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In this episode for basketball coaches by basketball coaches…
I. An interview with Coach Mark Byington, Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at Virginia Tech- a NCAA DI member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Note: This was recorded before Mark accepted the job at Virginia Tech and was at The College of Charleston.
For Mark’s bio from the Virginia Tech website please click here.
Among the things we discuss are…
- What he learned from his mentors: Coach Charlie Morgan (passion!), Coach Jerry Wainwright (life skills), Coach Brad Brownell (think outside the box), Coach Bobby Cremins (treat people the right way)
- Preseason:
- Shooting- different ways, spots
- 1 on 1- sometimes off the dribble, sometimes off the catch, posts too!
- In-season:
- 1st part of practice at C of C was skill development
- Force decision making (3 on 2, 2 on 1)
- Individual Defense (guard screens)
- Team offense (secondary, halfcourt sets)
- Post-season:
- Players’ perceptions don’t always match reality so at C of C they gave players report cards and a clip tape showing what they do well and what they need to work on.
- Personal Development
- Study successful programs- on tape and talk to them.
- Work-Family balance
- Work smart- get your work done and then get away and be with your family.
- Recruiting Tips:
- Looks for guys who know how to play and make the right basketball decisions- even if undersized or out of position.
- Get seen and be ready for your opportunity. If you’re good enough people will find you.
- Helps to be a on a winning team.
- As a recruiter you must build relationships- need more sets of eyes.
- Getting into college coaching:
- Work hard, start out at the bottom and work your way up.
- Appreciate where you are.
II. Basketball Coaching Tip of the Week- Dan Dakich tips from 1998 and 2005. Dakich is currently an ESPN commentator and sports talk radio host. Prior to that he was the head coach at Bowling Green University and also served as interim head coach at Indiana.
For Dan’s bio from the Indiana website please click here.
- DEFENSE: 2 Key Questions
- How much pressure do you want on the ball? How far do you contest the pass?
- Where do you want the ball taken (baseline, middle, square)?
- Larry Brown’s 3 things to do every day
- Guard the ball
- Contest passes
- Block out
- Don’t let the ball reverse easily. Put rectangle of tape at top of the key and didn’t want ball caught there or they would run in practice.
- OFFENSE:
- Five 2 minute game sin practice to work on special situations
- Friday Night Fights- pressure free throws
- The importance of enthusiasm
- Motion principles- spacing, 2 cuts to get open, don’t initiate form the same spot twice, take the ball to the action
Until next time, Coach ’em up!
Hal Wilson
After coaching and working with basketball teams at the college and high school level in a variety of roles for 18 years, I have returned to finish my Ph.D. in Kinesiology & Sport Studies. This www.CoachingBasketballWisely.com website is a way to share the coaching tips, strategies, and techniques gathered in a career in coaching. See more info on me here.
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Our Coaching Basketball Wisely podcasts are way to help basketball coaches of all experience levels learn how to coach basketball, and how to coach basketball better, faster! Whether you are a youth basketball coach, a middle school basketball coach, a high school basketball coach, a college basketball coach, or a professional basketball coach we all need to keep learning! We cover basketball practice tips, basketball recruiting tips, work-life balance, and much more. If there are particular basketball coaching tips or topics that you would like to see covered in future episodes please let us know!!