Hoopsblogs

As I’ve been watching the NCAA tournament it’s hard not to notice how many timeouts these teams get per game. In the NCAA they get 5 timeouts per half with the possibility of 4 timeouts which can be carried over from the first half to the second half. Plus the TV timeouts at the first whistle after the 16, 12, 8, and 4 minute mark. That’s up to 14 timeouts per half! In Europe we are each given 2 timeouts per half and at the level I am at there are no TV timeouts. So the flow is different and what goes on in the huddle must be different.

Here in Europe it is a great opportunity at timeouts to try and communicate strategic changes or adjustments you would like the team to make in addition to specific information for the next offensive and or defensive posessions but it’s also important the long term communication because it may be longer before the next time that you will be in the huddle again.

Whereas in the NCAA I imagine the main focus of the timeout is the next posession, drawing up a set to try and get a bucket or making a defensive adjustment to try and get a stop in the next few posessions. Obviously each coach has his or her own strategy but if the game is the same length but the number of timeouts at your disposal is 4 compared to 18 (5 per half plus 8 TV), the information communicated will take these factors into account. Nevertheless as a coach one thing (personally) to improve on is getting buckets for my team out of timeouts. Drawing up a set that the guys are familiar with and running it well. And this goes far beyond simply drawing up the play on the clipboard during the timeout. It involves running the play in practice and running timeout like situations during scrimmages in practice.

In yesterdays loss on the road we had an 8 minute stretch to start the fourth quarter when we didn’t get a bucket and I can’t help but think about ways that I should have been more effective in getting our guys an easy bucket. And this preparation goes beyond the play drawn in the huddle. It is a process of continuing to try and improve and this is the next step.