Mick Cronin Cincinnati Bearcats BLOB Playbook by Wes Kosel

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

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May 6, 2014

Mick Cronin Cincinnati Bearcats BLOB Playbook by Wes Kosel

Attached in this playbook are 3 baseline out-of-bounds plays from Coach Mick Cronin. Cronin, a Cincinnati native and University of Cincinnati alum, led the Bearcats to a tie in the American Conference with Louisville (15-3 in conference play). Both Louisville and Cincinnati finished ahead of eventual national champion UCONN. Cronin began his career as a high school coach before becoming an assistant at Cincinnati under Coach Bob Huggins. From there, he was an assistant for Rick Pitino at Louisville and from there took the head coaching job at Murray State. In 3 years at Murray State, Cronin went 69-24 and made it to the NCAA tournament twice. From Murray State, Cronin became the head coach at Cincinnati where he was now coached for 8 years. Since starting his first two seasons at Cincinnati with losing records, Cronin has won 18+ games since 2008, and 22+ games since 2010.

Mick Cronin Cincinnati Bearcats BLOB Playbook – 1-4 Low Stagger:

5 moves first and cuts up the lane as if catching a lob pass from 1 for the inbounds. 2 steps up and sets a back-screen for 5. 4 steps in and sets a screen for 2 who cuts to the wing. 1 looks for 5 for a lay-up or to 2 for a shot on the wing. If 2 doesn’t have a shot, 4 turns and sets a wing ball-screen for 2. 1 cuts off of a staggered screen from 5 and 3. 2 passes to 1 for a shot

Mick Cronin Cincinnati Bearcats BLOB Playbook – 1-4 Low Fake Back Screen:

5 moves up the lane again as if catching a lob pass from 1. 2 steps toward 5 as if setting the back-screen but instead cuts straight to the wing off of a screen from 4. 1 passes to 5 or 2 for the score.

Mick Cronin Cincinnati Bearcats BLOB Playbook – Screen the Screener:
2 turns and sets a screen for 4. As 2 is setting the screen, 5 steps in and sets a screen for 2. 2 cuts to the wing for a shot. If needed, 3 moves toward half-court for the outlet pass.

Wes Kosel is an assistant coach for men’s basketball under Head Coach Tommy Jones at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, TX. 2013-2014 marks the second year for Kosel at TLU. Prior to arriving at TLU, Kosel served as a student assistant coach under Head Coach Chad Killscrow at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, KS. Kosel has an undergraduate degree in Exercise Science from the University of Kansas, and is pursuing a Master’s degree in Physical Education from the University of Houston. The Bartlesville, OK native is also a NSCA Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), and teaches weight training and aerobic fitness courses at Texas Lutheran. He has coached AAU programs, volunteered with elementary and middle school basketball teams, and has worked basketball camps for various programs including the Houston Rockets, University of Houston, Texas State, and Texas A&M Corpus Christi.