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

Happy Sunday! Welcome to all the newest subscribers from around the world!

ICYMI: Last week, we looked at a simple counter to ICE built around the screener aborting the action and sprinting to the rim. Read the newsletter HERE.

This Week at a Glance:

🔒 SG Plus Content: SG Socal Summit Clinic Look Back

🎧 Slappin' Glass Podcast: TJ Otzelberger​

🔑 The Practice Lab: Stride Stops

🥇 Best of the Week: Made FT Clapbacks​

🔒 SG+ Coaches Corner: Roundtable Replay - Using and Showing Film​

But first...

📣 Save the Date: Slappin' Glass SoCal Summit!!

The Slappin’ Glass SoCal Coaches Summit returns August 14–15 to sunny Southern California at Chapman University, presented by Hudl.

Our confirmed speakers:

• Alex Pribble — University of Idaho
• Matt Majkrzak — Northern Illinois University
• Kyle Bossier — Cal Poly SLO
• Martin Schiller - Utah
• And more to come!

Two days of on-court teaching, film, and coaching connection. More speakers and event details to follow.

SG+ member can get an invite to the private clinic. If you are interested in attending...

SoCal Summit Clinic Look Back

We recently announced the 2026 Slappin’ Glass SoCal Coaches Summit, an opportunity for coaches to come together, exchange ideas, and connect with the basketball community in beautiful Southern California.

In anticipation of this year’s event, we’re looking back at several presentations from our previous Summits and revisiting some of the most powerful lessons that have stayed with us.

Each clinic is available in full on SGTV. For those who missed them, or want to watch them again, we highly recommend exploring the complete collection.

Let’s take a look back at some of the best from past SoCal Summits:

2024 Summit

🔒 Tom Bialaszewski - Developing an Offensive Identity {Orlando Magic}

Coach Bialaszewski led us through an offensive conversation that connected early offense, advantage creation, and late-clock decision-making within one clear identity.

Defining Pace Clearly

Many teams want to play with pace, but Coach Bialaszewski emphasized the importance of defining what that actually means.

For his teams, the goal was to reach the scoring area within four seconds. Playing fast was not simply about taking an early shot. If the offense pushed the ball deep, pressured the paint, or forced the defense out of its structure, the possession had already started successfully.

Advancing the ball early can flatten the defense and force it to protect the rim before it is fully organized. That inside-out reaction creates the spacing and opportunities the offense wants.

Building the Advantage

The advance pass was a central tool for putting the defense into rotation and turning an initial advantage into a larger one. From there, rip-and-go attacks, middle cuts, and quick ball movement helped create driving lanes and keep the defense scrambling.

Coach Bialaszewski also stressed the importance of protecting the team’s identity. Whether the game reaches the final minutes or the score begins to shift, the offense should not abandon the pace and principles that produced its success. Stay committed to the process, continue creating advantages, and trust that quality shots will follow.

🔒 Darren Savino - UCLA's Defensive Concepts & Drills​

Coach Savino gave us a detailed look at the techniques and habits behind UCLA’s disruptive defense, with principles that can translate across levels.

Being Disruptive

UCLA’s goal is to make the offense uncomfortable. Pressure speeds up decisions, disrupts rhythm, and creates rushed shots and turnovers.

On drives where the ballhandler can see the help, defenders bluff and recover while staying in the passing lane. On blind drives, they are empowered to attack the dribble and pursue the steal. UCLA teaches a two-hand strip to improve control and reduce the risk of a foul.

One of their best opportunities comes on a baseline drive that has been cut off. As the ballhandler spins away from the on-ball defender, the next defender is positioned to attack the ball.

Connected in Chaos

UCLA does not build its defense around avoiding every rotation. Instead, players are trained to remain connected and recover when pressure creates temporary disadvantages.

That approach better reflects what happens against quality offenses, where even strong defensive possessions eventually require multiple efforts, communication, and scramble habits.

The same principle applies to their blitz coverage. The big pressures the ball while the guard plugs the pocket pass, allowing UCLA to stay aggressive without immediately exposing the roll.

🔒 Phil Beckner - Player Development Myths​

Coach Beckner shared a clear framework for building skill development that transfers. Emphasizing simplicity, precision, and purposeful repetition.

Simplify the Skill

Get directly to why the skill matters and the essential details that make it work. Removing unnecessary complexity gives players greater clarity and allows them to train with more speed and intent.

Prioritize Precision and Force

Strong ballhandling begins with controlling the location and force of the dribble. Before adding creativity or complex combinations, players must first make the ball work with them.

Master What Happens Most

Rather than collecting endless finishing solutions, Coach Beckner prioritizes the finishes players use most often: the traditional layup, inside-hand finish, “Nash” finish, and two-foot power finish.

Train With Purpose

Every drill, movement, and shot should connect directly to the decision or action being developed for the game. New or complicated does not automatically mean more effective.

2025 Summit

🔒 Zach Guthrie - Rethinking Pre-game Warmups {Lakers}

Coach Guthrie brought tremendous energy to the gym with his approach to pregame preparation. Rather than relying on a traditional warmup, he turned the time before tip-off into an opportunity to rehearse game actions, opponent coverages, and the decisions players would face later that night.

At the center of the workout was his 4v4 Build Down.

4v4 Build Down

The drill begins 4-on-4. After a shot or turnover, the player who finishes the possession and their defender leave the floor. The remaining players immediately re-space and flow into a predetermined 3-on-3 action.

The sequence continues from 3-on-3 to 2-on-2 and finally 1-on-1.

This is not pickup basketball. Each phase begins with an established action or concept, but players must read the defense and play naturally from there. The quick transitions between phases also reinforce spacing, communication, and a next-play mentality.

Key Takeaways

Create More Decision-Making Reps:​
The drill produces multiple game-like situations in rapid succession while training players to transition mentally, re-space, and recognize the next action.

Shape the Environment With Constraints:​
Coaches can narrow the available options through specific actions and reads without scripting the entire possession.

Make Drills Representative:​
Building pregame work around how possessions actually unfold prepares players more effectively than isolated movements or traditional scripted warmups.

🔒 Johnny Tauer - Intrinsic Motivation {St. Thomas}

One of the Summit’s most valuable and unique presentations came from St. Thomas head coach Johnny Tauer, who drew on both his coaching experience and academic research to explore intrinsic motivation in players.

The Power of Intrinsic Motivation

Coach Tauer explained why internally driven players are so valuable. Players who already love to compete, learn, and improve are more likely to sustain their effort than those who constantly need motivation from an outside source.

Here were a few of his most important lessons:

1. Recruit Motivation Instead of Trying to Create It​
Rather than asking yes-or-no questions such as, “Do you love basketball?” or “Are you a hard worker?”, ask players for specific examples of how they have responded in different situations. Their answers, and the details behind them, offer a much clearer look at what truly drives them.

2. Watch Actions, Not Words​
Habits, coach-ability, curiosity, and self-directed work reveal far more about a player’s motivation than anything they say during the recruiting process.

3. Protect Autonomy​
Players are more likely to remain engaged when they feel a sense of ownership over their work and development.

4. Diagnose Before Labeling​
A drop in motivation may come from reduced autonomy, disconnection from the team, or a loss of confidence—not poor character or a lack of effort.

🔒 Jerrod Calhoun - Matchup Zone Principles & Favorite 5-Out Actions {Cincinnati}

In a wide-ranging presentation, Coach Calhoun shared the building blocks of his program, from intentional practice design and offensive habits to a matchup zone built to keep opponents uncomfortable.

Practice With Purpose

Coach Calhoun is highly intentional with how practice begins, using early scenarios that require players to communicate, recognize coverages, and solve problems together.

Rather than scripting every decision, the defense is given the freedom to dictate the possession. This creates more representative situations, forces the offense to read what is happening, and naturally raises the level of competition.

Cutting Is a Daily Habit

With the goal of becoming one of the best cutting teams in the country, Coach Calhoun works on cutting every day.

Repeatedly rewarding hard, well-timed cuts builds trust within the offense. Players become more willing to move without the ball because they know their effort will create opportunities for themselves or their teammates.

Adaptive Defense

​Coach Calhoun’s Matchup Zone {🔒} was built to do more than protect space. Its purpose was to crowd the ball, disguise where pressure was coming from, and keep the offense from settling into predictable reads.

Three principles drove the defense:

Five Defenders Guarding the Ball:​
Every player used an open stance and showed length toward the ball, while weakside defenders worked toward the midline. The goal was to shrink the floor and make the ballhandler feel surrounded.

Attack Blind Ballhandlers:​
Utah State was willing to invite certain passes, particularly into the middle, because they created opportunities to pressure the catch.

Any time a ballhandler turned or dribbled away from a defender, that defender had the freedom to launch a “random attack” on the ball.

Change the Coverage:​
The matchup zone did not handle every ballscreen the same way. Utah State often ICE’d first-side screens, then hard hedged reversal or pass-and-chase actions. Those contrasting coverages prevented the offense from finding a consistent solution.

​
These were just a few sessions offering a glimpse of what has made the SoCal Coaches Summit such a valuable event: high-level coaches sharing practical ideas in an environment built for genuine learning and connection.

We’re excited to bring that experience back to Chapman University on August 14–15 for the 2026 Summit. This year’s presenters will again take us inside the concepts, teaching methods, and program-building ideas shaping their teams, with opportunities to continue those conversations off the court throughout the weekend.

For the full presentations highlighted above, SG+ members can revisit the complete Summit collection on SGTV.

The Learning Loop

Thoughts from Drew Dunlop in building The Practice Lab

One Brick. One Takeaway. One Tinker.

A mentor once told me, “The day you stop learning is the day it’s time to retire.”

That has stuck with me. The goal of this space is to show more of what actually goes into building the work.

Not just the clean clips or finished thoughts, but the misses, adjustments, failed assumptions, and small details that help move an idea forward.

Brick

This week we spent a lot of time exploring stride stop finishes.

Like most coaches, I initially found myself thinking about the obvious benefits: better angles, improved balance, and the ability to finish through contact. But as the session unfolded, I realized I was missing another important variable, the pace of the footwork itself.

We started with players beginning without the ball, running into the catch, then stepping outside-inside before solving the defender with a finish, counter, bump, or fake.

After a few minutes, I actually made the drill simpler.

Instead of giving them two steps before engaging the defender, I removed one. Now, after the catch, the offensive player had to immediately step across the defender’s body with the inside foot and play from there.

Sometimes less really does create more.

Takeaway

Taking away a step shifted the players’ attention completely.

Instead of worrying about getting through a sequence of predetermined footwork, they began manipulating the pace of that second step. Sometimes they slowed it down just enough to let the defender overcommit. Other times they exploded immediately when they felt the defender hesitate.

The solutions became far more varied.

Players naturally blended bumps, fakes, pivots, inside-hand finishes, and counters without being asked to. Even more interesting, they began using the entire three-second count instead of rushing to finish the possession.

It was another reminder that simplifying a task doesn’t always reduce learning. Sometimes it removes the noise and allows players to become more attuned to what the defender is actually giving them.

Tinker

Now I’m thinking about how this idea extends beyond stationary catches.

How do we build stride stop opportunities off live drives?

What changes when the defender is trailing? When they’re recovering from the side? When help rotates early? When the defender is backpedaling?

The stride stop isn’t really the skill I’m interested in.

I’m interested in all of the problems it helps players solve.

My next step is mapping out the different defensive pictures that naturally invite a stride stop and then designing environments where players have to recognize those opportunities themselves.

Because maybe the goal isn’t teaching stride stops.

Maybe it’s helping players recognize when a stride stop becomes the best available solution.

Together with Hudl

Preparation Wins Before Tip-Off

The staffs that hit the ground running in preseason are usually the ones that prepared their systems before players arrived.

With Sportscode and FastModel already dialed in, film, playbooks, and scouting workflows are ready from day one—not still being built in week two.

What you set up in August determines how efficiently you can teach, adjust, and prepare once the season begins.

Hudl helps make sure the work is ready before the real work starts.

Learn more at hudl.com/slappinglass​

Subscribers to Slappin' Glass can also directly email Winston Jones of Hudl at winston.jones@hudl.com.

🎙10 Lessons from T.J. Otzelberger

TJ Otzelberger’s teams at Iowa State are easy to identify because their decisions consistently match their identity.

Throughout the conversation, he explained the trade-offs behind Iowa State’s pressure, how they structure rotations and in-game information, and why competitive endurance matters as much as scheme.

Here are 10 lessons from the episode:

Here are 10 lessons from the conversation:

1. Identity Is a Tiebreaker: A usable identity resolves moments when scheme, personnel, and game plan point toward different answers.
2. Manipulate Usage, Not Just Efficiency: Aggressive coverage can succeed by transferring decisions from a primary creator to a lower-volume playmaker—even when the possession still produces an advantage.
3. Price the Entire Coverage: Evaluate pressure through the combined costs of fouling, short-roll creation, three-point volume, rebounding distortion, and rotation fatigue.
4. Predetermine the First Rotation: Removing ambiguity from the initial help decision preserves aggression; complexity can be absorbed later through recovery rules.
5. Coach the Constraint: “Create a collision” defines what the offense cannot be allowed to do while preserving freedom in how each defender accomplishes it.
6. Protect Standards from Personnel Narratives: Adapt responsibilities to a player’s processing, anticipation, and communication without prematurely lowering the structural demand.
7. Train Recovery Capacity, Not Just Effort: Competitive endurance is the ability to make another correct, forceful decision after the possession has already broken structure.
8. Filter Information Through Identity: In-game data is valuable when it reveals whether the team’s intended pressure points are actually shaping the game.
9. Separate Information Collection from Message Delivery: Assistants can specialize in diagnosis, but the head coach must compress that information into one actionable priority.
10. Closing Lineups Are a Live Evaluation: Finish with the players currently sustaining the team’s winning behaviors, not automatically the most talented or highest-status five.

Listen to the full conversation now on the Slappin’ Glass Podcast.

Together with the NABC

If you’re a basketball coach, you belong in the NABC community!

The NABC is the leading professional development and advocacy organization for coaches, serving over 5,000 members across all levels of basketball.

Why join? Members gain access to the NABC Convention and regional clinics, exclusive awards and mentoring opportunities, valuable discounts, and a voice in shaping the future of basketball.

If you're serious about growing as a coach and staying connected to the game’s biggest conversations, this is where you belong.

Become a member today and make your impact as a Guardian of the Game. Learn more HERE.

Tactical

📺 Made FT Clapback - Shooter Sprint Outs​

"A clever way to take advantage of the transitioning defense, pressing up on the guards after a made free throw. Running the man "boxing out" the FT shooter down court, resulting in easy run out lay ups."

🔒 Pair With: Using backscreens after a made free throw to free the point guard against pressure or release a rim-sprinting center for an easy conversion layup.

🔒 Pair With: An after FT set designed to roll a shooting forward off the drag screen into a corner exit screen.

🔒 SG Plus Content: Our breakdown on Coach Pedro Martinez and Valencia's commitment to punish extended pressure after made free throws with the Pistol action.

Interesting Reads

📚 Great Leaders Know Which Emotions Their Feedback Will Trigger​

Across more than a decade of research on learning from errors, we have found a consistent pattern: people do not learn from errors simply because they receive feedback. Whether mistakes become learning opportunities depends largely on the emotional response they trigger, which determines whether people learn or shut down.

📚 Masters of Time and Space​

How? Well, in Spain each and every player – male and female – is brought through a system with a set of beliefs underpinned with a clear methodology, and the development of all the playing principles within that framework positions them to do things at the highest level. It starts with the very basic premise of a 4-3-3 structure in possession; that’s their starting point in all age groups and they do not deviate from that. Yet they are also flexible in their positioning. Look at 2024, when they played with a No 9, Álvaro Morata, and this summer they are playing with a false 9, Mikel Oyarzabal, who excels between the lines. They’ve made both scenarios work.

📚 How to Rescue an Overloaded Organization​

We have come to realize that the propensity to overload work systems is deeply rooted in a fundamental misconception about how work systems perform. Ask a manager who is overloaded what they need, and the answer is always more budget and more people (or its complement, fewer things to do). This answer presumes that overload is solely a capacity problem. But that’s only part of the story.

🔒 Roundtable Replay - Using and Showing Film​

The replay and session notes from our latest SG+ Coaching Roundtable is now available on SGTV.

The discussion centered on how coaches can make film more efficient, more relevant, and more useful for players. From small-group and individual sessions to player-led recaps, question-asking, personal playlists, and using film to build confidence or prepare for what comes next.

Thanks to all the coaches who attended.

Quote of the Week

Thank you for reading and have a great week coaching,

Dan, Pat, Eric, and Drew

info@slappinglass.com