Coaching a rebuilding team with Poole problems

Brian McCormick has coached at an array of levels in leagues around the world and has written books about basketball fundamentals, skills development, how to become a great shooter, running practices, and building an effective offensive system.

I invited him on to discuss the unique challenges faced by Wes Unseld Jr. and his staff as they attempt to lead a team at step one of a total rebuild.

We delved into the problems Jordan Poole is having as he tries to make the Washington Wizards "his" team, how Unseld and the assistant coaches can help him, and the delicate line they have to tread between correcting mistakes and expanding possibilities.

We also talked about how coaches approach a rebuilding situation like the Wizards where the players know they're going to lose and that most of them won't be around in a few years when the team is ready to compete.

Last, we touched on some ways outsiders can assess how good a job a coach is doing.

This conversation expanded how I think about coaching and player development. Coaches have to balance an array of competing forces as they try to help their players improve and guide their team to wins. McCormick helped unpack what some of those competing forces are and what coaches to do to manage them.

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