Don Meyer says that you create rhythm and flow within offense with passing and basket cuts, not ball screens. Sound familiar?
In this final part of Rick Torbett’s interview with Chad Warner, NAIA Coach of the Year, Coach Warner talks about how he generates flow within his offense.
It starts with setting the right culture. The ideal team is loose and aggressive and you can’t achieve that by trying too hard to control their every movement or by berating their every mistake.
With his coaches, Chad has created a 3:1 policy. That is, try to say 3 positive things for every negative thing. Of course, it is the coach’s job to correct players, but players just play better (within the Read & React or not) when they aren’t afraid of constant criticism. And, the saying goes, people’s hearing improves when they hear positive words.
The second way to generate flow is to allow the freedom for players to operate in their strengths. The Read & React has a way of exposing what a player does or doesn’t do well and encouraging them to play within their personal capacities.
Here’s why: When the movement stops in a normal offense, the player with the ball begins to feel a lot of pressure to make something happen (since nothing is happening around him). Ultimately, he may panic and end up doing something that he’s not comfortable with or shouldn’t be doing. Within the Read & React, though, the constant motion generated by the Read Line and easier pressure relief options (like the Power Dribble or Dribble At) solves that problem in many cases. It allows players without certain skills a safe option.
A coach can also easily teach those players with great skill, the best opportunities to use that skill. Emphasizing with your penetrators the best openings for effective drives and emphasizing with your shooters the best openings for shots within the offense just adds to the flow. Passing on ok shots and penetration opportunities for good or even great opportunities can make a huge impact in the flow of a game.
That’s not all. Within this 14 minute interview Coach Warner talks about his part/whole teaching strategy and a couple of other ways he has built flow within his team.
And, if you missed the other parts of this interview, you can find part 1, Putting Your Best 5 on the Court here; part 2, Evolution as a Coach here; and, part 3, Simplicity of Action here.
