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

Happy Sunday and welcome to all the new subscribers from around the world! Glad to have you as part of the community 🙏

ICYMI: Last Sunday we highlighted Olympiacos' Under Attack in the PNR, showcasing how they utilized the quick rescreen to initiate off-ball action. View the breakdown HERE.

Today at a Glance:

🏀 Slappin' Glass Coaches Social @ the NBA Summer League!!

🔒 SG Plus Content: Nova Southeastern - Press & Pace Concepts​

🎤 Slappin' Glass Podcast: Grant McCasland {Texas Tech}

🥇Best of the Week: Zipper Variations & Stack Screen Fades​

Let's dive in...

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We're 10 days away from our 1st Annual SG Plus Coaches Social at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas! We're excited to meet and see many of you at the event.

It'll feature free food and drinks along with the opportunity to hang with coaches from the NBA, G-League, International, and college levels. Thanks to Hudl, Morgan Stanley, and GIG Sports for helping put on the event!

As an SG Plus member you get an invite to the Social, so if you're heading out to the Summer League and wish to join...

Become a Member

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Nova Southeastern - A Gambler's Delight

It was a historical year for Coach Jim Crutchfield and his Nova Southeastern squad, winning their first National Championship in a perfect 36-0 fashion. Coach Crutchfield is well known for his uptempo, full court pressure system that has helped him to almost 500 career wins at both West Liberty and Nova Southeastern, and today we take a closer look at some of the foundational principles fueling their high octane engine, along with the calculated risks they are willing to take in forcing opponents to play a truly uncomfortable game.

A bit of context before diving in, as it's important to understand that Nova SE is ultimately trying to play a game that looks completely different than most others when it comes to college basketball. And that's not just our opinion, here's a look at their Top Three Defensive Play Types this past season and where they ranked efficiency-wise...

A couple of things stand out right away:

1. Nova SE was 3rd in NCAA DII (99%) in the percentage of time they guarded in Transition
2. Nova SE was 1st in NCAA DII (100%) in percentage forcing Miscellaneous Plays while also being elite in guarding those actions
3. Nova was 288th out of 296 teams in the number of Spot Up attempts they allowed in 2022-23

So, they were elite in both guarding and forcing teams into a transition/miscellaneous-heavy game where they lead NCAA DII in Turnovers forced per game at 22.64. Even though they were "Poor" in guarding Spot Ups, they allowed so few per game that teams were not able to generate enough of them when breaking their pressure to do much damage.

With this picture of their style of play in mind, below are a few of the strategies Nova SE uses on Made Shots, Missed Shots, and in the Half Court {🔒SG Plus} to control tempo and take opponents out of their normal offensive flow and rhythm.

*We again thank Slappin' Glass contributors Ben Peterson and Ben Ostrow for their work on this breakdown.

Made Shot Risks

Full Fronts and Speed Dribbles

We'll start with Made Shots. Whether Nova SE decides to put someone on the ball or not, they employ a full-fronting strategy in their press, making that entry pass difficult to throw closer to the baseline and easier for them to trap if the offense does swim open down in Coffin Corner. Another option the offense has is to throw the entry pass over the top. This is the first of many calculated risks Nova SE is willing to live with, as the lob pass often results in uncontrolled speed dribbles from panicked guards in the open court. In these speed dribble situations the ball handler can be coaxed into poor decisions or taking quick, contested shots...

Zooming In: A crucial aspect of Nova SE's press and aggression is their focus on avoiding fouls at the rim. Recognizing that their objective is to compel speed dribbles and quick shots, the team is cautious not to give their opponents an opportunity for easy points by committing fouls at the rim. One can consistently observe Nova SE players maintaining their verticality while contesting shots, effectively pressuring their adversaries to make difficult shots without fouling.

Passing Lane Gambles

Another gamble/risk Nova SE is willing to make is in shooting the passing lanes for steals. If there is a chance for one of their defenders to intercept the inbounds they will sell out for it, running through the passing lane...

Zooming In: Same theory behind forcing lob passes applies here too, if they are unsuccessful in their steal attempt more often than not the opponent will be put into a speed dribble, where Nova SE is willing to bet on their ability to recover and "put out fires" to get back to neutral over their opponent's decision making and shot selection.

Zooming In 2.0: The compounding effect of pressure is also at play here as well. As we discussed on our recent podcast with Vance Walberg, one of the innovators of the DDM and full pressure system, this constant pressure can have a major impact after the first 25-30 minutes of a game as the offense encounters physical and mental decision fatigue.

Zooming In 3.0: Lastly, as we discussed with newly-hired Iona Head Coach, Tobin Anderson, in our recent Crunch Time Session {🔒} looking at FDU's historic upset of Purdue, if an opponent is determined to slow down and not fall into their "pace-encouraging" schemes then they are effectively giving Nova SE a free trap or chance to be aggressive without much consequence.

Missed Shots

One aspect of studying Nova SE that we particularly enjoyed was their commitment to apply immediate pressure on missed shots. Their ability to pressure the ball begins with their offensive rebounding philosophy, specifically on 3-point attempts, sending everyone but the shooter to the glass. This "tagging-up-like" strategy puts Nova SE in a great position to apply the same trapping, lane denial, and pressure strategies used on made shots...

Zooming In: One of the common questions we've heard from coaches so far this offseason is: "How can I apply more defensive pressure even after misses"? Nova SE is a nice place to look for some ideas on how to do that. Referring back to the analytics provided at the beginning of this breakdown, Nova's Transition defense did not suffer at all by sending four to the glass and pressuring the ball on the rebound. To the contrary, they were among the nations best when it came to giving up easy transition baskets.

"Going Away" Traps

Another prevalent trap that arose on missed shots was the "Going Away" Trap. Anytime a match up began to run blindly away from the ball Nova SE could turn it into an opportunity to go trap the ball handler...

Zooming In: These "going away" traps were another way Nova SE could flip a possession on its head and keep the offense off balance, making it nearly impossible for opponents to feel in control, even on misses.

It was an incredible year for Coach Crutchfield and is worth noting that he beat his former school and assistant in Coach Ben Howlett at West Liberty (who play an almost identical style) in the national championship game.

For much more on Nova SE's pressing, trapping, and pace-setting concepts here is this week's newest breakdown on SGTV...

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Together with Hudl

We're proud to partner with one of the best tech companies in the world of sports, Hudl! Every play, every stat, every breakdown. On their own, they’re essential. But all together, they’re undeniable. Hudl recently introduced their newest product, Hudl Instat – a new advanced data platform that integrates with Sportscode and every Hudl product you rely on to create an all-in-one data powerhouse. Hudl Instat’s advanced tagging and next-level stat reports help you develop your team – and its global film library helps you find the missing piece to get the most out of every second of film. Visit hudl.com/slappinglass to learn more.

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Slappin' Glass Podcast

What a fantastic weekend it has been on the podcast after receiving a highly insightful interview from newly-hired Texas Tech MBB Head Coach, Grant McCasland. Coach McCasland has a long history or success at multiple levels as he joins the Red Raiders and we dove into his thoughts on:

• Investing in the right people and what truly wins
• ​Elite Defenders and their impact on a team​
• And we talk early timeout usage and "No Middle Defense" during the always fun "Start, Sub or Sit!?"

Listen to the entire great conversation with Coach McCasland here...

Listen Now!

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Tactical

📺 Zipper Backside Burn Flare - Varying the Shooter​

"Exiting the zipper set with a burn cut and flare screen for the ball screener but varying who is the shooter and their starting position."

✚ Pair With: Tenerife's use of the Flare Screen out of the Zipper entry to free their shooters.

🔒 SG Plus Content: Defending the Ghost Screen.

📺 Metropolitans - Stack Screen Fade​

"Deceptive use of the stack screen to clear a side and fade the stack screener out before the roll or pop."

✚ Pair With: Coach Sfairopoulos exit screening the stack screener out of the action.

🔒 SG Plus Content: Zvezdan Mitrovic playbook and Arrive Offense with French club Monaco (2021).

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Interesting Reads

📚 How I Found My Research Leadership Skills on the Basketball Court​

"At first, I had thought a coach’s job was simply to transfer knowledge. But over time, I realized coaching was so much more. It was how I showed up to each session with a positive outlook, no matter how the rest of my day went. It was how I responded to athletes’ feedback, like when one told me I was spending too much time explaining things and not enough time letting them play. And it was how I high-fived each player when they would substitute off during a game, even—or especially—when they were struggling."

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📚 Lifting Weights Helps Ease Anxiety and Depression​

“Sports, particularly those that intentionally engage physical discomfort as a requisite for success, seem higher yield in their engagement of I can,” Stotesbery says. “Maybe the path of a depressed person from bed to the shower to work isn’t that dissimilar from a weightlifter’s path from ‘this can destroy me’ to ‘I love showing myself it won’t destroy me.’ While elite lifting involves skill, intro-level stuff is pretty plug-and-play. It’s very easy to engage in a positive flow state with easily modified challenges and constant feedback on progress.”

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📚 A Few Questions​

"Who has the right answer but I ignore because they’re a bad communicator?

Who is full of it but I pay attention to because they’re a good communicator?"

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Quote of the Week

Thank you for reading and have a great week coaching,

Dan and Pat

info@slappinglass.com

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