Tom Crean Basketball Tips
Speaker: Tom Crean
Marquette University
1. Team and Player Development
2. Recruiting
3. Game Management & Game Marketing
Need to commit to player development. Developing skills is the most important thing a coach can do.
“Just Coach the Team”- sign on his office wall.
– You have to be more than a recruiter to be a Head Coach. If you can only recruit, you will get fired quickly.
Assistant Coaches- Must be known for something: recruiting, scheduling, offense, academics, marketing
1. Skill Fundamentals workout- isolate skills
2. Strategies/Schemes
3. Contingency plan on the floor
Who is the best in your conference- look at them and find a way to make your team better.
– Need two ball-handlers vs. press
– Your team must be skilled enough to compete vs. all types of teams
Study leadership/football coaches/Frank Beamer VA Tech special teams | Tom Crean Basketball Coaching Tips
Frank Beamer owns special teams and they are the best in the country.
How do you score in all different situations?
You must have a plan.
Head coaches should totally understand special teams- every out of bounds situation, FT’s, after time outs.
Van Gundy- studied last 5 minutes of every game. Breaks down film to help his coaching.
Contingency plans- How obsessed, how detailed are you in every situation?
Cannot pick and choose ownership- will get you beat!
– Can’t pick what is passionate to them.
– Assign roles, but everybody must be involved
– Agendas = jealousy and disloyal coaches
Establish Trust
Establish Roles on your staff | Tom Crean Basketball Coaching Tips
Avg. consumers’ long-term view is 3 days. Must have contact with your players everyday, esp. when you are out of the office.
If you are gone, you must re-connect with staff and players- keep in touch.
Magic and Jud Heathcoate have a very special relationship
What do your players say about you?
Magic Johnson had an unreal work ethic. Worked on one new skill per day.
Players will buy into your system if they know you are making them better.
Less than 5% of players are NBA ready when they enter the NBA according to Coach Brian James.
Focus on skill development for the entire team. | Tom Crean Basketball Tips
Reads all newspapers every single day- learn about opponents- what are they doing that you are not?
You must be on the floor with your players- Rick Pitino is, so should I, during individual workouts.
Anything that happens in an organization comes back to the leadership of the organization- late to class, in the café, always treat people the right way.
People on your staff must be committed to making the head coach better.
Is trust/loyalty there for the head coach?
Recruiting
New England Patriots-great strategies and great leadership
They don’t bring Belichick players he cannot coach
Evaluation, Communication, Identification- Find people that fit what we like.
Could player x play for your head coach?
What fits the head coach?
What is your identity when a recruit visits with you? What image does your program convey?
Long-term plan vs. contingency plan.
Be able to identify what you like. | Tom Crean Basketball Tips
Study film of recruits- what do they need to be better?
Have outside people watch your team practice/workouts.
You must be demanding to get your players better- be accountable to each other.
1. Strength Coach
2. Trainer
3. Academic Advisor
– Can be more important than coaches at this time of the year. Have a meeting with them.
Need to involve them in meetings to spread your message. Must all be on the same page.
Home-Court Advantage
– Need to sell your program
– People told him they could not create a home-court atmosphere at Marquette when he took the job.
– Fear of failure- will it paralyze you or motivate you.
– Hire and recruit people who are motivated by fear of failure.
– They averaged 7200 fans when he arrived, now it is rolling.
How to connect fans with your team- Need team and fan connection.
NBA Ticket Commercials are the best ideas- Very creative- watch them for ideas.
Minor League baseball is great source of marketing ideas. They get their stadiums full of energy.
Marquette has grown their fan base by 79%. | Tom Crean Basketball Tips
Students drive the energy of their arenas. Nothing better than a full house of students.
Make it happen/make it a reality.
Work with marketing professors for ideas for game promotion.
If your marketing people won’t do things, take the lead yourself.
He bought gold shirts, pom pons, towels etc for the students.
Must brand market your team. Started with 250 shirts, now in the thousands.
Went on the radio for 15 minutes a week to speak with students.
Must be serious about building a connection with students.
In Roy Williams’ 1st season at Kansas, 18 coaches at his clinic and 117 campers. Now look at it.
Do not wait for people to promote your program.
You need foot soldiers to put posters up on campus, pass out schedules.
Ask students what they think of the team and your players- are they accessible, are they acting right on campus, are they representing your program and promoting your brand image.
“It’s all about the energy of your building that gets boosters on board.”
It does not take a lot of money to create a great atmosphere at home games. Cheerleaders, band, music
Get it done.
Things to do as an assistant coach | Tom Crean Basketball Tips
1. Develop players- Don’t ever lose faith of players. Always be in high demand.
2. Bring the best out of your players.
3. The best recruiters are the best with your current players.
4. Call players when you are on the road recruiting.
Diener and Wade took ownership of their program.
It only takes one player to screw up your situation with a recruit. They need to back you on everything that you say.
Ex. A recruit at another school told their recruit to go to Marquette because he didn’t like his own coaches. One of their top recruits.
Assistant Coaches
1. Game Operations- Music, band, cheerleaders
Must build a great game atmosphere. Can’t lose at home.
2. Students- Oversee operations.
3. Scheduling- Moving at a rapid pace. Work with TV deals and negotiate. Games are going for $100,000 now.
Establish Roles | Tom Crean Basketball Tips
– Can’t be about you.
– Team and coaches must promote each other in the media. Have your players sound like you in the media.
– No bulletin board material, get media training,
– Build a role, don’t get away from it.
– D Wade avg 10.8 deflections as freshman, 12.2 as sophomore
– 9 games over 18 deflections
– 3 games over 22 deflections
Magic always practiced shots off the backboard to build his shooting touch.
Dwayne Wade shot chart- charted stretch of 15 shots where he could have used the backboard over 5 games. Shooting % went up when he learned to use backboard.
Incredible chip on his shoulder.
Always wants to prove people wrong
Under-recruited, was a 4 man in HS
Find something special about your game.
Don’t move to a new role until you mastered the current one.
Be Indispensable to your Head Coach | Tom Crean Basketball Tips
Learn, Study, Support
Help others with their roles, upper classmen help the freshmen.
D Wade would play shooting games all the time with Novak and Diener.
He knew he needed Novak to play well to win games.
Deiner and Wade abused Novak in practice; they knew they needed a big to shoot it well.
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