170 - 35 (100-12 at half)...Starters start 2nd Half

[CMHCoachNRef]

Originally Posted by bbcoach7

I've had to deal with this kind of situation 3 out of my last 4 games; however no where near the degree of this Texas example. I'm somewhat embarased and feel badly for my opponent when we win by a big margin. I can't imagine how I'd feel if we beat a team by such a huge margin. In these games, we were up 30+ points in the 1st half in each one. We press, but stop when we get a 20 point lead. If the opponent gets it under 20, we press again. I do what I can to not run it up; play subs most of the minutes, play kids out of position, etc.

What we never do is compromize our standards. We are never going to pull back and just let a team easily catch and shoot, no mater the score. That's how bad habits develop. My last player off the bench better be fronting the post, denying the wing, pressuring the ball, challenging all shots, and playing just as hard as my 1-5 players for the entire game no matter what the score is. Last Friday we were up by 29 with several minutes left. It was all subs in the game and they started playing slow, not flying around like I demand. I called a time out to remind them that their playing time is directly effected by their hustle on the defensive end. I also didn't allow my team to shoot the ball in our last 2 possessions.

Who we are and what we do is independent of the score, or said another way, the score is irrelevant to our standards. My IRL job before I retired was a forestry firefighter. I retired as a captain; so I know a thing or two about never compromizing your standards, it's ingrained in me. While I've never been anywhere near the situation of this Texas team, I'd like to believe that my standards for my team would be the same even with a 100+ point lead. "This is who we are, and this is what we do." The score board is irrelevant.

I know you don't agree, and that's fine. You are good at what you do, and I'm good at what I do. Some of you have coaching experience, but I suspect if you were very good at it, or enjoyed coaching, you wouldn't be posting here as an official. It's not for everyone. I'm good at what I do and not by the standard of winning, but by the standard of kids have fun and they learn about more than just how to make a lay up or defend the pick & roll. They learn life skills, like my coaches taught me. The question begs to be asked, what do kids learn from me by this "standard." They learn to always give their best effort. They learn to never compromize their personal, or an organizations (team) standards. They learn the reward of hard work. When we are up like that (score board) I'm reminding my kids at every time out to help them up if you knock them down, be humble, don't trash talk, etc. But always, always, keep playing hard. We want our opponents to know we are going to play them hard, and they are in for a battle, even when we are not good. We want that to be our "corner stone." We win not because it's the goal, but because we have high standards and we don't compromize them. Worked for me IRL in the fire aservice, and works coaching too.

I'm in the NW corner of CA. A geographical area notorious for being socially liberal and soft. If I was a bully, or a run-it-up type coach, I wouldn't last.

BBCoach,
Actually, I love to coach and I love to officiate. BOTH jobs are very challenging and very rewarding. Not many folks have a passion for both. I do -- in both soccer and basketball.

I have no problem whatsoever with playing aggressively throughout the game. A team can play an aggresssive non-trapping man-to-man defense all game long. If a team cannot effectively run a halfcourt offense, I don't care how well they run on the break, I can beat them. I can drop four players back on a shot, if need be. The point is, I can pretty much force you to beat me in the half court (obviously, if I don't have any "horses", this may not apply, but someone will have the ability to force this coach's team to run a half court offense).

Therefore, once a team is up 100 - 12 at halftime, this would present an excellent opportunity to work on a half court offense. Work on holding the ball for the final shot at the end of a quarter by running 15 - 30 seconds off the clock three or four possessions in a row. Teams must still remain very focused in order to protect the ball and get a high percentage shot at a particular time interval.

You indicated that your team manages to keep up its intensity while not full court pressing. My team can do the same. Why could this coach not figure out the same thing? Winning by 135 points in a NFHS game just fails the logic test, in my opinion.

By the way, good discussion on this topic.