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The Basketball Podcast: EP403 with Frank Bennett on Inbound Philosophy and High School Coaching
In this week’s basketball coaching conversation, Frank Bennett joins The Basketball Podcast to share insights on inbound philosophy and high school coaching.
Frank Bennett has established himself as one of Missouri’s premier high school basketball coaches, leading Chaminade College Preparatory to sustained excellence in the state’s top class. Since taking over the program in 2013, Bennett has guided the Red Devils to a Missouri State Championship, two state runner‑up finishes, eight Final Four appearances, multiple Metro Catholic Conference titles, and several district championships.
His leadership has produced a remarkable career record of 248 wins against just 72 losses, cementing Chaminade’s reputation as one of the most consistent programs in the region
Bennett has coached and developed some of the most significant basketball talents to come out of Missouri, including:
• Jayson Tatum — NBA All‑Star and 2024 NBA champion with the Boston Celtics
• Bradley Beal — Three‑time NBA All‑Star and Olympic gold medalist
• Tyler Cook — Former NBA forward and standout at Iowa
• David Lee — NBA All‑Star and two‑time NBA champion
Bennett’s impact extends beyond Chaminade. He has served as a head coach for USA Basketball at the 2025 Nike Hoop Summit, leading the USA Men’s team against the World Team of top international players. He has also been an assistant coach at previous Nike Hoop Summits (2023, 2024) and contributed to USA Basketball Junior National Team camps. His involvement underscores his reputation as one of the nation’s most respected high school coaches.
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Frank Bennett Quotes:
“There are more options to them at the high school level and there’s more pathways to the end goal for them, which is obviously the NBA. The increase in pathways they have is the biggest thing that’s changed. But coaching at the high school level, what’s stayed the same is the fact that there are still kids out there that we can coach and move from our level to the next level . . that being said, you have to adapt and change and move with the times. You can’t be backed into a corner and just do things just because it’s the way you’ve been doing it in the past.”
“College coaches are still looking for hard working, coachable guys that can help them win now. And so, we take that approach and we try to apply that to our guys.”
“What do you install on the baseline? With the fact that you don’t have a lot of time, something simple, quick and easy that the kids can pick up on. Something they can transition to quickly on the dead ball and they can make instinctive reads is the genesis of this . . Can you be sure with the inbound pass? That checks a box. And then, if it’s really good, can you run it versus both man and zone?”
“When you talk about punching deep into the postseason and, zooming out a little bit, preparing high school basketball players for the collegiate level, I haven’t met a college coach that’s like, ‘It’s okay if he’s a bad decision maker.’ They want guys that can make good decisions with the basketball. And, for us, if we can teach them how to make good decisions with the basketball, that makes us harder to scout in the long term.”
“When we start discussing some of the small-sided games, we will be very dedicated to working on the inbound, the attack, and then making sure it’s seamless going from the baseline inbound into our half court attack.”
“It’s also a way to keep the game simple, right? If you’re playing and you got a big on little, we don’t need to run much. If the big is closing out to you and he can’t guard you, keep the game simple. We don’t need cone drills. We don’t need in and out, cross in-between. Rip away and get a paint touch and then make a read. If you rip away and get a paint touch and and you have an advantage, go score the basketball. If you have two guarding one, that’s what we call 21, then get off the ball as quickly as possible, re-space, and then let’s get the best shot for our school.”
“His baseline out of bounds plays were uniquely simplistic. They were not complicated at all, he just hammered the reads. But when it came to him emphasizing who passed the basketball in bounds, it wasn’t some philosophical discussion. He would just look at you and say, ‘It’s the person I trust the most.’”
“When one person’s decision are quick and accurate, everybody else’s decisions become quicker as well. So teaching the counters iis invaluable for us.”
“Those reads get quicker as the season progresses. What it looks like to the opposition is, they don’t run anything, because early on we’re just not as good as we’re going to be, and I’m okay with that.”
“If you come and watch us later in the season or in the postseason, there’s a reason why I feel like our guys are in better shape. They’re making crisper reads and they’re able to make better plays down the stretch because our guys have made thousands of mistakes compared to another team’s couple hundred mistakes. That allows us to teach deeper, that allows us to learn deeper, that allows us to give our guys deeper feedback, that allows them to really maximize their abilities within the construct of our offense and then they’re not rattled when things get taken away.”
“You talk to NBA executives and you talk to scouts, their job is becoming increasingly difficult. They’re trying to weed through all of that stuff to figure out the competitive level of the kid, the character of the kid. Do they really love the game of basketball? Because they’re about to make a significant investment in a kid. They want to know, when times get tough, is this the type of kid that is going to be competitive and have the competitive nature to learn from the adversity and rise above it? Or are they going to get swept away by the NBA life? Are they going to be swept away because they got all the money or do they really want to improve and win at the highest level?”
“Just because they graduated from your institution doesn’t mean that the relationship building, the mentorship, the connection stops there. You have to keep working at that.”
Frank Bennett Breakdown:
Frank Bennett Selected Links from the Podcast:
Frank Bennett
Scott Fitch
Rick Majerus
Don Nelson
Steve Hesser
Jayson Tatum
Bradley Beal
David Lee
Sean Ford
Kobe Bryant
Kevin Durant
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