Hardwood Hustle

This week we’re joined by Coach Dean Lockwood from Michigan State who has 40 years of coaching experience in both men’s and women’s college basketball, as both an assistant and head coach, and including 5 Final Four appearances and two national championships at the University of Tennessee with legendary coach, Pat Summit. Show Notes: • Mentorship and growing as a coach •  Pat Summit •  Importance of fundamentals • Top offensive and defensive habits • Telling players the truth • Differences and similarities coaching men and women • Coach development • Assistant coaching To take your defensive to the next level, join PGC Coaching's 4-Week Defensive Strategies Track for coaches. Go to pgccoaching.com/tracks by April 4th.

We’ve heard it said, you become like the 5 people you spend the most time with and in this episode, Sam and TJ discuss what that means for you and your coaching journey. Show Notes: • Surrounding yourself with the right people • Finding mentors • When the student is ready, the teacher will appear • Are you attracting the right people • Our environment shapes us more than our intentions • People, places, and things • Awareness • Influencing weaker environments • The need for community

It takes some work to get the pieces of our teams to come together and complement each other. In this week’s episode, we discuss what factors into picking your starting five, managing your rotations, and how to get everyone bought into the team’s success. Show Notes: - Starting the game well - Finding complementary parts and playing small - Be afraid to switch it up - Who you're bringing off the bench and when - Identifying and communicating roles - Getting your team to buy-in - Not making decisions in a silo - Fitting players into your system - Knowing your personnel - Pivoting when it's not working - When superstars don't mesh - Team culture implications - Golden State examples - Helping players step up into roles and thrive To take your defensive to the next level, join PGC Coaching's 4-Week Defensive Strategies Track for coaches. Go to pgccoaching.com/tracks by April 4th.

In this week’s episode, Sam and TJ discuss how we can maximize our team’s potential by keeping it simple both on and off the court and why it’s so important to our success.

This week Associate Head Coach from Utah Women’s Basketball, Gavin Petersen joins the show. Coach Petersen has over 20 years of  Division I coaching experience and is in his 8th season at Utah where the program is coming off a 27-5 season after advancing to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. In this episode we discuss what a successful program culture looks like, staff dynamics, qualities of a great head coach, shot selection, and more. Show Notes: Building a Winning Culture • Unselfish Players • Making winning plays and the right plays • Doing extra work • Grind, Grit, and Fun • Right fit Making it Fun • Celebrate each other • Music • Buddy System • Getting to another level Make the right play Skill development time percentage Using Analytics • Wide open 3pt shots • Transition 3s •"There is no yellow light" Shout praise whisper criticism Good Shot - Bad Shot • Understanding the Why • Meet them halfway • Giving them a voice • Clarifying vague coach language Leading Your Staff • Allowing your staff to coach • Growing and challenging assistants • 3 Qualities of Good Assistants Player Conversations • Have the proof • Build Trust • Create Buy-in to the process Thriving as a Coach Quick-Hitter Topics: • Developing Post Players • Helpside Defense • Ghost Screens • Defensive Non-Negotiable • Advice to younger coaches • Leading is listening To take your defensive to the next level, join PGC Coaching's 4-Week Defensive Strategies Track for coaches. Go to pgccoaching.com/tracks by April 4th.

This week TJ and Sam discuss how to prevent your team from coming out flat, what to do tactically during the game to get them out of it, and how to approach them after a game where you came out flat. Pregame Prevention: • Knowing how your team prepares and gets ready • Resulting • Maybe it's something else • Why, Short Term Solutions, Tactics, Substitutions  Tactics: • Increase Defensive Pressure • Using the Early Timeout • Using Questions • Explaining Your Strategy • Green Offense • Using Sets & Focusing on Execution AAR: • Approaching Your Team & Building Ownership • Punting • Using Group Chat • Time & Place • Getting to Clarity • Developing a Sense of Urgency • Smelling a Loss & Grabbing Their Attention • Self-Evaluation & Accountability

This week we’re joined by Head Coach Tracy Mason, formerly Tracy Sanders. She has a long list of accolades as a player and coach, most recently this past season, in her fifth season as a head coach at Southern Utah her team won the regular season WAC title, and the WAC Tournament Championship. In this episode we discuss turning around a program, building accountability and competitiveness, and helping your players perform at their best.  Show Notes: • Coach Tracy Mason's journey into coaching • Building accountability through structure and team buy-in • Developing a competitive edge and changing a loser culture • Listen, Be on time, No drama • Developing leaders • Finding what motivates individual players • Basketball family culture • Empowering Your Staff • Managing Expectations - First 5 minutes • Off the court challenges • Best Advice for coaches • Rapid fire tips on Leadership, Culture , Player Dev., Systems & Strategies, and Teaching More on Coach Mason: As a head coach, Tracy Mason (Sanders) has led her team to 4 consecutive winning seasons in 5 years.  She joined the Thunderbirds from Saint Mary's College where she served on staff for 12 years under head coach Paul Thomas. Mason held the title of Associate Head Coach for her last five seasons. Her duties included coordinating all aspects of recruiting, opponent scouting, game preparation, and player development. Mason worked primarily with the post players during her time with the Gaels, which led to the development of two WCC Players of the Year, a two-time WCC Defender of the Year, and a WCC Tournament MVP amongst many other accolades. The two-time WCC Defender of the Year, Louella Tomlinson, is the Gael's all-time leading scorer, taking the title from Mason herself, and holds the NCAA record for career blocks per game average. Before starting her coaching career in 2000, Mason was a four-year letterwinner for the Gaels from 1996-2000. During her time as a member of the team, Mason was a three-time All-WCC First Team member, two-time WCC Tournament Team member (including Tournament MVP in 1999), WCC Freshman of the Year in her inaugural season, and WCC Player of the Year her junior season. She led the conference in scoring for three straight years and finished her career as the WCC's second all-time leading scorer. In addition to her individual achievements, Mason led the Gaels to the program's first NCAA tournament appearance in 1999 and the WNIT in 2000. In 2007, Mason was inducted into the Saint Mary's Hall of Fame and in 2014 she was inducted into the WCC Hall of Honor. To take your defensive to the next level, join PGC Coaching's 4-Week Defensive Strategies Track for coaches. Go to pgccoaching.com/tracks by April 4th.

This week TJ and Sam discuss what’s overrated and underrated in coaching. They cover off spending time on strategies and tactics as well as the intangibles. With limited time, this episode will help you find your biggest return on investment next season.  Show Notes:ConnectionRole IdentificationCoach  Clarity and VisionPlayer UnderstandingPlayer AcceptanceHow you Communicate itHard ConversationsSystems & StrategiesScouting Report & what you should do insteadBall ControlThe Value of ReboundingSpecial TeamsFree Throw ReboundingPractice PreparationGame AdjustmentsPlayer DevelopmentPregame SpeechesCommunication

Coaches are always looking for creative ways to get their message across to their athletes. This week, Sam and TJ talk to Dylan Kurt who’s written a book from an athlete's perspective on how athletes can bring more value to their teams. It's titled, Stats Don’t Tell the Whole Story. As an athlete, Dylan realized how easy it was to get caught up in tracked stats and miss his true value, impact. In this episode they discuss how an athlete can understand and increase their value and how coaches can emphasize what they're looking for from their athletes and build up their team culture. To take your defensive to the next level, join PGC Coaching's 4-Week Defensive Strategies Track for coaches. Go to pgccoaching.com/tracks by April 4th.

This week, Sam and TJ talk about player problems. It’s something every leader faces, and very pronounced for coaches season after season leading young men and women. Whether it’s playing time, buying into individual roles, or following team rules, coaches need to know what to prepare for and how to get ahead of it. TJ and Sam discuss how to approach potential issues and stay ahead so your season stays on track.

This week, TJ and Sam discuss Pack Line Defense with Head Coach Jim Boone. Coach Boone has almost 40 seasons of head coaching experience with over 600 wins. During his career, Boone’s teams have won eight conference championships, five tournament titles and have made 12 postseason NCAA appearances. His expertise has been in rebuilding programs, creating a winning culture, and teaching and implementing the Pack Line Defense, in this episode he shares about all three. To take your defensive to the next level, join PGC Coaching's 4-Week Defensive Strategies Track for coaches. Go to pgccoaching.com/tracks by April 4th.

This week, the Hardwood Hustle team reflects on past learnings and present applications - sharing how the podcast has evolved and the listening coaching community has grown through the years.

This week, we’re joined by Coach Cody Anderson, former Division I assistant coach and now head coach at Morgan County High School. In this episode, they discuss the differences of coaching at the high school and college levels and things coaches should consider when leading and building a program. Show Notes:  • Coaching High School v. College • Meeting the goals of different players • Doing things first class • Casting a vision • Treating players differently • Goal related standards and accountability • Taking ownership of your role • Loving what you're doing • Talking about what matters • Evaluating balance year to year • Putting your time in the right places About Coach Cody Anderson: Cody Anderson was named the Head Men's Basketball coach at Morgan County High School in July of 2022.  He and his wife, Gabby Anderson, reside in Madison with their two dogs, Baylor and Georgia.  They welcomed their first child, Nash Tyler Anderson,  in January of 2023. Prior to Morgan County, Anderson spent 9 of the last 11 years at the collegiate level after his most recent stop as an assistant coach at Division I member Longwood University.  As offensive coordinator, Anderson helped lead Longwood to its best season in school history with a 26-7 record, 15-1 conference record, Big South regular season championship, Big South tournament championship, and the first NCAA tournament appearance in school history. Prior to his second stint at Longwood, Anderson was the head coach at his alma mater, Habersham Central High School, from 2019-2021.  Anderson first arrived at Longwood in 2015. He spent one season as the Director of Basketball Operations before becoming the youngest full-time DI assistant coach in the country the following season. He remained at Longwood as an assistant coach for Head Coaches Jayson Gee and Griff Aldrich until 2019.  Anderson attended the University of Georgia from 2011-2015 and worked on Mark Fox's staff as a student manager.  He received his Bachelor's degree in math education and is currently pursuing his masters degree in health & wellness. To take your defensive to the next level, join PGC Coaching's 4-Week Defensive Strategies Track for coaches. Go to pgccoaching.com/tracks by April 4th.

This week, we're joined by Angie Sun, Director of the Northwest Select basketball club in Portland OR. She’s trained and coached youth through Power 5 level collegiate players for the last 16 years and on this episode we discuss many facets of the player development and club/travel ball world.  Show Notes: • Skill Acquisition – Perception-Action Coupling – Learning how to solve the problem • Using guided defense, live scenarios, and games right away in practice • Coaching your coaches • Practicing ugly • Investing in the process • Evaluating your practices – Identifying objectives • Building accountability in practice • Using former player experiences • Coaches getting in the way • Developing Leaders and Followers • Empowering your players

This week, TJ and Sam share some coaching wisdom from legendary coach and Hall of Famer, George Raveling discussing various quotes of his on leadership, growth, perspective, and more. Learn more from Coach George Raveling at http://coachgeorgeraveling.com/ To take your defensive to the next level, join PGC Coaching's 4-Week Defensive Strategies Track for coaches. Go to pgccoaching.com/tracks by April 4th.