My Philosophy

Being more intentional in developing the complete player and person is the foundation of rethinking the game. That means moving beyond tradition and embracing new ways to help athletes grow—technically, tactically, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I have summarized many of these philosophies below.

If you are interested in learning more, I encourage you to check out the my database of ideas and practice games all stored in the vault.

Building Modern Technical Skills

My goals is to help players who know how to read the game, not remember set plays within it.

  • On our team, we don’t call set plays. Instead, we build around concepts and give players the freedom to make decisions within those frameworks.
  • The time saved from not memorizing plays is reinvested into meaningful skill development.
  • I believe skills are more likely to transfer to games when practiced in environments that require decision-making.
  • We use constraints like bonus-point rules, auto-turnovers, and guided defense not to eliminate the messiness, but to help players become more comfortable inside of it.
  • We create a psychologically safe, game-like environment where mistakes are part of the process and every rep becomes a learning opportunity.

Showcased through Unique Tactics

We aim for every phase of the game to feel like a track meet—not a wrestling match.

  • Offensively, we use handoffs and penetration reaction rules to create “mini track meets” across the floor.
  • Defensively, we press on every possession (makes and misses) to generate chaos and control tempo.
  • We focus on doing a few high-frequency things really well.
    • Our adjustment is always to double down: do it faster, smarter, and more aggressively.
  • We believe this system gives us the best chance to compete with more talented or physically dominant opponents in a one-game setting.
    • We always dictate how the game is played.
    • We hope opponents find it impossible to prepare for how we play.
    • And we are aware of the ramifications of losing unconventionally.

If you are interested in seeing how we play on offense and defense, please see the videos below:

Fueled by Movement Mastery

We see athletic movement as a problem-solving tool—not something to restrict.

  • While traditional training often limits movement variability (“knees over toes,” etc.), we try to embrace a broader range of movement patterns to expand each athlete’s ability to adapt.
  • We center training around the central nervous system (CNS), aiming to activate it quickly and efficiently.
    • Warmups, speed and agility work, plyometrics, lifting, and recovery are all designed to reflect this goal.
  • These sessions are more game-like and more enjoyable.
  • We also use periodic testing in various categories to keep players motivated and track their growth.

Supported through Mental Skills

To truly rethink the game, mental performance must be placed at the center of the athlete’s experience.

  • Over the past two years, our player surveys have shown that most athletes frequently feel nervous, stressed, or frustrated during games.
  • I realized I wasn’t doing enough to help them achieve calmness, confidence, and clarity.
  • That’s changed. I now treat mental skills like any other skill: they can be trained, refined, and improved.

Here’s what we do:

  • Each player completes a mindset survey at the start of the season.
  • We follow that up with a 1-on-1 meeting where we reframe their specific thoughts and emotions.
  • Each player receives a personalized pre-game mindfulness routine.
  • I also run weekly mental training sessions to expand their toolkit and develop awareness.

Mental skills are so important to me that they’ll soon have their own dedicated page on this site. When that’s live, I’ll take you even deeper into my approach.

Backed by Film and Analytics

Ultimately, we want every decision I make—on and off the court—to be evidence-based.

  • We use Hoopsalytics to create custom tags, generate reports, and track both player and team performance over time.
  • We monitor trends, weigh trade-offs, and use this data to inform long-term decisions.
  • We encourage players (and myself) to think in probabilities and processes, not just results.
    • A good offensive possession is one that ends in a high-value shot—not just one that goes in.
    • We use the language “heads” (good shot selection, historically around 1.20 PPS) versus “tails” (low-value shots, historically around 0.50 PPS).
  • We begin every practice with a short film session that zeroes in on a few clear points of focus, and then we take those lessons straight to the court.