2023: 3s and Put Backs

[Wayne23]

DDSCB23: 3s and Put Backs
May 1, 2022: Rick Loes here. Yeah, as a kid it was “Rick Blows,” “Rick Lose,” “Rick Loser,” and when I started coaching the same adolescent nonsense was thrown at me; still is from time to time.

My mom, when I was about 11, put it in perspective for me: “Ricky, (I insisted on “Rick” at about age 15 and it’s been Rick ever since) everyone gets teased. My best advice to you is to under react. The more they think it bothers you, the more they’ll do it. BUT, if it becomes really excessive, or if anyone gets physical, that’s more than teasing. You let me know and we’ll figure out a way to deal with it.”

As always, mom was right. She was always my closest friend and my confidant. About two years ago, as she was driving home from visiting her 95 year old mother in a nursing home, she was killed by a drunk driver. The s. o. b. didn’t even get a scratch. He served 18 months for it. EIGHTEEN MONTHS! I lost my mom when she was 68, and I miss her every single day. She always had the right thing to say. There are countless times when I go to pick up the phone to call her and then realize that I can’t do that any more.

Her mother just faded away after we told her about mom. She was dead in less than a month.

My dad, on the other hand… well, the less said the better. He’s dead, too. Died of a heart attack several years ago. No loss.

I have a sister who took after my mom, even became a pediatrician because that’s what mom was. I see her and her kids as often as I can. With my schedule that’s not often enough but we both try. I have one brother who, sadly, took after my dad. The only time I see him is when he’s broke. I’m a sucker. I always give him a couple hundred. Hey, he’s family.

Anyway, now I’m 40 years old. Just finished my twelfth season as head coach at Boston University, and stepped up to the head coaching job with the Akron Zips of the Mid American Conference.
I have this thing I’ve wanted to try for all these years. The A. D. at BU would never let me try it, but the A. D. here is on board.

Here’s the plan: My offense will be to shoot as many threes as possible- all threes if I can, although that’s pretty unlikely. My guards and SFs will shoot only threes, my bigs will shoot threes if their ratings are above 30%, otherwise only put backs. When they get an offensive rebound they will put it back up if they can, kick it out for another three otherwise.

(Author’s Note: I’ll go to Commissioner and set players to shoot 100% of their shots from beyond the line, except for those who shoot it too poorly. They will have 100% of their shots from in close.)
I will recruit for three point shooters, guys who play decent, or at worst adequate D, guards who handle the ball well, big guys who rebound well.

Akron is a mid level school and it will take a couple years to get the kinds of players I want, but I’m starting right in with this plan with whatever I have for players.
I’m pretty psyched about having this chance.

I was 300-72, .807 at BU, not bad. At the end of the season I realized I’d done all I could do at BU and I knew it was time to move on and move up. Eventually I want to coach at an elite school, hopefully UConn, since I’m from Southern New England.

[Wayne23]

Okay, so here’s how I do it: Very High Ambition, High Academics, High Discipline, Very High Integrity, slightly elevated Temper level.

Offense: Mostly Motion with some 5 Out. Defense: All man to man. Press: Full court man to man. We press often.

I go with a very quick pace, hit the boards hard on O. Defensive intensity is very high and we crash the defensive boards as hard as possible. All of that changes as needed. What won’t change is my intention to shoot as many threes as possible.

Our recruit class is listed at #139. I’ve got one frosh who figures to start. Low expectations for the others.

My A. D. expects us to win the Mid-American Conf. tournament, qualify for the NCAAs, and win at least 15 games.

Our facilities are average, rated C+, and Academics are also C+.

Coaches are hired.

#1 is my recruiter, Dustin Ford. Dustin recruited for Ohio but was only the #2 there so he was happy to come here with the promotion and salary increase. He did an excellent job there. I'm just getting to know him but I sense that we think a lot alike.

#2 is my scouting coach, Rob Full. Rob scouted at Northeastern and they were always more than prepared for us when we played. I knew him somewhat and, as I said, I'm impressed by his reputation.

#3 is my practice/bench coach, Rob Prin. Rob was my #3 at BU and was happy to come here with me. We think alike and work very well together.

As for my players, it's a little early to tell. I've looked at a lot of video from last season's games, and video of high school games for my frosh. I think we have a lot of talent outside but we're thin up front. Only 2 seniors on the team so we're definitely in building mode.

[Wayne23]

I’m a fairly typical coach in a lot of ways. I feel like success is defined by wins, but even more so by how I am able to help my players to go on to lead successful lives. My kids matter a great deal to me, every single one of them, and I do all that I can, both while they are with me and afterward, to help them along the path of life.

At the same time I can really rip them when they’re not trying hard enough or when they make dumb mistakes, especially when they make those mistakes repeatedly. I like to recruit smart kids when I can. They learn faster and don’t usually keep on making the same mistakes.

I LOVE practice. It’s where everything important happens. It’s where players learn everything and most importantly it’s where they learn to play together as a unit, which is vital. I work hard with my assistants to design a practice that does all the things we want and need to do. Before the season starts, we design a week’s worth of practices at a time. During the season we do that, but only generally, because we need to react to what happened in the last game and prepare for the next game.

Game coaching is altogether different from practice coaching. We’ve come up with a game plan but as they say in the military, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. So as the game progresses we make adjustments, sometimes minor, sometimes major. It’s a very fluid, dynamic process, and I spend most of the game talking with my game/practice assistant as we watch the action unfold. I also speak to the guys on the bench to keep their heads in the game, and I speak to players who come out for a rest, praising what they’ve done well and explaining what they haven’t done that I expected them to do. How I speak to them depends on who they are and how they react. Some kids need all positives, some need a swift kick in the butt, and some I just do my best with. I do NOT usually call a time out when we have the last possession in a one possession game. We’ve gone through what to do in every conceivable situation in practice many times, and I don’t want the other coach to have the opportunity to set his D. My guys should know what to do. On the other hand, if the other guys have the ball in that situation and their coach calls a time out I will, of course, use it to the best of my ability. But there again, if I have the opportunity I won’t call a TO. Again, we’ve prepared thoroughly and frequently in practice.

Oh, I also yell instructions and such out to the players on the floor, of course.

Coaching happens away from the gym as well. I try to get to most of the team study halls. I want to send the message that grades are important. Also, my M. A. in English affords me the opportunity to assist our tutors in that area. Kids drop into my office frequently and I always want them to feel welcome. If I’m busy I greet them with a smile and a wave and ask them to wait. Otherwise, we just chat. I keep it light during these office visits. The guys usually eat together in the school caf when we’re at home and I join them when I can, and we all eat together when we’re on the road, which is another time when we keep it light and try to build good relationships.

Relationships are vital. Sometimes a guy is not a good fit and we work on that. Sometimes it helps, sometimes not. In the latter case he’ll usually transfer out. With the modern transfer rules kids do that, and it’s part of the game. I don’t like it when I don’t see it coming as I always feel I might have been able to prevent it if I had known. But I don’t always get any indication. I like to think I’m pretty good at picking up transfers.

Fortunately, we're able to meet our $35,000 expected to spend budget. I'm doing $10,000 each on training and wellness, $15,000 on Amenities. That leaves $69,600 for recruiting, which is WAY more than I should need.

[Wayne23]

Recruiting starts tomorrow and it is absolutely critical. You can’t do anything if you don’t get good players. I have had great success as a recruiter. I’m hoping it continues here at my new school. I see myself as a people person and a good communicator. I really work hard at charming the recruit, his family, and the school personnel he’s most closely attached to. I have 4 open scholarships and hope to land 3 big guys and a guard. We’ll see what happens.

Since we have the money we’ll attend both the Indy Elite and the Chicago Prep camps this summer.

My #1 assistant is always a recruiter because I value recruiting so highly. We start following kids as early as their junior year or in a few cases even earlier than that. Texting has made things a little easier but it’s important not to overdue texting or anything else. That can turn a kid off. My recruiter and I stay in close communication about how often we’re interacting with recruits and the people close to them.

My #2 is always my scouting coach. He does the game breakdowns and sends them to me, and I pay a LOT of attention to the video clips he sends. I also watch lots and lots of games that involve opponents or possible tournament opponents. Fortunately, I can get by on about 5 hours sleep with an occasional nap.

That leaves assistant #3, my bench/game coach. He and I work closely together preparing practices and game plans and we communicate regularly during practices and games. I believe in using my assistants and letting them do their jobs. If they’re not up to it, I replace them.

It’s important to have a good relationship with the A. D. I did at BU and it’s starting off great here at Akron. I also get to know all of the people who work in the building, and I treat all of them with respect.

My personal life? Not a lot to say about that and I don’t plan to talk about it a lot here. I just bought a 2 bedroom condo with a garage, near campus. I am divorced and not seeing anyone. I learned from my marriage that I really don’t have the time and I guess the desire to devote to a relationship. It’s best if I stay alone. That isn’t always wonderful but it’s for the best. I doubt that you’ll hear
any more about that subject except to say that my wife and I did not have children. My feelings are mixed about that.

As to the condo, I’ve settled in here in Akron. My condo is just what I need. I use the 2nd bedroom as an office. I have a cleaning lady who comes in every two weeks. I’m pretty neat but I don’t have the time or the interest in doing housework. I do my own laundry and dishes though. The machines make those chores pretty easy.

What else? I’m a runner, about 45 minutes a day. Outside unless it’s slippery, extremely cold, or extremely hot, on my treadmill otherwise. I do a little weight work but not much because I find it boring. I eat sensibly but indulge my sweet tooth now and then. I’m 6’4” and weigh 185 so I’m in good shape. I like a beer when I finally get home after a long day. Just one. Hobbies? None, except I like to read at night for a few minutes and at other times when I can. I don’t have time for any other hobbies.

Oh, I was a shooting guard at a small Div. I school. Started my senior year. I was decent, not great. I also filled in at the Point and occasionally at SF, but mostly played SG. My interest, frankly, was more in coaching than in playing. And every coach I ever had got his brain picked by me to the extent that he allowed it. During my senior year in college I took a 3 credit course in Fundamental of Coaching College Basketball. A retired college coach taught it and I learned more during that course than at any time before or since. My coaching is based in large part upon what I learned during that class.

[Wayne23]

6/26: We’re looking at a lot of players and looking closely at 6 bigs and 3 guards.

7/4: We’ve offered to 3 bigs and a PG. We’ll keep courting them and lots of other guys but we probably won’t know anything for awhile and I don’t expect to land all 4, but all of them seem to be interested.

7/7: At the Indy camp with my recruiter. We’re meeting the kids we’re interested in who are here. There are 8 of them.

7/16: At the Chicago camp. 9 of the recruits we’re after are here.

Our high school/middle school camp is next week so things are getting busy.

7/25: Kid camp was great. 9 of the kids on our recruit list were there including 3 that we offered to. We also added 7 kids who were here to our recruit list.

My gut tells me we’re going to get 2 of the 4 we offered to. We’ll know fairly soon.

8/14: Still recruiting like mad. Dustin Ford is really a great recruiter, good with kids, good with families and school people. He’s a definite asset to our program.

I twisted my ankle badly while running this morning. I fell and had to hobble until my #3, Rob Prin, happened to drive by. He picked me up and took me to the school infirmary. They did x rays. No break but a bad sprain. They taped it and I’m on crutches for at least a week.

8/24: Finally off crutches but I can’t run for at least another week.

8/28: The students are on campus and classes start tomorrow, as do study halls for my players, 6 days every week, home or on the road.

9/4: We should start to get acceptances and rejections as soon as next week. It’s a tense time. I’m still guessing 2 out of 4 will commit. We’re lobbying high with guys we have not offered to, in order to try to keep them interested.

[Wayne23]

9/11: Got one recruit, lost 2. We got an SF, #207, but he’s better than that. He’s a Juco. Visits are allowed now, too late for the guys we lost, but important- very important.

We offer to and visit an SG and a PF, as well as the SF we’re still chasing and a PF who we’re high on.

9/18: We get all 3! The SF was a guy we REALLY wanted, listed as the #58 recruit. The PF is #68, and the SG is #120. Good group and I feel very confident that they’ll all hit our SAT score.

We have a schedule. I asked my A. D. to pick teams we had a good chance of beating, especially with road games so the non-conference schedule is not that challenging. I want wins. That will help with recruiting next season.

We’re in the Coaches Classic which is an honor.

Practice is still 2 weeks away but my guys are spending a lot of time in the gym, both working on conditioning and playing in pick up games. We’re not allowed to be in the gym with them until practice starts but we do peek in through the window in the door. Every other coach does that, I’m sure.

10/2: First day of practice. We’re definitely excited.

My ankle took longer to heal than expected but I can finally run again.

10/16: Practices are going well and we’re beginning to get a pretty good idea of who will start and who will be the first guys off the bench.

11/12: Here’s our lineup, at least for now:

Soph Pat Ture is at the Point. He can definitely dish it and he’s a very good shooter. He’ll be one of the keys to the success of my three pointer strategy. He’s a solid defender and a real leader.

Senior Paul Howe is at SG and he’s another good shooter who can pass and defend.

#3 guard is Pete Coop, and we don’t lose a thing when he steps in. He plays both guard positions and is my #1 sub at SF as well. #4 guard is junior Pug Shor who could wind up moving up the ladder.
He’s a good one. We’re solid at guard.

My starting SF is my other senior Todd Toon. His strength is rebounding.

Frosh Mick Pugh is at PF. He can shoot and rebound.

At C is soph Brad Kitt. Brad does a lot of things well.

#1 big off the bench is junior Sam Call. Sam plays D well and can shoot the 3. I may need his D as my starters inside are not strong defenders. #2 is frosh Aron Winn. Aron can rebound and he can shoot a little but his D is not up to standard. Finally, there’s junior C/PF Dan Holl., Dan won’t play except in garbage time and if we have injuries.

We’re picked to win the Mid-American and if we play the way I think we can, I think that is achievable. Eastern Michigan, Kent ST, and Ball ST figure to be our biggest conference rivals.

We start at the Coaches Classic tomorrow, vs. #7 seed VA Commonwealth. We’re the #10 seed. Not much to go by so we’ll just give it all we’ve got!

[Wayne23]

11/13: We score first and take an early lead, getting it to double digits quickly. Up by 15 after 10 minutes. 56-37 at the half. Despite all the practice time and my shouts throughout the half we took only 9 threes. We made 5 of them. Lots of put backs and back door cuts for layups. Center Brad Kitt had 13 and 6 RBs. PF Mick Pugh added 15. 34 points in the paint to their 10. At least so far my inside game is greatly exceeding expectations, and my guards need to do more. Up 25 with 10 to go. We’re in total control.

104-81. A great start and an easy win but I’m disappointed that we took only 20 threes; we hit 10 of them. I’d like to take at least 35 threes. My big guys were terrific,

21, 9, 3 for Kitt, 21, 5 for Pugh. PG Pug Ture had a great 2nd half and wound up with 17, 2, and 10 assists; 8 TOs though. We got solid minutes from the bench. +40 in the paint! A great start to the season!

Next up is #10 ranked, #2 seed Purdue. This will be a test for sure. They are stronger outside than inside so our guards will need to step up.

[jksander]

Wayne's back! I'm holding off on 2K23 until I can afford the NBA game too ... thinking of doing a two-game tandem dynasty, with one coach in the NCAAs feeding players to my guy in the NBA

[Wayne23]

Sounds like fun. 2023 is a huge step up from 2022.

[jksander]

Sounds like fun. 2023 is a huge step up from 2022.

Yeah, I expect a learning curve on the new recruiting / finances ... that's why I don't plan to port my Dale Connover dynasty over. I'll keep that as a 2K22 deal.