Q & A Mailbag

  Welcome to the mailbag! We’ve received some great questions and comments on our recent articles and content lately.  Before we get to the articles and questions, we wanted to share an exciting announcement AND feature a few of our Breakthrough coaches . . .  First off, the announcement:  Our Fall 2024 Camp Schedule + Discount is LIVE!  We officially released our Fall 2024 Camp schedule this week. And, to celebrate the announcement, we have an exciting bonus for you. If you register by this upcoming Sunday, July 21st, you’ll receive: - $30 OFF any Fall Camp - A free Dri-Fit Breakthrough Basketball T-shirt So don’t miss your chance to improve your game, learn from the best, and take advantage of this special offer. [VIEW our Camp Schedule and register now to get $30 off and a free dri-fit shirt!](  Breakthrough Coaches Continue To Be Recognized!  1 - Lead Camp Instructor BJ Watson (the head Varsity Gold Coach at Montverde Academy) is also is an assistant coach for the National team that just finished a perfect 33-0 season and won the Chipotle National Championship! Congrats coach!  2 - Lead Camp Instructor Isaiah Warning was recently named Boys Basketball Manager of the Wisconsin Blaze, putting him in charge of 14 teams and coaching a 17U National level team. Additionally, he recently accepted a position as Varsity Assistant on the boys staff at Kimberly High School!  3 - In the last mailbag, we recognized camp coach Carlotta Kloppenburg-Pruitt’s of Southern Oregon women’s basketball for winning her conference title and coach of the year. We mistakenly had the conference name wrong - it actually is the Cascade Collegiate Conference. Congrats again, coach!  New Products Update!  We are excited to share updates on 2 new pieces of coaching content:  1 - NEW 3v3 Drills Video! Be on the lookout for new content from Coach Nick LoGalbo coming next week. Coach LoGalbo’s new product is a compilation of 3v3 drills for offense and defense, as well as more skill development drills. More great content from an outstanding coach!   2 - NEW [Zoom Offense]( BONUS Q & A Webinar with Coach Nate Steege is now in the member’s area! You can find more great Zoom content from Coach Steege where he answers questions directly from coaches. This is available for everybody who has purchased the Zoom Offense video.  NEW Coaching Articles, Plays, Drills & Videos (ALL Age Levels):  [Want Easier Defensive Rotations? Try THIS](  [Why You Should Use The Outer ⅓ (No Middle) Defense]( (YouTube Video)  [Run This Indiana Pacers Zoom SLOB To Put Defenses In A Bind](  [Score More By Adding A Change To Your Flare Screen](  [Simplified Zoom Offense Overview]( (YouTube Video)   NEW YOUTH Coaching Articles, Drills, & Videos:  [Let Your Child Be The Author Of Their Basketball Story](  [The Perfect 3v3 Drill For Both Offense And Defense](  [Why 3>5 When It Comes To Developing Players](  [How We Navigate Multi-sport Participation With Our Kids](   NEW Training Articles, Drills, & Videos:  [No Hoop? No Problem! Become A Better Shooter In Just Minutes A Day](  [Master Shooting Footwork With This Game Speed Shooting Drill](  [How One Of The Slowest Players In The NBA Consistently Gets Past Elite 1v1 Defenders](  [The Reason This Legendary Coach Waited 20 Years To Judge His Team’s Success](   Today’s Mailbag  Questions: Is The Outer ⅓ Defense (No Middle) better than pack line man to man?  Our [article]( and [video]( on the [Outer ⅓ Defense from Coach Nick LoGalbo]( prompted some interesting conversation.   Coach Matt shared the following thoughts:   Jeff Huber’s thoughts:  Matt, thanks for the thought provoking reply! There are many ways to be successful. That said, here’s where I think the Outer ⅓ can elevate your defense.   As you mentioned, ball reversals and paint touches are two pain points for any defense. The Outer ⅓ (No Middle) clearly deals with the first issue. The ball is kept on one side and not allowed to be reversed.  Your question pertained to the second issue. It is true that in the pack line you would have defenders sitting in the gaps on both sides of the ball. That does limit the offense’s ability to get to the paint.  However, I would suggest the Outer ⅓ does that as well. As Coach LoGalbo states in the video, one advantage of the defense is players know when and how to rotate.   If the ball is on one side of the floor, the low defender on the opposite side knows they are the help defender on a baseline drive.   In the diagram above, x5 knows they are responsible for help on the drive. As seen in the picture, this knowledge allows them to rotate early and stop the ball outside the paint.   Not only is the ball stopped outside the paint, but it’s now in a disadvantageous spot for the offense. The defense could trap player 4 or rotate back and deny a next pass.  Now, if your team does not guard the ball well, pack line probably does help prevent paint touches. However, if you don’t guard the ball well, you are likely to have issues, no matter what defense you run!  Bottom line - if your on ball defenders keep the ball out of the middle, the [Outer ⅓ Defense]( effectively prevents ball reversals and paint touches. That’s a win-win!  Discussion: The benefits of the Outer ⅓ at the youth level.  Coach LoGalbo’s video also prompted this reply:   Discussion: The shots you should be practicing.  Joe Haefner recently shared this tweet on X which generated a lot of reader responses:   Most coaches found their experience matches the data -  The Shot Doctor replied:  “What I’ve noticed in high school basketball is if a player attacks with 1 or 2 dribbles that’s okay. But when you get to 3 or 4, things start unraveling and it usually ends bad.”  Schwan Humes said:  “I always thought the main problem with younger kids is they always insist on showing you how nice they are - their dribbles, their counters, their moves. But they are never in response to a defender taking something away. They are doing it just to do it.”  Coach Ryan Cherepkai summed it up nicely:  “100% nailed it. . . Be efficient not extra”  Jeff Huber’s response:  This tweet was effective because it makes sense AND is backed up by data.   Unfortunately, too many players believe their time is best spent working on complex combination moves.   Players should get really good at the things that happen a lot in games! Catch and shoot is one of those.   That doesn’t mean you just stand in one spot. As you become a better shooter, defenses will try to take away those opportunities. So it could mean being able to shoot off screens and cuts.   A great example would be Klay Thompson scoring 60 points on 11 dribbles in 2016!   Thought: Player placement when running plays  We recently shared a Princeton quick hitter on X that got this response from Coach Dre:   Jeff Huber’s response:  What Coach Dre is hitting on here is really important. When you run a play, be careful not to just put your 5 in the 5 spot on the diagrams (same for 1-4).  Rather, think of the skill set each spot needs for that play. Then assign your players accordingly.   Even the player “doing nothing” is important. As Coach Dre notes, putting a good shooter in that spot keeps their defender occupied. The defender guarding that player won’t help off, which can open up other areas of the floor.   Good food for thought!  Facebook Feedback: Great Finishing Drill!  Okoth responded to the Dematha Finishing Drill video that was posted on Facebook:   Jeff Huber’s Response:  I do too! I have used this drill for years.   One thing I like about it is players get a ton of reps in a short period of time. As soon as 2 players go, the next 2 are up. You can start a rep every couple seconds. If you do the drill for 5-7 minutes, that’s dozens of reps.  I also would encourage coaches to vary where players start. As shown in the video, the elbows are a good starting point.  Also consider starting lines on the blocks. That is a great way to work on finishing without using a dribble.  The corners challenge players to finish from a different angle than they are used to.  Finally, coach your defenders, too. They should work on trying to get between the offensive player and the basket. Walling up, defending without fouling, and boxing out should also be emphasized.    Breakthrough Product Review - 5 Star Reviews Rolling In: “Game-like”, “Learned A Lot,” “Great Coach Sharing His System”  We continue to receive great reviews on many of our products, and I want to share a few with you today so you can see if they’re the right fit for you.  Here are comments a recent 5 star reviews of the [Team Offense Shooting Drills That Build IQ - Snap Shot Shootin]( “These are the type of drills that coaches should be running during their practices. You cannot get any more game-like than this. Coach LoGalbo definitely does a great job breaking down each drill. 5 out of 5!” -Luc  Here is a recent 5 star review of [The Conceptual Zoom Offense with Nate Steege](  “Very good video! I love motion offense and I learned many things with this coach. If you love motion offense and want to give freedom to your players , this product is for you!” - Mohamed  Here is a recent 5 star review of the [The Man Left Defense]( with Rob Brost:  “Again, we have another great coach sharing his defensive system with us. This is the second video put out by Coach Brost that I purchased. And quite frankly, this should be part of every coach's tool box! ” - Luc  “Highly Recommend”, “Very Much Enjoyed” and “Fantastic”: Soundbites From Breakthrough Camp Attendees  Check out these camp reviews:     Breakthrough Camps Starting Soon! These are just some of the camps running over the next few weeks! Here is our [entire 2024 summer camp schedule]( with nearly 350 summer camps. [Lodi, Wisconsin]( - July 24-26 - Grades 7 to 12 [Windsor, Colorado]( - July 24-26 - Grades 7 to 12 [4 spots left] [Billings, Montana]( - July 26-28 - Grades 3 to 8 [13 spots left] [West Des Moines, Iowa]( - July 26-28 - Grades 1 to 5 [13 spots left] [Kalispell, Montana]( - July 26-28 - Grades 3 to 8 [13 spots left] [North Miami, Florida]( - July 26-28 - Grades 7 to 12 [Beaverton, Oregon]( - July 26-28 - Grades 3 to 8 [Rochester, New York]( - July 26-28 - Grades 7 to 12 [Stirling, Alberta]( - July 26-28 - Grades 7 to 12 [Mt. Pleasant, Utah]( - July 29 - August 2 - Grades 7 to 12 [14 spots left] [Alamosa, Colorado]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 3 to 8 [11 spots left] [Libertyville, Illinois]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 3 to 8 [6 spots left] [Avon, Ohio]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 7 to 12 [13 spots left] [Duncanville, Texas]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 7 to 12 [11 spots left] [Elkins, West Virginia]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 3 to 8 [Springfield, Oregon]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 7 to 12 [8 spots left] [Gatlinburg, Tennessee]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 7 to 12 [11 spots left] [Hampton, New Hampshire]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 7 to 12 [Tomball, Texas]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 3 to 8 [Lafayette, Indiana]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 7 to 12 [Lansing, Michigan]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 7 to 12 [Larimore, North Dakota]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 3 to 8 [7 spots left] [Irvine, California]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 3 to 8 [Mansfield, Pennsylvania]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 3 to 8 [1 spot left] [Myrtle Beach, South Carolina]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 3 to 8 [12 spots left] [East Peoria, Illinois]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 7 to 12 [Pocatello, Idaho]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 7 to 12 [11 spots left] [Roanoke, Virginia]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 7 to 12 [5 spots left] [San Diego, California]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 3 to 8 [Seattle, Washington]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 3 to 8 [Sold Out] [Yankston, South Dakota]( - July 30 - August 1 - Grades 3 to 8  Closing Notes  Thanks so much for reading this edition of the Breakthrough Basketball Mailbag! Stay tuned for upcoming editions, featuring more of your questions and comments. We value your input and look forward to helping you on your journey to success.  If you have any thoughts on the type of content you’d like to see more of in upcoming mailings, please feel free to shoot us a reply and let us know!  All the best,  Jeff Huber Breakthrough Basketball  This email was sent to {EMAIL} because you indicated that you'd like to receive emails and updates from Breakthrough Basketball on 2016-12-16 05:42:39. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please [Change Your Email Preferences]( or [Unsubscribe All]( Copyright © Breakthrough Basketball, LLC. All rights reserved. Breakthrough Basketball, LLC. | 5001 1st Ave. SE, Ste 105 #254 | Cedar Rapids | IA | 52402 [email.gif] . It’s our mission to build a strong community centered around basketball, personal development and most importantly - fun! 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