Playing From Tip to Buzzer

Anyone have any good tips on how to get players to finish games and put them away? This has been our biggest flaw this year. We have been in every single game (except 2) entering the 4th Quarter by 5-8 points. However, we ALWAYS, yes always, seem to run out of steam and begin playing sloppy offense and lackadaisical defense. Throwing up crazy shots, not boxing out, not getting back on the breaks letting the other team build a margin of 20+ points. I should mention that my team is out-sized, out-talented, and out-manned each time we step on the court, but we are that scrappy team that just will not go away...

The thing is, we condition, daily. We do a lot of work to keep them in shape. Ay tips to help us put these games away and get our first win with ony three games to go?

Thanks!

Been there, many times. I know the feeling all too well. What happens to us is the other team seems to get a butt kicking from their coach, so after a time out or qtr break, they come out with a vengeance.

To keep the edge in a game I know we can win, I have to use every break or time out to remind them to keep their focus. Usually the other team starts to get desperate, so they will press, become overly aggressive and the refs seem to let them play.

Here's what I tell my kids in games like that. "The other team is out for blood, they want the ball and they want to score, anyway they can. They are going to pressure you. Expect it. They are in panic mode. We're going to protect the ball, play tough defense, and use their panic against them. They are going to get desperate, you keep the intensity up and they will make mistakes. You cannot let up on your intensity. Every loose ball is yours. Everyone. Every rebound is yours. They aren't going to give you this game, you have to earn it. You set the intensity level, not them." Over and over with each break. Some variation of that, depending upon what's going on out on the court.

Lots of praise when they're playing. Especially when they keep the intensity up and get loose balls or tie ups. Keep them pumped up out on the court.

On offense, depending upon the circumstances, I might slow it down and be patient. Looking for good solid drives to the basket type thing. Again, depends upon the tweak I need at the time.

Is it because the other team turns things up a notch and your guys have trouble taking care of the ball and playing at the faster speed?

If you can find a way to take care of the ball (no turnovers), rebound, and get the opponents to take tough shots in the 4th quarter... you should have a chance to win every game. Easier said than done, especially with just three games left.

One thing you can do is run situations (like Coach Sar likes to call them) and/or run short scrimmages in practice. When ever you scrimmage play to just three points (going by one) or put 2 minutes up on the clock. Play really short high intensity games. Work on taking care of the ball, buckling down on defense, and rebounding.

If players are familiar you can just tell them were running a 2 minute drill. Then maybe take a time out after 2 or 3 minutes. Give them a break and let them know it's another 2 minute drill, just like in practice. It's zero to zero. That might get them mentally focused to finish a game. Or first to 3 wins.

And like Coach Rob mentioned, find a way to get the ball inside. This is another situation to practice. Lay up only first 30 seconds, after that you can take a lay up or WIDE open jump shot. Situational basketball. Spread things out, maybe 5 out and try to get the ball inside or if you have good post guys, get it in the post.

OK Jeff -

You stole my thunder! Run SITUATIONS that mimic exactly what you are describing here.... thats #1...
#2- brak down your 4th quarter into 1 minute segments.... (got that from Rob Judson, I think he was at Illinois State U at the time) That way you can lose one of the segments and still come back.

Yes, remind them that the other team is going to come out with both barrels blazing... protect the ball, control the tempo and get good shots on every possesion.

You say that your team is in good shape, you work on conditioning daily..... do it with a ball.... fast break drills, full court shooting drills etc. Make up your own.

Here is my recipie for success -

1- Control the Tempo
2- Get a good shot every time down the floor
3- Play GREAT Defense and REBOUND
***** Most of the time the first shot wont hurt you, its the 2nd,3rd and 4th putback that will cost you the game*****
4- Protect the ball.... NO turnovers
5- EVERY loose ball is ours.
5- Take a CHARGE every time they drive the lane

I hope this helps and have given you something that Jeff & Rob haven't ( some are repeats I am sure )

Looking forward to practicing today. When the problem first began, I was running a Two-Minute Drill at the end of practice (when they were tired) where they would have 3 segments of two minutes (equals our 6 minute quarters) and they began the drill down by 10 points. Their goal is to be even or up by the end of the 2nd segment. This was done full court so the "Up-team" could press and get fast breaks to create a real game simulation. I also do a number of other drills to get them
Chasing loose balls, boxing out, and rebounding that we do with great intensity during practice, but lack in game.

Thanks for the suggestions!!

Let us know how it goes and what you did to change things.

So the saaaame exact thing happened again tonight except this time we got down by 18 in a hurry and clawed our way to within 6 at the end of the 3rd. We came out with high intensity defense but gave up 3 QUICK 3's on 3 quick turnovers. That sucked every bit of momentum we had out and with 2:22 left they had a 22 point margin (weird, huh?). I called a full timeout and put my last 5 guys in to finish the game.

New question. When I put those five guys in, the parents didn't seem too thrilled. I got some very nasty looks and huffs and puffs when we emerged from the locker room. Clearly the game was out of reach and it's time I start giving some younger kids "molding time" for next season. How do I convey this to parents? They look at me as if I am giving up on a game and that I shouldn't give those guys a chance when the other team has gone deep in their bench well before.

Coach Britt wrote:So the saaaame exact thing happened again tonight except this time we got down by 18 in a hurry

Getting down 18 in a hurry is where I'd focus my attention. In my case, it's usually a full court press + turnovers that get us in trouble early. Whatever the case, if I'm down by 3 baskets early on, I call time out and we talk. If I notice a press right out of the gate, I immediately call time out and we talk about our press break real quick. I've found that controlling potential problems early on helps, clawing your way back is difficult.

New question. When I put those five guys in, the parents didn't seem too thrilled. I got some very nasty looks and huffs and puffs when we emerged from the locker room. Clearly the game was out of reach and it's time I start giving some younger kids "molding time" for next season. How do I convey this to parents? They look at me as if I am giving up on a game and that I shouldn't give those guys a chance when the other team has gone deep in their bench well before.

These potential issues are better dealt with early on (preseason) with a clear explanation of your coaching philosophy and expectations of players and parents. Honestly? You're not required to give an explanation for your decisions on the court to the parents, imo. You could send out a quick e-mail if you felt the need to clarify. It's a slippery slope when you start feeling the need to "qualify" your decisions as a coach to the parents.

Coach Rob, I used a 30 second after we were down 8 and a full when it hit 15. We set up a press breaker and started slowly clawing our way back in once we beat the press and half court trap. We finally settled down and started taking and making smart shots and smart passes. Our biggest problem was making stupid little mistakes (3, 5, 10 Sec Violations, carrying, traveling) which we usually never make...

You're right, clawing back into a game is not fun, but we seem to have figured out how to do that. So far this year, we have had slow starts, strong 2nds, very good 3rds, non existent 4ths or Awesome 1, 2, and 3 quarters with non existent 4ths.

I made it VERY clear that my decisions of the team should be respected. I had to emphasize this point, because I did not have an assistant at that point (came in on our 3rd game). I know as a coach there are always people who disagree with everything you do, but this seems like all of the parents of those who START. They feel like they should be given the "chance" to finish, even though the game is way out of hand...

Hopefully we can put a full game together next week.

Coach Britt - Do you keep stats? I know it can be hard as a youth coach but with our high school team we track detailed stats to motivate our players, get them playing the right way, and make sure we are focusing on the right things.

By looking at the right stats you can determine the biggest problem and what you should be focusing on. Are turnovers your biggest problem? Is is poor rebounding? What's your offensive and defensive reb %? Is it your defense? What's your opponents EFG% and/or PPP? Is your opponent making a living at the free throw line? Is it your offense the problem? What's your offensses EFG% and/or PPP?

If I'm losing or winning a game, I want to know exactly why. This allows us to focus on the critical few, versus the trivial many. I have some stat templates I can send you that allow you to pinpoint the biggest thing that needs fixed. Just let me know if you want me to send them.

I agree with Jeff -

We took stats of every game but the thing my asst. and I did was to go out after the game and discuss it. We wrote down every problem we had whie it was fresh in our minds. The stats help a lot along with film of the game.

Coach Britt wrote:New question. When I put those five guys in, the parents didn't seem too thrilled. I got some very nasty looks and huffs and puffs when we emerged from the locker room. Clearly the game was out of reach and it's time I start giving some younger kids "molding time" for next season. How do I convey this to parents? They look at me as if I am giving up on a game and that I shouldn't give those guys a chance when the other team has gone deep in their bench well before.

This ticks me off.... like you said, the game was out of hand and its time to play the other kids. They practice all the time too and they deserve a chance to play. IF anyone says something to you... you might just say something like... " I don't have a 20 point play - It;s time to play the other kids and get them some experience. "

YOU are the coach, you do what YOU think is right for YOUR team.

Jeff,,

http://basketball.itouchstats.com/

This is the program I TRY to use for stats. My stat keepers are 6th Grade Managers so they tend to miss quite a bit. However, I get a general idea that we are being out rebounded and we allow the opposing team to beat us on the fast break and second chance scoring because of those rebounds. Our offensive motions are great (we play against a 2-3 or 1-3-1 Zone every game. Ugh, Man-up...) and we can usually get the ball inside and then swing it it around the perimeter for a good shot. However, that only leave 1-2 guys underneath for rebounding. We have done drills with crashing the lane, following shots, and all kind of other stuff, but when your tallest player is a 6'3" 8th Grader versus their 6'6" Linebacker 7th Grader, it's hard to grab any rebound. That is, IF we beat a half court trap or half court press.

So our (very rough) game averages are

25 TRB (17 DRB, 8 ORB)
38 PPG
18/40 FG
3/15 3FG
10/14 FT
14 TO
5 STL
8 BLK


Oppenents: (Not much info)

35 TRB (15 DRB, 20 ORB)
62 PPG
8 TO

Its hard to get accurate stats unless you take them off of game films.....so good luck with that. Regardless of who you have taking stats they will miss some, just because the can get involved in the game.

I was helping a coaching friend of mine in Florida... he was running the Open Post offense I ran... and while I was telling his kids to fill the lanes on shots.... he put it this way to them.... and I think this is a great way to get it across.....

"ATTACK THE BLOCKS!" This should help your offensive rebounding along with some scoring opportunities. 6'3 8th grader..... I rarely had kids that big after my first 5 years as the head coach. 6'6? I could only wish.... sure, I had one of those on rare occasions... but mine wanted to be 3 point shooters. :-)

Thanks to John Jenkins.

I face squads that have a 6'3" PG and SG, 6'4/5" SF/PF and 6'6" C almost every game.

Some are shorter, but most are along that line. I am on average 3 inches shorter at each position.

Of course, I come from the heart of NC. Basketball Breeding grounds here...except my school! :)

Remember, I was a boys varsity coach... and we were always undersized... so, we an an Open Post offense and used thier size against them.... we made their bigs play D around half court... they hated that... we used our quickness to even things up... along with having some very good perimetr shooters.... we were very patient and go the shots we wanted.... back door - takes to the basket... and IF You got lazy, we woulld stick a 3 on you.

Along with that, we had a few quick hitters to keep them off balance... play D vs the Open Post and get lazy, maybe sag a bit..... run that a few times and then we would come down and use a quick hitter. Even things up a bit.

Good luck with your situation.

I run a Spread Offense. Four out, Post player follows the ball around the paint. Everyone we play uses a Zone to take away our outside game. This is the first year for my post player and he is a natural, but still his first year. He misses a lot of open lanes and that causes my Wings to swing the ball right past him. I may pull him out and sub in a smaller forward who can somewhat shoot and completely open up. No one inside? Haven't tried that one yet...

Coach Sar, is this yours?

http://www.coachesclipboard.net/OpenPostDoubleUp.html

This looks like it may work for the last two teams we are facing...

Coach Britt wrote:That is, IF we beat a half court trap or half court press.

I'm picking up that presses could be part of the problem, am I correct? I know at my 8th grade level it's the first thing every team we play (including us) tries to do, right out of the gate. It's an easy way to get a lead if the other team can't break a press or handle pressure. I work on our press breaks and concepts every practice, even if it's only 10 min. The kids know where to go and where their teammate should be for a pass. We've covered what the common presses are trying to do, so they know what to expect. Not perfect by any means, but we've made a lot more teams stop pressing in the first few minutes this year compared to last year.

Coach Britt wrote:I run a Spread Offense. Four out, Post player follows the ball around the paint. Everyone we play uses a Zone to take away our outside game.

Have you tried a different offense against zones? Especially against a 2-3 zone? We run a 1-3-1 offense against a 2-3 zone that works well.

I have tried to use a Cutters offense, ball-reversal, Zone Buster, Overload, everything. Yes, the press does give us fits. That is how we get down so quickly, then they lay off the press and trap at half court and push it up more, then go into a lazy D and thats when we FINALLY start attacking and scoring and getting back into it. I've tried all I know to beat the presses. Screens, Misdirections, Run-N-Gun, everything. Even took the "Chunk-N-Dunk" from our girls team and that didn't work! This group I have here just does not seem to grasp what I am trying to do. I say screen, they watch, I pull them, they shut down...constant battle.

Honestly, this group has been very difficult because so many of them are just starting or only been playing for 1-2 years. They have surpassed all expectations and have grown as players, they are just too timid and its a glaring flaw in close 4th Quarter games that get blown open to 20+ points.

The problems I have identified are as following:

Press/Trap Breaker
Rebounding (stopping 2nd Chance points)
Finishing Games in 4th Q

Regarding the presses/traps, I tried several press breakers and finally settled on two, one for M2M and one for zones. We use them on dead ball situations, they are pretty simple, but they work. On a made basket, we get the ball in quickly not letting them set up their press. The key for us was practicing them over and over until the kids knew their options. Against 1/2 court presses or zone presses in general, we covered Coach Sar's saying of, "put it where they ain't" and showed the kids where to go in the gaps. Once my players started seeing the gaps (holes) in the zones, they knew where to go and how to beat the presses.

We run three offenses, 4 out one in motion, 5 out motion, and our 1-3-1 zone offense. You might want to check out the 1-3-1, it took some practice, but the concepts are real easy.

Sounds like you're playing some good teams and have players who are still developing.