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Welcome to the Sunday Mornin' Newsletter, exploring basketball's best ideas, strategies, and coaches from around the world. We appreciate your support!

Today's edition includes:

• Monthly Membership Option is Here!
• Landry Kosmalski & Swarthmore's "2-Big Motion Offense"
• Inside the Episode: Stan Van Gundy
• Best of the Week
• Steve Donahue Q&A Replay

Let's dive in...

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Monthly SG Plus Option Available!

We are excited to announce that we've added a monthly option to the SG Plus platform today!

Since we launched SG Plus, one of our main goals was to continue providing the highest quality podcast, video, and newsletter content in a model that makes the ROI of a subscription to SG Plus more educationally and monetarily valuable for the member as time goes on. So, instead of paying one time for a single video or piece of content, an SG Plus member is paying one time for an ever increasing library of content as we add both major and minor breakdowns, articles, and film sessions on a daily and weekly basis.

To double down on making SG Plus more valuable for coaches over time, the private "Coaches Corner" Community was also created as a place for all members of SG Plus to connect and add their own content. It's also the space where we store all of our past "Sunday Mornin' Newsletters", have coaching related discussion forums, add content not available on Twitter/YouTube, run our monthly Q&A's, and have the applications for the Jeff Van Gundy Master Group Sessions.

So, to circle back, we're excited to offer all that's included on the platform at $29.99 a month.

What does this get you? Here's all that's included:

• Full Access to SGTV's over 350 (and counting) video archive
• Full Access to the "Coaches Corner" Community
• The full deep-dive "Sunday Mornin' Newsletter" delivered every week (see below)
• Access to Monthly Q&A's with top Coaches
• Ability to apply to the Jeff Van Gundy Master Group Sessions (application based and extra costs apply if selected)

Thanks again for all your support, you can join SG Plus here...

SG Plus for $29.99

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Swarthmore's "2-Big Motion Offense"

*Note: This type of breakdown is what is normally included only in the "Sunday Mornin' Newsletter", but available in today's free newsletter for reference as well.

Coach Landry Kosmalski has built his Swarthmore program into one of the elite teams in DIII college basketball over the course of eight seasons with the Garnet (Kosmalski, the 2020 NABC National Coach of the Year, has developed on of the most efficient offenses in college basketball through a system that utilizes two non-shooting bigs.

​Coach Kosmalski joined us on the podcast this past summer and we dove into many of his thoughts on the history, reads, and evolution of his "2-Big Motion Offense", which combines elements of Davidson Head Coach Bob McKillop's great motion offense (Kosmalski played for and coached with McKillop) with newer wrinkles created to fit the Swarthmore roster and style of play.

One of the main questions we explored with Coach Kosmalski on the podcast, was "how you create space and advantages with two non-shooting bigs on the floor at the same time"? Swarthmore had two All-American Big-Men on their roster in 2020 and Kosmalski talks about devising a system that would allow both of them to play together effectively, even though they could not space the floor and their defenders would almost always be plugging off of them in the paint.

Today's breakdown will take a look at some of the fundamental building blocks of the offense, followed by the full video diving into much more of their playbook.

Concept #1 - Middle Push

To start, Swarthmore prefers to enter their offense with an aggressive push from their PG up the middle of the floor.

Zooming In: You'll notice in the GIF above how disciplined Swarthmore is in sprinting to the deep corners while one of the Bigs gets to the rim in transition. This alignment, paired with the PG pushing up the middle to the Free Throw Line, leaves plenty of space for the offense to begin churning. The Trail Man will also sprint the middle of the floor in the push (more on him shortly).

Middle Push - Post Seal

One of the first options Swarthmore will look for on the Middle Push, is a Post Seal for the rim-running Big. When this is an All-American caliber player, it makes this an even better option for the Garnet. In the podcast, Coach Kosmalski discusses how they balance playing with pace while also being patient offensively. The answer is that there are a list of shots they're comfortable taking in the first 7-8 seconds of the offense, the quick Post Seal is one of them...

Zooming In: In the GIF above, take a look at the positioning of the Trail Big. Swarthmore will also have him run the middle lane and simply stop with his back to the ball at the top of the 3 point line. This limits the likelihood of an offensive foul and allows the PG to read where he'd like go to start the offense. Swarthmore isn't necessarily looking to use this on-ball unless it leads to an opening at the rim.

Middle Push - Enter the Offense - Drag Screen

Once Swarthmore pushes the ball up the middle and exhausts the options of a quick attack or post seal, they'll then begin flowing into the next concepts in the offense. One of them is to get into a side Drag Ballscreen...

Zooming In: The more you watch Swarthmore, the more you notice just how disciplined they are in all of their actions. The detail to Zoom In on is once again is how the PG pushes up the middle to the Free Throw line before bouncing back out to a side, placing a lot of pressure on the defense and making it hard to distinguish between weakside and strongside help responsibilities. The two Big Men are also playing in tandem, and once the PG bounces out for a Drag Screen, the Big who was sealing will begin raising to the opposite elbow (they can also duck-in on the opposite block as well.)

* For more on the "Tandem Movement of Bigs" within a PNR, check out Vlada Jovanovic's "3 Out 2 In" PNR Offense on SGTV.

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Middle Push - Enter Offense - Reversal to Stagger Away

After the push, another option Swarthmore will use to enter the offense besides a Drag Screen, is with a reversal through the Trail Man, followed immediately by a Stagger Away...

Zooming In: Here you can really see the offense start to churn, as Swarthmore will read and react off this Stagger Away screen. The tiny detail to notice, and which will be important later, is how the Big that was sealing at the rim empties out to the other side of the floor as the Stagger Away takes place. This puts the Big in position to begin setting Flares and flash to the Elbow to play through DHO's and Isolations, a staple of the offense which we'll get into below.

Concept #2 - Playing Through the Elbow

Regardless of how Swarthmore enters the offense, either through a Drag, Reversal, etc., a core part of their attack is playing through their two Bigs at the Elbows. This is where Swarthmore is able to get the spacing and isolation opportunities they want, even if the Bigs defenders are plugging off of them. Metaphorically, the Elbows in Swarthmore's offense are the hub around which the wheel of the offense turns. Here's a look at some of the ways they use an Elbow as a place to attack, distribute, and screen from within the offense...

"Cut to Post" Concept

During the podcast, Coach Kosmalski discusses his philosophy on entering the ball to the post, saying they prefer to "Cut to Post" as much as possible when trying to get the ball to the block. The theory being that it limits the amount of turnovers Swarthmore will have trying to enter it into the post because it's harder for the defender to both guard a cut AND fight around for a steal. This is a topic we hit on with Stan Van Gundy in this week's podcast as well, in that one of the highest turnover plays in the game comes from from attempting to throw it to a stationary post player fighting for position. In Swarthmore's case, anytime one of their Bigs passes it from an Elbow and their partner is not occupying the same strongside block, they'll cut the Elbow Big to the block and throw an "air pass" to the post...

Zooming In: Kosmalski was specific on the podcast about "not throwing bounce passes" to the post and trying to use these cuts into the post as much as possible as a way to get the ball to his two All-Americans.

Elbow Flares

Another key fundamental of Swarthmore's offense, is that they'll play from Flares (and Pins) being set at the Elbows by their two Big Men. The flares serve as a way to set up the guards for shot/playmaking opportunities coming off DHO's and PNR's, while at the same time making it easier for the Bigs to get a comfortable Elbow catch and attack through an Isolation when available.

First, here's a look at Swarthmore using the quick Flare from the Elbow to free a shooter as his defender naturally "jumps to the ball"...

Elbow "Gets"

Beyond the Flares being set for a "catch and shoot" opportunity, they also serve as a way to dislodge defenders attempting to deny a pass to the Elbow. Many times, the Elbow Big's defender will provide momentary help on a Flare as the Guard Defender gets through the screen. This allows for an easier catch for Swarthmore at the Elbow to then begin flowing into "GET" action. Here's a couple of ways Swarthmore will do that... first, on a quick backdoor if the defender jumps to deny or has heavy feet...

And if the defender doesn't try and deny the the lane, then the Swarthmore guard has plenty of space to "pass and follow" for a handoff...

Zooming In: The detail to note in both of the above GIFs, is the value of the Flare before the GET action. In both examples the Defender guarding the player using the Flare (whether Swarthmore uses it or not) immediately becomes the "Low Tag" help defender on a drive or backdoor. In somewhat simpler terms... after the defender gets through the Flare screen they then have to quickly get to helpside to protect the rim. This is a tough task in real-time and Swarthmore only needs a split-second to take advantage of a slow or confused rotation. The Garnet are also surgical in looking for the skip to the corner if the defender does do a good job of getting to help (more on that action in the video).

Elbow Isolations

One final action within the Elbow Concepts of Swarthmore's offense, is using it as an area to Isolate their Bigs. Like mentioned, Coach Kosmalski had two All American's in 2020 and their ability to attack and score from these areas made this concept all the more successful.

After the Flares, Cuts, and Gets, there's often an opportunity for one of Swarthmore's Bigs to attack from the Elbow while the Defense scrambles to get back to their Help responsibilities. This is another area where Kosmalski really excels as a coach; teaching his Posts how to play slow, big, and under control from the Elbow...

Coach Kosmalski and Swarthmore are poised for another great season and we enjoyed diving into some of the main building blocks of his terrific offense. You can also see many of these actions in real-time in last week's newest "Crunch Time" Film Room session where we broke down the 2020 Conference Championship game between Swarthmore and Johns Hopkins with Hopkins Head Coach, Josh Loeffler.

Here is a small teaser of Swarthmore's 2020 Motion Offense on SGTV...

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Inside the Episode

We had the pleasure this week of sitting down with former NBA Head Coach, Stan Van Gundy, and run through a variety of interesting topics both on and off the floor. Coach Van Gundy is one of the best minds in the game and was more than generous in sharing his thoughts on topics from critical conversations with players to attacking a 1-3-1 Zone. Here's a look inside the episode...

3 Tactical Concepts:

1. Freedom vs. Control in Half Court Offense: A terrific conversation about the amount of freedom to give players when developing a half court offense. We discuss how this changes depending on the level, talent, and maturity of a team.
2. Modern Post Play: With Coach Van Gundy getting the chance to work with one of the most unique player's last year in Zion Williamson, we dove into his thoughts on using the post in the modern game. From "driving to post", off-ball cutting actions, and dunker spot reads, this was an enjoyable section for those interesting in using the post within today's game.
3. Attacking a 1-3-1 Zone: Coach Van Gundy flashed back to his years as a college Head Coach and the ways he used to think about both playing and attacking a 1-3-1 Zone. His 2-1-2 Power Alignment and philosophes behind using it are great food for thought.

2 Quotes from Coach Van Gundy:

1. On decision making and freedom: "The more skilled people are, the easier it is to give them more freedom on the court. But it really comes down to decision making. Are they able to make decisions."
2. On knowing yourself as a coach: "You have to understand what you're teaching. One of the mistakes made in coaching is you look at what other people are doing, and, you really like it, and you jump into trying to run it before you have an extensive enough knowledge of the ins and outs...."

1 Interesting "Start, Sub, or Sit"

• Topic: System you would choose as a HS or College Head Coach?
• Choices: Flex, UCLA High Post Offense, or Motion
• Coach Van Gundy's "Sit": Motion Offense

You can hear Coach Van Gundy's "Start", the best investment he's made in his career, and much more here...

Listen to Stan Van Gundy

Podcast Extras:

• Watch Coach Van Gundy's full "Start, Sub, or Sit?!"​
• Voiceover: Coach Van Gundy on "Blitz the Flip"​
• Stay Tuned! Coach Van Gundy will be featured again soon in our next "Crunch Time" Film Sessions​

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X's and O's

📺 Andrea Trinchieri - Defending the "45 Cut"​

"The 45 Cut can cause all sorts of problems for a defense during the PNR, opening up gaps and causing defenders to chase. Here's a look at how Coach Trinchieri defends the action."

➕ Pair With: Sergio Scariolo using the "45 Cut" as a way to get a Post Catch​

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📺 Brady Bergeson - Princeton Point Series -Post Set​

"Coach Bergeson uses the Princeton Point Series as a mask to put his two best interior scorers in an action for one of them to get a post touch."

➕ Pair With: Our conversation last week with Coach Bergeson discussing early season "start points", peer leadership, and cutting actions.​

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📺 Fenerbahce - Confusing the Tag​

"A great breakdown by Max Fontini showing how Fenerbahce uses some clever flares and corner cuts to confuse the tag defender in a middle PNR.

➕ Pair With: Our deep-dive breakdown on former Fenerbahce Head Coach, Zeljko Obradovic' PNR Spacings and Movements. ​

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Interesting Reads

📚 The Power of Neutral Thinking, 5 Thoughts on High Performance​

“Neutral thinking beats positive thinking every time. Most people, whether they are world-class athletes, Special Forces members, or everyday folk, tend to think negatively. Rather than trying to make the jump from negative to positive, I say move from negative to neutral. Neutral thinking may be the greatest guarantor of success that I’ve ever seen.”

➕ Pair With: Our conversation with Coach Alan Keane on High Performance and Creativity​

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📚 Reinventing Performance Management ​

"We’ve arrived at a very different and much simpler design for managing people’s performance. Its hallmarks are speed, agility, one-size-fits-one, and constant learning, and it’s underpinned by a new way of collecting reliable performance data."

➕ Pair With: Our conversation with ex-NFL Executive and Coach Mike Lombardi on Crucial Conversations​

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📚 From Coach Kyle Brown: "Santa Cruz Warriors Ballscreen Attack"​

"Coach Brown puts out a fantastic weekly newsletter full of interesting/helpful material. He's worth the add/follow!"

➕ Pair With: This article on the "Hedge and Under PNR Ballscreen Coverage".​

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We had a blast this past Friday in this month's Q&A Session in the Coaches Corner where we were fortunate to host UPENN Head Coach and past podcast guest, Steve Donahue! Coach Donahue generously took questions and shared thoughts with members about a variety of topics including:

• Focusing on Offensive and Defensive 2 PT Field Goal Percentage
• Playing more Full Court Pressing Defenses
• Teaching Decision Making and Triggers in Transition Offense
• The history of the "Princeton Offense" in the Ivy League and thoughts on how to best guard it
• Staying in Mental, Emotional, and Physical shape over the course of the season
• And much more!

Past Q&A Replay Sessions also include:

• Moncho Fernandez (Obradoiro- ACB)
• Ryan Pannone (Birmingham Squadron - G League)
• Tobin Anderson (St. Thomas Aquinas - NCAA DII)

*Access to these Q&A Sessions and Replays are included in the membership as well.

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Thank you for reading and have a great week coaching,

Pat and Dan

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Suggestions, comments, or have an idea? Reach out and say hello...

info@slappinglass.com

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