Bob Richey on Top-Down Alignment, Offensive Innovation, and DHO Angles {Furman}

Sep 26, 2025

Bob Richey, the Head Coach of Furman Men's Basketball, shares insights from his journey in rebuilding the program. He emphasizes the importance of top-down alignment across all levels for sustainable success. Richey discusses his unique blend of coaching influences and his offensive innovation strategies, including 'playing without pause' and 'bridging' offensive concepts. He also dives into player development through specific skill work and highlights the significance of clear defensive objectives. Lastly, Richey advocates for lifelong learning and strong relationships in coaching.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Identity Drives Sustainable Winning

Build identity around institutional fit: smart, skilled, and tough explains recruiting and development choices.
Identity creates built-in no's so decisions and program direction become simpler.

ADVICE

Get Top-Down Alignment First

Secure top-down alignment: board, president, AD, and coach must share a common vision before major initiatives.
Match your approach to the institution to get campus-wide support and speed projects like facility upgrades.

INSIGHT

Play Without Pause

Attack first, concepts second creates pace while preserving patience when needed.
Effective offenses 'bridge' from attack to action without a visible pause or manual shift.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

This week Slappin' Glass welcomes Bob Richey, Head Coach of Furman Men’s Basketball, for a masterclass on sustainable program building, player development, and offensive innovation. Over the past eight seasons, Richey has transformed Furman into one of the most consistently successful programs in college basketball, averaging more than 20 wins per year while competing at the highest levels of the Southern Conference and beyond.

In our conversation, Coach Richey shares how his philosophy was shaped by studying leaders like Rick Byrd, Bob McKillop, Jay Wright, and Lenny Acuff, and how he’s blended those influences into Furman’s unique style of play. We unpack his approach to:

Sustainable Winning: Why top-down alignment across administration, staff, and players is critical, and how identity-driven decision making simplifies recruiting, culture, and daily choices.
Player Development: Building year-over-year growth by aligning skill work directly with system play, creating an environment where smart, skilled, and tough players thrive.
Offensive Innovation: Exploring concepts like “playing without pause,” offensive “bridging” from attack to action, and balancing Princeton-influenced structure with pace, freedom, and decision making.
Defensive Identity: Richey’s reflections on how Furman can evolve on the defensive side of the ball, including measuring what matters most, systemizing coverages, and balancing rim protection with three-point defense.
Practice Design: How to maximize learning and decision-making through competitive small-sided games, varying stimuli, and teaching spacing, timing, and re-spacing at a high level.
The Art of the Dribble Handoff: A deep dive during our Start, Sub, or Sit segment into angles, pace, and counters within DHO actions.

Coach Richey also shares his belief in lifelong learning, the role of reading and studying outside programs, and why continuous innovation is essential in today’s coaching landscape.

This episode is a must-listen for coaches, leaders, and students of the game looking to better understand the connection between culture, identity, and on-court execution.

To join coaches and championship winning staffs from the NBA to High School from over 60 different countries taking advantage of an SG Plus membership, visit HERE!