The Basketball Podcast: EP235 with Lynne Roberts on Smart Box Scores

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Lynne Roberts Coach Quotes:

“I think basketball is a really simple game. The objective is to score the basketball. How do you do that? You beat your man. If you beat your man, and someone else helps, then you pass it to a teammate.”

“So, I say that all the time, ‘Don’t run a play, make a play.’ And then we just do a huge focus on shot quality. Our philosophy is take the first great shot we can.”

“If we can keep the ball moving, keep our players moving, that’s moving the defenders. It’s pretty fun . . and it’s absolutely predicated on unselfishness.”

“We have a good pass rate. We’re not assist hunting, we’re just trying to get the best shot we can.”

“There’s definitely a structure but we’ll run different things all the time within that structure. Players then have the freedom to make a play. It’s really hard to scout.”

“If you’re tough and you want to be a good rebounder you can. And so, it was just a non-negotiable. If you want to play, you’re going to rebound. If you don’t rebound, you won’t play. And there’s no greater motivator than playing time.”

“What are what are the things that contribute to winning? So much of it is effective field goal percentage, and making sure that you’re not turning it over.”

“We have a whiteboard in practice that we use. There are six categories, and every player has their name on the whiteboard. It’s a big whiteboard and it’s charted live . . you can’t stop practice every time someone turns it over, but you can make them aware of it.”

“Almost every game, if we had a higher shot quality number than our opponent, we won . . It’s not that we made more shots, it’s the shots we took. It doesn’t mean the other team didn’t score, it’s the quality of shots they took and the quality of shots we took.”

“Then it comes down to the chances so we chart rebounding . . you could chase down a rebound, like crazy and not come up with it, you’re still gonna get rewarded for that . . So again, it’s not just the number of rebounds, it’s the number of pursuits.”

“I think so much of turnovers is kids trying to do too much. Let the game, let the spacing, let the movement create shots. You don’t have to create a shot for somebody else every time you touch it or for yourself.”

“There’s a push and pull of learning in practice, what you’re capable of doing. And it’s not perfect, but my role is I have to teach, rather than discipline . . teach through practice, through live play.”

“These are young people that really want to do well, and they want to do right. Our job, as college coaches, is to help them along. Sometimes they need a kick in the tail, but most oftentimes, they just need some good instruction and some encouragement.”

“Our practices are fast. I’m not going to teach something for 20 minutes. I’m going to teach something for two minutes. And then you’re gonna do it for 18 and get better at it. It’s just more fun that way.”

Lynne Roberts Breakdown:

1:00 – Modern Approach
4:00 – Modern Offensive Template
9:00 – Smart Box Score
11:00 – Offensive Rebounding
13:00 – Taking Advantage
16:00 – Shooting Off the Dribble
19:00 – Don’t Meet After the Game
24:00 – Evolution of Box Score
26:00 – Free Throws
30:00 – Turnover
35:00 – Decision Making
41:30 – Sit Down During Games
45:00 – Improve Turnover Percentage
48:00 – Conclusion

Lynne Roberts Links from the Podcast:

Kennedy McQueen

Ted Leland

Pat Summitt