The Basketball Podcast: EP436 with John Shulman on Uncommon Coaching

Central Arkansas head coach John Shulman shared insights focusing on his coaching philosophy, career journey, and the “uncommon” approach he brings to the game. Shulman shared stories from his long coaching career, including his time at Chattanooga, Alabama Huntsville, and now Central Arkansas, where he led a historic season in his second year. He explained his core philosophy of being “uncommon” in all aspects of the game, from defense to recruiting, to avoid predictable outcomes.

Shulman detailed his defensive strategies, such as the “Deep” inbound defense, and his offensive system based on the Princeton offense, which he adapts to give players freedom. He discussed his passion for coaching, how he rediscovered his love for the game after a period away, and the importance of focusing on process over results. Shulman also spoke about recruiting players who fit the program’s culture and his belief in empowering players and staff. The interview concluded with personal anecdotes and reflections on the coaching profession.

John Shulman Quotes:

“Be uncommon.  We’re going to be uncommon, and that became our philosophy. I want to be uncommon offensively, I want to be uncommon defensively. We’re going to be uncommon recruiting-wise . . everything that we do, I want to be different.”

“He [Jeff Lebo] always wanted to play zone against under [baseline] OB. And I said, ‘Why are we playing zone under OB?’ He said, ‘Even bad coaches have good under OB stuff against man. So, we’re not going to give up anything under OB.’ We talked about it the other day with coaches in the office. Everybody has a screen-to-screener action, right? But, you know, it’s still hard to guard.”

“Like everything else, people catch up and then they bait you into a trap in a corner and then skip it and whatever. So then, we started talking about ‘Let’s disguise it and let’s look like we’re trapping and not trap. And let’s look like we’re playing deep and then go back in a zone. And let’s put the 5-man over the ball and switch everything.’”

“Have you ever thought about asking the players? . . But people don’t because they think it’s a sign of weakness at the end of a game. Now, I may know what I really want to play, but it doesn’t really matter what I want to play. What do the guys want to play? What are they confident in at that moment?”

“If I have a rebounding drill and we do box outs every single day for a reminder . .  you know what they’re going to do in that drill? They’re going to box out. You know when they’re not going to box out? When they go live. Now, if you can make them box out when they go live, then you’ve got something. Instead of working on offense, let’s work on offense and defense at the same time.”

“I love to press, but now you’re probably  pressing their best ball handler in 94 feet of space. If you’re doubling a post player, you’re doubling their worst ball handler in the most confined amount of space. So, I love doubling the post. I’ve always doubled in the post.”

“The hard thing about the Princeton [offense] is how to get into it off of a miss. So, we give our guys about 5 to 6 seconds. Hey, man, you got to stop. Well done. Go score the ball. Figure it out. Go score. And if you don’t score with it, I’m giving you 6 seconds of freedom . . and if you don’t have it, then we’d better be in the offense. It’s messy. And we work on messy all the time.”

John Shulman Breakdown:

John Shulman Selected Links from the Podcast: