from inside the body and one from outside. The discomfort is not the reason to quit. It is the sign it is working.

And then there is the other voice in his ear. My other shooting coach says to shoot this way. That one is not about his feet at all. When a young player is unsure, he trusts what he was told over what he just felt. You will not win that by telling him the other coach is wrong. You win it by getting him to take charge of his own body. Not you are doing it wrong, but what did you feel on all those makes in a row? Let the makes and the feel be the teacher so he is never stuck choosing between two coaches.

So what do we actually do, beyond staying calm.

We keep using the variability that built the feel in the first place. The reality is that, like most kids we work with, he has a lot of voices in his ear. Parents, multiple club coaches, and maybe a few other workout or shooting coaches. So I stop trying to compete with all of it and put my energy where I actually have some control. I control my hour. I set up and manipulate the environment so the player discovers the right answer for himself instead of being told it. And I never stop reminding myself what this kid is up against the rest of the week, because that is what keeps me patient instead of frustrated when the old shot shows back up.

None of this means the work does not matter. It just takes longer than one good session makes it look. What he built today is real. It only needs reps, a lot of them, before it sticks.

It does not mean you failed him, and it does not mean he failed. The obstacles are just bigger than the shot. So stay patient, and get back to work.

One last thing. Everything I put this player through comes from my book, Shot Ready 100. Ten movements that walk an athlete through his shot and let him diagnose it himself, the same way this kid did. Grab it on Amazon.

amzn.to/4yIeokX

Bones 🦴 over Cones

I learned a long time ago from Canada basketball technical director Mike Mackay that you build the athletic house before you try to build a basketball player. No house starts without a foundation. You don’t start with the paint and furniture. You pour the foundation first, the part no one ever sees, and for an athlete that foundation is the way a body moves, how they run, stop, start, land, balance and change direction. Agility, balance, coordination and speed are the ABC’s. You build the ABC’s into every practice.

I did not always coach this way. For my first 20 years my practices were a mirror image of my high school coach. You did not get to play or scrimmage until you mastered the fundamentals. So the first hour or so of practice was never ending, mind numbing on air drills. One drill that started most practices was starting at the block and dribbling out to the elbow, hop stop, pivot and pass to the next person in line. Nobody guarded anybody and nobody read anything. We also did perfection layups where you obviously couldn’t drop the ball or travel. I think there was usually a time limit and we had to make a certain number in a row. Every shooting drill was scripted without a defender. So when we finally reached the tail end of practice, which was scrimmage time, one bad pass or travel and coach would threaten to go back to our passing and pivot drills. I can still hear him now. Do we need to stop playing and go back to our pivot and pass drill? I thought that was coaching. But did we really work on it? Did any of it prepare us for a game?

The plan that I am introducing today is designed for younger players, and for anyone new to the sport, the beginners who are still learning the game. Australian coach Peter Longergan calls it hiding the veggies in the spaghetti sauce. I talked about it in one of my recent articles.

Adaptable Hoops

Hide the Veggies

Before we get started, I want to give credit where it’s due. Australian coach Peter Lonergan has used the phrase “Hide the Veggies” for years to describe creating practice environments that players genuinely enjoy while still delivering exactly what coaches want them to learn. That idea has stuck with me and has influenced the way I think about designing practices…

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2 months ago · 3 likes · Adaptable Hoops

Chris Oliver at Basketball Immersion says the same thing a different way. You start with the dessert. You get them playing from the get go and you skip the boring on air drills. You keep it fun, competitive, and you teach them the fundamentals while they are distracted by playing. Everything below is built that way.

The pace and tempo is established within the first few minutes of practice. I like to open up with a fun warmup that is building athletes while they play.

The warmup that is really a game

Sumo starts with two players shoulder to shoulder, leaning into each other, using the half court line as the boundary. On the go, each one tries to push the partner across the line. Run it with one shoulder, then turn around and run it back to back with the other shoulder. It wakes up the legs and the core and it gets them competing before they have thought about it.

Get ups to sprint puts both players on their stomachs on the baseline. When the coach says go, they pop up and sprint to half court. Reset there and sprint to the far baseline, then run one more full court rep. After that, change the start. Now they sit, and they have to get up and sprint the full floor without using their hands to push off. That last part is the veggie. You are teaching them to load and explode off the ground.

Balance push and pull has partners standing on one leg with hands locked together, pushing and pulling until one of them is forced to put the second foot down. Simple, and it works the B in ABCS.

Mirror Dribbling

Mirror dribbling gives both players a ball and makes one of them the leader. The follower has to match every stop, start, and change of speed. This is where the twitches live, the quick shifts of pace that make a handle look dangerous.

Getting competitive one on one

Dribble Knee Tag

Dribble knee tag goes to five. You score by tagging your partner’s knee or knocking the ball away, all while keeping your own dribble alive.

Pivot out of Pressure

This is a 30 second game. You can build up the time, depending on age and skill level.The defender scores a point every time they touch the ball. The offensive player pivots out of pressure the whole time and keeps the ball in the power position, three points of contact, ball on the chest, elbows out like spears, ball on a necklace. Your feet are what get you open. While the ball stays in that power position, the passer pivots to get a foot outside the defender’s foot, which forces the defender to retreat to avoid getting face cut if the pass is made.

Dribble Chase

The defense starts this game by sprinting around the cone. Offense is dribbling stationary and attacks in the opposite direction.

Blind Start Finish

Blind start layups face the defender toward the basket while the offensive player rests the ball on the defender’s back. The moment the ball comes off the back it is live, and the offense works on attacking the rim in a straight line. Start each rep from a different spot, and after a minute switch offense and defense.

Wolf Drill

You can start this game at different spots on the floor. The wolf drill has the defender pass to the offense and then chase them down from behind. Start the defender closer or farther depending on age and skill so the race stays honest.

Adding a pivot and a read

Self Toss Pivot 1v1

Self toss pivot one on one gives the defender a ball too. You start with that defender holding the ball up over their head while they guard, which takes away most of their ability to react. Slowly shrink the advantage, first by making them hold the ball in one hand, then by taking the ball away entirely and playing live. The offense can pivot off either foot, open or reverse, squares up, and reads the closeout.

Facing Finish

Full court facing finish starts at half court, with the offense facing the defender and their back to the basket. After a stationary dribble and a foot fake or two, they turn and attack, and it is live from there. You can also start at different locations on the court.

Hiding veggies in the shot

DL Shooting

Now we hide some veggies inside the shot itself. DL shooting is where I introduce different foot widths and let the athlete feel their own balance. One rep with the feet narrow and close together. The next rep with the feet outside the shoulders. When you come back to a narrow rep, move the feet out slightly. On the wide rep, bring them in about three inches. Keep closing the gap from both ends until the shooter settles around hip width, ten toes to the rim, and let them find their own sweet spot rather than stamping a stance on them. Mix in little jumps too, front to back, back to front, right to left, and left to right, so they get comfortable landing from different angles.

Self Toss Cone Touch

Self toss cone shooting faces offense and defense with cones six to eight feet apart. The shooter tosses the ball to the left or the right, and the defender has to touch the opposite cone before closing out. Now the shot has a decision baked into it.

Cone touch off the Dribble

Cone touch off the dribble uses the same setup, but the offense is dribbling in place. The defender starts the rep by touching one of the cones, and the offense attacks the opposite side, dribbles around the cone, and shoots.

Pull Up Shooting

Pull up shooting puts the defender behind the offense with one hand on their back. The offense dribbles in place, foot fakes, twitches, and attacks. Start with a one dribble limit then add more if needed.

Adding a player adds decisions

2v1 Train Start

2v1 train start lets the ball handler dribble to any of five spots while the second offensive player stays a single gap away. Good way to teach spacing and learning to stay out of the lava.

2v1 Shot Clock

2v1 with a four second shot clock puts the defender in the paint with the ball. They pass to either offensive player, and the offense has four seconds to get a gold medal finish.

Hopefully my descriptions give you a feel for how you design practices for beginners. Below is where real basketball is introduced. Members get the rest of the plan, two on two all the way through five on five, each game built to sharpen reads and spacing at game speed, with the diagrams to run every one at practice tomorrow. You also get how to read your gym and adjust the games on the fly, the constraints that fix problems without stopping play, and the long game that ties it together. This is the part you print and coach from.

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It is going to take a while to drop the pounds I gained being on the Thomas & Mack diet for almost two weeks. I had a really good rotation going. Chicken fingers, hot dogs, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, and of course the three headed monster at Dairy Queen. Oreo Blizzard, Peanut Buster Parfait, and vanilla ice cream cones.

I met a lot of good people along the way. High school coaches, a few college coaches, and some NBA coaches too. And I learned that this game is continually evolving. Defenses are still trying to come up with answers for all the spacing and the constant player and ball movement.

I also learned a few new trash talk phrases from Houston fans. After a hard, physical foul I heard “get the babies out of the street.” And if you want to invite someone to fight, you say “you want to go outside? We’re from Houston. We’re always outside.”

The size and athleticism is off the charts. The intensity is cranked up because everyone is fighting for a roster spot. Plus you are allowed 10 personal fouls in summer league, so things get heated and very physical.

Spot up shooting is in a good place. Everyone is comfortable shooting from NBA range and beyond. Shooting off the move is a struggle for many. Any type of movement or anything off the dribble into the midrange is also inconsistent. The biggest issue I see is that no one is landing on balance. The quicker closeouts may also play a factor.

A game I use to train exactly this is 1v1+1 Fly By Shooting. 1 passes to 2 and takes a step away, 2 swings it to 3, then 1 sprints out and does a fly by while 2 gets to the paint after making the pass. Now 3 has a live read. Shoot over the fly by or attack the paint, where 2 is waiting as the defender. The game works on closeout reads and finishing at the rim, the two things I watched players struggle with all week.

Attacking off the dribble is very impressive. Players attack the defender with the shoulder, they anticipate the reach, and the ball pickups are elite.

But so many players have relied on speed and athleticism to finish. Every team had rim protectors, so going off one foot made it easy for the shot blockers to time their blocks. My recent article Play on the Ground talks about the effectiveness of playing off two feet. Did anyone learn anything from watching Jalen Brunson? There are also eight finishing games listed in that article that can help players get better at making reads around the rim.

Play on the Ground

As for post play, I didn’t see a whole lot of passes into the post. If you are a big, you better be able to rim run and Gortat or hit the stand still three. If you can do both, you are going to make a lot of money.

The majority of ball screen defense was drop coverage. The crack screen forces the on ball defender over the screen, which creates a 2v1 advantage. I also saw an increase in the use of the Gortat screen. A Gortat screen is a screen after the screen, where the rolling big pins the help defender under the rim and allows the guard to finish uncontested.

Gortat Screen

Many of the bigs were also not comfortable finishing with the weak hand. They would often find themselves on the left side of the rim and still try to finish with the right hand, and it would end up being an easy block. Or as the Houston fans put it, “Dang, he got packed like UPS.” As a 30 year UPS driver, I felt that one. Below I am adding a few paint games that will allow your bigs to explore using their weak hand and playing out of pivots.

Defense starts behind offense. Self toss inside paint. Work on open and reverse pivot. Get eyes on the rim when squaring up. Read the close out. Allow offense to play for a 1 minute burst. Slowly increase the time and allow them to play through mistakes. Create a next play mentality.

Self Toss Paint 1v1

Defense starts behind offense. Offense self tosses anywhere in the paint. Work on open and reverse pivot. Lift eyes to the rim when squaring up. Read the close out. Offense stays on for a 1 minute burst. Increase the time limit. Learn to play through fatigue and mistakes. Develop a next play mentality.

Blind Finish 1v1

Defense starts facing the basket. Offense puts ball on defender’s back. Work on making attack and using shoulder to bump and make contact. Add constraints- left hand only, no dribble, finish off 2 feet. You can also move outside the paint and play 1 or 2 minute bursts.

Jungle Finish

2 defenders stay in paint for a a 1 minute burst. Offense attacks from different angles. Add constraints - finish off 2 feet, weak hand only. Defenders can wall up or play live . Work on walling up.

So many bigs looked uncomfortable with the ball outside the lane. I am adding an awesome breakdown on the T-post and reverse pivot by Chris Oliver from Basketball Immersion.

Playing in the Post

On the offensive end, my recent article Reach Out and Touch Someone covered the latest rage, the touch screen. Rather than create a collision, teams have gone to the touch screen to create deception. The toughest read is the ghost screen when a shooter is running the ghost. That slight confusion creates enough time for the guard to get downhill. The other actions that showed up in almost every possession were the get and the DHO, along with the grenade action, which is an uphill DHO.

Reach Out and Touch Someone

For paid subscribers, I put together a Court Card with nine shooting games that attack everything I just described. Relocation Shooting, 2v1 Shooting, Push and Pull, Burst Shooting, Sprint Close Out, Mosquito, Read the Closeout, Contest Jumpers, and Triangle Close Out. These games work on shooting off cuts and relocations as well as off the dribble, all against live closeouts, so your players learn to shoot on the move and land on balance under pressure.

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When the same mistake shows up across different rosters and different coaching staffs, it is not a talent problem. It is a teaching problem. Watch the replays and every one of those fouls looks the same. The defender sprints out with no plan for stopping, sells out trying to block the shot, and arrives out of control right as the shooter leaves the floor. Nobody ever taught these players how to brake, and there is a reason for that. The closeout model most of us learned twenty years ago does not teach braking either. It teaches something worse.

The Old Model Is Not the Answer

A coach watching those fouls has a ready made correction sitting in his memory. The traditional closeout. Sprint a few steps, then chop your feet, get your hands high, and break down into the shooter. It sounds disciplined. It films well in a camp setting. And it trades one foul for another.

Think about what we are actually asking. Run out at full speed, then chop your feet with your hands over your head. That is the most unathletic position we could possibly put a player in. No athlete in any sport decelerates with short choppy steps and both arms in the air. A defensive back does not chop into a tackle. A tennis player does not chop into a return. We invented a movement that exists nowhere else in sport and made it the centerpiece of our defensive teaching.

And it costs us on the scoreboard too. Chopping the feet bleeds speed early, which means the defender covers less ground in the time the ball is in flight. So the defender who started chopping at twelve feet looks up and realizes he is still short. Now he has one bad option left, and he takes it. He covers the last gap with a lunge or a jump straight into the shooter. A different road to the same whistle. The out of control defender never brakes. The choppy defender brakes too early and has to un-brake. Both end up in the shooter’s landing space.

The early high hands fail the same test. Nobody sprints at full speed with an arm overhead, so that hand was costing distance in exchange for a contest that mostly looked good from the bench.

Sprint Stop Closeout

The better model is simpler, and Hooper University put out a breakdown of it so good that I am adopting their language from here on. They call it the sprint stop closeout, and the name is the teaching. Sprint out. Come to a stop under control, braking hard the way a hockey player stops on skates. Then close out from there.

Watch their full breakdown and come back.

A full sprint covers the ground. One hard, late deceleration kills the momentum all at once instead of dribbling it away across six choppy steps. And that stop lands the defender in a lateral base that is already loaded to slide either direction if the shooter puts the ball on the floor.

The path matters as much as the braking. Do not close out on a straight line into the shooter’s body. Take an angle to the shooting hand side, and bring the inside hand up at the stop. Vertical, not swiping forward. The contest arrives beside the ball instead of through the shooter’s landing space, and you have taken away the strong hand drive while conceding only the longer path to the weak hand.

The replays gave me one more reason to insist on that angle. On both four point plays, the same shooter slightly kicked out a leg to create the contact. Twice in a row. That is not an accident. Shooters at every level now hunt this whistle, and a defender closing on a straight line is a willing partner in the sale. All the shooter needs is proximity. The only insurance a defender has is space the official can actually see, and the side angle is what creates it. When you arrive beside the shooter instead of in front of him, there is visible daylight between the two bodies, and a kicked out leg finds air instead of a defender.

You Cannot Tell a Player When to Brake

Here is where this becomes a Decision-Based Development article and not just a technique correction.

The sprint stop is not a shape you can demonstrate and check off. It is a braking skill, and the timing of the brake depends on the defender’s own speed, the length of the gap, and what the shooter is about to do. That read does not exist in a closeout line where players run at a coach standing still with a ball over his head. Every rep in that drill has the same answer, so the player never learns to find the answer.

Put a live shooter in the drill instead. Give that shooter real options. Shoot it, shot fake and drive it, or move it. Now the defender has to solve the braking problem for real, every rep, because the shooter’s behavior keeps changing the answer. Then attach consequences. A foul on a shooter loses the game outright. A clean contest wins it. Defenders calibrate fast when the environment scores what actually matters.

The Clippers and the Jazz were not undisciplined that night. They were never taught how to stop.

Before I sign off, I would genuinely appreciate input from other coaches on this one. What do you teach on closeouts against shooters, especially in late game situations where a foul on a jump shooter can decide the game. Every bench in America is yelling stay down and do not leave your feet in those moments. What else are you reminding your players. What is the phrase or the cue that actually changes their behavior when the game is on the line. Drop it in the comments. I read every one, and the best answers will make their way into a future issue.

Bones over cones. 🦴

The packed crowds from opening weekend have thinned, and many of the NBA executives, scouts, and coaches from Europe have already started making their way home after an eventful week in Las Vegas, including some new friends from the high top tables. The gyms feel a little quieter, but don’t mistake that for a lack of quality basketball. For the players still competing, every possession is another opportunity to earn a roster spot or prove they belong. Attendance will undoubtedly pick back up as we head into the weekend, but for now it’s a great time to settle in and really study the game.

One player who continues to catch my attention is Boston Celtics rookie Chris Cenac Jr.

His first statement came in Boston’s opener when he stepped into a huge three against Toronto without hesitation. Since then, he’s continued to show why the Celtics were excited to add him.

What stands out isn’t just one skill. It’s the versatility of his offensive package.

On the defensive end, Cenac Jr. has been equally impressive. He consistently stays vertical when challenging shots, rebounds his position, delivers quick outlet passes to ignite transition, runs the floor every possession, and creates second chance opportunities with relentless effort on the offensive glass.

Those habits translate. They aren’t highlight plays. They’re winning plays.

Here are three games that reinforce many of the same skills displayed by Cenac Jr. One of them, Zero Second Turn and React, comes straight from my new Zero Second License chart, which you’ll find in full at the bottom of this article in case you missed it on Notes last night.

Game 1. Self Toss/Paint 1v1+ Validate

The offensive player begins with a self toss in the paint and must immediately attack the rim using either an open pivot or reverse pivot.

After finishing at the rim, the point only counts if the player validates it by stepping behind the three point line and knocking down a three.

Game 2. Zero Second Turn and React

The shooter begins with their back to the passer and may be either stationary or moving. The passer calls out “Ball!”, signaling the shooter to turn, locate the pass, and make an immediate decision.

After the pass, the passer closes out under control and walls up.

Play can be limited to an immediate shot or expanded to allow one attacking dribble before the finish. Shooter stays on offense if they score. Each make is worth 1 point. Go to 6 points or you can also have them each do a 1 minute burst to crank up the intensity. Change up location and distance with each rep.

Game 3. Escape Beyond the Arc

The shooter starts with a stationary dribble and their back to the basket.

On movement, the offensive player must create separation, get completely beyond the three point line, and shoot.

The defender begins on the block and cannot move until the ball handler initiates movement. Offense stays on if they score. This game really emphasizes the importance of speeding up feet and getting ball in the pocket quick.

Basketball rewards players who make quick, efficient decisions. Chris Cenac Jr.’s Summer League performance has been another reminder that versatility, effort, and sound decision making travel to every level of the game.

Every game on this chart puts players in situations that mirror what they actually see in live play. The reps add up, but no two shots ever look exactly the same. That’s repetition without repetition, and it’s what makes the learning stick. Shooters have to learn to be adaptable with their feet, shooting off the move, off different footwork, and from catches that never arrive quite the same way twice. Adding a defender closing out changes everything about the rep. Shooters can’t wait until the ball arrives to start their decision. They have to be ready on the catch, reading the closeout before the pass even gets there. That’s where zero second decisions are built.

🦴 over Cones

The latest rage in basketball offense is a screen that barely happens. A screener sprints toward the ball, taps a defender on the hip or shoulder, and disappears. That is the whole play. And it is quietly breaking switch heavy defenses at every level of the game.

Where did it come from

No single coach or team can claim they invented the touch screen. It evolved over the last decade as offenses searched for answers against defenses that switch everything.

The progression tells the story. Through the 2000s the traditional ball screen ruled. The big set a solid screen and forced the defense into a hedge, a drop, or a switch. Then defenses started switching early, before contact ever arrived, and the slip screen was born. The screener would take off before the collision. From there came the ghost screen. The screener never intends to make contact at all. He sprints at the defender, fakes the screen, and immediately pops or slips away. That action became common in the late 2010s and is now standard vocabulary at every level.

The touch screen is the next refinement, and it actually predates the ghost screen craze in some buildings. The Harden era Rockets were running it back in 2019 and 2020, with Clint Capella sprinting into screens, extending his hands onto the on ball defender for a split second, and rolling or popping before anyone could react. Film guys at the time noticed something important. The touch worked against every coverage because that tiny bit of contact triggered the defensive rules. The slip and the ghost sometimes let defenders off the hook. No contact, no switch call, no confusion. The touch guarantees the conversation starts and then leaves before it finishes.

Why it exploded

The NBA changed. Nearly every team now switches one through four or one through five. Offenses realized they no longer needed to create separation with a huge collision. They just needed defenders to hesitate for half a second. That hesitation is all an elite guard needs.

You see it constantly across the NBA now, and it has spread to the EuroLeague and the Basketball Champions League for the same reason. The more aggressively a league switches, the more valuable the touch becomes.

Why the tap works

The tap accomplishes several things at once. It triggers the switch communication. It freezes the on ball defender. It forces the screener’s defender to prepare for an exchange that may never come. It creates a driving angle. And it does all of this without clogging the spacing the way a hard screen does.

Think of it as creating confusion instead of contact.

Teaching progression

Start with touch and ghost. The screener touches and disappears. Many NBA guards never even use the screen, and the ball handler learns that the tap alone moved two defenders.

Then layer in touch and reject. The ball handler reads the defender leaning toward the screen side and attacks the other way.

Next comes touch into slip. Instead of popping, the screener taps and sprints to the rim. The tag defender is now in a bind he created himself.

The constraint led game

You do not teach this on air. You let players discover it in a live environment.

Play three on three. Every on ball screen must begin with a touch. No stationary screens allowed, and the screener can never stop moving.They must slip or ghost. Score two points for a paint touch and three points for a three created off a touch screen.

Those rules force players to discover timing, spacing, angles, and deception on their own instead of memorizing a play. The game does the teaching. You just shape the environment.

Coaching cues

Touch, don’t hit. Brush, don’t block. Create confusion. Exit with speed. Touch, then separate. Change up where you touch them. Touch the hip, lower leg, shoulder and back.Force indecision. Win with timing, not force.

Who I met

One of the best parts of writing this newsletter is connecting with coaches who see the game the same way. This week brought two of those connections.

The first was Thomas De Thaey, an up and coming player development coach you should know about. Thomas grew up in Belgium, played college basketball at North Carolina State, and then built a 13 year professional career overseas. Now he pours all of that experience into game based player development, and when we compared notes it was clear we share the same philosophies. Players learn by playing. The game is the teacher. Design the environment and let them discover.

Give him a follow on Instagram at @thomasdethaey and check out his YouTube channel. Coaches like Thomas are proof this way of developing players is spreading worldwide.

The second meeting hit closer to home. Outside the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas I ran into Gerrit Kersten-Thiele, the Sport Director of RASTA Vechta in the German Bundesliga. Gerrit is the man who signed Tommy Kuhse, a player I coached and trained from junior high through high school. Tommy went on to star at Saint Mary’s, broke out at Vechta with a season that made him runner up for league MVP, and last summer Gerrit brought him back to the club on a two year deal.

There is nothing quite like standing outside an arena in Las Vegas and shaking hands with an executive from Germany who believed in a kid you watched grow up in the gym. Development is a long game. It’s a wonderful feeling when you get to see it come full circle.

The bigger picture

Basketball is moving away from collision and toward deception. The best screen is not always the hardest one. Sometimes it is the one that convinces two defenders to think for half a second.

Bones over cones. 🦴

Another fun filled day at Summer League, meeting new people and catching up with friends from last year.

Most notably Bob and Carol, lifelong Boston Celtics fans in their 80s. We ran into them a day earlier and they were kind enough to save us seats at center court. Carol is still heartbroken over the Jaylen Brown trade. Not sure she can ever forgive Brad Stevens.

I also caught up with a coaching friend I met last year at the Transforming Basketball clinic. Liam has been part of Israeli basketball for the last three or four years, most notably with Maccabi. Between the Thomas and Mack and the Pavilion sit rows of high top tables where coaches and agents from around the world congregate to network and make deals. Most of the tables have charging stations, which tells you everything about how much business gets done there.

Liam shared how difficult last season was when the conflict with Iran escalated. Several players left for security reasons, and those spots were nearly impossible to fill. They finished their season playing in Serbia and never crowned a domestic league champion. He is looking for a coaching job now, and while we talked, agents from Turkey dropped off cards and he slipped away to check in with college coaches that are still hanging around after Nike EYBL event.

While I was standing with Liam, the coach of the Frankfurt Skyliners, Klaus Perwas, recognized me from the day before. He had seen me talking with Gerrit Kersten Thiele, head of player personnel at Rasta Vechta, where a player I coached, Tommy Kuhse, is currently playing.

Klaus is charismatic and full of stories. He shared the struggle of building a new roster nearly every year. You know your leading scorer is moving on for more money. It is just a matter of when. He asked me to tell Tommy he is always welcome in Frankfurt, but he will have to take a pay cut. And while he is telling me this, he is shaking every hand that walks by and asking Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress if he knows of any bigs willing to play for under 200,000 euros a year. While he is making everyone laugh, he is patting Liam on the back, telling him not to worry, we will find you a coaching job.

Back to the court. The player who caught my eye was Khaman Maluach, the second year big for the Suns. At 7 feet 1, he moves really well, and he notched his third straight double double of Summer League. I watched him put up 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

What stood out beyond the stat line was his hands. He made some tough catches on the pick and roll, the kind of grabs in traffic that keep possessions alive. He is physical around the rim, finishes with his weak hand, and showed he can knock down the three. A 7 foot 1 big who catches everything, punishes contact, and stretches the floor is going to make somebody’s job at those high top tables very easy

Looking forward to Day 6. Wondering who I will meet and who is going to make a name for themselves on the court.

Bones over cones. 🦴

The final morning at Coaching U started with Jeff Van Gundy, and I will say this without hesitation. He is one of the best teachers of the game I have ever witnessed. Before he taught a single concept he walked over to the Arizona Christian University men’s team serving as demonstrators and introduced himself to every player the same way. Hi, I’m Jeff. One of the most accomplished coaches in the building and he led with humility. Then he told them exactly what was expected of them as demonstrators and went to work.

His emphasis was mismatches and cross matches. Get the opponent’s worst defenders guarding your best offensive player. Simple to say, hard to engineer, and he made the complex appear simple the entire session. There is a quote that says the mark of mastery is making the complex appear simple. That is exactly what Jeff Van Gundy did today.

Darko and the Details

Next up was Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic along with two of his assistants. Darko has built a reputation as one of the NBA’s top player development coaches, with experience internationally, in the G League, and across a few NBA organizations. Watching him work, you understand why Toronto has turned around. It is attention to detail and simplicity.

He walked us through their staple drills. Defensively it was chin on the ball and active hands pressuring the ball. Offensively it was ball in the air, feet in the air on the catch. They worked on stampeding the catch and finishing off two feet. Nothing fancy.Everything intentional.

Catching Up with Mike Miller

Mike Miller of the Sacramento Kings was next, and this one was personal. Mike recruited my son Brady to play at Texas State, so it was fun catching up and hard to believe he has been in the NBA for fourteen years.

His session was all about spacing, especially in transition. Stay wide. He used the term scraping the sideline. Get wide and deep. Look early and opposite when kicking the ball ahead. If the offense lands in neutral, run a trigger. Tap screen flowing into drive, kick, swing principles, built all the way up to 5v5.

Then he showed a build down game I loved. Start 5v5. On every shot, make or miss, the shooter and their defender go off the court. Now it is 4v4. The game keeps shrinking until it ends 1v1 from the elbow. The players never stop deciding and the game designs the reps.

JP Clark and the Clap Back

G League coach JP Clark closed the day with a fast paced session, and I will make a prediction here. He will be a head coach someday. He has created a mindset within his organization that you compete with winners and losers in every game and every drill. You expect to win. Preparation leads to separation.

Offensively the emphasis was spacing and decision making, with twelve to fifteen feet between every player. The breakdown work started with attacking the rim with a defender on your hip. Do not give up your line. Attack in a straight line and use your shoulder to bump. Start at the top of the key, move to the wing, build up to the stampede and stab dribble on the catch. Once you have the shoulder and chest advantage, do not lose your line. Attack 1v1 from the corners, the wings, and the top. Start at the end of the possession and finish off two feet.

From there it built to 2v2 and 3v3, attacking on the catch, working push and pull principles along with drive, kick, swing. Then the constraints showed up. Must get two paint touches before shooting. Must land on two feet. This is the language I live in, and it was everywhere today.

The build up continued into the full court with an emphasis on the quick outlet, especially after the other team scores. You want to return the favor immediately. They call them clap backs. The 76ers G League team averaged seven to eight clap backs per game. Transition layups and transition threes are huge.

Who I Met

I had the chance to talk with Denton High School coach Mike Thomas, a winner everywhere he has coached. Eight time coach of the year. He turned Denton around in one year, posting a twenty win season after the program won six the year before he arrived. I am excited to take a tour of their facilities in Dallas, where even the football team has an indoor practice building. Mike also has a breakdown of his matchup zone available through Championship Productions.

I also met Coach Taclas from the Philippines, an assistant at Arellano University. It is amazing how this game brings people together from all walks of life and from every corner of the world. I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to coach and to be around this game.

What I Keep Learning

The one thing I know is that the more I study the game, the more I realize I know nothing. It is amazing how quickly this game changes. I may not use everything I learn at these clinics, but you had better figure out how you are going to stop it. And I am amazed at how prepared every NBA coach was in how they presented. Mastery looked the same in every session. Complex ideas made simple.

One constant in the NBA is the ball screen. But it has evolved. It is more of a touch and go now, designed to eliminate two defenders on the ball. Screens arrive at various angles, and the crack screen is the most prevalent, forcing defenders over the top. Below are six different situations where the screen was set and the ball handler was able to hostage dribble, get the defender behind them, and create a 2v1 advantage.

Six Screens, Six Baskets

Snake dribble creates a different angle against the 2-3 zone. Player sees defender’s back and makes a ghost cut for easy basket.

Snake with hostage dribble creates a 2v1 advantage.

Crack screen creates advantage for ball handler to get downhill and recognize that defender left shooter open on strong side. The next possession screener gets pass off short roll and finds open man in the corner for wide open shot.

Defender fights over top of screen, offense recognizes shoulder/chest read and maintains straight line on drive.

Great recognition by wing to make a 45 cut when he sees his man step up to stop the ball.

The Close

The game keeps evolving, and still nobody has an answer for the ball screen. Six clips, six different angles, the same result. A hostage dribble, a defender trailing, and a 2v1 the offense created on purpose. The coaches in that gym have forgotten more basketball than most of us will ever learn, and they are still chasing the answer. So am I.

Bones over cones. 🦴

The mornings continue to be just as valuable as the evenings. Coaching U has been loaded with ideas that can be taken straight back to the gym. Cody Toppert shared several actions designed to make teams harder to guard, combining Get action with ball screens at the elbow. One of the most interesting wrinkles was placing the 5 in the corner, throwing the skip pass, then flowing directly into Get action while the 5 slipped to the rim if the defense switched. It’s another reminder that great offense isn’t about having more plays. It’s about creating better problems for the defense.

Who I Met

One of the highlights of the day was running into Mickey McConnell, the new head coach at Saint Mary’s. With Randy Bennett accepting the Arizona State job, Mickey now has the opportunity to continue one of the premier mid-major programs in the country. I remember watching Mickey play for his father at Dobson High School before he went on to an outstanding career at Saint Mary’s and then professionally in Europe. It was great catching up with him, and I’m excited to watch him lead the next chapter of Saint Mary’s basketball.

Summer League Player Tracker

Kingston Flemings | Atlanta Hawks

Rather than chasing the leading scorer every night, I’m going to spend the next week tracking one player whose game translates to winning basketball. Atlanta rookie Kingston Flemings has quickly become one of my favorite players to study. Through his first four Summer League games, he’s averaging 10.0 points, 6.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals while posting an outstanding 22 assists to just 3 turnovers through his first three games. The shot hasn’t always fallen, but his decision-making has been exceptional.

Clip 1 – Playing Downhill

Flemings attacks downhill with confidence before rising into a pull-up jumper at the nail. He doesn’t settle for the first available shot. He gets to his spot under control and finishes the possession with balance.

Clip 2 – Pace Creates Advantage

One of my favorite clips of the day. Instead of rushing the break, Flemings slows down at the free-throw line, plays out of multiple pivots, stays patient and knocks down the contested 15-footer. Great guards know when to play fast and when to slow the game down.

Clip 3 – Sprinting to the 45

This is a terrific example of running to the 45 in transition. Flemings fills the lane, receives the pass and confidently knocks down the transition three before the defense can organize.

Clip 4 – Pick-and-Roll Read

Nothing flashy here. He simply manipulates the defender, keeps his dribble alive and delivers the ball on time to the rolling big for a dunk. That’s winning basketball.

Clip 5 – See Two, Pass to One

This may have been my favorite possession. Flemings draws multiple defenders before calmly finding the open shooter in the corner for a catch-and-shoot three. He consistently rewards teammates by making the right play instead of forcing his own offense.

Coach’s Take

The stat that stands out isn’t points. It’s decision-making. An assist-to-turnover ratio like Flemings has posted is rare for a rookie point guard adjusting to NBA speed. I’ll continue tracking his progress throughout Summer League because the habits he’s showing—playing with pace, making simple reads and consistently creating advantages—are exactly the qualities that translate to winning basketball.

Bones 🦴 over Cones

Summer League always reminds me that basketball is much more than the final score. Every possession tells a story if you’re willing to slow down and watch it.

Today started at Coaching U before heading to Cox Pavilion for an overtime battle between the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors. Instead of watching the game as a fan, I watched it through the eyes of a coach looking for ideas to bring back to the gym.

Two players immediately caught my attention and will be worth following throughout Summer League: Chris Cenac Jr. and Allen Graves. Both made winning plays that rarely show up in highlight packages but translate directly to player development.

Five Possessions Every Coach Should Watch

1. Allen Graves Backdoor Cut

Graves recognized his defender was denying the passing lane with both feet on or above the three point line. Instead of fighting the denial, he immediately cut backdoor for an easy finish.

Automatic Read: If the defender has both feet on or above the three point line while denying the pass, cut backdoor.

Practice Transfer: 4v4 Denial No Dribble. Let the defender’s positioning teach the decision.

2. Toronto Sideline Out of Bounds

On a sideline out of bounds, the defender completely turned his back to the basketball while denying the receiver. Toronto immediately punished the mistake with a backdoor cut.

Automatic Read: If your defender turns his back to the ball, cut to the basket.

Practice Transfer: Begin possessions with live sideline out of bounds situations and allow players to discover the solution.

3. Chris Cenac Jr. Crack Screen

Cenac set an excellent crack screen that forced the defender over the top. As the defense reacted, he rolled hard to the rim, caught the pass in traffic and finished with authority.

The dunk gets all the oohs and ahhs. The screen angle created the advantage.

Practice Transfer: 3v3 Crack Screen Game. Allow the defense to choose its coverage while the offense learns to read and react.

4. Allen Graves 45 Cut

As the ball was swung from the wing to the top, Graves immediately recognized his man rotating to the top to close out on the shooter.

The pass didn’t create the cut.

The defensive movement created the cut.

Automatic Read: When the ball is swung to the top, look for the 45 cut window if your man turns their back to you.

Practice Transfer: 4v4 Ball Swing Game with players reading the defense instead of following predetermined movement. Offense is working on driving on the catch, drawing 2 defenders and getting the defenders in a rotation. Keep the ball moving with drive/kick/swing principles.

5. Chris Cenac Jr. Dagger 3

Toronto failed to block out the shooter which created a 5v4 advantage. Credit Cenac Jr for hitting the big time shot. The offense made them pay for ball watching and the fly by close out.

Practice Transfer: 4v4 Rebound game. Offense is moving the ball around the perimeter. At any point the coach yells “Shot!” The offense attacks the high side while the defense must locate and make contact with the shooter before pursuing the rebound.

Who I Met

One of the coolest moments of the day happened before the opening tip.

My wife and I ended up sitting between the parents of Allen Graves and Chris Cenac Jr. The two players competed against each other in high school and the families have remained friends. Every possession carried a different emotion depending on which family you looked at. When Cenac hit the game tying three with 0.8 seconds remaining to force overtime, it was a reminder that behind every Summer League game are years of sacrifice, friendships and dreams.

Another highlight of the day was finally meeting Brooklyn Nets shooting coach Dave Love.

I’ve followed Dave’s work for years and have purchased all of his online shooting products. His teaching has had a tremendous influence on how I think about skill development and shooting.

We talked about several projects he is close to unveiling that will help coaches better understand how to develop more effective shooters. I left even more excited about the future and hopeful that I’ll have the opportunity to attend one of his upcoming coaching retreats.

Looking Ahead

If Day 2 taught me anything, it’s this.

Watch the possession before you watch the player.

The box score tells you who played well.

The possessions teach you why.

Allen Graves and Chris Cenac Jr. are two players I’ll continue to follow throughout Summer League. I have a feeling they will give us a lot more film that we can breakdown and pass along to players in our own gyms.

Bones 🦴 over Cones

My wife bought tickets to all eleven days of NBA Summer League. When I asked her why, she said this is the summer of Rory. Seinfeld fans will understand. George’s summer was about doing nothing. Mine started with a coaches clinic in Vegas, ran through Iceland and Colorado, then camps in southern Idaho, and now it lands back in the desert. Every night I’ll write from my seat. What the games taught me, who I met, and the player who impressed me most.

Who I Met

Walking up the steps to Thomas and Mack we passed Mike D’Antoni, and I was shocked nobody else noticed him. This is the coach most responsible for the fast paced modern game. His seven seconds or less philosophy was almost sacrilegious to the purists at the time. The 2004 to 2005 Suns played at over 96 possessions a game when the league average was 90. You could argue he is the modern day Dr. Naismith, because the style he created is what we now just call NBA basketball. And it was more than pace. His teams played out of concepts instead of calling sets, helped by Steve Nash, the best point guard in the league, making quick decisions and running the game without a play call. Positionless lineups. Early clock threes. Rim or three shot selection. Spread pick and roll with shooters spaced beyond the arc. Here is the part that is hard for me to wrap my head around. Drop those Suns into today’s league and they would rank somewhere between 20th and 25th in pace.

What the Games Taught Me

The trend that jumped out was spacing on the swing. For years the catch on a reversal came at the 3 point line. Now the catch comes one or two steps inside half court. That extra depth creates a long closeout for the defender and a double gap for the attacker, and teams are hunting both on purpose. Watch for it. The ball moves, the receiver stampedes the catch and gets downhill against a bad close out.

Player of the Day

Liam McNeeley of the Charlotte Hornets. McNeeley spent most of his rookie season in the G League and made his Summer League debut count. 28 points on 7 of 8 from three, 4 assists, 2 rebounds. At 6’7” he has good length, and his quick no dip release means you pay every time you leave him. He can also get to the rim and score off flares and DHOs. Credit Charlotte’s design too. They attacked the paint, drew two defenders, and found McNeeley sprinting to space over and over.

Tomorrow morning the Coaching U Clinic starts, and I’ll be on the court for it, then back in my seat at night. Excited to share what the clinic teaches about where offense and defense are headed, then see if I spot any of it in the games at night.

Bones 🦴 over Cones