What Is The Right Age To Focus On Wins and Losses and Start Playing Zone?

By Joe Haefner

On a page where we discuss defense at the youth & junior high level, I recently received these two questions from a junior high coach:
 

Do you believe there is an age where it is appropriate to play a zone?

Is there an age where you should start playing Win-Loss basketball?

These are very good questions and these are the conclusions I have come to:
 

Conclusion #1 - Zones should NOT be allowed until the second half of the Freshmen year in high school (typically 14 to 15 year olds).

Even at the junior high level (12 to 14 year olds), I’m very skeptical of playing zones for development purposes. Some coaches may argue this, but when I coached at the high school level, I dealt with so many kids that played zones at the lower levels that formed some terrible habits. We would spend entire seasons just trying to break bad habits that were formed by teams that trapped, played zones, junk defenses, and pressed when they were at the youth level. Sometimes, we never could break the habits.

When I was coaching a freshmen team, we scrimmaged against another team in the area that was in a league that did not allow teams to play zone until the second half of the season. I thought this was great.

1. Coaches get to spend more time on the fundamentals and building the player’s foundation, because they don’t have to worry about preparing for zones, presses, junk defenses within the first 10 practices.  Without a solid foundation, it doesn’t matter what you do, you are not going to be as successful.  
2. Coaches are forced to teach man to man principles before they go unto zone defense. So many coaches skip man to man principles and go straight to zone. As skill level and strength increases, these zones are ineffective because they don’t know man-ball principles, can’t stop the ball from dribbling by them, and some other bad habits (swarming the ball, going after every steal, etc.) that helped players get more turnovers at the youth level do not work anymore.

In other words, the zone that works at the youth level and junior high level won’t work at the high school level, because an effective zone defense at the youth level is not an effective zone defense at the varsity level for reasons listed above.

Conclusion #2 – I believe Win/Loss basketball should start around 7th grade (Age 13).

However, I think it’s a much lower emphasis on wins and losses than a high school varsity team. Your focus would still be on the developmental portion.

When you get to high school varsity, is when I believe that it truly becomes a win-loss philosophy. At the same time, some years you may be a better zone team, but it’s still a good idea to teach man to man defense, because you don’t want to have a player that doesn’t make it at the college level because he doesn’t know how to play man to man defense. It could literally cost them thousands of dollars through scholarships.

If you focus too much on the win-loss at youth and junior high level (and some would even say the junior varsity level), it could be detrimental for different reasons:

1. Undeveloped kids don’t develop because they don’t get any playing time. That’s why it’s key to get everybody fairly equal playing time. You have no idea who is going to be the best when they get older. A 5’10 kid who already matured may dominate now, but the 5’8 skinny kid who hasn’t hit puberty yet and grows to 6’8 by the time he is a senior may be the best chance for success as they get older.  How is he going to get any better if he’s not playing?
2. Tactics that work at this age (organized presses, zones, traps) won’t work at higher levels, because the foundation (fundamentals) has not been developed. On average, these presses are NOT run correctly. They just swarm the ball and the player that is 1 pass away, because the players are not strong enough to throw down the court and have not developed the ball handling skills to quickly react.

The truth is that COACHES and PARENTS are WAY more concerned about winning than kids under the age of 13. Most kids just want to play. They want to have fun. They are thinking about their own little world, not winning. And even if they think about winning, it’s not nearly as important to them as it is you. By the time, the game is over, they are just thinking about where they will get some pizza. Kids move on really fast. But parents and coaches dwell on the loss for days and hours. That’s too bad.

Trust me. A high school coach would much rather have you work on fundamentals and build a great foundation. If they have a great foundation, it’s relatively easy for them to throw in an effective trap, press, or zone. Not the other way around.

High school coaches please leave your comments on this as well, so youth coaches understand your perspective as well.

Why It is Good to be a Salesman When Coaching Basketball

By Joe Haefner

If you have ever coached, you know that if the team doesn’t believe in what you’re trying to teach them, you’ll never be successful.

You have to convince your team and SELL to your team the coaching tactics and philosophies that you are trying to incorporate.

For example, I’m a big believer in rebounding and lowering turnovers. When trying to stress the importance of rebounding and lowering turnovers, I take my players to chalk board.

First, I put up on the board.

44 to 38.

Assume all shots are worth two points.

Team A – 35% Field Goal Percentage.

Team B – 45% Field Goal Percentage.

Then, I ask the team, “Which team do you think won?”

Usually, the team will respond with Team B. Some may say Team A. I don’t reveal my answer yet and continue on.

Next, I write on the board:

Team A – 15 offensive rebounds & 9 turnovers

Team B – 3 offensive rebounds & 17 turnovers

Team A – 32 extra possessions (15 offensive rebounds & 17 forced turnovers)

Team B – 12 extra possessions (3 offensive rebounds & 9 forced turnovers)

I pause for a second, then write on the board: “32 - 12 = 20 extra possessions for Team A in which they got a shot.” Then, I begin to write the following.

Team A took 62 shots.

Team B took 42 shots.

Team A – 62 shots X 35% FG = 22 made shots & 22 x 2 points = 44

Team B – 42 shots X 45% FG = 19 made shots & 19 x 2 points = 38

Then, I circle Team A and say, “Even on a bad shooting night, Team A won the game, because they rebounded the ball and took care of the ball.

Of course, there are other factors such as fouling, 3-point shooting, free throw shooting, and so on, but you want to simplify things to get the point across to your players.

If you can use examples like this and sell your tactics and philosophies to your players, they will be more like to work hard at the things you focus on, because they understand why you emphasize the things you do.

Motion Offense - Getting Post Player Touches

By Joe Haefner

In our recent teleseminar for the people who purchased the Motion Offense eBooks, there was a question that I really wanted to share.

Here is an edited version of the question and answer between the listener and Don Kelbick.

Guest: I’ve got a 6′9″ kid actually that’s going Division 1 next year. I want to make sure that our number one rule is that every third, fourth touch is a post touch. Does this rule sound like a good rule for the motion offense?

Don Kelbick: Right. I used to do that, and that might work for you, because it worked for me sometimes. What I found with this rule is that it shows how much kids want to please you. A lot of times, they’d get concerned about how many passes were thrown.

So a kid would stand out on the wing, and somebody would be wide open. They wouldn’t throw it to them because they would say, “You know, I thought we were on the fourth pass, so I have to throw it into the post.”

I actually went away from that rule and used this rule instead, “We’re not taking any jump shots until the post man touches the ball.”

And if you have a real good post player, then let him touch the ball twice. And then you teach your post player that when the ball goes into the post, the defense is going to collapse. At the very least, the defense is going to turn around to try and find the ball.

Teach your shooters, when the ball goes into the post, here’s where you go. And then you teach the post guy that if he doesn’t have a post play, this is where you look.

By throwing the ball into the post and having the post guy throw the ball back out, the number of open shots that you will get will stagger you.

Do You Make This Mistake? Basketball Stats Can be Deceiving…

By Don Kelbick

I was watching the Mets tank another one last night (yes, cut me I bleed blue and orange though I don’t readily admit it any more) on ESPN and Rick Sutcliffe, whom I am not a big fan of, made a great comment. As David “MVP” Wright came to bat, Sutcliffe commented that even though Wright has 123 RBIs, he has hit under .250 with runners in scoring position. What that means is that Wright must have a huge number of opportunities to hit in that situation. You have to think about the “quality” of his RBIs. By batting under .250, the number of runs he leaves on base may have turned the pennant race into a laugher.

That comment started me thinking. After I read the book “Moneyball” (highly recommended) I look at statistics very differently. I started applying Sutcliffe’s comment to basketball. Think about some of the statistics we use as benchmarks. A big man has a lot of “blocked shots.” Does that make him a great defender or are your perimeter players allowing too much penetration? You have a player who has a lot of steals. Does that make him a great defender or does he take too many chances?

For statistics to be relevant, you have to link them to the game in some manner. If a player makes 4 steals in a game (a lot) but gives up 4 layups on steal attempts that weren’t successful. Was that really good defense? Shooting over 50% does not necessarily mean great shooting, it might mean a lot of layups (not bad but not good shooting)

My favorite example was a meeting we had after we lost a game in double overtime. We looked at the stat sheet which said we had 51 offensive rebounds (that’s right - 51 offensive rebounds). Since it was an emphasis for our season, the other coaches were ecstatic about the stat. I, as usual being the sideways thinker, thought we should try to become better shooters (if the ball goes in more, there are less offensive rebounds. If the ball went in 1 more time, we win!).

Just something to think about.

Offensive Tips For Coaches With Shooters & Post Players

By Joe Haefner

Don Kelbick recently answered a question about offense from one of our email subscribers.  It has some great information about utilizing post players and shooters within your offense.  Here it is:

Question:

I have one good shooter and two good post players. I need an offense for my team. Anything would help out would be great.

Don’s Response:

If only the answers were easy, we would all be undefeated.

I would need more information to give you an answer but I can give you some concepts.  Then you trust yourself and your instincts, keep it simple, use a little trial and error and I am sure you can come up with an offense of your own.

First, you say you have 2 post players. Most teams don’t have any so you are blessed. However, if they both posses the same skill set or have to occupy the same area, they will get in each other’s way and cancel each other out. That is why the “Twin Tower” experiments (Houston’s Sampson & Olajuon, NY’s Ewing & Cartright) didn’t work out too well.

Next, you say you have a good shooter. The effect of shooters with good post players is profound. If you use him wisely, he will open up many and varied options. Good shooters strip post help. If the shooter and the post player are on the same side, the shooter’s man cannot drop down to help in the post. If the shooter is on the other side, your players will be able to penetrate due to the fact that the shooter’s man cannot help. If his man does help, it will open penetrate and kick opportunities.

Lastly, an old concept but a very effective one. This is what most offenses are based on. The offense, with 5 players, is divided into a 3 man game on one side, and a 2 man game on the other side. Screen-downs with shooters and posts are very effective. Ball screens with kick opportunities are also very effective. You need to have someone to handle the ball though.

Keep your shooter moving, as much as possible. Use your post players to screen for him so the post defender has to make adjustments and that will open the post.

As I said, try and to keep it simple and experiment. Most of all, let the players do what they are good at in areas in which they can be successful.

I don’t know if this helps but hopefully it will at least be a start. Let me know if I can help you any further.

Don

Win More Games With This End of Game Defensive Tip for Players & Coaches

By Joe Haefner

In our Man to Man Defense System, we discuss situations and options when playing with the lead at the end of the game.

One of the options we discuss is to overplay the outside shot and force the players to dribble penetrate when you are winning by 3 points with minimal time remaining.

When doing this, it is important to have no help defense from teammates! All of the defensive players stay around the 3-point arc in the area of the offensive player they are guarding. Even if the player gets an uncontested lay up, you are still winning the game.

Here is the tip that can dramatically increase your chances of winning the game: When forcing the player to dribble penetrate, force them to the direction of their non-shooting hand. If they shoot with their right hand, force them to dribble to the left. Now, let me tell you why. If an offensive player is covered and can not attempt a 3-point shot, the player will often take one hard dribble and pull up for the 3-point jump shot or dribble inside the arc and use a step-back move to create separation to get the 3-point shot off. If you have forced the player to his weak hand, you are on the shooting side of the offensive player. Now, you are in great position to take away or disrupt the offensive player’s shot. This can result in: - A deflected or blocked shot. - A shot where the offensive player hitches or double-clutches, which dramatically decreases the chance of the shot going in.

By johntrainor

- An offensive player panics and turns the ball over.If you are not on the shooting side, you have to reach across the player’s body to disrupt the player’s shot which can often lead to a foul.

As a coach, if you do not feel comfortable with your players’ decision-making, have them put their arms straight up instead of trying to block the shot.

There are times that players will make miraculous shots, but this approach will help you win more games in the long run!

A great way to get your players to perform in the clutch is to use this End of Game Drill.  This drill is great for all levels, because it is also a fun way to end practice.

If you are a youth coach, I would NOT bother covering this situation in depth.  There are more important things to cover!

Handling End of Game Basketball Situations – Should Cav’s Take Three?

By Don Kelbick

Sometimes you can learn by watching how end of game situations pan out in the NBA.  Here’s my opinion on what happened the other day…

Yesterday, with 14 seconds to go and the Cavs down 5, TV anouncers said, “of course they have to raise up for an early 3.”   Why? It is a 2 posession game and at some point they have to get a 2. Why not get it first?. The two most important things in that situation are: the ball has to go in the basket (it makes no difference where you shoot from if it doesn’t go in) and score as many points as you can with the clock stopped. Both of those situations (including getting fouled) scream “layup” to me. Score, get fouled, make the foul shot. Now you’re down 2 with 10 seconds to go - different game.

What do you think?