Even Coaching Legends Make Mistakes

The 2010 Final Four produced two major coaching blunders by two coaches who most certainly will one day be called legends of the game, Michigan State's Tom Izzo and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski.

With 3.6 seconds left in the championship game, Coach Krzyzewski told post player Brian Zoubek to intentionally miss a free throw even though his team was only up two points. And as probably all of you saw, Butler's Gordon Hayward eventually got a potential game-winning shot off from near half-court that he nearly made. Had that shot gone in, it would have most certainly been one of the best finishes in any championship game regardless of sport.

Why did Coach K tell his player to miss a foul shot that would have put his team up three? Maybe he thought that it would be more difficult to get a decent shot off a miss than off a made free throw where Butler could have thrown it inbounds. But to make that decision when you're only up two is clearly a mistake as Hayward proved (even though he missed). Hayward's shot would have allowed an underdog to win the game rather than send it into overtime where favored Duke would have figured to have at least a slight advantage.

Izzo's blunder didn't get talked about as much, but it was probably worse than Coach K's error. His team was bringing the ball up court, down three with seconds to play, when Izzo called a timeout. On one level, calling a timeout in this situation is debatable because his players, knowing time and score, should have been able to get a good look in transition. Plus, stopping the clock forces you to have to inbound the ball on the side in your back court and allows the defense to set up.

But the big thing that got missed by commentator Clark Kellogg was that calling the timeout allowed Butler to huddle up. Brad Stevens was able to tell his players to foul. This took away the opportunity for the Spartans to get off a three-point shot, making whatever play Tom Izzo called during his timeout a mute point, and helped the opposing coach set up a preferred strategy for his team.

As a former coach who loves the profession, I seldom criticize coaches. We all know that all too often coaches take the blame from the media and parents. Sometimes, strategic decisions simply do not work out. Many times, coaching decisions are debatable, and no strategy is going to work 100% of the time.

But seldom do you see a clear example of an coaching errors like these late in games. And they were made by two of the highest paid coaches in the country. Both are outstanding coaches and future hall-of-famers. But on this instance, they made mistakes that many others would not have made.

Two on One Fast Breaks

One of the better "little things" that I ever picked up at a coaches clinic was some advice on proper spacing for a 2 on 1 fast break. If you coach at the high school level or below, I am sure you can relate to the frustration of seeing some of your players struggle to make passes on the move. Even something as simple as a two on one fast break can at times lead to a turnover. Or you look on as two many of your players seem to be settling for jump shots instead of layups. Other times, you will see the dribbler take the ball all the way to the basket and leave his feet, only to then try to make a late pass to his teammate. At that close to the goal, one defender really can defend two players if he can turn around quick enough.

But this simple piece of advice changed all of that for me. It was something I had never heard before.

"On a two on one fast break, the non-dribbler stays behind the 'level of the ball' until the defense commits."

This allows a much safer pass and prevents the passer from having to make a pass that the defender can get a hand on. If the passer times it right, he can make the pass around the elbow area extended, while the defender is still indecisive. This almost always results in a wide open layup. And make the pass a crisp air pass rather than a slower bounce pass. This will not give the defender enough time to adjust.

If you use a drill that incorporates the 2 on 1 fast break, try using this stay behind the ball principle. The results will be immediate.

Coaching for special situations

Basketball is not like football where the action stops after every play. It is not like baseball with pauses in the action between every pitch. Basketball players must think and react on the fly. It's important for coaches to prepare their athletes for special situations so that confusion and indecision doesn't become a factor in the outcome of the game.

Here are a few general practice guidelines to follow:

1. Always try to expose your players to everything that can possibly happen in a game.
2. Devote practice time to enable different players the opportunity to inbound the basketball.
3. Players need to be able to react instinctively to any situation on the court. Use repetition.
4. To be successful, you need to run offenses and options that your players are confident will work against many different defenses.
5. Take the ball out of bounds from the corners, end line, etc.
6. Practice your inbounds plays with varying amounts of time on the clock.
7. Instill and insist on learning how to win in all of your practice drills and situations.