Thursday, August 14, 2008

Notes from Jerry Tarkanian

Coach Duane Silver was nice enough to pass this along. Thought it might be of interest to other coaches:

Thoughts on Basketball
by Jerry Tarkanian (at left with Greg Anthony)

1. Link your pressure offense and pressure defense to play an uptempo game.

2. Run on all made shots. The 5-man inbounds on all makes.

3. On the fast break, there are designated lanes on all makes and misses, but on steals give your players the freedom to do anything they want/need to do. [Similar to the Loyola Marymount break.]

4. Get the ball up quickly and shoot it quickly.

5. Give freedom to those players who have the talent to create. Don't over-coach these guys.

6. If your opponent doesn't want to run, it's hard to make them run.

7. Allow your 2-man to shoot freely. Any time he's open, he's got the green light to shoot.

8. On the other hand, the point guard's job is to make everyone else happy. Distribute the ball.

9. The toughest thing to defend is a player who can put the ball on the floor. It doesn't matter what offense you run.

10. A perimeter shot is just as good as the inside shot. If you are open, shoot it.

11. Some guys shoot better with a hand in their face than they do when they are wide open. Some guys have to be wide open. Know who is who on your team.

12. Conditioning is a major part of basketball. Most players can get in better shape.

[If you've not been to Coach Silver's website, check it out.]