Tom Izzo Notes

Tom Izzo

“The Anatomy of a Timeout” -Players in tough situations don’t respond how you wished they would. Use timeouts to rectify this. -Save your timeouts in the 1st half, utilize them in the 2nd. -Utilize your timeouts: how are they playing us? At times it’s something we need to adjust to, but at others, it’s simply putting it down on the board and explaining it to our players. -Izzo refers to situations as version of special

Basketball Special Teams Jump balls, BLOBs, SLOBs, ATOs, AFTs

dead ball basketball football’s teams.

-Why the importance on “Special Teams”? Lost 14 games by 1-4 points in his first 2 seasons and thought, “how could we steal a couple of points a game?” The important part was selling the emphasis to his players. “The main point of all this isn’t necessarily the plays we run, but the commitment we make to it. You can substitute any of our x’s and o’s for your own, but the important piece is that it needs to become incredibly important to you and your players. Convince them that those extra points will separate you” -We see these situations as times where we can’t let up. While the other team is relaxing, we’re going 100 miles an hour with total concentration. -If we get one basket every 2 games in each one of those 5 situations, we’ve gained 5 points a game.

SLOBs “1”

Left Diagram: 3 seals for catch. 1 sprints to the right wing on 3’s catch. 2 follows his pass. Right Diagram: 1 pivots and reverses direction to come off the double set by 4 and 5.

“2”

Left Diagram: 1 breaks out of the stack for a catch from the inbounder. 2 runs off 3. Middle Diagram: 4 and 5 set a double ball screen for 1

Right Diagram: 4 and 5 now turn to set a double for 3.

“Golden” Left Diagram: Against teams that pressure SLOB situations, Izzo likes to inbound to a big (with the thinking, the defense can’t pressure 1-5). 1 screens down for 5. Right Diagram: 2 screens down for 1. 1 comes off the screen to get a DHO from 5. On the DHO, 4 flares for 2.

“Jackson” Left Diagram: 1 comes off 4 and 5’s double zipper. 3 sprints to screen for 1 on his catch. Middle Diagram: 4 and 5 set a double flare for 3.

Right Diagram: After setting the flare, 5 steps in to screen for 4 to

step off for a jump shot.

BLOBs Izzo loves running the same play out different sets because he believes it’s easier for his players to understand.

“Chips” Left Diagram: 3 passes to 4 on his pop. On 4’s catch, 1 moves to the perimeter to receive reversal from 4. Right Diagram: 2 moves down to screen for 3. 3 curls into the paint looking for a pass from 1 for a layup. 4 screens in for 2.

“Chips Box”

“Chips Line”

“Wide” Great to use against a team that really pressures the BLOB. Left Diagram: On 3’s slap, 4 and 5 x to the opposite short corner. Right Diagram: 2 and 1 move back as outlets. 1 must really sell this outlet before quickly changing direction and diving at the rim.

Set Plays “Horns” 4 and 5 flash to the elbow. 1 hits 4. 2 back cuts and looks to receive the pass from 4 either in motion on the back door cut or by button hooking into a post-up.

“Horns Down”

Left Diagram: 3 AI cuts over the double screen set by 4 and 5. 2 goes through. Right Diagram: Once 3 clears his body, 4 steps up for a catch from 1. On his catch, 4 looks to make a quick pass off his knee to 3 cutting to the hoop.

“Chest” Great against pressure Ds Left Diagram: 4 and 5 clear as 3 steps up for a catch in the middle of the floor. Right Diagram: 2 and 1 go through and cross to come off 4 and 5’s screens.

Jump Balls “1”

When we know we’re going to win the tip: 5 tips it to 4 (work with 5 on tipping the ball UP). 4 leaps to catch the tip and turns in the air to throw to 1 who has broken out to the left. 1 wants to catch and throw a lob to 3 streaking to the hoop.

“2”

When we’re not sure if we can win it.

Left Diagram: 5 tips back to 1 as 2 and 3 sprint wide. Right Diagram: 1 dribbles to the left wing as 4 and 5 sprint into a double stagger for 2.

“2 Plus” When we’re not sure if we can read it and we think a team might be clued into “2” Left Diagram: 5 taps back to 1 and again 4 and 5 sprint into a double stagger like in “2”. Right Diagram: 2 curls the stagger right into the paint. 3 comes right behind him.