Do You Save a Time Out for a Last Second Shot in the Game?

I always let the kids they can take one timeout on their own, but not to save just a single possession of the ball before the final minutes. It does seem to give them a little more poise and confidence in tough situations if they know they can bail themselves out.

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In high school, the clock does not stop after your opponent scores. Without a timeout any loose "inadvertantly" kicked, batted ball...you won't even get it inbounds before time expires.

You need a timeout to have any realistic chance to win.

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If for no other reason, save the TO till the end so that if one of your players gets "stuck" you or the player can call TO and save the possession.

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I save as many timeouts for the end of the game as possible. I try to let my players adjust on the court themselves and will call some throughout the game to give them a break, tie up loose ends, or motivate them to work harder. Other than that, I like to have at least two if not more for the end of the game in order to manage the clock and the game if I have to.

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The only thing worse than not having a timeout when you need one is having one and not using it when you need it. I also give my players the limited ability to call timeouts on their own but not to save a possession in the first three quarters, we'll play tough D to get the ball back instead. Spending some practice time on these end-game situations is also necessary so your players understand how to get it done with or without the benefit of a timeout.

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My method of coaching almost always leaves me at least one T O for the end. I coach at the Jr. High level and have a 15 man team. I form 3 five man teams and run them in hockey style. Every three to four minutes I bring in a new team. Our style is full court press, fastbreak transition basketball. In this way the other coach usually uses up his TO's early to rest his team. I often go the entire game without using a TO, and nearly always win the 4th quarter.
229 - 61 over 16 years, gives me confidence that this method works well at this level.

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I also coach Jr Boys and only have 10 players and would love to switch out team x for team y, I have more guards than power or centres so. I normally try to save at least one for end game. For example I do take full advantage of subs and opposing coaches time outs to get my point across. Therefore saving mine for adjustments or quick breaths.

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I always try to save a full timeout for the end. However, sometimes you have to use that one to get a shot that will get you within one possession. We run constant drills that focus on end game situations so the players know what is coming if we've burned all our TO's. One great way to stop a running clock after a make is to have one of your players grab it out of the net and toss it away from the other team. This is a delay of game, but you get one warning. The clock will stop while the refs assess the warning. This gives you time to set up your pressure.

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Doug, my only concern would be are these players being prepared to play at the high school level?

I've seen many teams that focus on pressing at the youth & middle school level be very good in a terms of wins and losses, but when those other teams mature and develop their skills, they catch and pass the teams that focused on pressing at the youth level because they never spent the time on fundamentals and concepts of basketball.

I'm not saying you're not preparing them. Just some food for thought.

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Yes,I save my time out,i use them spearingly as needed.

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I coach youth girls grades 5th - 8th grade. My TO strategy is to save 1 full TO for the end of the half/ game. The other TO is uses for motivation, correction, or a play. I have learn to understand my players strengths and weaknesses and I sub in that pattern allowing them all time to develop (5 mins. minimum). It does get chanllenging at times but my goal is fundamentals especially DEFENSE! I love it!

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I try to save a TO for late game situations, preferably more than one. However, I think using them wisely in earlier parts of the game is even more important. I will often burn one early in a game, if I don't like what I'm seeing on the court, in an effort to refocus our team or slow down an opponent's run. I've seen too many coaches save their TO's and then not need them in the 4th quarter because they were afraid to use them earlier in the game and the game got away from them.

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well, for me i do really save my last time out.just to get a big win! :-)

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well! for me i do really save my last time out, to win the game. :-)

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Jeff, I agree regarding Dougs comments. You can win at this level by doing that... and its great that you get every kid into the game.... my question is also this... "are you getting them ready to play at the next level?" Wins are great but if your kids aren't prepared for high school ball, what have you gained. IF your high school team plays that way and the head coach is on board with this... so be it.

As for time outs.... my first time out was always a 30 second time out and YES, I always tried to save 1 or 2 for late in the game for special situations. I wanted to make sure that I had 1 or 2 so we could discuss strategy to help win a game. JMO

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I coach with FIBA rules so as a coach I am the only one able to call timeouts for my team. It's nice to have control of the timeout situations. This works very well and I always try to save one or two for the end of the game if things are remotely close. I will sometimes try to use one near the last couple of minutes to give my players a quick breather if we're in a close game as well - we get 3 timeouts in the 2nd half, 2 in the first half. They can only be called in a dead ball situation. FIBA makes the game much more interesting.

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Hi guys, I also play under FIBA rules and have coached at international age group.I find it interesting that a number of you talk about saving a TO. Save it for what. End game? And sacrifice changing the game earlier. Losing a game or stopping a change in momentum because you saved a TO has cost many a coach a game. Each game is different, yes some times you need to draw up a play at the end, but and i
it is a big but, more games have been lost cause of poor execution of a play drawn up by a coach when it is tight. Preparing your players to handle end game situations in my humble opinion is far more important than saving a TO just so you have a To at the end.

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Colin -

You make some good points, but its not always about drawing up a play. Many times it was about what we were going to do defensively and what to do when we got the ball offensively... what offense... usually it was our open post or one of our set plays that we ran.

Maybe its to calm your player down so they can refocus. There can be many reasons. I drew up a few plays at the end of games that worked well.... and then a few that stunk. Its all about the players that you have that year. ( I coached varstiy boys basketball )

My first year at the high school level... the head coach seemed to save them for the end of the year... he hated calling TOs.

I agree with your last sentence regarding being prepared.... that makes things a lot easier when push comes to shove. We ran "situations" at the end of evey practice.... we tried to cover a lot of things.. you just can cover them all.

But, with all this being said.... I would still want that TO for the end of the game. Of course I do, I wrote the article. haha (did I use them all before that situation, sure, sometimes you have to)

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Colin & Others...

I ran into this article today... and I guess I was / am in good company. I am not trying to compare myself to Tom Izzo ( I don't want to make him look bad haha ) seriously, we are thinking along the same lines - I think you might find this interesting.


http://www.coachingtoolbox.net/plays/diagrams/basketball-plays-tom-izzo.html



Here is some philosophy on special situations from Tom Izzo. I received this notes from Steve Smiley. they were originally taken by Coach Jim Ponchak at the 2010 Clinic to End all Clinics .

The Anatomy of a Timeout

Try to save timeouts in the 1st half so you can utilize them in the second half
See what your opponent is doing and think
1. What do I want to do?
2. What do I need?

NBA is a great resource if you are looking for Sideline Out of Bounds plays (SLOB's)

• In his first two seasons at MSU, they lost 14 games by 1 to 4 points.

• Izzo reflected on what he could do to become a better coach and help his teams win those games• He took a football view to coaching his team in that there were 3 phases of the game; offense, defense, and special teams

• He felt that if they focused on Special Teams that they could gain an advantage that would help them win the close games

• Izzo views timeouts and all other dead ball situations as Special Teams

• Special Teams 1) Jump Ball 2) Timeout 3) BLOBs 4) SLOBs 5) Free Throws




• It's not necessarily the play you run that is important, but the theory/philosophy that is important.
• Need to make sure you're focused on what's going on the floor every second of the game
• Aggressive approach – never relax

• Special Teams Objectives

1. Score
2. Go inside or outside?
3. Attack a player in foul trouble?

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