Steve Henson 2014 NABC Final Four Coaching Clinic Notes 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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Basketball Coaching | Basketball Coaching Clinic Notes

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May 17, 2014

Steve Henson 2014 NABC Final Four Coaching Clinic Notes by Wes Kosel

Attached are notes on Steve Henson’s defensive philosophy as well as a couple shooting drills that he uses. I took these Steve Henson 2014 NABC Final Four Coaching Clinic Notes in Dallas. Steve Henson is currently an assistant for Lon Kruger at Oklahoma. Henson and Kruger’s relationship goes way back, as Henson played for him at Kansas State in the late 1980’s. Henson started his coaching career at Illinois where he coached from 1990-2000. Henson worked for Kruger at Illinois and also coached under Kruger in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks. From Atlanta, Henson took a position at South Florida as an assistant. He rejoined Coach Kruger at UNLV in 2004, and has been with him since making the move in 2011 to Oklahoma.

In the Steve Henson 2014 NABC Final Four Coaching Clinic Notes, he describes his defensive philosophy including:
• Positioning Thoughts
• Deny/Load Positions
• Deny/Load Drills (1 on 1, 2 on 2)
• Switching Thoughts
• Switch 4/Switch 3 Strategies
• Drills to Use Daily
• Importance of Communication
• Switching Tips & Examples
• Disadvantages of Switching
• Advantages of Switching

Also included are two shooting drills used by Coach Henson. Henson’s most popular drill is the “Streak Shooting” Drill. In this drill, the shooter starts at spot 1 in the corner and must make 2 shots in a row to start the streak. Once the streak is started, he shoots until he misses. He then does this at each of the 5 spots. Henson also runs the drill where the shooter gets 2 chances at each spot. The drill has become popular with Henson’s players because of the records he has kept from his coaching career. Steve Henson keeps records of longest streaks made, most shots made, and single spot streak records. This provides a competitive atmosphere for working on shooting as players want to beat past records and streaks. The 2nd drill is a post jump hook drill using the gun. This is a great warm-up for big men, but also should be worked on with guards to develop touch around the basket.

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.