Exploring basketball's best ideas, strategies, and coaches around the world

Happy Sunday and welcome to all the new members from around the world! We're excited to have you as part of the community 🙏

ICYMI: Already the most popular video series of the year, our 2-part "Film Room" collaboration with Merrimack HC Joe Gallo on the Miami Heat and Merrimack Zone Defenses. Read last week's newsletter HERE.

Today at a Glance:

🔒 SG Plus Content: Clinic Video: 5 Strategies to Creating Longer Closeouts​

🎤 Slappin' Glass Podcast: Wes Miller {Cincinnati}

🥇Best of the Week: Brush Cuts & Boomerang Step Up Screen​

Let's dive in...

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One of the great pleasures of running Slappin' Glass is is getting the opportunity to study and discuss the game with some of the world's best on a daily basis. There are so many ways to play the game, and we enjoy how coaches continue to add their own creative twists to fundamental concepts to make something unique to them and their teams.

One of us had the opportunity to speak to a group of coaches recently where we consolidated five of our favorite strategies that we've come across lately when it comes to how some of the best teams are "Creating Long Closeouts", and threw in three interesting "Attacking Late-Clock Switching" ideas for extra credit as well.

After the clinic we put together this week's breakdown where we combine the on-court clinic presentation with game footage examples to create a sort of "Clinic/Film Room" collaboration.

Below are a few examples of the actions and philosophies discussed in the clinic.

*Note: We had a blast doing a few of these clinics over the summer. Coaches interested in having us come speak can email us at info@slappinglass.com.

Corner Extra Pass - Passing Vision

*(Long Closeout Created - Low Tag Corner Defender)

One of our all-time favorite concepts we have studied from Europe is the consistent use of the "Extra Pass" {🔒} in attacking out of the ball screen. Rather than always relying on the ballhandler and screener to navigate the PNR , teams will use the threat of the ball screen to put the defense, the low man in particular, into their shell coverage. The ballhandler will then make an advance pass before/at the point of the screen to a player lifted to the high slot. This player will then make another pass immediately to the corner. The philosophy/aim for the offense here is to beat the low man to the corner with the pass and attack through the closeout.

What we have come to appreciate out of this action are the benefits it has for that corner attacker to see and read the court on penetration. Whether the corner player rips baseline or middle, it allows them to not only see the rim but the next obvious pass out in front of them, rather than behind them (like is the case in many middle attacks where a "lift/shake/skip" pass is sideways or behind the ballhandler).

Zooming In: As demonstrated above, on the penetration, the driver has the whole court in front of him, providing him the vision to read the defense and find the open man. Whereas with drives from the top, open teammates and help defenders can come from behind the ball or move to the periphery of one's vision as the penetration gets deeper into the paint. Those middle drives are obviously beneficial as well, but these corner attacks can be good for more of a "wing" type player who isn't as savvy in navigating middle PNR reads.

With increased vision, decisions become easier and conversely turnovers become less.....in theory. 🤞

Middle Third Pops - Clearing Space & Simplifying Reads

*(Long Closeout Created - Backside Corner Defender)

Another option teams are using to create long closeouts is the Long DHO. As discussed on our podcast with newly hired G-League College Park Skyhawks Head Coach, Ryan Schmidt {🎙}, this involves popping the big off a step-up/reverse-angle screen in the middle third of the floor to initiate a dribble handoff with a teammate who is sprinting out of the corner.

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Zooming In: See above how using the initial reverse-angle screen engages the defending big and draws the corner "low man" into help. So, when the ball hits the popping big, the low defender is left chasing out of the corner into the DHO making it easier for the offense to turn the corner and get into the middle of the floor. This action also tests the defensive big's lateral quickness to slide over and impact the DHO. This is also a nice action to attack a team trying to "Ice/Down" ballscreens as it's extremely difficult for a defensive big to ice that first step-up screen and then get into another ice coverage situation on the backside especially if the action is done quickly and the offense player in the corner looks to rip baseline on the catch.

While the game has embraced step-up screens to the short side (single player) of the court, it should not be understated how difficult it can be for many ballhandlers to operate and make proper decisions coming off the screen, especially when rolling the big.

First, with screens to the short side of the court, ballhandlers coming off the screen have to be comfortable operating in more limited space. Their ability to stretch the defense out and remain patient in a confined area is crucial.

Second, while there is 2/3 of the court behind the screen, there are also six bodies the ballhandler must be capable of reading. With the increased complexity of reading who is helping from where and what pass to make, the likelihood of a turnover can increase. Or, even if there is no turnover, the offense can stall out as the defense tags and then recovers back to their man with no real advantage created.

Thus, the appeal of popping the big off a short-sided screen to play into an empty side DHO or pitch ahead becomes evident. In these scenarios, the backside is empty for the big to roll into, and all the help is in front of the ballhandler's vision.

High Slot Spacing

*(Long Closeout Created - Nail Defender)

Another prime example of how teams are stretching the court to put defenses in longer rotations and closeouts is the use of the "high slot" when spacing players on the strongside in front of the PNR. Marquette and Shake Smart {🔒} were exceptional this previous season at exploiting all of the advantages afforded to them when spacing a player in the high slot when they flowed into their empty corner PNR...

Zooming In: Rather than spacing that slot player with "toes on the 3-point line" or even being a step off the line, teams using this alignment aim to force the nail defender into a tougher decision by spacing further back to the logo. This positioning makes the nail defender choose between staying on the nail to help plug/stunt at a ballhandler coming over the top of that empty corner PNR, and face a closeout against a stampede attack by the high slot player. Notice above the well-timed "45" or "burn" cut by the wing player during the PNR that opens up the gap for the high slot player to attack into (more on this discussed in today's clinic video).

This concept combines well with the above mentioned "Extra Pass" action discussed earlier, as teams will also use an early advance pass to a player in the high slot and let them attack a less crowded paint while the defensive big is lifted...

What is appealing about all these concepts discussed and shown in today's clinic is that none of them are overly reliant on having a dominant ballhandler operate in the PNR. Not all teams will have players capable of navigating multiple coverages, backside helps, and spacings in the PNR to routinely produce efficient possessions...

Instead, these concepts use the ball screen as a trigger for the offense to transition into more dribble drive motion concepts, putting players in opportunities to attack longer closeouts with better vision and simpler reads.

To learn more about how teams are creating longer closeouts as well as attacking late-clock switches, including other topics such as:

Creating Long Closeouts

• High Quad Lifts
• Slide Cuts

Attacking Late-Clock Switching

• Drive the Big Pitches
• Flare the Mismatch
• Elbow Isolations

View the entire clinic now on SGTV!

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Together with Hudl

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Slappin' Glass Podcast

It was another terrific week on the podcast as we were joined by Cincinnati MBB Head Coach, Wes Miller! Coach Miller is entering is 3rd season at the helm in Cincinnati and sat down with us to discuss a number of great topics including:

• Building a Pressure Defensive System: Coach Miller discusses teaching on-ball defense, pressure zones, lane denials, and much more when it comes building out a defensive system.
• Daily Station-Work: Within our conversation about building an elite defense, Coach Miller discusses their use of of daily stations and what goes into them.
• And we talk Learning to Win as a young Head Coach, and the Baseline Runner Series during an always fun "Start, Sub, or Sit?!"

Please enjoy the entire great conversation with Coach Miller here...

Listen Now!

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Tactical

📺 TJ Saint - High Slot Brush Cut​

"Great use of the high slot spacing by Birmingham Squadron HC TJ Saint to create a downhill catch for a cutter off the brush screen."

✚ Pair With: The Tasmania JackJumpers using the Brush Cut to the same effect.

🔒SG Plus Content: Coby Karl's Flow Offense with the Blue Coats​

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📺 Boomerang Step Up Screen​

"Using the boomerang pass prior to take advantage of a relaxing defense after the pass & putting the guard in a PnR situation with a live dribble."

✚ Pair With: D3 Randolph-Macon using the boomerang pass prior to a Ghost Screen.

🔒 SG Plus Content: Joventut's 5 Out Delays & Late Game Short Roll Attack.

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Interesting Reads

📚 Respect and Admiration​

"You might think you want an expensive car, a fancy watch, and a huge house. But I’m telling you, you don’t. What you want is respect and admiration from other people, and you think having expensive stuff will bring it. It almost never does – especially from the people you want to respect and admire you."

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📚 Mike Vrabel Is Becoming a Coaching Legend—Through His Yells and His Hugs​

"Defensive tackle Teair Tart said that after his first Vrabel practice he felt: “Horrified.” Actually, maybe horrified isn’t the right word. “But it just felt intense. Direct. He knew what he wanted,” Tart said. Eventually Vrabel was in drills with Tart, teaching him how to match his hands with the pad level or pushing from the inside out. Vrabel won him over, Tart said, by “being himself. Period.” That seems to be the whole point."

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📚 What is Your Purpose?​

"Passion is not assigned; it's discovered. And once you shake off what everybody from your friends and parents and society in general try to TELL you what you should be and do, you can start in earnest to start exploring what makes you want to bound out of bed in the morning."

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Quote of the Week

Thank you for reading and have a great week coaching,

Dan and Pat

info@slappinglass.com

We're proud to partner with the leading Sports Travel company in the basketball world, Beyond Sports! Follow the link above to learn more about why more than 600 universities have trusted Beyond Sports for their team's foreign trips. Let them know Slappin' Glass sent you!

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