Early Offense w/ Jason Hardy
Episode 95: Some keys to bringing your early offense to life
My parents have season tickets for the Gonzaga women.
I probably make it to 4 or 5 games a season. One game I didn’t want to miss last season was when Toledo came to The Kennel. Not only were the Rockets a fun team to watch, but I new someone on the coaching staff.
Jason Hardy is an Idaho kid who is finding his way coaching college basketball. He started out as a standout high school athlete. Eventually, Jason became a manager at the University of Idaho for the men’s program. And then an internship at Toledo turned into a grad assistant position. Besides that, Jason is also a player development coach with CourtSessions Basketball.
Principles > Procedures. The only reason “plays” work is because you’ve developed foundational skills required for them to work.
Ex. Work on offensive spacing and reads, no play works without them.
- Tweet from CourtSessions Basketball
I first interviewed Jason for the podcast last April. It was fun hearing his story. Now I appreciate talking basketball with him.
In this episode, our discussion focuses around early offense. We don’t get into actions. This is more about concepts and principles to consider when teaching early offense to your team.
I asked Jason if there was a team that impressed him from last season with their early offense. Toledo did not end up playing Tulsa — the Rockets lost to Washington State in the quarterfinals of the WBIT — but Jason came away impressed in his scout of the Golden Hurricane.
Here are some clips Jason shared from Tulsa’s game against Georgetown.
Episode 95 w/ Jason Hardy Breakdown
1:40 - Defining Early Offense
2:35 - Early offense and offensive efficiency
5:15 - Keys to playing fast
6:25 - Principles of early offense
9:55 - Shot selection in early offense
13:30 - Playing out of advantage
15:35 - Benefits of teaching advantage
16:40 - Numbers behind early offense
19:55 - Early offense drills
23:30 - Teaching decision making
24:25 - Tulsa’s transition offense
