A Pen And A Napkin

I've always believed that you need to have three half court defenses; one man philosophy, one zone package and one junk defense. This week, Tony and I break down implementing junk defense, how to communicate the concepts with your team, different types of junk defense and some stories about how we implemented junk defenses. We also have trivia, TWIB (including an NBA Finals preview) and a tribute to the late, great Bill Walton.

In Part II of our two-part podcast with Alex Sarama, we dive deeper into "Transforming Basketball". In Part II, Alex dives into how to take the concepts of part I and implement it into your 5 on 5 game and your practice structures. We discuss conceptual offense vs. patterned offense and how to implement drills to make your player development practical during your practices. Along with that, we discuss optimal challenge levels, player development and much more! Enjoy the second half of our discussion!

In the first of our two part series, Alex Sarama, the author of "Transforming Basketball", jumps on the podcast to discuss his book. In the first half of the pod, we discuss Alex's background, the basis of his philosophy, challenging traditional views of basketball, solutions to your problems and much more! You're really going to enjoy this pod!If you're interested in ordering "Transforming Basketball", here is the Amazon link to the book: https://www.amazon.com/Transforming-Basketball-Changing-Think-Performance/dp/B0CY438DZR/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5LSpoTEMkWOCUpnWeK7jDA.HT5U8vEB_29TRMiCc7XXKUzjbhc0MGa2as5KmBSvXI8&dib_tag=se&keywords=alex+sarama+transforming+basketball&qid=1716903830&sr=8-1

Two of the most undertaught skills in the game of basketball is pivoting and passing. Inspired by the passing of Snow Valley legend Tates Locke, Tony and I discuss these two basic skills and give out around 10 of our favorite drills to help with your teaching of pivoting and passing. Along with that, we have "the ice cream man", trivia, NBA playoff predictions and WNBA news. Enjoy!

Longtime Division I AC and HC Randy Brown of Fort Dodge, Iowa comes on the pod this week! Coach Brown has been a life long learner and looks to impart wisdom from both his own experiences, positive and negative, and the experiences of others. We discuss networking, his influences, helping with the IBCA, "Elite Coach Mentoring", the skill of resilience and much more!! Great conversation with Coach Brown!

While most of us understand the analytics of "new basketball", we've also all discussed "the lost art of the mid-range game". In this episode, Tony and I break down ways that you can have your players work on their mid-range game, and we also discuss the importance of sharing the ball and how to get your team to buy into this concept. Along with that, we have our usual trivia, TWIB and a guest appearance by one of my favorite movie characters of all time!

Episode #223 features Jim Simons, the head boys basketball coach at Omaha Westside (NE) High School. Coach Simons has built a consistent winner at Westside step by step, and Coach Simon's rise up the ranks was literally step by step. Jim tells us about his journey, how his coaching philosophy has changed, the influence of other coaches and coaching baseball on his philosophy, coaching AAU and much more. A really fun conversation with one of Nebraska's best!

What's the most important skill in basketball? SHOOTING! So, how do you teach shooting? Tony and I discuss some of our basic fundamentals that we use to teach shooting, and then we each throw out five of our favorite drills that we use in our practices. Along with that, we have trivia, a discussion about the NBA playoffs and our (very) amateur WNBA predications for the upcoming season!

We're really excited to have on for Episode #222 Brad Fischer, the Head Women's Basketball Coach at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh! Coach and I start the pod discussing the Milwaukee Bucks and what they need to do this offseason, then we dive into his high retention rate in his program, building a once proud program back up, pack line defense, practice planning, scouting and much more. Terrific conversation with one of DIII's best HC's!

We, as coaches, are supposed to evaluate our players and our AC's, but how much time do we spend evaluating our own performance as a head coach? This week, Tony and I break down different things that we can evaluate ourselves on, and how to do it, from the people you should talk to other evaluation methods. Along with that, we have trivia and a deep dive on the NBA playoffs. Enjoy!

Really excited to have Matt Ducharme, the WBB HC at UMass-Dartmouth, on the podcast this week! Coach Ducharme has done a great job building his program into a consistent winner, and he talks about recruiting, being at an institution for an extended period of time, offensive philosophy, scouting, influences and much more. Really fun conversation with a very good young coach!

After the season, we know that we, as coaches, need some time to recharge and get your feet back underneath you. At the same time, we sometimes lose sight of that for our players and what is good for them, so how do we help our players recharge? Tony and I dive deep into this topic, along with other topics, including trivia and our TWIB segment, where we discuss NBA playoffs and the transfer portal. Enjoy!!

We're really excited to have Sharman White, the Boys HC at Pace Academy (GA) who moonlights as the HC of USA Basketballs U17 team. Coach White is also just coming off of coaching the McDonald's All-American game and the Nike Hoops Summit, so we chat about that entire process, building a program from scratch, coming back to high school ball after coaching collegiately, X's and O's and much more! Great chat with one of the best in the country!

Our lives as coaches are becoming more and more demanding and busier than ever, so how do you balance all of the responsibilities that you need to perform and stay on top of it all? This week, Tony and I discuss methods and philosophies of what you can do to make sure that you are organized and on top of everything that needs to be done within your program. Along with that, we have trivia, and in our TWIB segment, we discuss the WNBA draft, Kentucky's hire of Mark Pope and a small preview of the NBA playoffs.

Really excited to have one of Nebraska's best, Johnson-Brock's Boys HC Lucus Dalinghaus, on the podcast this week! Coach talks about his background, running the table and repeating this past season, how his educational background has helped with his coaching, some of his favorite drills, and much more!! Really good conversation with a terrific small school coach from Nebraska!

What a great month March was!! So many story lines, alot of great basketball, the growth of the women's game and two great champions . . . Tony and I break down the tournaments and what we learned from watching the tournament and how it can affect your program. We also have a special trivia section right before we discuss the Kentucky job, Tara VanDerveer retiring and more!

Episode #218 is a great episode with Franqua "Coach Q" Bedell, the WBB HC at Odessa (TX) Junior College. Coach Bedell tells about his basketball journey, including his penning of four books, keys to a great interview, his dissertation on the effects of NIL and much more! We also go through SLOB philosophy, an outline for player development and many other things. Really great conversation with one of the best at the JUCO level!!

One of the most important things that you can do as a program is to get your local community involved with your program. This week, Tony and I go through a variety of methods that you can do to attract people to your program, some of which are pretty labor intensive while others are really, really simple. We also dive into some of the latest controversies in the women's college game, including the Washington Post story on Kim Mulkey, Angel Reese's presser and our Final Four predictions!

I'm really excited to have on Matt Hackenberg, one of the greatest sharer's of todays game. Coach Hack and I discuss alot of things, including building a complete program, how he got into the "sharing" business, his new "Encyclopedia of Zone Offense", post player development and much, much more! Sit back and relax a great conversation with one of the smartest basketball guys on social media!!

Basketball is a game where things usually start out at the top and then slide down to the lower levels. A new thing that we are now dealing with at a high level at the high school game is the "Transfer Portal". This week, Tony and I discuss what to do to try to retain your own players, what to do when a player knocks on your door and an overall look at how to handle the process. We of course have trivia, along with our Final Four picks and a discussion on the impending Kim Mulkey Washington Post story. Enjoy!

One of the greatest challenges that we face as coaches is the fine line between under coaching and over coaching. This week, Tony and I break down some doe's and don'ts when managing your team and how to coach them as the season goes on. Along with that, Tony and I give our Sweet 16 predictions for both the men's and women's brackets, and we also discuss turning down postseason bids. Enjoy!

It's hard to take over any position as a head coach, but it's even harder to take over a job when you're stepping into the shoes of one of the most successful head coaches in the history of Nebraska. Steve Klein did that and more, going 27-1 and winning a state championship this past season for Bellevue West. Coach Klein and I discuss moving into his job, the things that he learned, the journey of his team this season, transition offense and defense and much more!!

As we get around to the spring time, it is a time of renewal. For some folks, they are going to be looking on to other jobs, which is a complicated process. In this episode, Tony and I break down what you should be looking for in a job, the red flags that may crop up and how you should attack going after a job. We also have our trivia segment and our TWIB discussion, including "March Madness" and other topics.

Scott Guzinski, the highly successful head coach at Oakland-Craig (NE) High School, jumps on the podcast this week to talk about a variety of topics. We chat about coaching in small towns, the opportunity to have "trial and error" in your coaching development, the chance to take over a successful program, transition offense and ALOT of defensive principles. Really fun chat!

This week, Tony and I discuss ways that you can bond with your coaching staff and bring them closer together, from team activities to concepts that you can do together off the field or floor. Along with that we have our usual trivia and TWIB segment. In the opening, I discuss some of the reasons why I stepped away from my coaching job, what coaches should be thinking and the future of APAAN.

This week, Tony and I discuss how to create a bond with your staff and how to make it as close as you possibly can. We have alot of different strategies and ideas to help you bring your staff closer together. Along with that, we have trivia and our TWIB segment, but in the opening, I discuss some of my thought process about my resignation from my coaching job and the future of APAAN.

In our first state tournament roundtable, Britt Ehlers of Crete (NE) GBB, Dexter Goodner of Hastings College (NE) WBB and the legend himself, TK of Boys Town (NE) comes on the podcast at the Mellow Mushroom in "The RailYard" in downtown Lincoln to discuss a variety of topics, including the shot clock, calming your team down in big games, how to handle the end of the season and much more! Enjoy the pod, and check out the Mellow Mushroom when you're in Lincoln; Mike's the best!

Episode #212 features Laethion Brown, the girls basketball HC at Centura (NE) High School. Coach Brown is coming off of a state championship run last season and has his squad back at the state tournament this season! In our episode, Coach Brown talks about building his program, being asked to be harder on his players, his influences, defensive philosophy, how he sets up practice and much more! Enjoy this conversation!

As we end our seasons, it's always a tough situation. We're tired and exhausted, having been on a three to five month sprint, so what do you need to prioritize and what should you be doing? What should you expect to happen? Tony and I talk about these topics, along with our usual trivia and "TWIB" segment. Enjoy this week's "Coaching Staff"!

Episode #211 features Kevin "Q" White of Portage Northern (MI) High School. As the boys coach, he has started a rebuild in Kalamazoo and has things rolling in the right direction. In this podcast, we discuss his rebuild, interviewing for a job and the preparation that you should put into it, the importance of networking and working camps, transition offense, favorite drills and much more! Enjoy this podcast with one of Michigan's finest!

Tyler Byrd is a therapist and sports psychologist based out of Omaha, and I've known Tyler for a few years. Tyler dives into his background and discusses a wide variety of topics to help coaches out in today's world. We chat about the biggest challenges that our young people face today, common mistakes that are made by coaches, how to build leaders in your program, parents and much more! You're going to really get alot of great information from this podcast!

It's February, and that means that each team is preparing itself to win on the margins, both on and off the court, as we head into post-season play. This week, Tony and I discuss the things that you can control as a coach to help put your team in the best place possible. We also have our trivia segment, and we chat all new things in the world of hoops. Enjoy!

Really excited to have Jim McLaughlin, the head boys basketball coach at Freeman (NE) on for this week's podcast. Coach McLaughlin has built an impressive program at Freeman over the last two decades, and we discuss a variety of topics, including being a young head coach, developing a youth program, building a great defense, the mental game, networking and players development. Enjoy this conversation with a great coach!

On episode #208, we're excited to host the boys basketball coach from Doniphan-Trumbull (NE), Kelan Buhr!! Coach Buhr has done a great job in building a great, small-school program, and he discusses their youth program, off-season development, what to try to do to get over the hump this season at the state tournament, communicating with parents and much more! Enjoy this terrific conversation!

Tony and I break down a bunch of stuff this week, including how to prepare and coach big games. As we get closer to the end of the season and the importance of games only heightens, you need to have certain strategies and mindsets in place in order to give yourself a chance to succeed. Tony and I break down a bunch of different things on that topic, along with trivia, Adrian Griffin getting let go and court storming!

As we celebrate episode #500, we decide to sit down and have a little breakfast with two of "The Committee" members, Tom Krehbiel and Marc Kruger, to discuss a bunch of different topics. We chat about the Nebraska Prep Classic, our teams and where we're at at this point of the season, what we want and should be working on, and discussing our approval rating of the new foul system. Words cannot express how grateful I am that this many people still want to listen after 500 episodes, but here's to 500 more!

In the last week, we've seen the resignations or retirements of three legendary football coaches; Pete Carroll, Bill Belichick and Nick Saban. These three legendary coaches are intertwined in so many ways, so in this episode, Tony and I break down what made each one of these coaches great, why it's important to learn from other sports and much more!

On the Keith Olberman/ Dan Patrick/ halfway to Danny Darwin (if you get all of this, you're my kind of people) episode, we welcome in Trevor Mickelson from ADM (IA) high school. In this episode, we discuss building a system, being an offensive coordinator and how they made it work at Waukee, along with implementing a system and much more. Plus, a tribute to Charlie, my four legged son . . .

@gb1121 (Greg Berge) has some great stuff on Twitter, and this week we dive into some of the major elements that could destroy a team. Early to mid-January is the time of the season that players (and parents) can become frustrated with various issues, so what are some steps that you can take to try to prevent this issues from escalating? Tony and I discuss that, along with trivia, the return of Draymond Green, team that are up and teams that are down in the NBA and more!

We're back with our interview series this week with Amherst (NE) Boys HC Eric Rippen. Coach Rippen has had a great run recently at Amherst, but not without its challenges. Coach Rippen discusses coaching his program through great tragedy, special situations, lessons learned as an AC, scouting philosophy, pressbreaks and much more. Great discussion with one of Nebraska's up and coming coaches!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and I wanted to update everyone on a few things, including why I haven't been posting pods and Twitter postings, a retrospective on one of Nebraska's greats, Brad Feeken, who recently lost his battle with cancer and announcing the date for our 4th Annual "A Pen And A Napkin" Coaches Clinic!!

The winter moratorium is a great time to make adjustments to your team, whether that's line up adjustments, schematic adjustments, cultural adjustments or how you structure your practices. This week, Tony and I discuss what you should be looking at when it comes to adjustments, how to implement them, and we also discuss some of the adjustments that we've made with our own teams. Along with trivia, we also take a deep dive on the Draymond Green situation and how it has affected both him and the Warriors. Have a great holiday break, and safe travels to everyone!

Kasey Krager, the GBB HC at Sioux Central (IA), is our guest this week! Coach Krager is back at his alma mater and has built a very solid program. We discuss his career path, building off of a disappointing ending to last season and how that has benefitted this team, playing a tough early season schedule, BLOB's, practice setup and much more. Enjoy this terrific conversation!

"Rebounding wins Rings" is a popular slogan amongst teams, and there's alot of truth to it! This week, Tony and I break down the importance of rebounding, methods that we have used to teach rebounding, and some of our favorite drills . Along with that, we have trivia and our TWIB segment, so enjoy!!

Brandon Schwab, the GBB HC at Algona Biship Garrigan (IA) comes on the podcast to discuss a wide variety of topics on the pod this week. We discuss being a farmer while being a basketball coach, his influences, learning how to win a state championship, coaching a Top 50 national recruit, offensive and defensive philosophy in the half court and much more! Great conversation with one of Iowa's best!

Basketball is a game dominated by mistakes; whether it's missed shots, a blown defensive assignment or a turnover, mistakes happen all the time. How do you get your players to move on from their mistakes? Tony and I discuss that this week, along with our trivia and our weekly TWIB segment. Enjoy!!

On this week's episode, we're excited to have Omaha Concordia Boys HC Ken Kulus. Coach has build a terrific program at Concordia, and he goes into detail about how he did this, both through successes and failures. Along with that, he talks about "The Chase" vs. being "The Pursued", offensive and defensive philosophy, building a great culture, scheduling and much. more. Enjoy our conversation!

One of the things that is more and more common with our high school programs is players missing practices and games for other activities, especially club sports. This week on the "The Coaching Staff", Tony and I discuss some of the best ways to handle these situations, how to communicate your philosophy and discuss the pros and cons of a written contract. Along with that, we have trivia and our TWIB segment. Enjoy!

As Don Meyer always said "No one will ever say that we were just too tough this season,", so how do you develop toughness, both mental and physical? Tony and I dive into this and many other things this week, including trivia, Angel Reese and the situation with LSU and much more!

Episode #200; hard to believe that we've gotten to this milestone number! In celebration of that, I was fortunate enough to connect with the Naismith Hall of Famer Bob Hurley Sr. and have a great discussion about the game. We chat about his career, the importance of clinics, coaching and mentoring his sons, the influence of Coach Wooden on his career, practice organization and shell drill, amongst many other things. Coach was generous enough to give me a good chunk of his time, and I hope that you enjoy listening to this podcast as much as I enjoyed doing it!