Jack’s Blog

Brent, a frequent reader of this blog, posed a question regarding why more basketball teams don’t employ the full-court press more often or, for that matter, don’t use it at all!  He attached to his comment the website address of The New Yorker magazine, which contained the article from the Annals of Innovation section entitled, How David Beats Goliath, subtitled When Underdogs Break the Rules by Malcolm Gladwell.

A brief summary of the eight page article is as follows: Vivek Ranadive (who had never played basketball) was the father of one of the players on a girls’ 12-year old basketball team from Redwood City (CA) and became its coach.  He couldn’t understand why teams freely gave up so much territory, i.e. why they would allow the opponent to get the ball and advance it 70′ of the 94′ of the court with no resistance.  He decided, as the coach, he would instruct the girls (basically a bunch of little blond girls from the heart of the Silicon Valley, devoid of height or good basketball skills) to full-court press, every minute of every game.  They had phenomenal success. 

Gladwell compared this strategy of full-court pressing to what Lawrence of Arabia did to the Ottoman Army near the end of World War I and also proclaimed that David beat Goliath because he, David, pressed.  The author even brought up the one (and only) year Digger Phelps coached Fordham (1971-72) and spoke of the time the Rams beat Dr. J’s UMass team in Amherst, by pressing - yet, subsequent to that game, Digger didn’t press again, nor did losing UMass coach, Jack Leaman, incorporate it.  The person most impressed was the Minutemen’s freshman guard, Rick Pitino - and he went on to use it very effectively at BU, Providence College, UK and Louisville.  Interestingly enough, in what must have been an oversight, there was no mention of the press and its success when Pitino was head coach of the NBA’s Boston Celtics.

The Redwood City girls denied the inbounds pass and trapped when the ball was successfully inbounded.  They’d be shutting girls out, while getting layups and short, high percentage shots, jumping out to leads of as much as 20-0.  I found it an amusing side note, but their season ended, according to the coaches, players and the author as did most other teams’ - in a loss where the referees were blamed for screwing them!  Some things never change.

For years, I have been a vocal adversary of the full-court press philosophy and here’s the main reason why: it’s difficult enough to guard the opponent within 25′ feet of the basket, let alone 94′ - with the same number of players.  Before I further explain that belief, I want to say I applaud Ranadive and his team and, quite honestly, I’d have done the exact same thing had I been in his shoes.  That’s because this is an excellent strategy to use for younger kids, whose bodies haven’t fully matured, so when they see a teammate all the way down the floor and (s)he’s wide open, they physically can’t throw the ball that far - assuming the ballhandler actually saw the open offensive player.  

So, in my mind, the all-out, full-court pressing strategy is a good one until players get older (e.g. high school varsity age).  In the college and NBA, forget it!  It would be pretty much laughed at.  OK then, you ask, how did Rick Pitino have so much success with it?  In the San Joaquin Valley, what is it that makes the “Vance Walberg devotees” want to scream from the rooftops that this system will insure coaches and fans alike the identical overwhelming success Vance had, first at Clovis West HS, then at Fresno City College?  I feel the one major answer to this question that transcends all others is they are both great coaches, each with the ability to impose his will upon the team - independent of what strategy they employ.

When I coached at Buchanan High School, since it’s in the same league as so many of those “copy (Vance) cat” teams (and in some ways, how can anyone blame them?), I tried (for the most part, unsuccessfully) to calmly and thoroughly explain that when you (the ballhandler, or BH) are being trapped, the two opponents who are trapping you are not going to hit, kick, knife, punch or shoot you.  All the defense is doing is putting two players on you and frantically waving, shouting and yelling jibberish in hopes you’ll turn it over.  No need to panic.  As I was to later discover, this would be a great deal easier said than done - until younger kids were cultivated and, as they got older, understood the game better and had fewer and fewer problems with it.

Ranadive had two main points of emphasis: the first was regarding the inbounds pass, where the ball must be put into play by the inbounder within five seconds.  If your team’s press attack, run properly, can’t inbound the ball within 5 seconds, you probably need to begin thinking about a second career (or hobby) choice.  The second area, advancing the ball past the midcourt line in ten seconds must have been during a summer tournament because in girls’ basketball, there is no 10 second rule, only a rule that a shot must be taken within 30 seconds from the beginning of the possession.  Let’s assume that, in fact, the tournament these Redwood City girls were in, there was no time limit, only the “rule” the ball must be advanced beyond midcourt in 10 seconds. 

Any coach, even a novice, ought to be able to see that a main coaching point against a full-court press, since their five guys can only cover so much of the 94′ x 50′ playing area, is to properly space the floor.  One major flaw in press attacks is the thought that it’s a good idea to “bury” your worst ballhandler, i.e. put him as far away from the action as possible. NO!!!  Now you’re playing right into your opponent’s hands.  They can now double team the man receiving the ball and still deny all other outlets.  

Instead, space the floor by always having a guard behind the ball 10′-12′ away from it (until, of course, the ball crosses midcourt), so when in real trouble, your other guard is behind the BH, serving as a safety outlet.  Have one player sprint to the open area in the middle of the floor.  Another teammate should be up the floor from where the BH is, close enough so the BH can see him (and pass it to him) while the final member of the five guys on the floor is near the basket at which you’re shooting, which the opponent had better guard since now your BH is physically capable of hitting that guy.  Advancing the ball via the pass is usually preferred over the dribble as the pass is a faster way of covering ground.

Proper execution of a press attack should lead to easy baskets, thus defeating the main purpose of the defense, which is to get more easy points off it than you give up.  Once good teams see full-court presses, their eyes usually light up because if the passes are sharp, i.e. fundamentally sound, presses will be shredded time and again. 

Coaching is leading and the line about leaders is apropos here: 

“The leader’s purpose is not to get the team members to do their jobs.  It’s to get them to do their best.”

Last week I spoke with a high school coach I’d never met.  He called me from Oklahoma because a mutual friend of ours (from Buffalo, NY) told to him that was “the expert” on what he was looking for.  What, I wondered, was it that I could be an expert on? 

“How to break into college coaching,” he replied.  First of all, I’m not sure anybody is an expert in that field and, if there is, it certainly isn’t me, but I agreed to talk with him regarding his dream (which was once mine).  Our phone call lasted over an hour (the unlimited weekend minutes plan paid off).  By the way, I get at least fifteen to twenty calls a year on this same subject - sometimes from the same coaches year after year.

I told him that the number one most important factor in a coach landing a job on the college level is his network.  It used to be it was “what you know;” then it became “who you know;” now it’s “who knows you.“  If you’ve been keeping up with this blog space, I know it sounds like I’m obsessed with today’s coaching salaries, but with the amount of money these coaches are making, there is no way in the world any coach is going to hire someone he doesn’t know - and trust.  On the local Fresno scene, one of the Valley’s favorite sons, Vance Walberg, admittedly made that mistake when he landed his dream job at Pepperdine and paid for it in the ultimate manner - losing that job. 

One of his assistants, a guy Vance didn’t know, yet hired anyway, was, let’s just say, less than loyal.  When interviewed by Jerry Tarkanian, Vance, a coach with a nearly unmatched resume for winning BIG, said what I, and everyone else who’s ever been involved in college coaching fully realize - and that is when the going gets tough, i.e. losing, disgruntled players go to assistants.  Take it from a career assistant.  I’ve been on the receiving end of such whining and threats to transfer or even go public with complaints.  A good, i.e. loyal, assistant handles these situations in such a way that the player(s) is/are understood, is/are sincerely empathized with, but get them to come to the conclusion that none of those choices are good ideas - for him/them or the team.  The assistant then goes to the head coach and, without betraying any confidences, informs the head man about the problem (handling the situation with the same kid gloves he did with the previous situation) and suggests some strategies.  This critical meeting between head and assisatnt coach absolutely cannot take place without a close bond between the assistant and the guy he’s working for. 

Then I told my new friend how he should go about “getting known?”  First and foremost, work the guy’s camp.  Why is this so important, especially when many head coaches don’t even spend very much time at their camps?  Because whether the guy is there or not, somebody from the staff is - and you must realize that although that guy doesn’t think he’s looking for someone to join their staff, you’re always auditioning. 

How do you relate to the kids at camp (at most camps, you’ll be given a team to “coach” - through a practice, competitions, getting them in line for roll calls or to pay attention to speakers and, of course, games)?  Whether you’re a screamer, a coddler or an instructor, do the kids listen and afford you the expected respect when you’re speaking to them, i.e. what are your people skills like?  Next, if there’s something that comes up and there’s a need for someone to pitch in and get it done (even though there’s no extra pay attached), are you the first to volunteer?  And when there’s a break in camp or it’s over for the day (if it’s an overnight camp) and the coaches are fraternizing (at meals, or at a late night watering hole, for instance), are you the kind of guy people want at their table - because you’re interesting or interested?)  You never know, the camp director (usually one of the assistants) may get a head coaching job of his own and the impression you made at camp may pay off more than you ever imagined.  Believe me, I went on to tell him, you’d be shocked at some stories I could tell.

One of them was in the early ’70s, when a high school coach worked our camp at Washington State and so impressed all of us, including head coach, George Raveling, that when the camp got so big that WSU needed a coordinator, this guy was hired.  OK, it wasn’t a coaching job, but he parlayed it into an athletic administration job and that’s how Jim Livengood started his intercollegitae career that now sees him as the Director of Athletics at the University of Arizona (and former president of NACDA - the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics). 

Think this isn’t the case?  Pat Hill, Fresno State’s football coach, has said repeatedly, he has a “short list” of coaches at every position should one of his guys move on.  Heck, Mike Vogt, Buchanan’s (co-) championship football coach, told me he has a list of potential coaches in each academic discipline to fill in spots on his staff if he’s offered such an opportunity.  And this is at the high school level.

Head coaches don’t care how much you know about a certain defense or your unstoppable offense as much as they know how hard you’ll work, how well you’ll fit in and if they can trust you.  When a guy gets to that level, he feels he’s a competent enough coach (even if that may not be the case). 

My final advice was, if you ever get a chance to speak with a head coach, you’ll make a greater impact on him by asking questions and being totally focused on his answers than by trying to impress him with your knowledge.  People are flattered when you ask them for advice or to explain their expertise - if they feel you’re interest is genuine because:

You can tell whether people are intelligent by their answers.  You can tell whether they’re wise by their questions.”

Or else just have an absolute superstar recruit you can deliver.  That’s usually another surefire ticket to a job.  Remember, however, just as when he came in with you, when he graduates or goes pro, you go with him.¼/p>

In the February 18 issue of Sports Illustrated, there’s an article on Fresno’s favorite son, Vance Walberg, and the AASAA, now renamed “Dribble-Drive Motion” offense he designed.  Vance achieved such monumental success in Fresno, first at Clovis West High School, then at Fresno City College, that a type of cult following developed.

Since success supposedly breeds success, coaching is one of the all-time copy cat professions.  Think of how many football teams fell in love with versions of the West Coast Offense made so popular by the late Bill Walsh, yet how many were trying to perfect the power sweep when Vince Lombardi was winning championships with the Green Bay Packers.  Now football coaches are smitten by the wide open offense that helped (actually, made it possible for) Appalachian State to beat Michigan (see my 9/16 blog).

Basketball coaches are no different than their football counterparts, maybe even more so because all the players have to (or at least, are supposed to) play both offense and defense and all are allowed (by the rules, anyway) to touch the ball.  When I started in college coaching, John Wooden was in the middle of his never-to-be-duplicated run of championships, so everybody employed the 2-2-1 full court press and the high post offense.  When Bob Knight’s 1975-76 team went undefeated on the way to the National Championship, everybody ran the motion offense and played man-to-man defense.

I went to Western Carolina University in 1977 and it was really kind of funny watching two North Carolina high schools competing and seeing ten players crowding in at once at the scorer’s table because of the popularity of Dean Smith’s “Blue Team,” a cast of non-starters who’d go into each game, excite the crowd, inject energy with all-out hustle, while giving the starters a breather.  To see high schools teams both doing it at the exact same time was somewhat comical because it defeated the whole purpose of what Dean had intended. 

So, it was with an increasing amount of curiosity that I read the SI piece since I know Vance well and was happy to see him get some positive publicity, especially after what he’d gone through.  And positive it was.  I mentioned to Jerry Tarkanian (whose radio show I host on Wednesday evenings from 5-6 pm on Fox Sports Radio 1340 and 1400) that Vance’s agent couldn’t have done a more favorable article.  Coach Tark is a big Vance Walberg fan and was lauding his offense long before I heard anyone else mention it.  It was his defense everybody was emulating back then.

One part of the article briefly discussed Vance’s trials and tribulations regarding his troubling decision to resign at Pepperdine in mid-year.  By the way, Jerry was to tape an interview with Vance Thursday (yesterday) morning to give Vance a chance to tell his side of the story, which until now has just been a mystery of rumors, innuendos and statements that had many shaking their heads.  The full interview will run on The Jerry Tarkanian Show next Wednesday at 5 pm. 

Passion is a trait that is in abundance in coaching (it had better be - check the wrap-up quote on my 2/11 blog) and, reading the article, it is apparent very few coaches’ passion exceeds Vance Walberg’s, but that it also may have been his undoing.  In the article there’s a recollection of a conversation between Vance and Larry Brown - a coach who’s no stranger to passion - or winning.  Larry’s won an NCAA Championship, an Olympic Championship and an NBA Championship.  He recalls Coach Walberg telling him that Dean Smith’s and Hank Iba’s defensive principles were basically wrong, that “you can’t do it that way.”  Coaches Smith and Iba had pretty good runs in their day. 

During our last show, I asked Jerry Tarkanian about coaches using different defensives in different games based on their opponents.  Jerry, who won more than anyone when all levels (high school, junior college and Division I) are taken into account, said something quite prophetic (and, take it from me, Jerry Tarkanian is about the last person to be compared to a prophet).  He said, “I’ve never believed in having a lot of defenses because if you have too many defenses, you really have none, … BUT, you don’t want to be so stubborn, you lose the game.” 

So maybe passion versus stubornness and the balance that’s needed between the two is the key to coaching since coaches have been big winners playing (defensively) man-to-man (Bob Knight, Dick Bennett), zone (John Chaney, Jim Boeheim) or changing defenses from one to the other (Dean Smith, Roy Williams) and (offensively), running set plays (Tom Izzo), motion (Knight & Bennett) and continuity (Bo Ryan, Mark Few).  What most fans (and some other coaches) don’t realize, is that there have been big losers who’ve done each as well.  The mantra of the moment is “buying in” and, while that’s absolutely true, it’s a blog topic for another day. 

In the last John Maxwell book I read, there was a quote that bears repeating:

“The difference between winners and losers is winners know how much they still have to learn when they’re considered experts by others, while losers want to be considered experts before they’ve learned enough to know how little they know.”

From the beginning of last year’s basketball season until now, a national story has emerged about a highly successful Division I basketball coach “adopting” the system of a junior college coach (who also happened to be successful in his own right).

John Calipari, who currently coaches the #2 ranked University of Memphis Tigers, and who also, as a young coach, turned around a rather dormant program at UMass many years ago (taking them to the Final Four), hasn’t been shy when questioned about where he obtained his new offense.  Coach “Cal” credits none other than former Clovis West (CA) High School and Fresno City (Junior) College coach Vance Walberg as the reason he decided to implement the current offensive style of play.  Cal learned it from Vance on a trip the then high school coach took to Memphis.

As many coaches at all levels do (at least those who want to increase their chances to improve and succeed), each year Walberg was a high school and junior college coach, he would select a team whose coach or style of play he admired.  Then, usually accompanied by a member or two of his staff, they’d jet to watch a few days of early season practice (since the NCAA teams officially began practice earlier than the lower levels do) to see if he could pick up something to make his already powerful squads better.

When he went to Memphis, Calipari asked Vance about how his teams had done and when he heard of the glistening records Walberg’s teams annually posted, Cal decided to turn the tables and pick Vance’s brain.  Ironically, if someone were to ask a casual fan who had watched or heard of Walberg’s teams what their trademark was, to a person, they’d say his scrambling, hustling, trapping, relentless defense.

The first person I ever came across who felt differently was none other than Jerry Tarkanian, one of the winningest coaches of all-time - and that’s in the NCAA ranks. He’d probably be #1 if they counted his junior college and high school records.  In any case, I happen to be in my second year as the host of the Jerry Tarkanian Show (Wednesday evenings from 5-6 pm on Fox Sports radio, 1340/1400AM in Fresno) and I know Tark’s mentioned on the show how much more he admires the offensive system of Walberg (now in his second year as the head coach at Pepperdine)  than his defensive philosophy, but I’m certain I heard him say the same on an even earlier occasion.

Calipari felt the same way.  He had asked about Walberg’s system and became captivated with what Vance was doing at the offensive end of the floor.  Now, keep in mind, it wasn’t like Calipari was in the last year of a contract and about to fired.  He was having even better success than he had at UMass (although they hadn’t made a Final Four appearance yet).  Following UMass, he became an assistant in the NBA and then had an uneventful tenure as the head coach of the New Jersey Nets (see 12/12/07 blog on why college coaches get fired in the pros) before returning the college game where he had immediate success at Memphis.  Yet, he saw in Walberg’s sytem something that would fit his philosophy and personnel.

Yesterday afternoon, Pepperdine played at Memphis and the final score was 90-53, in favor of Memphis who is now undefeated, trailing only the University of North Carolina Tarheels in the national polls.  How come the game wasn’t any closer?  Certainly Walberg communicated to his club what Memphis was going to do offensively.  Still, they scored 90 points!  Is the offense that good?  Well, the Waves’ record is now 5-10, giving Walberg an overall record at Pepperdine of 13-33.  This is the offense they run and they only scored 53 yesterday so that probably isn’t the answer.

After having existed in the field of coaching basketball for 35 years, let me give you the number one most important factor in having a winning team - in any field of endeavor: T-A-L-E-N-T.  Now, don’t start jumping to conclusions and screaming about attitude or trust or communication or integrity or people skills or courage or work ethic or vision or commitment or passion or something else I’ve failed to include in the previous list.  Vance Walberg had a nearly unmatched record as a high school coach, an even better one as a JC coach (including an undefeated, state championship team) and he’s using the same system now.  Don’t tell me it doesn’t work in college; You’ve just read about how the #2 team in the country runs it. 

I remember as a young graduate assistant when the coach from Northwestern University (who had just suffered through a humiliating season) got up at the Coaches Convention at the Final Four and said, “I know there are plenty of coaches out there laughing at me after this year, but I’ve had my day and I hope you all just realize how much having ‘players’ mean to this game.”  The coach was Tex Winter, who had tremendous success at Kansas State (as well as other head coaching positions at Washington and Long Beach State), but is more noted for his famed “Triangle Offense” that helped win championships (plural) for both the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. 

I never forgot that lesson.  As Lou Holtz has been quoted as saying:

“You can’t win with bad players, but you can lose with good ones.” ¼/p>