Dwaine Osborne on Elite Shot Selection, ATO Construction, and Grading the "Tagging Up" System {Youngstown State}

Nov 21, 2025

Dwaine Osborne, Associate Head Coach at Youngstown State, is renowned for his offensive efficiency in college basketball. In this conversation, he dives deep into his approach to elite shot selection, emphasizing analytics-driven decision-making and the importance of paint efficiency. Osborne shares teachings on First-Touch Decisions (FTDs), balancing player confidence with analytical insights, and how fewer, deeper practice concepts lead to better execution. He also unveils effective ATO strategies and discusses the key habits of tagging up, providing valuable insights for coaches at all levels.

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INSIGHT

Shot Selection Is A Math Problem

Dwaine Osborne frames offense through efficiency and shot selection as a life-math problem.
Teaching PPP values and pausing shots trains players to choose higher-value attempts.

ADVICE

Start Small And Rep Core Concepts

Introduce only two or three core concepts first and rep them heavily before adding more.
Avoid overwhelming players with too many new actions early in the install.

ADVICE

Score Practices To Enforce Shot Value

Use competitive practice scoring to punish low-value shots and reward good ones.
Make mid-range attempts cost your team points to create peer accountability.

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Episode Summary

In this episode, Slappin’ Glass sits down with Youngstown State Associate Head Coach Dwaine Osborne, one of the most consistently efficient offensive coaches in college basketball. Osborne — an eight-time Coach of the Year with a track record of leading the nation in effective field-goal percentage and offensive efficiency — opens the doors to his philosophy on building highly disciplined, analytically driven teams.

Across a wide-ranging conversation, Coach Osborne unpacks how he teaches elite shot selection, builds paint efficiency, and uses clarity-based concepts to help players make decisive first-touch decisions. He details why “life is math,” how he leverages PPP values to communicate shot quality, and why playing off two feet may be the most under-taught skill in modern offense.

The episode digs deeply into layup packages, Villanova footwork, decision-making progressions, and the balance between analytics and empowering confident, aggressive scorers. Coach Osborne also breaks down how he thinks about ATOs, why fewer plays lead to better execution, and how his program blends tagging-up rules, offensive rebounding, and transition defense into one integrated system.

Throughout, he brings humility, candor, and clear teaching language — making this an episode loaded with transferable concepts for coaches at every level.

What You’ll Learn

How to Teach and Enforce Shot Selection
Practical ways Osborne uses analytics (PPP numbers, film pauses, peer accountability) to build a team-wide understanding of shot value.
Why Efficient Offense Starts With Player Strengths
How defining each player’s “best value actions” leads to higher-percentage possessions and clearer roles.
Developing First-Touch Decisions (FTDs)
Methods to help players make decisive reads on the catch — not predetermined, but anticipated through clarity and structure.
Building Paint Efficiency
Why all layups are not created equal, how Osborne categorizes finishing packages, and how playing off two feet mirrors traditional post play.
Using Concepts, Not Just Plays
How his teams layer the same concepts (Denver, Flash, Laker, Wyoming, etc.) out of multiple alignments to stay unpredictable and comfortable in late-game moments.
ATO Construction and Why Less Is More
The philosophy behind keeping the ATO menu small, emphasizing execution, and choosing between attacking defensive tendencies or preventing them.
The Tagging-Up System: Four Simple Rules
A clear explanation of the “touch, top, no reckless crash, no advance” framework — and how it improves both offensive rebounding and transition defense.
How to Balance Analytics With Player Confidence
His approach to ensuring players feel empowered, not restricted, while still understanding efficiency and role clarity.
Culture, Trust, and Prioritizing People
Why recruiting for character and building meaningful relationships is foundational to executing an analytical system.

This episode is a masterclass in clarity-driven coaching, teaching with precision, and building efficient offense without sacrificing player confidence or freedom.

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