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February 1, 2014     Newsletter #29

Dear Coaches, Players, Friends,

Announcement! Coach's Clipboard animated diagrams are now available for iPhone/iPad!
Using Google's Swiffy program, I have finally been able to convert the Coach's Clipboard's Flash animated diagrams to HTML5 format (compatible with the iPhone and iPad). Up until now, the animations have been unusable on the iPhone/iPad due to device-related incompatibility with Flash files. These iPhone/iPad compatible animations are now available in the Premium Members mobile section. Tip: they look better and are easier to use on the iPad because of its larger screen size - Coach Gels.


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Learn more about the SWARM Defense.


Today's Quotes
"If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there." - Will Rogers
"If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'." - Will Rogers


Today's theme is returning to the problem of turnovers.

Turnovers when Confronted by a Press Defense
You must have a good press offense(s) to help your players handle full-court, 3/4-court or 1/2-court press defenses. See Press Offenses. When preparing for an opponent, practice your press offense and how you will adjust based on the type of press defense your opponent uses. This helps prepare your players so that there are no surprises and they can calmly execute your press offense. Often you will have to make game-time adjustments against pressing teams.

Teach your players (1) to be calm, (2) attack the defense, and (3) the three "looks" - look and see the floor, look before passing, and look before dribbling. To calm your players (especially kids), you must be calm in your coaching and instruction.

Turnovers in Transition
Turnovers can occur when transitioning quickly from defense to offense.

Off the defensive rebound.
When the defensive rebound is secured, the point guard must get to an outlet spot or come back to the rebounder for an open passing lane. Rebounders must be strong with the ball, get triple-threat and pivot to find a receiver, or make a one-bounce power dribble just to get clear of the defenders and create a passing lane.

After a steal or interception.
How often do you see a player come up with a steal, a loose ball or an interception only to have his next pass intercepted right back by the opponent? It happens a lot... I call it the "steal->turnover". Here's a tip... we teach our players that whenever they get a steal or interception, to never pass back into the middle of the court, because that's where the defense is sprinting back - down the middle of the court. Instead, after securing a steal or interception, get under control, get triple-threat and see the court, and advance the ball up the sideline. The exception of course is an obvious break-away lay-up situation.

Recognize when to abort the break.
Score off the fast break or secondary break whenever you can, but when the defense is in good position and there is no numbers advantage, pull the ball back out and run your offense. Do not force bad passes and bad shots in transition. Run your offense!

Turnovers in Your Half-Court Offense
Many turnovers in the half-court result from errors in passing and catching, ball-handling, etc. See "Reducing Turnovers" for more details. But to add some important points about half-court offense... maintain good spacing, use back-cuts (especially against pressure defenses), pass and cut, rotate on the perimeter, players must not stand around... keep moving! It's easy to defend a team that doesn't move.

Avoid the sideline and baseline... many turnovers occur within three feet of either the baseline or the sideline. Teach players never to pick up the dribble along the baseline... if stopped on the baseline, keep the dribble going and dribble (or pass) back out. Wing players should learn to attack the top seam (elbow), which affords more options than the baseline dribble.

Dribbling along the sideline can result in the player stepping out-of-bounds, or getting caught in a trap, or simply losing control of the dribble under the defensive pressure.

If wing players are being trapped, make sure you have a player in the high-post (free-throw line area) and one at ball-side corner for passing options, as well as the point guard helping out on top. Once the ball is passed out of the trap, immediately reverse the ball to the opposite side and you should have an advantage. A savvy point guard will pass-fake to one wing, getting the defenders to jump, and then pass instead to the opposite wing or high-post... this disrupts the timing of the defenders wanting to immediately rush out and trap the wing. Bob Knight has said that one of most effective, and most under-taught, offensive skills is the pass-fake.

Against the 2-3 zone, teach your perimeter players to drive the seams, but pull-up for a jump-shot near or just inside the elbow... don't get too deep inside where the three tall inside defenders are waiting.

Bad shots... forced, off-balance, "crappy" shots, while technically not a turnover, are just as bad, resulting in a poor shot for your team on that possession. Ingrain your players to value each possession. Be patient and don't hurry. Execute. Get a good shot. Rebound.

Also see: "Reducing Turnovers"




Coach's Clipboard Premium Membership - join today! Really one of the best bargains available today for coaches and players. Immediate online access, comprehensive playbook with offenses, defenses, plays, drills, coaching and player tips, animated diagrams, video clips, mobile-ready, pdfs for print-outs, and more!



New Articles/Content:
New or revised website articles:
"Flood Press Breaker"... used by Coach Bob Hurley vs the 1-2-1-1 press.
"3-Out Read and React Offense" ...looking at the R&R using a 3-Out set.
"Rebounding"... including thoughts on developing a rebounding mind-set.

See the complete "What's New" list.




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Till next time...
Best wishes,
Dr. Jim Gels, aka "Coach Gels"
The Coach's Clipboard
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