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Acknowledgments - Many excellent basketball books have been written in past years that have contributed greatly to the growth of the game. This book is presented in the sincere hope that it will be a worthwhile contribution and that each reader may find something of benefit. The manual represents an attempt to compile numerous offensive and defensive formations, fundamental techniques, and supplementary coaching methods into one easy-reference volume.

01. Offensive Essentials - One has only to visit a regional or state tournament where a number of basketball teams are assembled to see the varied assortment of offensive patterns being used today. In the immediate chapters to follow, numerous plays from several of these offensive patterns will be presented. Regardless of offensive pattern, there are certain essentials that are found in all offenses if the team is to be successful. The ability to shoot the ball, to pass the ball, to dribble and drive, and to perform basic screens are certainly among those absolutely necessary.

02. Teaching Team - The selection of the team offense and the method of teaching this offense are important factors in the building of a championship basketball team. Selection of an offense unsuitable for the available personnel will certainly decrease chances for success while faulty teaching of the selected offense will produce similar results.

03. Single Pivot Offense - Some years ago, Dutch Dehnert moved into the pivot area for the original Celtics, turned his back to the basket, and the single pivot offense was born. Of the varied offensive patterns used today, this offense is by far the most widely used. Whether it be a free-lance style, a set-play system, or a weave-type pattern, its popularity attests to its strengths and advantages.

04. Double Pivot Offense - When a team has two good pivot scorers and wishes to take advantage of each, the double pivot offense can be very effective. Though positioning two players in the pivot area may reduce driving opportunities by the outside players, added scoring opportunities from the pivot area and two players always in rebound position more than offset the disadvantage.

05. Tandem Post Offense - The tandem post or 1-3-1 offense has become progressively more popular in recent years. Milton Jowers' Southwest Texas team that captured the 1960 NAIA tournament is a fine example of the potentialities of this offense. Jack Nagle's Marquette teams of a few years ago also enjoyed considerable success with this pattern and surely were a factor in the developing popularity of the offense.

06. Shuffle Offense - Originated by Bruce Drake while at the University of Oklahoma, the Shuffle Offense is increasing in popularity over the nation. Its growth has been greatly influenced by the remarkable success enjoyed by Joel Eaves and his Auburn University team. Coach Eaves, one of the finest coaches and gentlemen in the game today, adopted the offense several seasons ago and expanded its potentialities.

07. Attacking Zone - Methods of attacking zone defenses are probably more interesting to the high school coach than are methods of attacking man-for-man defenses. This is simply because a great percentage of high school teams, particularly in certain areas of the country, employ the zone defense as their basic team defense. Zone defenses can be very difficult to penetrate and, unless a sound zone attack pattern is prepared in advance, efforts to defeat the zone may prove futile.

08. Fast-Break - A majority of teams in present-day basketball use some type o£ fast-break in their offensive plans. Some go to the extreme that has earned for them the name of "race horse" teams, those who run every time they get ball possession. Others, and these are probably in more abundance, release their quick-break when the opportunity presents itself favorably.

09. Attacking Press - In the not too distant past, an attack for the full-court man-for-man press was the only press offense needed. In recent years, pressing defenses have made rapid strides. Various types of zone presses have become popular. In addition, full-court, three-quarter court, and half-court presses are used extensively. Therefore, the sound basketball team must be prepared to meet all types of pressing defenses.

10. Out-of-Bounds - Out-of-bounds plays may be divided into three categories:

1. End-line out-of-bounds plays.

2. Sideline out-of-bounds plays.

3. Out-of-bounds plays for special situations.

The most commonly used out-of-bounds plays are attempted on the end-line under the offensive basket. Such plays are more difficult to defense and more often result in a score.

11. Jump-Ball Situations - Control of the ball is paramount to the success of a basketball team and jump-ball situations afford additional opportunities for such ball possession. Generally, at least eight to ten jump-ball situations will occur during a game and the team that gains possession o£ these toss-up situations increases greatly their chances for victory.

12. Freezing the Ball - Unless the 24-second rule is placed into the high school and college rule book, teams will continue to use freezing or "stalling" tactics to preserve leads late in games. The use of such tactics presents opportunities for both the offense and defense to employ tactical moves and is an important phase of the game. The offense must have practiced patterns ready to assure ball-control while the defense must have defensive maneuvers ready for a coordinated effort to gain possession.

13. Defensive Essentials - The importance of sound team defensive play in championship basketball cannot be overemphasized. The major difference between the average basketball team and those who ride the crest of the tournament trail at the end of the season lies in ability to play defense. The Cincinnati-Ohio State game in the 1961 NCAA finals was a tremendous example of the value of good team defense.

14. Teaching Team - Good team defense can bring a victory when the offense is having the invariable "off" night. Surely most coaches would agree that defense is fifty per cent of the game. Yet, how many devote half of practice time toward developing this important phase of the game that can add many wins to the victory column? It is doubtful that one-fourth of coaches devote this much time to team defense, though they may fully realize its importance.

15. Man-for-Man Defense - Man-for-man defense differs from zone defense in that players are assigned specific opponents to defense rather than specific floor areas. Man-for-man defense presents a real challenge to the players, for the ability to defense an opponent is the measuring rod of defensive worth to the team. It is a more versatile defense than the zone, for opponents can be defensed aggressively at half-court or full-court or the defense may sag away from opponents and congest the dangerous area around the basket.

16. Zone Defenses - Zone defenses differ from man-for-man defenses in that players are assigned a particular area of the court to defense rather than a particular opponent. Foremost attention is focused on the ball and the area of the court to be defensed. All defensive players mass in assigned areas in and around the free-throw lane and shift as a coordinated unit with each movement of the ball by the offense. This team massing and shifting protects the area close to the basket and makes short shots difficult to obtain.

17. Combination Defenses - A variety of combination defenses have been used by enterprising basketball coaches over the nation to combat particular strengths or to take advantage of weaknesses in the offense of opponents. The most popular of these defenses are the four man zone—one man man-for-man and the three man zone—two man man-for-man. These defenses are effective when the offense has one or two real scoring threats with their other teammates being weak scorers.

18. Pressing Defenses - It is absolutely necessary for every basketball team to have some type of pressing defense. This is simply because a team must be able to press for the ball when behind in the score late in the game. However, the usefulness of pressing defenses is not limited to this situation alone. Pressing defenses are strategically sound in the following situations:

19. Big Man - The value of the big man has become so pronounced in basketball today that any successful team must devote considerable practice time toward perfecting defensive techniques designed to contain him. One defense for all teams blessed with high-scoring centers may not suffice for offensive personnel supporting this center will vary greatly.

20. Fast-Break - A great number of modern basketball teams include the fast-break to some degree in their offense. Many of them run at every occasion while other more conservative teams wait for the more certain opportunity. Since this fast-break is so popular, defensive plans must include adequate techniques for defensing this dangerous offensive weapon.

21. Shooting - Shooting is the most important fundamental in the game of basketball! Without good shooters, a team may possess Cousy-type passers, superb dribblers, excellent rebounders, and other strong assets but may still find it difficult to consistently win. Many coaches feel that shooters are "born" and not "made" and the brilliant touch of some of the nation's great shooters today lends support to this argument. Surely some players do possess the "touch" that other players strive a lifetime to achieve.

22. Passing - Seldom are championship basketball teams seen that are not adept passers. I once heard Bob Davis of Georgetown (Ky.) College describe one of his team's games in which they made six bad passes to begin the game and were behind 12-0. This is an excellent example of the importance of good passing. Though a team may possess outstanding shooters, inability to pass the ball will result in mistakes that reduce greatly the number of shot attempts and decrease chances for victory.

23. Dribbling - The fundamental technique of dribbling is easily learned by most players although some players develop a greater degree of proficiency than others. However, many players fail to learn the most important part of the dribbling fundamental—when to dribble. Though the exceptional dribbler is a crowd pleaser, he can be a detriment to his team if he misuses the dribble.

24. Individual Offense - The success of the best offensive patterns will depend a great deal on the individual offensive abilities of each player. The offensive pattern may set up numerous opportunities for shots and drive situations but unless players have developed the individual abilities required for these situations, the offensive pattern will go for naught.

25. Individual Defense - The foundation of sound team defense lies in the individual defensive ability of each player. Many players are incomplete basketball players because they have not developed this ability to play defense. Many potential stars have spent their entire careers on the sidelines because of lack of defensive skill. Players love to play offense and no coach is needed to instill this love.

26. Rebounding - The team that controls the boards will win the majority o£ their games! Control of the boards reduces the number of shots taken by the opponents and increases the number of shot attempts by the good rebounding team. Though a great deal of rebounding is dependent on team size, size alone will not result in backboard control. Techniques must be developed through diligent work in practice that will lead to successful rebounding on both the offensive and defensive boards.

27. Conditioning - It would be difficult to estimate the number o£ games that have been won or lost because one o£ the teams playing was in better condition than the other. It is difficult to find an excuse that will justify losing a game for this reason. The opponent may have superior talent available but both teams possess the same opportunities for "getting into shape."

28. Weight Training - Weight training has become a vital supplement to basketball conditioning and development programs. Once thought to lead only to a muscle-bound, uncoordinated individual, carefully controlled experiments in recent years have shown that a program of weight training can contribute to the overall athletic development of the athlete in all sports.

29. Big Boy - One of the primary concerns of every coach is the development of a tall player. By much individual coaching and special drills, the tall, awkward player often can be developed into a smooth, coordinated big man that can wreak havoc with the opposition. Most championship teams have at least one tall player to control rebounds and present a dangerous scoring threat.

30. Practice Sessions - Why is it necessary to organize practice sessions? Why not take the floor and work on whatever phase of the game that the coach may feel necessary? Chiefly, practice organization is necessary because of the following reasons:

1. It assures maximum use of time available.

2. It assures coverage of all phases of the game. Without thorough planning, some important phase of the game may be neglected resulting in costly mistakes on game nights.

31. Team Rules - There is a wide difference of opinion among coaches as to the kind and amount of team rules and regulations needed. Some establish a large number o£ rules and demand strict adherence while others limit rules to a very minimum. Generally, as few rules as possible should be established but those absolutely necessary should never be omitted. Discipline is an important lesson that all o£ us need learn and that learned as a member of an athletic team can be very long-lasting.

32. Charting - Rare is the coach in present-day basketball who does not use some type of chart to furnish objective data about each game. Even the keenest of basketball minds cannot possibly gather information in the amount and with the accuracy that can be compiled by charting.

33. Scouting - Because of the increase in the number of offensive and defensive patterns being used in modern basketball, scouting has become increasingly important. A detailed scouting report on each opponent will reduce the chances of surprise and allow adequate preparation for each opponent. A particular offensive pattern can be better defensed if several days of practice are devoted to a defense for the pattern.

34. Timeouts & Halftime - The proper organization of half-time conferences and the wise use of substitutions and time-outs provide excellent opportunities for the coach to control the game and to make intelligent changes that will strengthen chances for victory. Definite plans should guide the coach in the use of all three of these valuable coaching tools.

THE END