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The Basketball Podcast: EP397 with Matt Fletcher on Playing Fast and Conceptual
In this week’s basketball coaching conversation, Concordia-St. Paul head coach Matt Fletcher joins the Basketball Podcast to share insights on playing fast and conceptual.
Matt Fletcher enters his sixth season as head men’s basketball coach at Concordia-St. Paul in 2025-26, where he has quickly become the program’s most successful leader. Culminating in the 2024-25 season, he guided the Golden Bears to their first-ever NSIC regular season title, first NCAA Division II Tournament appearance, and first NCAA Tournament win—all in the same year—earning him the 2024-25 NSIC Coach of the Year honor.
Prior to Concordia, Fletcher spent four highly successful seasons as head coach at Bethany Lutheran College, where he compiled a 76–33 record, won the 2017-18 UMAC Coach of the Year award, and led the team to two NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. His overall career head coaching record stands at 120–118 across nine seasons.
Fletcher’s extensive assistant coaching experience includes stints at Concordia-Moorhead (2008–09), Kentucky Wesleyan College (2011–12), and three years at Upper Iowa University (where he was promoted to associate head coach). He holds a bachelor’s degree in sport management from Southwest Minnesota State and a master’s degree in education from Upper Iowa.
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Matt Fletcher Quotes:
“I knew when I got in the league that . . I had to bring my own unique twist to get kids interested in being here and wanting to play here. I was a three-point shooter in college, so I wanted to build an offense that fit my personality and my likes of the game. So, that was the focus going into it.”
“I think the biggest thing when you play fast is kids think that you’ve got to shoot it fast . . When you across half court, you come off a ball screen, that guy’s shooting it, shooting a step back or hitting the roll man and that guy’s got to score. And so, we focus a ton on shot selection and how that should make the ball move naturally.”
“We make them hunt what they do best and turn down other things. Then naturally the ball moves. Our decisions are faster and more crisp because if it’s not what you’re really good at, you just move the ball, you get rid of it.”
“If you’re in the deep corner, you’re staying in the vision of the driver. So anytime a driver comes from the wing, the top, the slots, wherever it is he drives, the longer you’re in that deep corner, the longer you’re in that player’s vision . . it’s the same as the dunker spot with the big.”
“The shot selection is a unique thing to try to get kids to understand because you’re trying to tell a kid that. I’m not saying you can’t make the shot, I’m just saying it’s not the best shot for us and trying to get them to understand that. So, we do a lot of analytics. A green shot for us is an open shot . . We’re not anti mid-range, we’re anti contested.”
“If you’re in the deep corner, you’re staying in the vision of the driver. So anytime a driver comes from the wing, the top, the slots, wherever it is, the longer you’re in that deep corner, the longer you’re in that player’s vision. The second you lift, you’re now decreasing the vision and the passing angle . . the further down the court I am in the corners, he can see me longer and that gives you a better opportunity to receive the pass or a cut or whatever you’re going to do.”
“You’ve got to be able to coach your best guy that shoots the most shots, what’s a good shot for him. And then you make the other players understand too. If you’re the best player, you probably have more green than other players . . As a freshman you might have one green thing . . by the time you see an all-league player, like we had last year, he had quite a few options that he could do, and guys understand that.”
“The way I’ve developed it was where the ball goes on the court is the initial trigger . . If the ball comes up the center of the court, that creates another trigger based on the screening angle . . What we are doing to manipulate the checks and the helps is all happening within about a three or four second window. Our goal is the defense sprints down so they feel like they’re in transition defense at all times. Make or miss, that’s the initial goal. Then as soon as that action happens based on where you ran the court, we don’t have to call anything, it changes the trigger.”
“When we practice, we score only green shots. So, if you make a yellow or red, sorry, you don’t get the point for it. So, it’s kind of a running joke. The guys laugh about it, but at the same time they understand it. It’s a simple way to really hammer home, ‘That’s a good one, but we can get better one type of thing.’”
“The point guard’s first role when he comes off the screen is you’re looking to score. If you don’t come down to score, you’re not helping us out. So, playing with that type of pace and attack mode to it, Second option is the big, because, if you’re taken away, odds are the big is the second option. If the big’s taken away, then your decision should be pretty simple.”
“As soon as our action doesn’t happen, usually, if we’re three seconds in, we’re into the second trigger. If that doesn’t work, we’re down to about 21 on the clock. So, we’ve got plenty of time to still make a play. Then what we really try to do is what’s the scout, who’s the guy on the other team that we’re really looking to try to attack? And then you’re going to sprint into an action and you are going to go to a two-man game with whoever has the ball with that defender and get that defender in some action and make some decisions.”
“Whether it’s a guy that struggles communicating, whether it’s the big that struggles with screen and roll coverage, whether it’s a guard that just has a hard time guarding the ball or someone that can’t guard a shooter, whatever it is, we scout that and then . . try to get a small advantage and then we just grow that advantage by our spacing. Simple passes. Simple. Simple equals great, usually.”
“We’re trying to take the thought process out of the decision making, if that makes sense. We’re trying to make it so simplified to where if you’re open, let it rip, if you’re not, then there’s no hesitation to attack type of thing. And then we say see a chest and move it. So, if the defender helps at all, if you see his numbers commit to you, that means get off of it.”
“Some teams, if we struggle with simple decisions, we’ll minus one or minus two for turnovers to emphasize you got to make the simple ones. And then they find out that a couple simples in a row usually does something good.”
“I think anytime you can use scoring in practice to create a small point of emphasis, that’s really the goal . . the scoring should be points of emphasis, making them think about certain things that are important to your program and what you’re hunting . . So, if you want to be the best offensive rebounding team in the country, well, then give 10 points for every offensive rebound in practice. Your guys will go do it then.”
“My advice to coaches and from myself, I learned it the hard way, is you have to adapt. Every team you have, every year is different. And so, trying to figure out a way to reach them . . I tell my assistants,”If it’s not working, don’t tell them the same thing. Figure out a different way to tell them. Figure out a different way to coach it to them.’”
“I think that the most difficult part to playing fast is the randomness to it, the lack of control, especially early on, whether in the turnovers, the bad shooting, or the bad execution.”
Matt Fletcher Breakdown:
Matt Fletcher Selected Links from the Podcast:
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