A Pen And A Napkin

Liz Flooks, the women's head basketball coach at East Stroudsburg State (PA), is our guest this week! Coach Flooks has had a interesting career to this point and is one of the rising stars in the community. In this episode, we discuss her journey, her communication style, player development, practice scheduling, building a program and much more! This was alot of fun to record, so enjoy this episode!

We reopen "The Notebook" to look at a variety of topics this week, including the NBA Draft Lottery and predictions for the draft (one of my favorite days of the year), a quick preview of the WNBA season, tips to help run a good youth camp and make it productive for both you and the campers, "Range" and much more. At the end, I tease our big summer project that will be in more detail in the coming weeks!

Dr. Tony Miller, the head men's basketball coach at Bob Jones University (SC) and the host of "A Quick Timeout" podcast, jumps on the podcast to talk about a variety of topics, including teaching the game, small sided games, when is information too much information, influences in his career, transition and conceptual offense and much more! This was alot of fun talking with a terrific coach!

"The Heatles" burst onto the scene after "The Decision" by LeBron James and the simulataneous signing of Chris Bosh to join Dwayne Wade in Miami. What was once thought to be potentially one of the NBA's greatest dynasties lasted only four years, but it produced two NBA championships and one of the greatest seasons ever. In this episode, Nate Wall, Jacob Brindle and I break down this squad, it's forgotten depth, the 27 game winning streak and "The Shot" by Ray Allen? Was this a great team? We have our opinions, but you tell us . . .

A terrific coach originally from the Hawkeye State, Rob Brost is our guest this week! Coach heads up the program at Bolingbrook (IL) HS with the boys program, where he has built one of the most consistent winners in the state! In this episode, we discuss his journey, coaching his son, coaching the elite player, being the hunted, building great relationships, playing fast on offense and much more! A really fun conversation with one of the best out of the Windy City!

It was great to have on old friend Ryan Psota, the head girls basketball coach from Lincoln Pius X (NE) this week! Coach Psota discusses a variety of topics, including working effectively with his assistant coaches, winning multiple state titles early in his head coaching career, creating numbers in your program, not beating yourself and adapting to your personnel offensively. This was a really fun podcast as we went down memory lane a little bit, so enjoy!

One of the great, but forgotten teams, in WNBA history is the 2010 Seattle Storm. Lead by two all time greats in Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson, the Storm (no pun intended) stormed their way to a terrific regular season before pulling off the very rare perfect postseason, sweeping their way to a championship. One of the best runs in WNBA history is a great story, but was this a great team? Nate Wall, Jacob Brindle and I try to answer that question!

Welcome back to "The Notebook"! We crack it open once again to discuss a bunch of different angles in the game, including the transfer portal in both the men's and women's game, North Carolina's hire of Mike Malone, player movement in the WNBA, the WNBA draft, NBA playoff predictions and 'Controlling what you can control'. Enjoy this Friday edition of "The Notebook"!

Some people call her "The Diva Coach", but I think it's safe to say that we should just call Dawn Thornton a winner! Coach Thornton has led Alabama A&M's women's program to multiple 20 win seasons and is our guest for episode #322. We discuss a variety of topics, including her growth as a coach and as a person, the recruiting landscape and how her program is adjusting to it, offensive transition, gap defense, and her connections to the HBCU universe. A really fun conversation with a terrific basketball coach!

Episode #321 features TJ Eskildsen, the head men's basketball coach at McPherson (KS) University. Coach Eskildsen has built a great program at McPherson, including an NAIA national tournament berth this past season. In this podcast, we discuss the influence of his father, building his program, developing players, pressbreaks, transition offense and much more! A really fun conversation with one of the best NAIA coaches in the country!

Perhaps Pat Summitt's greatest squad, the 1997-98 Tennessee Lady Vols was, without a doubt, one of the most entertaining teams in NCAA women's basketball history. "The Three Meke's", along with Summitt, was one of the most dominant teams in history, with only minimal challenges on their way to a 39-0 record and a national championship, all while playing an exciting brand of basketball. We had our opinions on this team, but as always, you tell us . . .

Scott Moore, the highly successful men's head coach at Grace College (IN), comes on the pod to discuss his basketball journey, running an efficient offense, the possibility of small school colleges advancing to higher levels, coaching the great player and much more, including an extended conversation about Coach Wooden! A great conversation with one of America's best small school coaches!

Welcome back to "The Notebook", where we take a look at a variety of topics within the game of basketball. In this edition, we break down the men's NCAA Final Four with a couple of predictions, we take a look at both the hot teams and the sinking ships in the NBA, some great quotes from some of the best coaches in the country and much more!

It is a great day to talk "March Madness" and how teams are working their way through the end of the season with three terrific coaches; Brandon Henderson of Riverside Prep (CA), Caleb Kluender of Columbus Lakeview (NE) and Steve Klein of Bellevue West (NE)! We discuss lessons learned from watching basketball all weekend, things learned from this past season, building a strong youth camp, getting your kids into the gym in the offseason and much more! Enjoy a really fun conversation!

THE story of the NCAA tournament so far has been the Nebraska Cornhuskers and their Cinderella season and run in Oklahoma City this past weekend. One of the great subplots of the Oklahoma run by the Huskers was the overwhelming fan support that followed Hoiberg's crew to OKC. Unless you were there, it's hard to describe what happened, but in this special narrative podcast, I'm going to try to tell you the story of what happened this weekend in OKC from the ground view. For our family, and more specifically, for our oldest, this was not a story of this weekend, but it was a story that was finally finished after seven long years . . . Enjoy "Four Days in Oklahoma"

We're back with another episode from "The Mellow Mushroom" in downtown Lincoln to talk hoops! We've got Steve Self from South Sioux City (NE), T-Shaw from Sidney (NE) and Nate Wall from the suburbs of David City (NE) to chat about a variety of different topics!

It's the best weekend of the year for hoops heads, so let's not just break down one bracket, but both! I brought in Nate Wall and Jacob Brindle from "The Greatest Coaches" podcast and we coaxed Mr. Tony D. Vis out of retirement to do a one off with us to not only give you a national champion in the men's bracket, but also the women's bracket. 134 games x 4 predictors = 536 different predictions in 75 minutes . . . enjoy!

We had a great time at the Mellow Mushroom last week at the Nebraska girls state tournament with three terrific coaches; Elkhorn's Jen Wragge, Central Valley's Devon Beck and Norfolk Catholic's Tim Kassemeier! We discuss lessons learned from this season, what they're looking to learn about during the off-season, favorite shooting drills and a debate over a proposed rule change . . . enjoy!

Episode #316 (why do I hear breaking glass and Stone Cold Steve Austin walking out when I say that?) features Jimmy Motz from Norris (NE) and Jim Simons from Omaha Westside chatting it up about alot of late season topics, including getting ready for post season play, the important tasks you have to perform after the season concludes, rebounding and many more things! We had alot of fun putting this one together, so enjoy it!

Jamie Parish, the longtime head girls basketball coach at Sioux Falls Washington, jumps on the podcast to discuss a variety of topics in a really fun conversation! Coach Parish and I discuss growing his program through culture building activities. growing as a coach, coaching at different levels of enrollment, player development and much more! Had alot of fun recording this podcast with one of South Dakota's best!

We're back with another edition of "The Notebook"! We talk about . . . *Bracket previews for both Men's and Women's College Basketball and the tiers they fall in*A crazy weekend in hoops*Is it okay to criticize players publicly?*Things you could/should look at for your tournament run*Keeping perspectiveEnjoy!

My friend Nick LoGalbo is back on the pod to discuss the philosophy of Stoicism and how it can help you become a better coach! Coach LoGalbo has spent the last few years studying the Stoics and applying it to both his daily and professional life, and while we worked together at Snow Valley Basketball School, Coach turned me onto Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations", which has led us both to many different resources, including Ryan Holiday. We talk about the history of Stoicism, earlier influences and how you can apply Stoicism to your coaching. Enjoy!

What many people consider to be one of the greatest teams of all-time, if not THE greatest team of all time, the 1985-86 Boston Celtics featured NINE Hall of Famers or future Hall of Famers in various ways, including "Old Testament" players Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, along with one of the greatest guards of the era in Dennis Johnson, along with 6th man Bill Walton. The stats and the eye test speak for themselves, but how great of a team was this truly? You tell us . . .

Really excited to share Babe Kwasniak's story with "Maverick Leadership", a new book highlighting taking risks in your leadership style. A good read detailing 20 different leadership styles, "Maverick Leadership" covers everything from coaching to business to military thoughts. Coach Kwas dives into the book and his own story and how "Maverick Leadership" can help any leader, including basketball coaches, be better at what they do!

We had alot of fun recording a Zoom podcast with three great coaches; Dexter Goodner, AC for Hastings (NE) WBB, Ryan Cahak of Tennessee United AAU program and Brandon Shaver, Boys HC at Lake Travis (TX)! We talked about a variety of topics, including practices in February and March, shooting drills, using the shot clock (kind of . . . ) and other topics! Enjoy this really fun conversation!

Featured in this edition of "The Notebook":*Here comes KU Men's and UCLA Women's teams*Potential #1 seeds in both tournaments*The importance of the FT Line, team length and proper preparation for each game*The NBA trade deadline*Why girls basketball numbers are dipping, and some strategies to fix it

Episode #311 features Nick Thompson, the head boys basketball coach at Elkhorn (NE). Coach comes from a lineage of great coaches and has learned from some of the best coaches in the state of Nebraska. Coach discusses his journey, being selective in the jobs he applied for, why Elkhorn was the job for him, growing as a coach, building a fundamentally sound program, the importance of defense and more! This was a fun conversation with one of Nebraska's best up and coming coaches!

We've got a lot of great stuff to talk about in this edition of "The Notebook", including:*College basketball achievements by freshman and old coaches*Fixing collegiate eligibility*Navigating up's and down's of January*Preparing for late game scenarios*Putting together your rotation based on analyticsENJOY!

It is GREAT to have Mike Neighbors, the former HC at the University of Arkansas and current assistant coach for the Los Angeles Sparks, back on the podcast! Coach and I break down a bunch of different topics, including the new Refindex.com to help rate officials at the collegiate level. We also talk about the last year of his life, from getting let go from his dream job to moving into the professional ranks and we also spend some time talking about some of our recent favorite books. This was alot of fun to have on Coach once again!

Blake DuDonis is the lead Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at Fairfield University, one of the best mid-major women's basketball program in the country. Coach DuDonis and the Fairfield staff have a unique philosophy to their program, which he dives into in the podcast! Coach also talks about his basketball journey, going from a head coach to an assistant coach, the next steps for their program, offensive transition, special situations and more! This was a really fun conversation with one of America's up and coming assistant coaches!

Ryan Hintz is the head boys basketball coach at Blue Valley (KS) High School, where he has built a really consistent program. He comes on the podcast this week to talk about a bunch of different topics, including being a transformational coach and how to motivate young people today, growing as a coach, developing back to the basket post players, developing a solid youth program and much more! A really fun podcast with one of the best coaches in the Kansas City Metro area!

The latest edition of "The Notebook" features an extended discussion of "January Season" and how to navigate perhaps the toughest season of the year, including growing your own team. We also have a segment on game situations to cover and prepare for. Our last segment deals with "New Year's Resolutions" and how to best prepare yourself for the New Year and how to make yourself better. Enjoy!

Really excited to have on Chris Mayes, the author of the "Drive The Gap" Substack series! Coach Mayes has two decades of international basketball experience that he has brought here to the United States and is now sharing with the world. In this episode, we break down the differences between the way the game is played and developed here in the United States as opposed to Europe, where coaches need the most help, player development at both the perimeter and the post, scouting and much more! Alot of fun talking with Coach this week!

Merry Christmas from APAAN! We've got a bunch of things to talk about this week in "The Notebook", including game situations, a great 1 on 1 drill, analyzing the 49-0 stretch of the Heartland going into Christmas break, Emirates Cup champion New York Knicks and more!

We had a terrific conversation with Amy Eagan, the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Lindenwood University (MO), a Division I program on the rise in the Ohio Valley Conference! Coach Eagan has been a winner at every level, and we dive into her journey to Division I HC, including her experiences with Molly Miller. In addition, we talk about building a program, battling the "Big Dogs", podcasting (?), player development, staff development and more! This was a really fun conversation with a great up and coming coach!

Bonus Pod Time! Today we're dropping our "Greatest Teams" podcast covering the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, owners (or previous owners) of some of the greatest records in NBA history, including the (perhaps) unbreakable record of 33 consecutive wins. From the tragedy of Elgin Baylor's retirement to Jerry West's agony, Wilt's excellence, Gail Goodrich's sharp shooting and more, Nate Wall, Jacob Brindle and I break down the roster, the coaching and the stats of this team. We also have my dad come on to give his perspectives, as this was one of his favorite teams of all time!

Episode #305 features Todd Fergot, the head boys basketball at LaCrosse Central (WI) and newly minted Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Famer! In this episode, Coach and I break down a bunch of topics, including parent meetings, growing as a coach, extending your coaching career, building a quality youth program, building a defense and much more! This was a great conversation with a terrific coach!

In this episode of "The Notebook" we take a look at Indiana football, it's Cinderella story and how studying their formula for success can help you! In addition, we talk Giannis trade rumors, the amazing streaks of LBJ (done) and SGA (still going), some game situations that you should prepare for before they even happen, including late game situations, the impressive starts of Texas and LSU women's basketball, and the excellence that is Mark Few.

It's time to "Rave On" w/ Briar Cliff Men's Basketball HC Mark Svagera! Coach Svagera and I discuss variety of issues, from stepping into a tradition-rich program, growing as a head coach, the challenges of coaching at a small school, blending his offensive philosophy while implementing a defensive identity, developing shooters and much more. A really fun conversation with one the best small college coaches in the country!

In the 3rd edition of the notebook, we dive in on a variety of topics, including the state of Michigan and college basketball, things to think about for December, taking care of yourself, hot teams in the NBA and an appreciation of greatness . . . enjoy!

The second edition of "The Notebook" is here! In this episode we're talking about some great women's basketball achievements, injured NBA players, some X's and O's to prepare for, "Feast Week" and a story to give those who are struggling hope . . . I hope you enjoy this one!

Jamie Carey is the new WBB HC at the University of Omaha with a great lineage of coaches that she has played and worked for, and she's on track to build the Omaha program into something special! In this episode, we talk about those rebuilding efforts and what its going to take to get the Mavericks to the top of the Summit League, her influences and amazing journey, statistical analysis, her favorite drills and much more! A lot of fun talking to one of the up and coming coaches in America!

The first time that we've had a father-son duo on the podcast before! Bruce Chubick Jr., the head boys basketball coach at Omaha Central, comes on the pod to talk about his unique upbringing and the influence of his father, leaving Omaha South to go to a rival school, taking over a consistent power in Nebraska, communicating with administration, scouting and much more! A really fun conversation with a terrific head coach!

Hey, let's try this out! I've got a notebook next to my computer, and when I see something good and useful for coaches to help them out this season, I'm going to write it in my notebook. Once I get enough stuff in there, I'll spill it out!This first edition, we're talking some X's and O's with some of the stuff I've seen early this season, the excitement of early season college hoops, and some teams that have been surprising early in the NBA, while also having some teams that are not so good . . .Let me know what you think! If you like it, let me know! If you think it stinks, let me know!! Just want to have some fun and talk some hoops to help coaches out!

We are going to continue with the Duke connection in this week's episode; we welcome in former Duke assistant coach, Notre Dame head coach and current Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Mike Brey onto the podcast! Coach Brey and I talk about his career, the experiences and lessons learned that he has had over the years, adjusting to going back to being an assitant coach with Quin Snyder, his experiences with Coach K, teaching motion offense and much more! A really fun conversation with one of America's best coaches!

In our latest segment on the "Greatest Coaches" pod, Tony and I dive into Rick Pitino, the often traveled and highly successful coach at numerous stops, including Kentucky, Louisville and St. John's. We break down Coach Pitino's career, including his numerous successes, his failures and what makes him one of the best coaches of the last half century. We also have trivia, our TWIB segment where we break down the early season NBA headlines and more! We also have an announcement . . enjoy "The Coaching Staff"!

EPISODE #300!!! WOW!!!!Thank you so much to everyone who has followed along with A Pen And A Napkin; I hope that I've been able to help you out, even if it is in the smallest of ways . . . it has been my pleasure!Today's podcast is with ESPN and NBA commentator Jay Bilas! We discuss Coach K's influence on him as a player and as a coach, along with his annual "Coaches Academy" he holds each year. We also discuss some questions asked by others, a season preview and much, much more!It's been a great run; thank you so much for all of your support!

Tony and I have discussed how to take care of yourself for the short term, but this week we discuss a longer term view . . . how to sustain a long career. From organization to being a life long learner to knowing yourself, we've got a laundry list of tips to help coaches to not just thrive this year, but for many years. In addition, we've got trivia and a bunch of different topics in our TWIB segment, including the NBA gambling scandal and players from the G-League having collegiate eligibility. Enjoy!

Really excited to have on for episode #299 Dick Wettengel, the head girls basketball coach at Council Bluffs St. Albert's (IA). Coach has been involved with the game in the Council Bluffs area for over 50 years, and last year his squad cut down the nets in Des Moines. We discuss his influences, building his program brick by brick, pressure defense, sharing of athletes and much more. A really fun conversation with a coach who richly got his flowers this past spring!

The goal of every offense is to create the best shots for the best players, but how do you get down to the details of accomplishing that goal? This week, Tony and I break down the intricacies of getting great shots, from your set list to passing and screening. We also have a good TWIB segment, where we discuss Giannis, J-Kidd's new contract, a preview of the NCAA Top 10's and a preview of the NBA Pacific Division. Enjoy!