John Calipari and Larry Brown from Tunica Basketball Clinic

These Tunica basketball clinic notes have Larry Eustachy who talks about thoughts on the profession and his coaching methodology. Bruiser Flint talks about his defensive drills and defensive style of play.  There are tons of coaches that talked at this clinic:  John Calipari, Eric Musselman, Bob Boyd, Mike Fratello, and several more.

Here is Jay Wright’s presentation. Coach Wright has been an NCAA champion with Villanova:

THOUGHTS ON THE PROFESSION:

• As a young coach he used to work summer camp at Pitt when Coach Calipari was on the staff there.  Coach Cal has always been a person that would share thoughts to help others become better in the profession. He had made a very impressive book that chronicled his daily recruiting activities to show Pitt alumni exactly what it took for them to be involved with the type of players they needed to be successful.  Coach Cal gave Coach Wright a copy of this book.

• Upon taking the Hofstra job, Coach Cal’s advice was simply “get players.” Don’t be overly concerned with size, position, etc. Just get good players and figure it out. This was the formula that he then used at Hofstra.

• Respected veteran coaches have the power to positively influence the profession if they so choose.  Larry Brown “anointed” the Villanova program through his presence and positive comments over the past year.

• Don’t be afraid to have outside people come in and evaluate your program. They have a unbiased perspective.

• What’s the most important part of your day? Practice! I started doing practice plans at home so I won’t be distracted. My favorite place to be is on the court.

• Thought on scorers: always wants them to have an aggressive mentality regardless of the last shot. Terminology : Shoot’em up or sleep in the streets.

BUILDING THE VILLANOVA DEFENSE:

• Starts with basic man principals of ball‐you‐man.

• Win or lose – make sure you played “your way.” No one ever likes to lose, but when you watch game film, you always want to see that you played “your way,” win or lose.

• The trapping and switching nature of their defense is based on “Calculated Risk.” They don’t want to miss an opportunity to “Blitz and Step‐Up.”

• Situations where Calculated Risks are appropriate for Blitzing include: 1) anytime the ball is dribbled toward you as a defender. 2) Your man brings you to the ball. 3) The ball is dribbled to the baseline setting up a trap from behind.

• They want to Blitz all ball screens or dribble hand‐offs when defenders react to the Calculated Risk situations. Teaching point is that the trappers should never foul or get steals. Trappers are deflectors.

• When a 2‐man game occurs, the other three players “load” to the 2‐man game.

• Man guarding the screener calls the “Blitz” or “Switch.” If you are guarding the ball‐handler, always assume “Blitz” and he must step over the top to trap, or to be put in a ball‐you‐man position on the roll man if a switch occurs. If a big switches on to a small, the other three defenders should “load to the iso.”

• Never want to switch for convenience, would always prefer to “Blitz” if they can.

• These rules are all applicable in the scoring area, approximately three feet beyond the three‐line and in.

• Coach Del Harris commented that it is an effective technique to teach someone going over a ball screen to do so by crowding the man with the ball and then throwing his leg and arm over the top in one motion.

VILLANOVA ATTITUDE CLUB AND SPECIAL SITUATIONS:

• Attitude Club is a way to reward players who are doing they ritical things that they put a premium on. A good play per minute ratio is .8 or above. Catagories include: pass to the assist (hockey concept of 2 assists), screen assist, loose ball retrieval, paint pass, o‐board, tap‐back on FT, quick outlet, paint catches, deflections, shot contest to change shot.

• They like to practice Base OB, Side OB, Endline OB, with specific situations based on clock ( 0‐3 seconds, 4‐7 seconds). Can run their regular stuff in 8 seconds or more.

Click on the pdf link to download the Tunica basketball clinic notes:

Basketball Coaching Clinic Notes |  John Calipari and Larry Brown Tunica Basketball Coaching Clinic