Show notes
Late game situations, up three or down two, and practicing the moments you will face in January.
Early in his career, Coach Steve Collins did not really practice the end of games. He figured his team would deal with it when it came up. Then it came up: January, on the road, down two with nineteen seconds left and no timeouts. Five kids looked at the bench, and he looked back with nothing to give them.
That night changed how he used October. The last two minutes of a January game get decided in the first weeks of practice, because whatever a team has rehearsed is what shows up when the gym is loud and the clock is moving. In this two part deep dive, Steve walks through deciding your late game answers while it is still quiet, building a clear up three plan, knowing your shot when you are down two, and turning practice into something that actually feels like January.
Part 1: Deciding Before It Matters
- Why the end of a January game gets decided in the first weeks of the season
- The questions to answer now: foul or guard up three, two or three down two, the one and one lineup, the last shot when tied
- Sitting down with your staff in October to decide twenty situations, and why a decided answer beats a perfect answer invented in a panic
- The one page clipboard sheet, and the five situation version every player should be able to recite
- Up three: why fouling and guarding can both win, but a team that does not know which one it is doing loses
- Clear rules for guarding, how to foul early and with a designated fouler, and why a late foul on a three point shooter is the worst play in basketball
- The player who hesitated for half a second, and why players have to rehearse it with noise, a clock, and a score
Part 2: Down Two and Practicing Pressure
- Down two: deciding ahead of time whether you play for the tie or the win
- One late game play with a second option, and telling the shooter on Monday instead of at the timeout
- A no timeout call the point guard can yell
- Teaching clock awareness so players know what eight seconds really feels like
- Ending practice once a week with live situations, a real clock, a loud bench, and real consequences
- Calling the situation only when the whistle blows, and why chaos in October is a good thing
- Coaching the drill live yourself, because coaches need late game reps too
- The Friday situations that showed up in a sectional game, and the point guard who said, "Coach, that felt like practice"
- Why the last two minutes are about calm, and calm comes from having been there before
Chapters
- 00:00 Coach Unplugged intro
- 00:16 Opening: the confession
- 01:19 Pre roll: TeachHoops.com special situations practice plans and situation sheets
- 01:41 Why October decides January
- 02:15 Takeaway 1: Decide your answers while it is quiet
- 04:03 Takeaway 2: Up three, and the half second hesitation
- 06:35 Takeaway 3: Down two, know your shot
- 08:12 Mid roll: TeachHoops.com late game sets and the coaching community
- 08:30 Takeaway 4: Make practice feel like January
- 10:10 The last two minutes are about calm
- 10:30 The challenge and post roll
This week's challenge: Write down your up three and down two plans tonight, and finish one practice this week with both situations on a real clock.
Format: Deep Dive, two parts.
Resources: Special situations practice plans, end of game drills, late game sets, printable situation sheets, courses, and on court clinics at https://teachhoops.com/
Recorded at the Fifth Quarter Studios in Madison, Wisconsin.
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