14 November 2026
Ep 2073 How Do You Score When Your Guards Are Young and Your Bigs Are Tall?
Basketball Coach Unplugged (A Basketball Coaching Podcast)
About
https://teachhoops.com/
CoachingYouthHoops.com/nuke: clean sports hydration made with coconut water. Use code youthhoops25 for 25% off
A mentoring call with a prep school coach whose team has real size, a star freshman guard, and an offense that goes dry against good teams. Transition, scripted plays, and high low.
A coach from an independent prep school in Tennessee brings Coach Steve Collins a good problem and a hard one. The good problem is size: a six seven forward who has only played two years of organized basketball, a six eight center, and a freshman guard who already has more than a thousand career points. The hard problem is that every other guard is a freshman or sophomore, and when the ball leaves the star's hands, turnovers go through the roof. Against the teams they should beat, they win. Against the good ones, an offensive drought shows up every time.
This is a real mentoring call, the way it actually happens, with ideas bouncing back and forth. Steve asks about transition points, rebounding, and defense, then pushes for more pressure to create easy baskets, a Midwest style grind for a national tournament in Ohio, scripted quick hitters and lockdowns, and a simple high low attack that uses the team's size. It closes with clear rules for young guards about when to put the ball on the floor.
The Problem
A star freshman guard and a lot of size up front
A six seven forward from the Congo who thought basketball was all isolation
Young guards who can space the floor but turn it over against pressure
Inverting the offense: can the bigs handle it?
Why it is hard to win when freshmen and sophomores are primary players
Beating the teams you should, then going dry against the good ones
The Plan
How many transition points you get against good teams versus bad ones
Using a three quarter court 1 2 2, or a trapping 1 3 1, to create transition
Playing like a Midwest team: defend, rebound, take care of it, execute
Scripting the first plays like a football coach, and going back to the script in a drought
Lockdowns: three stops in a row
Continuity versus set plays, and why zoom action is hard with little guards
High low with the bigs and 1 3 1 sets
Rules for guards: dribble to relieve pressure, to make a pass, or to get to the rim
Chapters
00:00 Coach Unplugged intro
00:14 Pre roll: TeachHoops.com
01:10 Pre call chat: film and stats
02:06 The roster: a star freshman and a lot of size
03:30 The problem: young guards and turnovers
05:50 Can the bigs handle it?
06:46 Winning with freshmen and sophomores
08:19 Mid roll: TeachHoops.com free trial
09:26 Transition points against good teams
11:26 Pressure to create easy baskets
14:13 Playing like a Midwest team
15:10 Scripted plays, quick hitters, and lockdowns
17:02 Little guards, big men, and zoom action
18:26 High low and 1 3 1 sets
19:22 Rules for young guards
19:54 Post roll: TeachHoops.com
This week's challenge: Script your first four possessions for your next game, and practice going back to that script when you hit a drought.
Format: Live mentoring call.
Resources: Offensive systems, press and zone defense courses, practice plans, and mentoring at https://teachhoops.com/
Recorded at the Fifth Quarter Studios in Madison, Wisconsin.
https://teachhoops.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
CoachingYouthHoops.com/nuke: clean sports hydration made with coconut water. Use code youthhoops25 for 25% off
A mentoring call with a prep school coach whose team has real size, a star freshman guard, and an offense that goes dry against good teams. Transition, scripted plays, and high low.
A coach from an independent prep school in Tennessee brings Coach Steve Collins a good problem and a hard one. The good problem is size: a six seven forward who has only played two years of organized basketball, a six eight center, and a freshman guard who already has more than a thousand career points. The hard problem is that every other guard is a freshman or sophomore, and when the ball leaves the star's hands, turnovers go through the roof. Against the teams they should beat, they win. Against the good ones, an offensive drought shows up every time.
This is a real mentoring call, the way it actually happens, with ideas bouncing back and forth. Steve asks about transition points, rebounding, and defense, then pushes for more pressure to create easy baskets, a Midwest style grind for a national tournament in Ohio, scripted quick hitters and lockdowns, and a simple high low attack that uses the team's size. It closes with clear rules for young guards about when to put the ball on the floor.
The Problem
A star freshman guard and a lot of size up front
A six seven forward from the Congo who thought basketball was all isolation
Young guards who can space the floor but turn it over against pressure
Inverting the offense: can the bigs handle it?
Why it is hard to win when freshmen and sophomores are primary players
Beating the teams you should, then going dry against the good ones
The Plan
How many transition points you get against good teams versus bad ones
Using a three quarter court 1 2 2, or a trapping 1 3 1, to create transition
Playing like a Midwest team: defend, rebound, take care of it, execute
Scripting the first plays like a football coach, and going back to the script in a drought
Lockdowns: three stops in a row
Continuity versus set plays, and why zoom action is hard with little guards
High low with the bigs and 1 3 1 sets
Rules for guards: dribble to relieve pressure, to make a pass, or to get to the rim
Chapters
00:00 Coach Unplugged intro
00:14 Pre roll: TeachHoops.com
01:10 Pre call chat: film and stats
02:06 The roster: a star freshman and a lot of size
03:30 The problem: young guards and turnovers
05:50 Can the bigs handle it?
06:46 Winning with freshmen and sophomores
08:19 Mid roll: TeachHoops.com free trial
09:26 Transition points against good teams
11:26 Pressure to create easy baskets
14:13 Playing like a Midwest team
15:10 Scripted plays, quick hitters, and lockdowns
17:02 Little guards, big men, and zoom action
18:26 High low and 1 3 1 sets
19:22 Rules for young guards
19:54 Post roll: TeachHoops.com
This week's challenge: Script your first four possessions for your next game, and practice going back to that script when you hit a drought.
Format: Live mentoring call.
Resources: Offensive systems, press and zone defense courses, practice plans, and mentoring at https://teachhoops.com/
Recorded at the Fifth Quarter Studios in Madison, Wisconsin.
https://teachhoops.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices