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

Happy Sunday and welcome to all the new subscribers from around the world! We hope you enjoyed the Olympic basketball as much as we have.

ICYMI: Last week we looked at 12 of our favorite concepts, spacings and strategies teams are using to attack the PNR tag defender. View the breakdown HERE.

This Week at a Glance:

📺 SGTV: Transition Defense - Tagging Up​

🎤 Slappin' Glass Podcast: Owen Eastwood​

🥇Interesting Reads: Ernie Johnson's Gratitude, Setting Boundaries, and the New International Basketball Landscape

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Let's dive in...

Tagging Up Revisited

Lately, we've been thinking and talking a lot about the "Tagging Up" offensive rebounding system and felt it was worth revisiting. There hasn't been a week this summer where we haven't discussed with coaches their hopes of being a better offensive rebounding team this upcoming season, and all the benefits that go along with it. This unique "tagging up" approach, originally highlighted by Coach Aaron Fearne, has gained traction among teams worldwide, including Coach Tuomas Iisalo's Bonn and Paris squads, who have successfully adopted and adapted it in their own unique ways. As more teams continue to tweak this system to fit their personnel, it’s clear that "Tagging Up" remains a compelling and evolving strategy in modern basketball.

Tagging Up: A Primer

Past podcast guest and UNC Charlotte Head Coach Aaron Fearne is highly regarded in coaching circles worldwide for his understanding and teaching of the game. In recent years, one area of particular interest in Coach Fearne’s basketball philosophy is the concept of “Tagging Up.”

Below, we’ll break down the “Tagging Up” concept into three sections:

1. Overall Philosophy - What is It? Why Do It?
2. Rules and Teaching Points - How It Works
3. Taxes & Fines - What Coaches Should Be Willing and Not Willing to Pay When Tagging Up

1. Tagging Up - Philosophy

To start, Tagging Up can be defined as:

A system where all five players run to the backs of their opponents on an offensive shot, driving them into the paint, and staying matched up with those players in transition defense.

So, is Tagging Up an Offensive Rebounding System, or a Defensive Transition System? As Coach Fearne explains on the podcast, it’s both.

For a visual, here’s a look at the major transitional phases of basketball and where the Tagging Up system fits in…

The Tagging Up system is both an offensive rebounding and defensive transition philosophy, with the rules of the system serving as a crucial link between these two phases of the game.

As Coach Fearne discusses, the benefits of this system include increased offensive rebounding efficiency and extra possessions, a decrease in defensive transition baskets allowed, and an overall increase in the physicality of the team.

2. Rules and Teaching Points

What makes Tagging Up effective is the strict adherence to its rules. Below are some key rules, starting with the offensive rebounding aspect of the system:

Tag Up on the High Side & “Scrum In”

Coach Fearne emphasizes that this is one of the most important elements of Tagging Up. On an offensive shot, all five players must aggressively move toward the basket to rebound and get to the high side of their matchup. Here’s a closer look...

Coach Fearne uses the Rugby term of “scrumming” the defense into the lane when attacking the offensive glass from the High Side.

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When all players Tag Up and "Scrum" their opponents on the High Side, it not only creates excellent 50/50 offensive rebounding opportunities but also keeps their matchups in front of them. This positioning makes it easier to immediately match up in transition, whether after a made or missed shot.

Made Shot - Transition Defense

On a made shot, Tagging Up enables a team to quickly disrupt the opponent’s ability to inbound the ball and initiate their offense. After the shot is made, players will stay with their matchups, keeping them in front and denying easy passes to make it more difficult for the opposing team to start their offense.

Missed Shot - Stay and Flood the Middle

If all five players follow the simple rules of moving to the High Side of their tag and “scrumming” their opponents toward the middle of the key, it makes the next task—slowing down and “flooding the ball” after a missed shot—much easier and more effective.

When a shot is missed, all players will stay with their tag as they transition back on defense. The player guarding the ball will stay on the ball, while the players on the strong side of the floor will sprint back to prevent any straight-line passes up the same side as the ball. The remaining players will "flood the middle," creating a wall of bodies to help mitigate any threats through the middle of the floor, whether by pass, drive, or Drag Screen.

3. Taxes and Fines

Like any system or style of play, nothing is perfect and each comes with its own set of risks and rewards. We discussed with Coach Fearne the “Taxes” of Tagging Up—the costs or risks a coach is willing to accept—and the “Fines” of Tagging Up—the costs or risks that are unacceptable and could lead to failure.

Let's start with the Fines, the situations that can seriously hurt your team when running the Tagging Up system.

Fine #1 - Shooter Not Staying with the Closeout

A common question when Tagging Up is: what should the shooter do after they release the shot? The answer: after releasing the shot, the shooter must stay with the player who closed out on them, whether it was a short closeout or a fly-by. The Fine for not doing this can be severe, potentially resulting in a wide-open layup on the other end since, unlike in most systems, there isn't a designated player "getting back" on defense...

Fine #2 - Outrunning the Coverage

What if I have a great offensive rebounder? Can I let them go and chase the rebound wherever they want? Coach Fearne's answer is a firm "NO." Rules are rules, and here’s why: In the Tagging Up system, if a player outruns their matchup and doesn’t secure the rebound, they risk leaving the team at a numbers disadvantage in transition. This can give the opposing offense a significant advantage, leading to easy scoring opportunities on the other end...

Fine #3 - Running Under a Block-Out

This is where the discipline of the system becomes crucial. As tempting as it may be to slip underneath a block-out to grab a rebound, rather than always moving to the High Side, doing so can have the same consequences as the "Outrunning the Coverage" Fine mentioned above. If the offensive rebound isn’t secured, it will once again leave the opposing team with a numbers advantage in transition, increasing the risk of an easy score.

The Taxes…

Though taxes are never fun to pay, they are the expected costs associated with your chosen style of play. According to Coach Fearne, here are a few of the taxes coaches must be willing to pay when running the Tagging Up system:

Cross Matches in Transition: There will be plenty of instances where a defensive big closes out on a perimeter shooter, who then becomes their matchup in transition.

• Minimizing the Tax: While it takes a high-level offense to fully exploit a mismatch in transition, coaches can mitigate this by 1) working on their defense to safely switch back to preferred matchups once the ball is in the half-court, or 2) doubling the post if a guard is caught battling an inside mismatch.

Offensive Rebounding Fouls: Given the overall aggressiveness and physicality of the Tagging Up system, coaches will have to accept more offensive foul calls as their team “scrums” for rebounds. Coach Fearne considers this a tax worth paying, as the benefits of extra possessions and a physical edge outweigh the risks of a few offensive fouls per game.

• Minimizing the Tax: On the podcast, Coach Fearne discusses teaching points and the conversations he has with players who get into foul trouble, guiding them to be more cautious about how they Tag Up without losing their edge.

Tremendous Mental and Physical Effort Required: This system is not for the soft, selfish, or lazy (but then, what system is?). It demands both physical and mental effort throughout the entire game.

• Minimizing the Tax: First, find the right type of players who are willing to buy into the physicality of the system. Second, integrate the mentality and concepts of Tagging Up into every drill in practice, so your players are fully ingrained in the system during all phases of the game. Coach Fearne also touches on this in the podcast.

To complement today’s newsletter, here is our FREE breakdown video of the Tagging Up system, featuring clips provided by Coach Fearne, on SGTV.

Stay tuned as we return next week with a brand new "Film Room" session featuring Coach Jimmie Oakman, where we'll explore offensive strategies for tackling "Dead Corners."

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Slappin' Glass Podcast

We rewinded on the podcast as well this week to one of our favorite episodes of all time, our conversation with one of the world's most successful and sought-after high performance coaches, Owen Eastwood. Owen is renown for his work as a best-selling author and high-performance coach. In this episode we discuss the age-old code of belonging and togetherness that can transform a team's dynamics and performance, the intricate dance of cliques and alpha personalities, along with decreasing performance anxiety and how to channel their energy towards a shared vision during the always fun "Start, Sub, or Sit?!"

Listen to the entire conversation here...

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.

Interesting Reads

📚 Team USA’s Thrilling Win Over Serbia Is a Preview of a New International Landscape​

"Getting to the gold medal game was difficult for the Americans. The gap between the USA and the rest of the world is only getting narrower."

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📚 Ernie Johnson Gave a Powerful Speech About Gratitude After Winning Sports Emmy​

"We can all be grateful for what we do. Who in this room doesn't consider what they have a 'get to' job. I get to do this. I get to work with Pedro Martinez. I get to work with Kenny and Chuck and Shaq. So I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful I got to sit here and listen to James Brown tonight. I'm grateful for this family at TNT. 35 years I've been at this company. I get to go to work with you guys, and I'll forever be grateful for that. I'm grateful also to be in the company of Scott Van Pelt, Kevin Burkhardt, Malika Andrews - who's working tonight, Rece Davis. There's no reason for me to be standing here tonight. But I'll take it.”

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📚 35 Phrases To Set Boundaries Firmly and Fairly​

"15. I want you to stop this behavior. I understand you are hurt/upset/angry. Let’s help you calm down, and then we can talk about it."

Quote of the Week

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Thank you for reading and have a great week coaching,

Dan and Pat

info@slappinglass.com

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