Brian Brennan

Player development coach trusted by pros, college coaches, and professional parents. Current D1 Player Development Coach.

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

@ApexAsapGroup Yep. I’m in my Costco Fit Era

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

My coaches at every level showed up in tattered sweats, old practice shirts, and gear they’d probably worn for 20 years. They weren’t worried about looking the part—they were busy teaching it. Now some coaches and trainers show up to workouts like it’s a fashion show. More concerned with the fit than the fundamentals.

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

@CoachB_Sibley 💯 as I begin the recruiting process at the D1 level I will not trust lists. They only ever get the top 10 players right like the rest of the world. The next 400 make or break programs like us at the mid Major level.

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

@TerryBattenberg Oh we did! But they loved their stuff; creatures of habit! Ha

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

Two things can be true.

Social media is amazing because anyone can have a platform.

Social media is dangerous because anyone can have a platform.

The opportunity is unprecedented.
The responsibility is often ignored.

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

Player development isn’t the drill.

It’s identifying the gap and teaching the application.

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

coaches tap in what’s the worst text you get that you roll your eyes?

I will start…

Hey Coach, not gonna make it today, something came up.

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

Numbers can be deceiving. Your PPG all season is inflated. Take out games your team was blowing people out. Use games that you lost or score was 10 points or less victory

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

If I started a club tomorrow…

WHAT WE WOULD DO:
• Practice more than we play
• Treat the year like a real HS season
• Build toward meaningful competition
• Have a development phase, scrimmage phase, league phase & “CIF” phase
• Teach IQ, habits, execution & accountability
• Focus on skill work, film study & basketball understanding
• Use controlled scrimmages with purpose
• Create open gym & free play environments
• Let players learn multiple positions
• Teach players how to play on & off the ball
• Earn playing time through consistency over time
• Demand communication, defense & execution
• Play man-to-man defense
• Bring in zone teams to scrimmage us so players learn HOW to beat zones
• Have grade checks to promote accountability in the classroom
• Run background checks before hiring any adult to work with your child
• Hire experienced coaches who understand real player development
• Teach kids what they’re playing for at every stage of the season

WHAT WE WOULD NOT DO:
• Play meaningless tournaments every weekend
• Skip teaching to chase exposure
• Hand out minutes based on politics or status
• Label kids too early
• Ever play zone defense
• Hide behind gimmicks instead of teaching defense
• Confuse activity with development
• Accept poor practice habits or low effort
• Prioritize social media, merch, hype videos or media days over development
• Build teams around shortcuts instead of teaching

Development > Participation
Teaching > Hype
Purpose > Volume

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

Everybody crushes teenagers for calling themselves “elite” or “next up” meanwhile college staffs got grown adults introducing themselves as:

Director of Ball Screen Analytics & Spiritual Growth.
Assistant to the Assistant Director of Toughness.
Passing Game Coordinator for Left-Handed Guards.
Director of Synergy, Connectivity & Other Buzzwords.
Offensive Rebounding Liaison..

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

You have to let your no be your no and your yes be your yes. For every yes, day in and day out, there are 30 no’s. That’s life.

So when I say no to “pros,” 13-year-olds, brands, camps, clinics, schools, opportunities, and sometimes even my own family, understand it’s not personal — it’s reality. Time is finite. Energy is finite. Attention is finite.

People only see the yes. They rarely see the discipline behind the no.

If there were 100 hours in a day and 10 days in a week, maybe there would be fewer no’s. But there isn’t. So protecting your time, your standards, your peace, and your purpose becomes necessary.

Not every opportunity is your assignment.

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

@_BrianReichert Just say “I heard through a third party (insert school here) that the current staff at said school has some interest. The “after a great conversation” boiler plate stuff is nauseating.

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

Good leaders and coaches aren’t frozen in time, they adapt, evolve, and grow. The moment you stop learning and adjusting is the moment you begin falling behind. Great leadership is not about holding onto what used to work; it’s about understanding what your people need now and where the game, culture, and environment are going next.

The best coaches stay rooted in their values, but flexible in their methods.

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

@CoachJonesACS Spot on! I’m on them more up 20 than in a tight game! The temptation to become mediocre up big trends greatly.

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

@BradyDoorey Don't take things personal.

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

There is nothing like a HS playoff run or a run for a school at any level; HS/JC/NCAA. I’ve been apart of them, nothing compares, nothing. My daughter got to experience on this year and it ended in heartbreak fashion but it was beautiful to watch her experience the joy of winning and the agony of defeat. Hopefully she will get to experience more as she has a couple more years left.

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

@CoachBeede Spot on.

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

I’ve unpacked this. I did this back coaching in college. 0-1 pass 2-3 passes 4-5 and 5 or more. Very interesting what I found , it was a small sample size. What I was trying to prove was to pass the rock! I was able to prove that 0-1 killed us 2-4 was the sweet spot , 4-5 we passed up good shots, 5 or more we were under 10 seconds and it became iso location 1v1 and lower percent.

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

If you do this long enough, you stop getting upset with the misguided or the FOMO-driven. You start to understand them.

When false realities create false narratives, the goal isn’t to argue — it’s to help people see reality clearly. Some will accept it. Some won’t. Keep showing the truth anyway.

“False realities create false narratives.”

[Brian Brennan @buildbball]

I agree. But I think we need divert our attention to what’s working because I just don’t think everyone is going to be lead well and so I wanna focus on the positives cause trust me I wanna gouge my eyes out with what I see but I feel like it’s just eating away at my soul so I’m trying to choose to look for the ones that are being lead well, but it’s really hard to find.