Coach Kish has enlisted a variety of coaches throughout the basketball coaching profession to start a

   project titled "Random Thoughts from Basketball Coaches."  This is a preview of the project and will

   be a dynamic addition of the edition that should be completed in the Summer of 2009.

   There will be a variety of coaches from different levels of basketball from across the country and around

   the world.  There will be submissions from both men's and women's coaches, youth to college and professional

   coaches.  These Random Thoughts will range from a few sentences to a    favorite play or drill, to a paragraph

   or short article.  All areas of basketball will be covered from chalk-talk, to quotes, to teaching cues, to freindly

   reminders, to recruiting tips, to just random thoughts.

   If you would like to be a contributor to Random Thoughts, please contact Coach Kish. Any and all submissions

   will be considered for the web-edition and the project. 

Random Thoughts from Coach Chad Kish

(Mineral Area College - Men's Junior College)

Take at least two week-ends a year to go to clinics.  We can always learn a new pointer, wrinkle, or some great cues (coach-speak) from every clinic we attend.  Don't forget to add at least 2 videos or books a year to your coaching library, and use the information, it's an investment in our careers.  Sign up for an e-mail alert from a coaching web-site or motivational source for quick reading.

If you are playing defense, you can NEVER get crossed over.  You should be close enough to your man, applying enough pressure, and in a good enough stance to avoid getting crossed over if you are really attempting to guard your man.  Pat Smith (Trinity Valley CC)

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Random Thoughts from Ryan Cherpekai (Lindenwood University)

Coach Cherpekai led his Lions (NAIA-II) to the Final Four in his first season as the Head Coach at Lindenwood.  LU had 7 games where they trailed by more than 15 points during the second half and came back to win.  Here are his guidelines for winning those types of games.  

1.)  Break the second half into 4 segments of 5 minutes

2.)  Set mini-goals, don't let them realize how many points they have to trail by, set goals for cutting the defecit in each of your 4 minute segments that give you a chance to win down the stretch.

3.)  Save your TOs to run a quick hitter for an easy score, to change your defense or to change momentum.

4.)  Don't come out trying to overcome a huge deficit all at once, don't just look for the first shot, when you have MUST score possessions...you must get a GREAT shot.

5.)  Have at least two timeouts for the last 3 minutes (if possible).

6.)  Put your team in the best possible situation by running something where your best player gets the ball in their best possible scoring situation and remember to attack the offensive glass.

7.)  Don't be afraid to change defenses on a crucial possession, do something your opponent hasn't seen.

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Remember to double finish on all one man post finishes (1 on 0 type drills for foot-work and shooting).  This instills an offensive rebounding mentality in your post players and forces them to finish attacking the basket.

Remember to screen against a zone.  You can really catch a zone shifting on a skip pass with a blind back-screen.  Don't forget to screen the middle man and slide a post in the gap off the screen to get a good 5-9 foot shot.  Screening and posting the middle man helps to get the ball in the interior for easy shots vs. a zone.

Congrats to Coach Kyle Gerdeman!  Kyle was recently named the head men's basketball coach at Moberly Area CC.  I spent two years working on staff with Kyle at Mineral Area College and know he has prepared himself to be a successful head coach.  Remember, if you want a coaching position, find out who has influence and who makes the final decision on hiring and target your information (resume, etc.) to them.  If the Athletic Director & President make the decision, make sure they have your information, not just Human Resources.

Teach the art of good passing in every drill.  Never let a player throw an underhand or sloppy pass in any drill.  Passing is a habit just like shooting.  Do you let your players shoot underhand free throws?  Demand good passes at all times (even when the drill is over, passing to a player in a line, etc.) and your team will become better passers.  Better passers leads to fewer turnovers and a higher shooting percentage.

Go watch at least two other coaches practice every year.  A local college coach is a great idea.  But, don't forget there are great coaches on every level, high school practices can be fun to watch to pick up a pointer.

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To Make a Submission to the Random Thoughts segment of CoachKish.com, please send an e-mail with your Thought, your Name, your School, and Position.