Idaho Basketball Coaching Podcast

We are fortunate to have both Liam Jefferson and George Vaz as guests for this episode.
The former London Lions coaches explore how coaches can prepare their players to attack different defensive coverages using progressive, game-like techniques.
The conversation focuses on pick-and-roll coverage solutions starting from 1v1 all the way through 5v5. The coaches also share practical tips on sequencing the defense, film sessions, dynamic drill starts, and the importance of building trust with players.
———
Vaz: “Go in with a really open mind... watch what's happening to really manipulate to create the affordances you want.”
Jefferson: “They need to see it and feel it and understand it ... and make a few mistakes before you can even start to talk about coverage solutions.”
———
Subscribe to the 🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Idaho Basketball Coaching Podcast newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠.

We are fortunate to have Eagle (Idaho) High School basketball coach Nate Hartman back for this episode.
The discussion centers on how Hartman is building a modern, pace-driven version of the Princeton Offense in his new coaching job. The hybrid system still leans on core spacing and cutting principles, but also incorporates modern concepts and actions to put pressure on the defense early in a possession.
Hartman On simplifying decision-making: "I'm really trying to give our guys three quick reads ... to get a score out of the first 12 seconds of the shot clock."

Some key ideas in this episode include …
Debunking the idea that the Princeton Offense is slow
Teaching limited transition reads for quick decisions
Building the offense around personnel
Layering installation for deeper understanding
Methods for delivering media to players
Identifying Gold, Silver, Bronze shot spectrum
Cutting concepts
Practice breakdown
Dealing with mistakes: “Right idea, smarter execution”
--
Subscribe to the 🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Idaho Basketball Coaching Podcast newsletter⁠⁠⁠.

Caden Hoffman joins the podcast to break down the evolution of conceptual and layered offense, with a focus on creating advantages, manipulating defensive decisions and using the entire floor.
The former Division 1 assistant coach also shares practical ideas for building possessions, teaching players to make decisions,and helping coaches simplify layered offense at any level.
“When the play breaks down ... they’re just going to resort back to whatever you’ve trained in practice.”
5 coaching concepts covered in this episode:
Building offense around player strengths
Layering simple actions to create advantages
Using triggers to read defensive coverages
Court geography and moving the low man
Teaching players to make the next read
--
Subscribe to the 🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠Idaho Basketball Coaching Podcast newsletter⁠⁠.

We welcome back Drew Dunlop to the podcast. Drew is a skill development coach and co-founder of The Pro Lane in Wisconsin. In this episode, Drew shares how a coaching clinic in Southern California sparked the idea for his new book, Slices of the Game, and the conversation digs into the practical side of ecological design.
In this episode, coaches will learn:
The REPS framework — how to evaluate any drill by asking whether it's Representative of real game conditions, invites Emergent problem solving, demands Perceptual awareness, and allows Self-organization
How to reframe "what drill should I run?" into "what problem do I want my players to solve today?"
What decision density means and how to layer more decision-making opportunities into drills you're already using
The difference between a drill that looks game-like and one that actually feels like the game — and the specific elements that close that gap
How to use coverage solutions from your own league to design more relevant practice scenarios
How to rep emotion and pressure in development settings without crowd noise gimmicks
The most common mistake coaches make when first applying CLA principles — and how to avoid it
Why the design chain from film breakdown to floor work matters for transfer to games
The episode closes with a look at Drew's new role with Slapping Glass and their Practice Lab — a video library of quick, actionable ideas coaches can plug directly into their systems.
--
Subscribe to the 🔗 ⁠⁠⁠Idaho Basketball Coaching Podcast newsletter⁠.

Subscribe to the 🔗 ⁠⁠Idaho Basketball Coaching Podcast newsletter for some great resources, including some video breakdowns from Coach Wesley Brooks.
--
We are fortunate to have Wesley Brooks on this episode.
Brooks is entering his third year as the head coach at Utah State University. Prior to that, Brooks worked as an assistant coach that included stops at North Texas, Utah, Michigan, and Ohio State. He was also a grad assistant for John Beilein at West Virginia.
"If you have good spacing, you can manipulate any defense."
Discussion topics in this episode
Why the low man is often the most important defender on the floor.
Using spacing to eliminate tags and create offensive advantages.
Coach Brooks' framework of Single, Double, Triple, Quad, and Zero spacing concepts.
Reverse-engineering offense: teaching players how to play after the play instead of relying on set plays.
The importance of floor geography, interior spots, and clear offensive language.
How Utah State teaches players to attack help through concepts rather than memorization.
Using 0.5 basketball.
Integrating concepts through shooting drills and small-sided games.
Offensive triggers from interior touches, including X-cuts, post splits, Laker cuts, and Punch actions.
Practice design, film study, and the six performance metrics Brooks tracks every day.