Protection Plan Development

Episode 111 w/ Doug Novak & A Delayed Scoring Series

🤔 Thought Starter: Mark Daigneault
🏀 Home Base & Protection Plans
⛹️ DL Shooting & Finishing Drills
📓 Rytas Vilnius Baseline Plays

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🤔 Thought Starter: Mark Daigneault

During his time coaching in the G League, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault started a ritual with his players. He called it “be where our feet are” time.

For 30 seconds before practices, everyone in the gym was asked to close their eyes and take a moment to be present.

As Daigneault told The Athletic’s Christian Clark in January, “You don’t want to be thinking about the past. You don’t want to be thinking about the future. Life is lived in the moment. The game is played in the moment.”

- TheAthletic.com, 🔗 4 Culture Lessons from the Oklahoma City Thunder

🏀 Home Base & Protection Plans

In the summer of 2022, we hosted a two-day clinic with Alex Sarama that focused on conceptual offense. It was an unforgettable experience for many reasons.

One standout memory is that we partnered with Lake City High School — a school an hour south of us and technically in our same league. The Inland Empire League includes seven teams, but because of enrollment differences, we are divided into separate classifications. I will say sharing that clinic with a local rival made it even more unique.

Another reason the clinic stands out is what came after: we went on to win the 4A girls state championship the following season. Those two days with Alex and Lake City were the spark that started a magical run.

The clinic also marked the beginning of a strong coaching connection with Lake City head coach James Anderson. James is a terrific coach and someone I often point to when asked about building a program or implementing a conceptual offense. His guidance has been instrumental in my transition from the girls to the boys program.

So when James — now in his third year leading Lake City’s boys program — suggested bringing in Doug Novak for another two-day clinic, it was an automatic yes. I’ve followed Novak’s work for years and knew his teaching would align with the tone and direction I want for our boys program. Even more valuable was the opportunity to do the clinic alongside one of the top programs in Idaho.

To fellow coaches: if you’ve never done a joint clinic or practice with another school, I highly encourage it. Yes, it’s a little different. But it comes with major benefits — reduced costs, increased reps against outside competition, and the chance to expose your players to a high-level standard. For us, it gave our players a front-row view of what an elite program looks like, and I believe that will pay dividends going forward.

As expected, Coach Novak delivered. He introduced several foundational principles and concepts we will build around moving forward. While our numbers weren’t quite where Lake City’s were, I’m confident that events like this — paired with our summer schedule and joint practices we’ve done with Lake City and Coeur d’Alene High School — are laying the foundation for where we’re headed.

I also put together a video for our players and coaches where Coach Novak breaks down his “home base” concept and three delayed attack options. I know it will be a helpful resource as we continue to grow.

Naturally, I asked Coach Novak to record an episode for the podcast. The focus is on Protection Plans as Offense. The conversation is packed with valuable insights I think you’ll really enjoy.

⛹️ DL Shooting & Finishing Scenarios

Finishing up a busy week that included a 3-day youth camp, fundraiser meetings for next season, and a team camp at Washington State University.

This was my first boys youth camp in more than a decade, and my coaching philosophy has changed quite a bit in that time. A big area is using a differential learning (DL) approach in teaching shooting & finishing to encourage adaptive scorers. It can’t be understated the challenge (and engagement) players find when adding a defender and a constraint or two.

Here are 4 shooting & finishing scenarios we used at our youth camp. Full disclosure: These were taken from clips I’ve found on social media.

Sidestep Contested Shooting 1v1

Around the World 1v1

2v1 Kickout One-More Contested Shooting

Dribble Madness 1v1

📓 Rytas Vilnius Baseline Plays

I recently watched a bit of the FIBA Next Gen Hoops Invitational game between The Grind Session and Rystas Vilnius.

Billed as a clash of American athleticism vs. European Fundamentals, here’s a couple of early baseline inbound plays from Rystas that stood out.