LATEST STORIES FROM THE X'S & O'S OF BASKETBALL
Triangle and 2 Combo Defense Scenarios Analyzed
September 30, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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Came across these notes the other day looking for some good defensive scheme information. Most of y'all have a good combo defense in your back pocket to go to, be it a Box and 1, Triangle and 2, etc... I'm mostly a M2M halfcourt guy, but I think having a good change-up defense...
Chris Paul and Brandon Roy Doin' Work
September 27, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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For you basketball only players and coaches, some motivation to get you through to the start of the season in November. Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets and Brandon Roy of the Portland Trailblazers putting in the time to get better:Brandon Roy"The best players in the league...
Check Out The Jayhawk Tip-Off Magazine
September 24, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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Just wanted to take a little time out for some shameless self-promotion (it's my blog so I guess I can write about whatever I want). I had the tremendous opportunity to be a part of Eric Angevine's team in producing this year's Jayhawk Tip-off Preseason magazine, previewing...
Thinking About Defensive Situations with Ben Howland
September 22, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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With the college basketball season just around the corner, one of the first teams I always look for on the TV schedule is when UCLA will be playing. I love the way UCLA plays defense under Ben Howland. Up until last year, they were consistently a top 5 defensive team every single year...
Ernie Kent's Open Early Offense
September 19, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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Going through more notes this week, and came across a good explanation for an early offense to use from Oregon's Ernie Kent called the Open Early Offense. The offense is meant to played fast with the purpose of getting easy baskets but also to tire the other team out. It's...
Darrin Horn on Developing Your Defensive Identity
September 15, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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With school in session and most of y'all coaches preparing for the upcoming season, some more philosophical thoughts to ponder as you imagine what kind of team you will be. I am very much a believer of having an identity. With the talent and skill of the players you have, you will...
4-out 1-in Motion Backdoor Trap Continuity Offense
September 13, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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A coaching friend of mine coaches a group of U13 players in a club league here in the Greater Vancouver area. He asked me for some advice a couple weeks ago because he was having some problems on offense with his team. He had been using the Backdoor Trap continuity offense and it had...
Don Casey on the Problems of AAU Summer Basketball
September 13, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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If you've read this blog any in the past year or so, you'll know my feeling on the AAU/High School debate. Last week, former NBA and NCAA division I coach Don Casey who runs a great blog called The Temple of Zones, posted his thoughts on a variety of subjects regarding the...
Thoughts on Michael Jordan's HOF Induction Speech
September 12, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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In case you missed it yesterday, Michael Jordan gave his induction speech at the Hall of Fame ceremony. Part 2 here and Part 3 here.Alot of mixed reactions to the speech which is to be expected. Certainly, Jordan comes across as brash, arrogant, even condescending. Adrian Wojnarowski...
Serbian Double Teams Help to Beat Spain at EuroBasket 2009
September 10, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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I didn't catch the game between Spain and Serbia live the other day in FIBA EuroBasket Tournament action but I was a little surprised at the result of the game, a 66-57 win for Serbia. 57 is definitely a low number for the Spaniards so I took a look at the game film to see what...
Reverse Jump Stop in the Post, Outside Foot Plants
September 08, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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I was at a gym the other day talking with a coaching friend on pivots, which foot to plant etc... For perimeter players, there is general consensus, most coaches teach and most players naturally prefer to use their opposite foot to their shooting hand to plant (right-handed plants...
Happy Labor Day Weekend
September 05, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of the sponsors, readers, and especially all the coaches out there for their support and to wish you all a great upcoming season where ever you are. We often don't think too much about the history of Labor Day, but it actually...
A Bunch of Kevin Eastman Offensive Development Drills
September 05, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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It's already September and I'm still wondering where summer went. It's always exciting at this time of year though with the beginning of the school season starting, the start of football games, and the beginning preparations for the upcoming basketball season. Anyways,...
Why or Why Not Run a Secondary Break?
September 02, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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I've been talking to new coaches recently and one of the questions I keep hearing is what is a 'secondary break', how is it different from a primary break, and should I install one or just go right into our half-court offense?? There was a good discussion on this topic...
A Matchup Zone Rule Scheme Deconstructed
August 30, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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I can across some notes the other day that outlined the rules for a matchup zone defense, they were created I believe by a high school coach and posted on the X's and O's forum. It can be run out of any formation (1-3-1, 2-3, 3-2, 1-2-2, etc...) and in my opinion, is probably...
Covering the Basics of Rebounding
August 28, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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This is probably mostly review or common sense for most of you coaches out there but since I was out the other day watching a youth practice and game with players who clearly did not have the fundamentals of rebounding down, I thought I would go over some basics and a couple of really...
Billy Donovan on Utilizing the 3-point Shot
August 26, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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When I think of talent equalizers in basketball, I think of 2 things, tough hard-nosed defense and 3-point shooting. If I were to develop a high school program today, the most important skill I would have the pre-Varsity young players working on is proper shot technique. Unlike in...
We Need More Kevin Stallings Stories
August 24, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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With all the bad publicity that college basketball coaches have been getting recently, its been hard not to become a complete cynic and write-off the whole damn thing. But as most of you have probably read by now, a feel-good story about Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings "...
Steve Alford's Rules for His 3-in 2-out Motion Offense
August 23, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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Found some good handwritten notes from a coaches clinic retreat several years ago where Coach Steve Alford, currently the head coach of New Mexico, talking about his 3-in 2-out motion offense (Download the video here). In my opinion, it is similar to the blocker-mover motion except...
Full Court Run and Jump Switch Options
August 20, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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Defensively, if there is one area that I haven't thought about too much in my past coaching experience is in the area of stunting and jump switching. I've done a lot of trapping and pressing both full court and half court but I think the idea of jump switching and hedging ...
Reminiscing The Stockton-to-Malone Good Ol' Days
August 20, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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From NBA TV, this is a retro segment featuring the dynamic duo of John Stockton and Karl Malone during all those years together with the Utah Jazz. It's so rare to have 2 people so compatible for each other in so many ways, both athletically and basketball-wise, but also in personality...
Should You or Should You Not Have Open Practices?
August 18, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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With this being the middle of August (wow, where did the summer go), and many of you coaches getting ready for the upcoming season, I wanted to talk about a recent and very relatable topic thread from the X's and O's Coaching forum debating the merits of having open practices...
Basketball in August, Canada Games in PEI
August 18, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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Here in Canada, we have an annual amateur national competition called the Canada Games where teams representing their province compete in a few dozen sports and it is held in August every other year. For 2009, the games are held in the province of Prince Edward Island (in the Atlantic...
Ernie Kent's 1-4 Offensive Sets
August 16, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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Although I'm mostly a University of Washington Huskies fan, over the past decade or so, I've enjoyed watching plenty of Oregon basketball games, especially living here in the Pacific Northwest. I used to drive down and watch Luke Ridnour, then later to watch Aaron Brooks. Offensively...
The Most Important Factor in Offseason Workouts is...
August 14, 2009 by
The X's & O's of Basketball
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By far the most important factor in the success of any off-season training regiment is accountability. In my opinion, even the most well-thought out individual workout plan isn't going to be any good if you cannot verify that the player actually followed the plan. We've all...
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