Idaho Basketball Coaching Podcast

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
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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.
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Subscribe to the 🔗 ⁠⁠Idaho Basketball Coaching Podcast newsletter for some great resources, including some video breakdowns from Coach Wesley Brooks.
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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.

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We are fortunate to have Frank Woodford on this episode.
Woodford is the head men’s basketball coach at Benedictine University Mesa and was the recipient of the 2026 Don Meyer Coach of the Year award. In his sixth season as head coach, the Redhawks finished 28-7 and advanced to the Final 4 of the NAIA National Championship Tournament.
Discussion topics in this episode
Approach to analytics
Gaining and maintain the advantage
Ensuring smooth transition during action in a possession
Running two different offenses
Prioritizing field goals over turnovers
Shooting and defending 3-point shots
The importance of roles
Defensive rebounding
Defending the paint
Trusting players to perform

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We are fortunate to have Alex Pribble on this episode. 
Pribble just finished his third year as head coach at the University of Idaho. This season, he led the Vandals to a 21-15 record, a Big Sky Tournament Championship, and their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 36 years.
Discussion topics in this episode
The progression of building a program
Improving defensive rebounding
“Build it, don’t buy it” approach
Offensive strategy and adaptation
Shot selection and Transition Offense
Building mental & physical toughness