The Basketball Podcast: EP247 with Joe Crispin on Offense Wins

Listen Here:

Joe Crispin Quotes:

“We were good in the sense that we scored a lot, but we did not do it efficiently. When you look at the amount of possessions we created, we were actually more of a defensive team.”

“We look at our constraints and define what they are. But one of the things that we often aren’t aware of is the constraints that we place on ourselves. And I try to be very clear about those constraints.”

“I’m trying to build a team that can beat the best teams, and we’re not yet the elite. So, if we’re underdogs, we have to be different.”

“I’m simply trying to play defense in a way that makes scoring easier, and not necessarily always in efficiency terms because I need more of that. But sometimes it literally is simply volume.”

“We press almost all the time. We might adjust how we do so or to what extent. Some teams, we literally never allow them to run their offense, ever.”

“Players can do more than you think. When you put the limitations on them too quickly, you fail to learn how good they can be.”

“If the foundation isn’t there, we have to give it to them. And that’s play. And it also involves things that are unseen, like making your own teams, calling your own fouls, all these things that we learned, because adults weren’t around.”

“A mistake I think a lot of coaches make at every level is, they operate like offense and defense happen in separate universes, and they’re so intertwined. You want your offense to be great with an advantage. Well, you want your defense to be great at a disadvantage. Those two things are not mutually exclusive, you can work on those things at the same time, every single day.”

“The end of offense is we have a slight advantage that we want to build upon and get a good shot. . Defensively, we want to be the best in the country, I want to assume that we’re going to get beat, we want to be great after we get beat.”

“One of the challenges is . . finding the right balance for where the guardrails should be. There are times to make the road wider; there are times to make the road narrower, depending on what level you’re at and on who you have.”

“In the States, we have more really good basketball players, but most of them are playing without a shot clock and are therefore dumber than the kids internationally. It creates dumb, inefficient basketball players. And it does create poor coaching, because it enables you to reset ad nauseam. And it makes me leave at halftime because I just can’t watch it.”

“It’s the paycheck, and it’s the press conference that often dictates someone’s philosophy or someone’s decision making as a coach.”

“It’s the pressure, it’s the paycheck, and it’s the press conference that often dictates someone’s philosophy or someone’s decision making as a coach.”

“Kids say, ‘I want to have a skill that is world class.’ That’s later on in life. You don’t want to develop that too early, you want to set the stage so that you can develop [that skill].”

“’Coach, you’ve given me what I need. Now sit down and let me win for you.’ That’s the way I was when I was at my best. I want players like that.”

“Basketball is supposed to be fun . . You’re supposed to be able to stretch yourself and your boundaries. And I think when you tap into the true joy of it, you often increase your chances of winning at the same time.”

Joe Crispin Breakdown:

Joe Crispin

Offense Wins: A Player’s 12 Foundational Principles for Great Basketball Offense

Nassim Taleb

Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder

Josh Merkel

Joe Crispin Links from the Podcast:

1:00 – Tempo and Pace
6:00 – Have Fun
11:00 – Mantra
13:00 – Basics of Walking
16:00 – Half and Full Court Reference
18:00 – Structure the Workout
21:30 – Fundamentals
25:00 – Three-Leg Programs
28:00 – Playing Triangle
32:00 – Constraint Led Approach
35:19 – 36:04 – Membership Sales Ads
37:00 – Game Situation
39:30 – Constraints of the Shot Clock
42:00 – Security vs Pressure
46:30 – Research-Based Evidence
49:30 – Importance of Recruiting
52:00 – Creating Decisions
55:30 – Changing Mentality
1:02:00 – Mindset for Success
1:07:00 – Part of the Process