That Basketball Life

 Basketball IQ isn't a natural gift; it's a learned habit. If you are only talking about late-game execution during a timeout in the fourth quarter, it's already too late. Players need to experience high-pressure, late-game variables repeatedly in practice so their instincts take over when the lights are brightest. To truly bulletproof your team, dedicate the last 10 minutes of practice to situational 5v5 scrimmages. Put the score on the board, set the clock, and dictate the foul count. Here are eight essential game-management scenarios to install into your practice rotation. 1. 5v5 "Protect the Lead" (When Winning) The Situation: You are UP 4 with 50 seconds remaining. SOOB (Sideline Out of Bounds) at mid-court. No Over-the-Top Passes: The defense will trap. Offense must use hard v-cuts to meet the ball—no desperate lob passes. The 12-Second Boundary: The offense cannot look at the rim until the shot clock hits 12 seconds to ensure maximum time is burned. Defe...

 I coached a game yesterday which my team came just short of winning.  In this league, each team is given 1 time out in the first half and 2 in the second half.  The team was down by as many as 13 points in the second half.  We put on a full court press to get back in the game and with about 2 minutes left I used 1 of my 2 second half timeouts to draw up a play in an effort to tie the game.  My thinking at the time was to get the ball to my hot hand and put pressure on the other team by tying the game.  The time out worked as we scored and the game kept going back and forth.  With about 50 seconds left I called another timeout as we had possession and were down 2.  We set up another play and it worked to tie the game but I was out of timeouts.  At the end of the game the other team called a timeout and I decided to continue pressing them.  The logic was to continue to go with what has worked.  The other team broke the press and got ...