There are many basketball coaches who have had success in the game with a variety of different basketball coaching styles. So, when it comes to finding your coaching style, there are a few things to consider, and this article will help you better determine what style would work best for you. From coaching musts to building team chemistry, this article will cover a wide range of topics that will allow you to better determine the type of coach that you want to be and your personal coaching style.
15 Critical Basketball Coaching Musts
This basketball coaching article was written by University of Pikeville Head Coach Kelly Wells.
Coaching basketball, or really any sport, is a profession that requires a life long pursuit of excellence. The best coaches are always looking for ways to better themselves so that they can better challenge and encourage those around them. Here are 15 basketball coaching musts that I have gathered over the years of coaching and believe will help you on your coaching journey.
Hire GREAT Basketball Coaches Who are GREAT People
- You will only be as good as those that you surround yourself with daily. You need to have basketball coaches and people around you who challenge you to be at your best and strive to better themselves.
- Genuinely good people are the best to be around, and the way they carry themselves will rub off on whoever they are around. This is also true if you are around people who are not good!
Put your FAMILY and GOD Ahead of Basketball
- Never sacrifice time with your family and time with GOD. You are in charge of your 24 hours per day and where you spend your time shows your commitment. There are times your family time and church time will suffer, but your family and church should never lose out! Technology is your friend with communication (facetime, text, calls, social media), so take advantage of it.
Be a Life-Long Learner
- Coaches must be coachable too! Podcasts, clinics, basketball coaching articles, watching another team’s practice, calling mentors, etc., are great ways to continue learning and inexpensive with savvy planning.
- Players change, and it is the coach’s job to have core values that represent these changes without changing your core values.
Exceptional Work Ethic
- Everyone does the required work; it is critical to your success to do the UNREQUIRED work related to your success and your basketball program’s success.
- Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. “Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you’d better BE RUNNING.” – African Proverb
Power in Belief
- Believe in yourself, your players, your situation, your family, your coaches, your job, your town, your system, etc.
- Eliminate the noise and coach your team!
Dream Bigger than Most Think is Reasonable
- Guarantee Little/Deliver Much
- You must get your players, coaches, administrators, community, etc., all invested in your plans and dreams. Be a gathering personality and develop relationships.
Relationships MATTER
- Care about your coaches, players, and their lives. Don’t be an enabler, but be a supporter of their dreams and goals.
Shared Commitment
- Players love when you sweat with them.
- Most of the time, it is more about what you bring than what you know.
Self-Evaluation
- Periodic self-reflection and evaluation will help you grow as a coach and as a person. Ask questions to yourself and use the mirror test to evaluate your decisions.
- Would you want to play for yourself? Would you want your children to play for a basketball coach like you?
- Strength Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath is a great resource to find your strengths.
Take Basketball Players Where They Will Not Take Themselves
- Taking a player from where they are to where they can be is a huge part of a basketball coach’s mission. Finding the best version of each player and developing them is the baseline of what coaching is all about.
Have a Basketball Philosophy and Beliefs that Fit YOU!
- Each of us is unique in our own way. Taking pieces from others is not bad, but it is important to mold them around who you are and what you are comfortable being.
- Be yourself; everyone else is taken!
Be Organized
- Being efficient and prepared are so valuable to credibility and success. Being organized is a time saver and efficiency aide.
- I can guarantee you that everyone will know when you are NOT organized. That is not the objective.
Be Your Own PR Department
- We are in charge of OUR brand each second of each day. There will be identifiers of you when your name is brought up always. What will those words be? Protect your brand with intention and care always.
Communication is CRITICAL
- Be truthful, Be upfront, Be often!
- Most of your issues come from the root value of a lack of communication. On the floor, in the community, with your administration, etc.
Be Humble and Hungry
- We all know those individuals that are not humble…who wants to be that? Or even around those people? Never forget where you came from, who helped you along the way, give others credit, share your successes, love others, and smile.
- Stay driven, enjoy your successes, and learn from them. Never rest on what you have done; let it make you hungry for more.
15 Critical Basketball Coaching Musts Conclusion
Coaching basketball is the GREATEST job in the world! It comes with great responsibility and influence that we have to embrace and cultivate. There are so many elements that make a great coach and too many to list. Set your culture and core values for your program and self.
Let them guide your sails in your direction and decisions. I hope these 15 critical basketball coaching musts will resonate with you to elevate your game, your players-team-school-family, etc. deserve it!
Winning Cultures in Basketball
This portion of the article was written by Kansas State University assistant men’s basketball coach Alvin Brooks.
“Fight for your culture every day!”
That quote sums it up on whether your basketball program and players will be successful or not.
I have been blessed to be a part of winning basketball cultures throughout my playing and coaching career. As an assistant basketball coach, I have been a part of back-to-back junior college National Championships at two different schools. I’ve also been blessed to be a part of Kansas State’s first Big 12 Championship in school history this past year. The systems at each school were different, but the basketball culture was created and fought for every single day!
Every sports team strives to establish a winning culture, but it is much easier said than done. Harvey Fialkov from the Sun Sentinel said, “It starts with a winning blueprint that attracts talented, hard-working, selfless players who place the team concept over individual success.” Players are not the only ones that need to be hardworking and selfless. The coaches, support staff, and managers should also be that way.
San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich said, “Winning franchises have a lot in common. We believe in team; We believe in pieces fitting and people executing their role and caring about the team more than anything individually.” One of the hardest things to do is to make everyone care about WE more than ME. Anything involving toughness and teamwork must be praised daily – huddling on the court as much as possible, being the first player to dive on the floor, sprinting to pick a teammate up off the floor, making the extra pass for the best shot, rebounding, talking, and pointing or giving high fives for good plays.
Everyone involved in your basketball program should be on the same page. There is a quote that says you cannot write a story together if you are not on the same page. In sports, you cannot win a championship together if everyone is not on the same page.
The winning cultures in basketball that I have been a part of have all been on the same page and have the following:
1) Communication: The staff communicates constantly and honestly with their student-athletes and have great relationships with them. The staff also communicates about practice, current, and past student-athletes, recruiting, scouts, the terminology used to teach student-athletes, etc. Communication makes it easier for everyone to execute, whether it be everyday tasks or basketball plays in a game. All communication is not good; it has to be done effectively by being respectful.
2) Accountability: Every person in the basketball program is held accountable to be on time and do their job every day. Each person, from the managers to the coaches all have a job to do. The only way for the winning culture to remain is for each person to make sure they are doing their job and willing to confront someone who is not. The basketball program’s values are more important than the individual.
3) Consequences: Every time someone in the program is not doing their job, there are consequences. The consequences were not set, but instead are random to make sure each individual does not weigh breaking the rules of the culture versus the consequences that would come with it. For example, we did not want a student-athlete to think they would rather run a mile than attend a class. With a random consequence, the student-athlete will think hard before missing a class and breaking the winning culture.
4) Practice: Basketball practices are intense and competitive! The coaches hold each player accountable to perform at their maximum level every play. In one of the basketball programs in which I worked, we kept track of each individual every day whether they made a mistake or made a play. If they made a mistake, we would yell “brick” to have the manager markdown the mistake. If they made a play, we would yell “save,” and the manager would mark down the save. At the end of each basketball practice, the manager would add each individual’s “bricks and saves” for after practice running. If the player’s bricks outweighed his or her saves, they would run according to the number.
5) Learning: Each basketball program I was a part of taught players about basketball and life. Each program also established leadership that allowed individuals to learn from one another. The coaches teach one another, and the team leaders were seen as an extension of the coaches. The willingness to adapt to situations helped us counter our opponents and put us in the best position to win.
6) Consistency: The coaches held the players accountable EVERY DAY! The players also held each other accountable EVERY DAY! The player’s energy level and competitiveness were high 90% of the time. Each person came ready to do their job every day to keep the winning culture going!
7) Comfort Zone: Get out of it! Each program strongly encouraged everyone to get out of their comfort zone. When each person performs out of their comfort zone, the team performs at its “magic level.”
8) Sacrifice: Each person involved in the basketball program must drop their ego and sacrifice for the team. Some individuals may have wanted a bigger or different role but did not cause conflict because they wanted to win more than they wanted the individual stats. The word “I,” “You,” and “They” have to be replaced with words like “Us,” and “We.”
9) Expectations: The expectations must continue to challenge everyone to get better every single day. Kansas State Football Coach Bill Snyder talked to our team last year, and we use his 1-0 motto all the time. Our goal is to go 1-0 every basketball practice and every game one day at a time.
10) Enjoy: We are blessed to help kids achieve goals in life and on the court. Enjoy every moment and never make yourself feel like a situation is better or worse than it seems. Enjoy the process!
Maintaining and Building Team Chemistry Mid Basketball Season
This portion of the article was written by Steve Smiley.
I wanted to write a basketball coaching article about the current state of my team’s particular journey, which is probably very similar to where your team is, as well. We’re preparing for the second half of our semester (we actually start practice again tomorrow, Dec 31, after a 10-day break for the holidays). We immediately hit the bulk of our conference slate, which determines our seeding for the Regional Tournament in March.
At this time of the year, there are no more “practice games,” so we have to be at our best every night to have a chance to win our league, the Region 9 of the NJCAA Division 1 level.
A Continual Process
I truly believe that one of the most important things to work on during this time of year is the constant attempt to keep chemistry strong on the team. We continually stress to our basketball players that “all great empires are destroyed from within.” While this can obviously be attributed to academic issues, behavior/off the court issues, in today’s context, I want to stress how the empire can get destroyed from within as players begin to understand their place on the basketball team, for better or worse.
At our level, every basketball player has the dream to move on to the NCAA Division 1 level after playing here at Sheridan College. To be honest, the majority of them have the talent to potentially do so. With that being said, they won’t all move on to that level because Division 1 schools will typically only take players at our level that have produced in games at a high level consistently.
It’s tough (though not impossible) for the 8th, 9th, or 10th man on a Junior College team to get a D1 scholarship. The players start to believe that as they see certain players getting all of the recruiting attention while they aren’t playing much, and consequently, aren’t getting recruited as much either.
No matter which level you are coaching basketball at, your team definitely could be going through the same potential problems right now, whether you are a JV coach that has players hoping to make the Varsity or a Head Varsity coach with multiple players hoping to get a college scholarship, and even at higher levels than us, a Division 1 Coach with players hoping to get a chance to play professionally.
It can be challenging no matter the level you are coaching at to keep a team together and keep your guys that aren’t playing as much motivated and continually improving to help your team.
Here are some ideas that we incorporate into our basketball program to keep all of our players, whether they are #1 or #14 on the depth chart, focused and continually improving.
“A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats”
We stress this concept continually with our basketball team, and for us, this simply means that the better our team is and the more success we have, the more opportunities ALL of our players will have at the end of the year. We have several examples of players on the end of our bench, or even redshirts, that actually signed to move on to the 4-year level because that year’s basketball team was successful. It’s no secret that coaches at the next level recruit programs as much as they do players.
Coaches want to make sure that their recruits know what it takes to win, so they want to recruit winners, and we stress this to our guys. The better our basketball practices are, the better our team will become, the more we will win, the more opportunities each player will have!
One-Minute Assessments
We continually ask and demand that each player improve their overall game by just 5% during the season. We know they’re not going to completely refine their skill set during the year, but we want small, incremental improvements over time so that our team improves greatly as a whole… With that in mind, we talk about 5% improvement individually, and to define what areas they need to work on to improve by 5%, we use the idea of the One-
Minute Assessment, which is:
- “Here is one thing you are doing well (offensive rebounding), and here is one thing WE need to improve upon (Free Throw Shooting %).” We always give the player a positive first, which opens them up to constructive criticism on the back end. If they know you are seeing them do things well, they will be more receptive to their areas of deficiency and will openly work on those areas.
Are you Ready When your Number is Called?
In reality, most basketball players start to shut down and not care as much as soon as their minutes decrease throughout the year (and when you have 14 players on your team and typically settle into an 8-man rotation, almost half of your team can fall victim to this disease!). So even though they appreciate the positive in the One-Minute Assessment; they still believe in their own minds that even if they do improve, they won’t play anyways, so why bother?
When we stress to them (and we do this right from the beginning of the season and continue to stress it throughout), each player will get an opportunity to prove themselves worthy of playing time. This opportunity might come in practice. It might come in a game. It might be a short amount of time or a bigger opportunity. Still, every player will get some small opportunity, and if they seize it, they will get a bigger and better chance to produce.
Three years ago, we had a player that was #11 on the depth chart until late January (we start games on November 1). At that time, a player broke his foot, so we inserted this particular kid, and he seized the opportunity by hitting huge shots and doing a nice job on the defensive end of the floor on the night his # was called.
From that point forward, he never gave up his starting spot, and we won 14 of our last 15 games of the year. We had another player that was inserted into the starting lineup from about #10 on the depth chart when the starter blew out his shoulder, and this kid started 3 games but didn’t produce much during that opportunity, so now that the original starter is healthy, he’s back to the bench.
The point is, though, that we’re still stressing to that particular player that his # will get called again, but he better ready when it is!
Use of Season Stats
Some basketball coaches shy away from this idea, but we definitely embrace it. We use the season stats as a tool to teach our basketball players where they are deficient (obviously, we have to approach the defensive end of the floor through film-work, etc.), and this is another area to show players why they are or aren’t currently playing, and what they need to do statistically to get a shot on the court. We have one point guard currently that has a 2.3:1 assist to turnover ratio and another one that barely has a 1:1 ratio, and they’ve played identical minutes so far this year.
At this point, it is clear which basketball player is fulfilling his role better for this team, so he starts and gets more minutes currently. Stats help us (and so does film) to validate some of the decisions we make to our players. I encourage basketball coaches to use stats and show them to their players. Don’t worry about them getting embarrassed by their teammates seeing some of the bad things they’re doing, but use it as a teaching tool. Our players have really embraced this idea, and it gives our staff credibility in making decisions.
Maintaining and Building Team Chemistry Mid Basketball Season Conclusion
Those are just a couple of ideas that you can use to help with maintaining and building team chemistry mid basketball season. I highly recommend that you don’t just focus your attention on your current rotation of players but work with and encourage your players at the end of the bench because they could become valuable members by the end of the year.
In our basketball program, it happens almost every year that a player from the first part of the season that wasn’t doing much ends up improving greatly down the stretch and completely changes the face of the team in a positive way. Don’t give up on those players too early, and keep fighting every day for a basketball team that has united chemistry to it because those teams win at the end of the year. Good luck with the journey!
One Game Championships in Basketball
This portion of the article was written by Tigh Compton.
Having your basketball team in a position to chase a championship as the season winds down is all any coach can ask for. Sure, the hours spent watching film, perfecting your scouting report, and the extra time spent in the gym making sure your players are getting the work they need down the stretch can really add up, but there is nothing better than the reward. Any basketball coach will tell you that the reward for helping your team be in a position to win a championship, whether it is a regular season, conference tournament, or national championship, is more than worth it!
Daily Commitment
Our head coach at the University of Pikeville, 2011 NAIA National Coach of the Year Kelly Wells, constantly reminds our players and staff to approach each game as if it were a “One Game Championship.” Those three words have not been erased from our locker room whiteboard in months. As we battled night in and night out to maintain our lead in the always-tough Mid-South Conference, our players took pride in showing up every single day to compete for a one-day championship.
The concept of “One Day Championships” is nothing new. Every day, basketball coaches have to be creative in finding ways to get their players to compete and improve daily. It is easy for players and coaches to lose focus now and again over the course of a long season, but the teams that can find ways to limit that lack of focus, and prepare each day like it is the most important day of the season, are the teams that will be playing deep into March.
Respect Every Opponent
It is no easy task convincing your basketball players to look at every game as if their championship season depends solely on that particular game, no matter the opponent. Whether your opponent is one of the top teams in your league or one of the bottom, it should not matter. CHAMPIONSHIP teams approach each opponent with the same amount of focus and respect. They realize that to end the season on top, they must take care of the task at hand. No looking ahead, no looking back. Playing in the present and taking care of the task that is in front of them.
Basketball Team Goals
The constant talk of championships and team success also helps in the locker room. By constantly reminding our players of their team goals and the necessary steps we must take to reach those goals, we hear more “WE” talk and less “ME” talk. Players and coaches alike become so consumed in winning each “One Game Championship” that personal agendas take a backseat, and it becomes all about the TEAM.
One Game Championships in Basketball Conclusion
As your regular season winds down and you look for ways to motivate your team heading into the postseason, challenge them with “One Game Championships.” Whether it is improving every day in practice or winning three games in four days, keep your basketball players motivated, engaged, hungry for success, and focused on reaching team goals by helping them focus on the task at hand. No looking ahead, no looking back. Only playing in the present.
Building Team Chemistry in Basketball
This portion of the article was written by Russ Willemsen.
Often, the difference between finishing in the middle of your league or at the top can be found in your basketball team’s social nuances. How much do they like each other, and how well do they get along? If, as a basketball coach, you feel like your team is struggling to get on the same page, here are a few thoughts to help build and solidify team chemistry.
1) Remove cell phones and headphones at all meals. This forces your players to get to know each other and builds trust.
2) Challenge your players to encourage each other and pick a teammate up. This could be clapping, a text message, or public praise. Either way, encouragement builds morale, which boosts team chemistry.
3) Have your players communicate great plays. For example, your point guard splits a ball screen and kicks out to your best shooter for an open 3FG. Regardless of whether the ball goes in or not, the point guard should tell the shooter, “great shot,” and the shooter should reciprocate by saying, “great pass!”
4) Physical touch can be another way to communicate. The Suns tracked Steve Nash and saw he gave 239 high fives in a single game! The study goes on to say the touchiest teams in the NBA were also towards the top of the league in wins. Click here to see the full video.
5) Make your basketball drills competitive. Competition forces players to play at game speed. They will begin to gain confidence in each other, which will give them confidence in the system.
6) Do a community service project together in the off-season. It’s always good to give back within your community, which can help keep your players grounded.
7) Peer accountability is another way to build team chemistry. This helps develop pride within your team towards the system.
8) Reward your basketball players for hard work. This could be cutting practice short, taking them for ice cream, or some new team gear. Either way, it’s a quick shot of confidence in the middle of the season.
9) Hustle plays are awesome for basketball team chemistry. Diving on the floor for a loose ball, passing up a good shot for a great shot, taking a charge, or sprinting back on defense to cover for a teammate that is late getting back.
10) Attend a social gathering together. This could be a movie, another team sporting event, or any other community gathering that brings your team together.
All of these team building ideas have one thing in common. They are all centered on the ME < WE concept. A basketball player must give more to the team than he/she takes from the team. Selfish plays and selfish teammates destroy team chemistry in basketball. We have a saying with our team, “The most effective way is not always the easy way. Great teams do difficult things together.”
Unbreakable team chemistry in basketball is hard to establish, but the best teams not only have it, but they also live it!
Developing Coach to Player Relationships in Basketball: “The One Per Day Rule”
This portion of the article was written by Andrew Garcia.
Many different relationships exist within a basketball program. By far, the one that matters the most is the relationship that the head coach shares with each basketball player on his team. Among many other factors that make a difference, strong relationships are what separate successful teams from unsuccessful teams.
In many cases, this very factor can allow a basketball team to go on a deep run in March or hold them back as the pressure builds. In a team setting, trust is built behind the scenes in the form of innumerable conversations, teachable moments, overcoming adversities, and hard work in practices. Outsiders often do not see these relationships develop throughout the season. On rare occasions, we catch a glimpse of what these relationships truly mean – Bob Huggins comforting Da’Sean Butler after he tore his ACL in the 2010 Final Four comes to mind.
Some basketball teams just exude trust in each other. In the past, we have seen this in the form of the Wichita State Shockers. You cannot quite put your finger on it, but there is a hidden factor that bonds those players together and pushes them toward success. Without ever spending time with that team, there is no doubt in my mind that they have great relationships with each other. You can see it in their play.
Ultimately, it comes down to a belief system. Every basketball coach has his or her thoughts on what that belief system may look like and how they choose to impart those beliefs to their program. I was introduced to an idea that can help tremendously in building the relationship between a coach and every player on his or her team, and I would like to share that with you.
The “One Per Day Rule”
I have to credit Greg Shelley, professor of Sports Psychology at Ithaca College (NY), for explaining this idea to me and encouraging me to try it. The concept is that a basketball coach should make it his mission to seek a strong connection with at least one of his players per day by engaging in a meaningful, one-on-one conversation. 15 to 20 minutes is all it takes.
If you meet with one player per day, you can get through an entire 14-man team in two weeks. A typical college basketball season lasts around twenty-two weeks, so you can meet with a player 10 or 11 times throughout the season and many more if you choose to meet with more than one player per day. Add up all this time, and there is a potential for nearly four hours of face time for every player on the team.
Think about it. How often do basketball coaches and players sit down and actually have a constructive conversation during the season? I am not talking about a meeting where the coach just gives a player a list of things that he is doing wrong and proceeds to “talk at” the player the entire time. By constructive, I mean an open dialogue where both sides can address the positives and the negatives of what is going on in the program. Many coaches cringe at the idea of a player speaking his mind in a meeting.
However, if parameters are set, and it is understood that these conversations are designed to make everybody better, then there are a wide range of benefits that may occur. As I went through the process of applying the “One Per Day Rule,” I learned a great deal about my players along the way. Here is what I learned.
The Benefits of Frequent One-on-One Meetings
1) You Know What They Know. You Know What They Value – The more you let people talk, what they value the most comes to the surface. You just have to do some hardcore listening and frame more questions and conversation pieces based on the highly valuable information that they are providing. You can see what makes them tick. Who is the most important person in their life? Who is their best friend? What troubles are they experiencing daily? Thought-provoking questions designed to get the player talking about their experiences are a great way to establish a basic connection.
2) You Help Players Create a Compelling Vision for Their Future – Most basketball players are ill-equipped to see their potential, especially when it comes to their own leadership abilities. Despite the large egos that many may possess on the surface, many are followers in a social setting. These meetings are prime opportunities to help a player realize that he can significantly influence the other players on the team. Confidence can be built. Strategies on how to develop powerful habits can be outlined.
3) You Promote Your Belief System – This is also an opportunity to infuse the entire basketball team with the ideas that you want to become core beliefs in your program. The message that you can send in these meetings can be a powerful reminder of the message that you deliver to the entire group daily. In this setting, you can be sure that it is heard and not misconstrued.
4) The Relationship Becomes Stronger – I have found that when a player believes that you want the very best for him in life, he will go the extra mile for you. Effort and concentration levels go way up. On days when I would meet with a player before practice, guess who was in the front of the line for every breakdown basketball drill that day? Eyes locked onto mine when I went to make a coaching point in practice. A positive attitude was maintained for the entire basketball practice. These meetings made teaching and coaching easier on the floor because the relationship was stronger from it.
Who Can Adapt?
I have to admit, I ran into some trouble at first. Players, especially the younger ones, had difficulty conveying their thoughts. The coach to player barrier was up for many of them. Some of the players just did not have very much to say or did not feel comfortable with the meetings. As time went on, however, the dialogue became better and better. By the time the third and fourth meeting rolled around, the conversations took off.
What I have learned in my time as a college basketball coach is that success is often based on a coach’s capacity to adapt. Many coaches in other sports have adopted these same strategies. Clint Hurdle, the Pittsburgh Pirates Manager, employs an approach called “3 Up, 3 Down”. He asks players to share three things going well and three things that are not. This is a way for him to hear from each player regularly, even if it is uncomfortable for them at first.
Similarly, Kevin Sumlin, Head Football Coach at Texas A&M, uses a technique called “The Truth.” Every Monday morning during the season, coaches and players are allowed to “air out the dirty laundry” from the previous weekend. These discussions can be intense, but the idea is to reinforce expectations and build on the entire team’s improvement.
The big idea here is – why wait for something to go wrong to have a meeting? I have trouble listening to coaches that complain about today’s basketball player being entitled and lacking respect for the game. Some go on and on about players’ inability to follow instructions or the lack of character and pride in their team. While this may be true of some basketball players, coaches are often unknowingly undermining themselves by refusing to listen.
The “One Per Day Rule” offers a solution to close the gap between the basketball coach and his players and build stronger relationships. Maybe we should start employing more of these strategies.
Article Contributors: Kelly Wells, Alvin Brooks, Steve Smiley, Tigh Compton, Russ Willemsen, and Andrew Garcia.
