Recap from the IBCA Clinic, and a Sad Loss

First off, I wanted to say thanks to ESPN 950 AM for the link from their site. It is greatly appreciated.

To recap the IBCA Coach's Clinic. - I am only going to highlight the college coaches that I saw in person. I think that every coach that spoke, including all the high school coaches, I can definitely take something from. I appreciated the contributions to the game that these coaches give back every year. To me it says a lot when someone tells everyone else how they are successful.

Steve Ridder, Embry-Riddle University - He had a section focusing on the 6 things you need to do to win close games. He called them the Super 6!

1. With 2-3 minutes to go don't let them score. Take pride in stopping someone when it really counts.
2. Have a Go-To-Play. The opponent probably knows what it is. But you have to have one that your players know they can execute with their eyes closed.
3. Make all Free Throws under 3 minutes.
4. Game Management - The ability to know what to do when to do it in the closing minutes. Like when to call a timeout, who to foul, substitutions to make for special situations
5. No turnovers - pretty simple - but if you don't have the ball, you can't score
6. Offensive rebound put backs on the last second shot - try to take the last second shot with enough time left to be able to crash the offensive glass, get a stick back and win or tie.

I did enjoy Coach Ridder's section. He was very enthusiastic and you could tell he really enjoyed sharing how he is successful.

Don Meyer, Northern State University - This was the first time that I have heard Coach Meyer speak before. I have been to his site, coachmeyer.com and I can not recommend it more to anyone. The things that he gives out are amazing and are not just about basketball. You can tell that he really cares about his players, and definitely other players because of his own clinics. I think that he would rather develop them as people more than basketball players. To me that speaks a ton. He had brought a ton of handouts to pass out to all the coaches. What surprised me more than anything was the fact that the things that he handed out had more to do with life, having good attitudes, being a team player, and quotes, than they did with basketball. I think that it great and I hope that I have the opportunity to hear him speak again.

Kevin McKenna, Indiana State U. - Coach McKenna filled in coach Rick Majerus. Majerus took the St. Louis job on teh same night that he was going to speak. I was really looking forward to hearing Majerus talk about his 4-out-1-in motion offense. Mainly because I am familiar with the 4 out 1 in and wanted to hear some new wrinkles to the system. Enough about that, I really enjoyed hearing Coach McKenna talk about his motion offense that he is bringing then tweaking from Creighton. I think this offense would definitely be suited for the team without a big towering center. I think that it fits right in in the Missouri Valley Conf. The one thing that I did notice was that it has the same two man game as the Triangle Offense, (see below). I am glad that he was able to fill in, but it just enhanced my knowledge of the game of basketball because he brought something that I had never seen before.

Shoot me an email or drop a note. Definitely check out the Coach Meyer site and the Free Handouts and all the corners.

I just found out tonight that a really good friend and coach will probably be hanging up his whistle this year. His new job is not allowing for him to continue in teaching players what it takes to be great, on and off the court. I have never been around someone like him who could get across to the players what he wanted to say so that they would understand it in one sentence. The players always looked up to him (I know I did) and I feel proud to have been coached by and coached alongside him. I definitely look up to him and I find it hard that I won't see him on the sidelines anymore. Like I said, I think of him more of a friend than a coach. He will sorely be missed. But I am sure that his family will definitely reap the benefits of having a husband and dad back at home. Thank You, Coach.