Thursday, March 31, 2011

BRAD STEVENS AND BUTLERS DEFENSIVE PHILOSOPHY (PART VI)

From a clinic given at the University of Florida comes some great notes from Butler's Brad Stevens talking about the Bulldogs' defensive principles.

Here is Part VI of those clinic notes:

PRIORITIZATION

Coach Stevens says the important question is "are your prioritizing what's important?"  The absolute goal is to stop the other team from scoring.
 
Despite the fact that a lot of people talk about "tempo" in the NCAA tournament, Butler never mentions "tempo" once.  They just want ot make it difficult for you to score.
 
Scouting is a huge part of the equation for Butler.  Their system must be adjustable and flexibile in terms of guarding different players/teams.
 
Coach Stevens said they used a trip to Italy to work on some different things and it took them three months to get back to their identity.  So even though as a coach you are thinking about jumping to the ball all summer doesn't mean your players are...Coach Stevens learned that you need to start back over every year.
 
He used an example from Tony Dungy -- the concept of "regenerative leadership" -- older players spreading the culture to the younger players, and the younger players continuing the cycle when they become older players.
 
Next: Defensive DNA #6: Awareness