Ep 2863 Are You Built for March Basketball?

0:00Baseball is back, and the first pitch is on Netflix. The New York Yankees, led by seven-time all-star Aaron Judge, head to the San Francisco Bay to take on Raphael Devar's San Francisco Giants. This season kicks off with one exclusive opening night game. Watch MLB Opening Night, the New York Yankees versus the San Francisco Giants live on Netflix. Wednesday, March 25th at 8 PM Eastern 5 PM Pacific. 5 AM, I'm up with a crisp Celsius energy drink, running 12 miles today. Grab a green juice, quick change, and head to work, meetings, workshops. One more Celsius, no slowing down, working late, but obviously still meeting the girls for a little dancing. Celsius, live, fit, go. Grab a cold, refreshing Celsius at your local retailer or locate now at Celsius.com. They say you should learn something new every day. Like how you should only drink Yeager Meister at zero degrees Fahrenheit. Ice cold. Like those frozen cavemen they find, which makes you wonder, what would a caveman think

1:02of Yeager Meister? Well, if you served it warm, he'd probably throw it in your face, say, and storm off, and nobody wants that. So drink it cold, or not at all. Yeager Meister. Damn. That's cold. Drink responsibly, Yeager Meister, La Cure, 35% alcohol by volume, imported by Master Yeager Meister, US, White Plains, New York. On the 5th quarter studios in Madison, Wisconsin, you're listening to Coach Unplugged. And now, your host, Steve Collins. Hey, everybody, welcome, welcome, welcome to Coach Unplugged. I'm so happy you decided to join us. Coach, before we get into it, go to teachoops.com. That's where I put the stuff that actually helps practice plans, culture tools, game prep, no fluff, teachoops.com. All right, it's March. And March is different. March is when you find out if your team has habits, or if your team has hopes.

2:02Because hope is not a strategy. And March doesn't care what you ran in December. March cares what you can execute when you're tired, when the crowd is loud, when the whistle feels weird, when the other team is grabbing and bumping. When your kids look at you like, coach, what do we do now? So today, I'm giving you a March readiness checklist, not a cute list, a real one. Stuff you can install and reinforce this week. Because here's the truth. Most teams don't lose in March because they forgot to play. They lose because the game speeds up and they don't have answers. They turn it over twice in a row. They give up an offensive rebound. They foul a three point shooter. They take a bad shot early. Then they argue with the ref. Then they stop talking on defense. And now you're down eight.

3:03And it feels like 20. So let's talk about what wins in March. Number one, simplify the menu. March is not the time to become a chef. March is the time to become a master of your best two meals. You do not need 12 sets. You need two that you can run against anything. And you need counters that are easy. If your players have to remember a paragraph, your toast. Make your calls shorter. Make your rules tighter. Make your teaching cleaner and spend your time on execution. Not explanation. Because in March, the team that thinks less plays faster, plays freer, plays tougher. Number two, you need a pressure plan.

4:04And I don't mean be strong with the ball. I mean a real plan. Because every March game has that stretch. You know the one. They pick you up full. They trap the first pass. They deny the wings. They speed you up. Your point guard starts dribbling like the ball is a grenade. And your wings start hiding. So you need answers. Two press breaks. Not six. Two. A simple alignment. A simple trigger and simple rules. Rule one. Two hands on catches. Rule two. Pivot before you dribble. Rule three. Attack the middle with purpose. Not panic. And you need a ball security group. Who are the five guys you trust when it gets chaotic?

5:07That group has to know it's their job. And you have to rehearse it. Not talk about it. Rehearse it. Pressure is not solved by motivation. Pressure is solved by reps. Number three, win the first four minutes. And win the last four minutes. Most coaches obsess over the middle. The middle is messy. The start and the finish are a clean. The start tells you if you're ready. The finish tells you if you're grown. So script your first few possessions. Not to be fancy. To be settled. Get a great shot. Get back. Talk on defense. Block out. Set the tone. And late game, stop hoping. Start rehearsing.

6:08If you're up three with 22 seconds left, what are you doing? If you're down to with 12 seconds, what are you doing? If you need a stop and you have a follow to give, do your kids know that? Or do they look at you like it's a pop quiz? March is not the time for pop quizzes. March is the time for open book tests because you've studied it together. Number four, special situations are free points. Free if you prepare. Baseline out of bounds. Side line out of bounds. End of quarter. Jump ball situations. Free throw rebounding. Two for one moments. Last shot defense. Last shot offense. I'll tell you this.

7:09Most teams waste special situations. They just run something. They don't run something with a purpose. So here's a quick upgrade. Have two blobs. One that gets a layup. One that gets a shooter a clean look. Have two slabs. One to get it in safely. One to attack immediately. And have one end of game action you believe in. Something you can run against switching. Something you can run against no switching. And one bail out option. Because in March, the first look won't always be there. But the second look can be great if you're spacing is right. And your kids trust the plan. Number five, your identity has to travel.

8:11Because March is a road trip. Even at home. The crowd is different. The refs are different. The energy is different. So your identity can't be when we're feeling good. It has to be this is who we are. Defense travels. Rebounding travels. Taking care of the ball travels. Communication travels. Effort travels. If your identity is we make threes, that's fine. I love shooting. But what happens when you go to for 16? Who are you then? What's plan B? The best March teams have a plan B that looks like toughness. They can guard you. They can get a stop. They can get a rebound.

9:11They can manufacture at basket. They can win ugly. And that's not negative. Two teams, one cup. The prime time stage is set for the TGL presented by SoFi finals. Los Angeles Golf Club versus Tiger's Jupiter links. Keep up, it's playoffs. Tune in Monday, March 23rd, 9 p.m. Eastern on ESPN 2 and Tuesday, March 24th, 7 p.m. Eastern on ESPN and on the ESPN app. Abercrombie's active brand, your personal best is built for every part of your workout routine. The YPB neonate hoodies and sweatpants are soft, breathable, and moisture wicking. You're perfect warm up layers. And for leg day or any lifting day, pair YPB motion tech shorts with their active teas and tanks. Level up your workout routine with all new active by Abercrombie. Shop YPB in the app, online, and in stores.