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[Twitter threads]

https://twitter.com/MontyPatel/status/16...5538601984

Another coach who handwrites practice plans and prioritizes teaching early and drilling later. Maybe they're onto something?! 1/?

Teaching point: strong side defenders are more involved in the play, while weak side defenders have a lesser role. In turn, "Weak side defenders see the most and say the most" on the defensive end. 2/?

Pick and rolls boil down to who can execute their jobs better in a 2-on-2 game. Offense excels, defense is in trouble; defense prevails, offense struggles. 3/?
Foot fight: Highest foot wins! If you can't win that battle on the closeout, you have no chance to contain your opponent from driving. 4/?

Coach Kennedy's philosophy on shot selection: "I believe you are who your numbers say you are." Take balanced, high-level shots for better percentages. 5/?

Only jump stops and playing off 2 in practice. Drive, jump stop, play off 2, make a decision. Repeat until shot desired is created. 6/?

Straight line drives vs. drive out. Straight line drives get you to your destination. Drive outs allow the defense to set up. 7/?

On defense, "Furthest from the ball is always the loudest." Being quiet isn't an option. Speak loud and speak often! 8/?

Thank you, @CoachAK13 and @CoachRC44 for allowing me to stop by and learn about some of the things that make your program successful!

(06-29-2023 09:46 PM)WesternBlazer Wrote:  Strong side defenders are more involved in the play, while weak side defenders have a lesser role.

Yep. I'm aware!

Speaking of summer practice, has anyone had a chance to watch any, and do you have impressions of any of the new players? Any surprises? Who stands out? How do the juco players look in comparison to the returnees and transfers?

(06-30-2023 11:15 AM)bftb Wrote:  Speaking of summer practice, has anyone had a chance to watch any, and do you have impressions of any of the new players? Any surprises? Who stands out? How do the juco players look in comparison to the returnees and transfers?

From my kids at UAB camp...Yax is amazing, Coleman is gonna dominate, Ortiz is the real deal and Dunning can play. Eric sat that day

From what i saw just from pick ups and drop offs...Davis is noticeably slimmer and looks like he is in shape to make a huge leap this year. The players seem to be a cohesive unit, all together, all laughing and enjoying each others company.

I’m still VERY curious how we plan to use Coleman and Yax because they are the same position

Coleman can play all 5 spots so he will be all over floor in different sets

(06-30-2023 11:57 AM)Golden-Ticket Wrote:  I’m still VERY curious how we plan to use Coleman and Yax because they are the same position

I assume its going to be like how we moved Ty Brewer to the 3 late last year and got a lot better as a result, being able to have Ty, KJ and Trey in the game at the same time just made us very tough defensively. It really all depends on if Coleman can be a threat that has to be guarded on the perimeter or not.

My only worry about the makeup of this roster is not having enough shooters in the game at the same time. Our most athletic lineup is Gaines, White, Dunning, Yax and Coleman, which would be really hard to score against, So yay! The problem is that when we had the ball the other team could just put one man on the ball and 4 around the paint and our offense will resemble a clogged toilet.


Good news is that Ortiz and Vasquez are knock down catch and shoot guys, and Shaver has the potential to be a stretch 5 for us which will open up the lane. It's just finding the balance to keep enough shooters on the floor while still being sound defensively.

I think our ceiling as a team is directly correlated to how many of the following are 35%+ for the season on catch and shoot 3's:

Dunning
White
Coleman
Johnson
Toney
Gaines


If 4 or more are plus 35% on catch and shoot 3's at decent volume, we will be really, really good. I'm assuming both Ortiz and Vasquez will be, so they arent on the list.

(06-30-2023 11:38 AM)jaymay2525 Wrote:  

(06-30-2023 11:15 AM)bftb Wrote:  Speaking of summer practice, has anyone had a chance to watch any, and do you have impressions of any of the new players? Any surprises? Who stands out? How do the juco players look in comparison to the returnees and transfers?

From my kids at UAB camp...Yax is amazing, Coleman is gonna dominate, Ortiz is the real deal and Dunning can play. Eric sat that day

From what i saw just from pick ups and drop offs...Davis is noticeably slimmer and looks like he is in shape to make a huge leap this year. The players seem to be a cohesive unit, all together, all laughing and enjoying each others company.

Thank you sir!

Good news, that. Thanks.

Davis does definitely look significantly thinner than he did from last season. He was by no means overweight, but I do think his conditioning and lack of quickness/lateral movement did hinder his PT sometimes though. Hopefully being in better shape will help that. He's a great post player.

I am excited about all of the new guys, but especially intrigued by Coleman. He seemed to fly under the radar the most, but super tall, rangy, and versatile. It will be interesting to see how he is used on the court.

I agree with the shooting question. Interestingly, given how AK was as a player, and how his teams always seem to have "the guy" that is a great shooter, his teams seem to lack consistent shooting up and down the roster. The shooting seems to be concentrated in 1-2 main guys. Hopefully some others can knock down open shots as mentioned. That could take us to the next level with the versatility and depth of this roster.

(06-30-2023 04:59 PM)The Answer UAB Wrote:  Interestingly, given how AK was as a player, and how his teams always seem to have "the guy" that is a great shooter, his teams seem to lack consistent shooting up and down the roster.

Actually it makes perfect sense: the Bartow teams AK played on were the tallest in the Sun Belt (this was when the Sun Belt was not yet lowly, and was a very good basketball league) and ranked dead last in rebounding. These were teams with Alan Ogg, Larry the Dancing Bear and Elbert Rogers.

UAB led CUSA in rebounding last year, though.

I think that's pretty common among all humans - you look to fix your flaws rather than reinforce your successes. This is not always the best strategy, in life or basketball.

(06-30-2023 01:00 PM)bftb Wrote:  

(06-30-2023 11:38 AM)jaymay2525 Wrote:  

(06-30-2023 11:15 AM)bftb Wrote:  Speaking of summer practice, has anyone had a chance to watch any, and do you have impressions of any of the new players? Any surprises? Who stands out? How do the juco players look in comparison to the returnees and transfers?

From my kids at UAB camp...Yax is amazing, Coleman is gonna dominate, Ortiz is the real deal and Dunning can play. Eric sat that day

From what i saw just from pick ups and drop offs...Davis is noticeably slimmer and looks like he is in shape to make a huge leap this year. The players seem to be a cohesive unit, all together, all laughing and enjoying each others company.

Thank you sir!

FWIW - when Coleman signed last year, I was told he would have been a starter on last year’s team

I'm starting to get pumped up about fall sports especially MBB.

i can't wait to see the new players in action. I'm hoping Gaines benefits from the new talent coming and his game shines.
he did some crazy things at LSU with those big talent teammates even with cheating Will Wade steering the boat.

Vasquez took Jelly’s number - those are big shoes to fill. Hopefully it’s a harbinger of lots of success for him and the team over the next 2+ years.