Fred Hoiberg Late Game Situations by Bradley Zellner

Written by Coach Peterman

I have coached at the NCAA Division 2 (Southwestern Oklahoma State University), NAIA (USAO), and JUCO Levels (Blinn College and Carl Albert State College) as well as high school. I just felt that fellow coaches especially young coaches need to constantly work on their “game”. Just like the basketball players that we coach. We as coaches need to improve ourselves. That is my story and why I do this blog.

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Baseline Out of Bounds | Basketball Coaching | Basketball Plays | Basketball Set Plays | Sideline out of bounds

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March 1, 2014

Fred Hoiberg Late Game Situations by Bradley Zellner

I was watching Iowa State play Oklahoma State a few weeks ago. I enjoy watching Iowa State play and Fred Hoiberg is a big reason for that. His team always plays hard on defense and does a good job of running their offense. They are currently in second place in one of the toughest conferences in America. The game came down to the wire and ended up going into 3 overtimes with Iowa State getting a rare win at Oklahoma State. Iowa State ran a quick hitter to help tie the game in regulation. Everything went right except the wide open shot was missed. Even though they did not score off the initial set, Iowa State was able to get an offensive rebound that allowed for a successful three point basket.

There are a few approaches to take when facing a late game situation and the team needs to score. Some coaches prefer the players to make a play and do not call timeout. Coaches who do not call timeout have confidence in the team to make a correct play when the game is on the line. The team must also spend time in practice working on late game situations. A majority of coaches will call a timeout to set up a play for the team to execute. Every team should spend some time working on late game situations in case there are no timeouts left in a game. When processing the game situation the coach must decide what kind of shot is needed and who is the most likely player to get that shot. That is the starting point to putting a last second play together. It is also a good idea to have a few sets ready when the game calls for a late game situation. The more prepared a coach is the better off the team is. Working on late game scenarios in practice is a chance to find out what players are clutch and also create a fun, competitive practice environment.

Coach Fred Hoiberg called a timeout and was able to draw a play up that allowed his team to get a wide open three point shot. The success of that timeout allowed the team to eventually win the game. I have included the late game play that was run by Iowa State to help them get an important road victory.

I also have a late game out of bounds play from the Phoenix Suns that I saw a few days ago. They were down 3 to the Houston Rockets with about 15 seconds to play.

Brad Zellner was most recently the Associate Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, IN; where he was deeply involved in all phases of the program. From daily practice planning and coaching to game preparation in decision making, Zellner played an integral role in the program’s daily operation. During his 4 years at IU Southeast, the team was consistently a nationally ranked team (the highest ranking being 3rd), while winning 4 straight regular season and 4 conference championships. IU Southeast made regular appearances at the NAIA National Tournament with 2 sweet 16, 2 elite 8 and 1 final four appearance. Zellner also help recruit and develop 11 All-Conference, 2 Conference player of the year, 3 Honorable Mention All-Americans, 1 Second Team All-American and 1 First Team All-American.

Coach Zellner also served as Head Coach for one season at Miami University Hamilton in Hamilton, Ohio. When hired at Miami-Hamilton, Zellner had to recruit almost the entire roster with only 5 weeks before the start of classes. The season finished with 14 wins and a runner up finish in the ORCC State Championship.

Prior to that, Zellner served his first stint as an Assistant Coach at IU Southeast. He helped rebuild a program that had won only 6 games prior to Zellner’s arrival. He was involved in all aspects of daily operations, served as the recruiting coordinator and worked mainly with the development of the perimeter players. IU Southeast averaged 17 wins a season, won 3 conference championships and made one appearance in the NAIA National Tournament. Coach Zellner helped recruit and develop 9 All-Conference Players, 2 Conference Players of the Year and 4 Honorable Mention All-Americans. Coach Zellner has worked numerous summer basketball camps. He served as camp director at Indiana Univeristy Southeast. He also worked summer camps at The Ohio State University, Northern Kentucky University, Xavier University, University of Cincinnati, Taylor University and Eastern Kentucky University. He was also involved in AAU basketball for Team Southern Indiana and Denali Basketball Club. Coach Zellner holds a Master’s of Sports Science degree in Sports Management/Coaching from the United States Sports Academy and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Eastern Kentucky University. While at EKU, Zellner served as a student manager for the men’s basketball team. He handled various administrative duties for the basketball program.