History Teacher @ Fort Lee, 17U Marathon Elite Head coach, former Head Boys basketball coach @ Fort Lee High School. Spent 30 years coaching in FL, MA, TX &NJ
One coaching idea from Bill Belichick completely changed how I think about defensive matchups.
Sometimes he wouldn't put his best corner on the other team's best receiver.
Why?
Because if he was already double-teaming that receiver, sending extra protection, and he didn't want to waste his best defender there too.
That influenced how I think about matchups in basketball.
Maybe your best defender shouldn't always guard their best player.
And maybe your worst defender shouldn't be hidden at all.
This week's newsletter: Stop Trying to Hide Your Worst Defender
Read here: https://t.co/vgCmz6O91G
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@tonywmiller (3)Two feet gives balance, power, and passing options — — but elite guards score off one foot constantly. The real principle is:Be under control in traffic.”
absolutes are most useful when they involve:
1. Safety
2. Protecting the rim/ball
3. Eliminating catastrophic mistakes
@tonywmiller (1) I don’t love coaching in hard absolutes either, because basketball is too contextual and high-level players break “rules” all the time for good reasons.
What I think does work is teaching:
* default habits
* high-percentage principles
* situational exceptions
@tonywmiller (2) So instead of:
“Never jump to pass.”
I’d rather say:
“Have a plan before you leave your feet. Jump-passes are usually emergency plays, not primary reads.”
That teaches the why instead of creating robotic players.
Same with:"Always play off two
College Coaches still looking for 2026 bigs? 6'7" @JaydanAlmonor is uncommitted. Team player with high IQ. Very good defender, strong rebounder, makes the right ready and can knock 3s down from the corner. He will be with 17U Marathon Elite @madehoops DMV Live.
@trayalexander_
The list continues to grow by the hour. 📈
Coaches will be flooding Baltimore to catch the best independent circuit in the country and all the talent it has to offer. 👀💯
Going to be some wars out there! 🔋🔥
@madehoops#MHC#Challenger#Alliance
@robbie_hodin Yes this tough decision. I am faced with it. I have one player he is only 17 but 2026 that's committed but he wanted to play and school that he is going to was ok with it. My son is 2026 playing college ball and I haven't let him on the floor but that may change due to personnel
@ToddG96@NJLadiesHoops Come on that's a lame excuse. It's a one time cost. Minimal cost to have someone work it for varsity games. That's a whole cover up for I don't want to coach differently
@bigrobistheman Who makes you king of the Celts fans? I was attending games is the early 80s seen this organization through good and bad. And yes two things can be true Embid played well but celts failed to close out in 3 games. Accountability is needed
@mnrise2025Jedd I agree. But when you are playing at 17U and 16U these games are yes showcase games but winning matters. It gets you better matchups for next tournament and better courts to showcase your kids
@mnrise2025Jedd Have you ever watched PSA Cardinals EYBL. They may win the whole thing this year...they play zone. Guess you wouldn't stay around to watch team with the best sophomore in country, best NY City kid 2027 and best Nj player 2027 because they play zone sometimes 🤣. Little kids I
@AMB2Live game the right way. The problem is the bad stuff stands out more — the pay-to-play issues, the shortcuts like sitting in zone, the focus on winning over development but there are still plenty of people doing it the right way. Like most things, it’s somewhere in the middle.
@AMB2Live definitely some truth to this. youth game has gotten more money-driven &you do see ego get in the way at times. But I don’t think it’s fair to paint everything with the same brush.
After 25 years of coaching, I still see a lot of coaches who care about development and teach the