Idaho Basketball Coaching Podcast

Mac Stannard joins the podcast to talk about the Burley boys basketball program. Stannard is a first-time head coach who was hired by Burley earlier this spring. Prior to becoming the Bobcats' head coach, Standard was an assistant coach at Kuna and Eagle. He has coached for Idaho Select. Stannard talks about preparing for his first head coaching job and what he has learned so far coaching this summer. He also shares his approach to offense and defense and explains the importance of toughness and communication to his program. Stannard goes in depth on the pressure defense he is installing and how his coaching staff, which includes three former Burley players, is teaching the on-ball screen offense to the players.

Mark Cascio joins the Small-Sided Podcast Coaching Development Series to discuss the Drive and Space Offense. Cascio is championship-winning high school boys coach in Louisiana with more than 14 years of experience. Cascio shares the origins of his offensive system and how it works within the Anatomy of a Possession. Cascio also shares the WHY regarding his offense and provides examples of how he teaches it in practice. He also provides a number of helpful tips for coaches. Cascio has put on clinics and helped coaching staffs across the country through his Courtside Consulting business. Cascio is active on Twitter (@CoachCascio) and provides resources on his website CoachCascio.com.

Jared Phay joins the Small-Sided Pod coaching development series to talk about playing with discipline in a high-tempo offense. Phay is the head coach at Missouri State University - West Plains. Phay has deep Idaho roots, having grown up and played high school basketball in Idaho. Phay had successful runs as the head coach at North Idaho College and College of Southern Idaho. He led CSI to an appearance in the national championship game in 2018. Phay provides his definition of playing fast and playing with discipline and explains some coaching methods he uses to get his players to compete at a high tempo on offense and defense.

Adam Rankin joins the podcast to talk about the North Star Charter boys basketball program. A true basketball junkie, Rankin is entering his fourth year guiding the Huskies. He has also has experience coaching girls and at the youth level. Rankin shares what it is like to coach at a small charter school. He talks about his philosophy when it comes to building a program and how it encourages his players to have a growth mindset.  He also talks about his experience running a "Grinnell" type system where all 5 players were subbed after a minute-and-a-half and gives several other insights from his coaching experience.

Dave Love joins Small-Sided Pod Development Series to talk about what he would do if was a shooting coach for a high school program. Love is a professional shooting coach based out of Calgary who has worked with basketball players at the highest levels. Love goes deeper into a recent blog post on his website about what he would do if he was the shooting coach for a high school program. In the podcast, Love identifies ways coaches can provide individual or small-group instruction within a team setting. He also identifies methods coaches can use and emphasize to help players at any level improve their shooting habits. Love is active on Twitter (@CoachDaveLove) and has a website CoachDaveLove.com where basketball coaches can find many of his resources.

Chris Shuler joins the podcast to talk about the Century High Girls Basketball Program. Shuler has led the Diamondbacks to three 4A state titles since 2015. Shuler discusses what Century has been focusing on in their summer league with some transfer players joining the program. He also shares some of the key principles of their man-to-man defense and how they teach these in practices. Shuler also gives his thoughts on the state's proposal to seed the state tournament and how he spends his time on long bus rides. The conversation includes several other insights into the Century program.

Michael Lynch comes on the podcast to breakdown his practice planning thoughts for our Small-Sided Pod series on coaching development. Lynch is the head boys coach at Leicester High School in Leicester, Mass. Lynch is active on Twitter and recently posted a string of 10 practice planning thoughts. Lynch share some of the thoughts he thinks are most important and also identifies ways coaches can use effectively use a drill library. Finally, he also identifies a mistake he made in his own practice planning and a change he plans to make when practice starts this season. You can follow Lynch on Twitter by searching for @leicbasketball. He also runs a blog (leicesterbasketball.com/coachescorner) which includes a variety of useful coaching resources.

Kim Brydges joins the podcast to talk about the Boise High girls basketball program. Brydges has been the head coach of the Brave for 15 years and is continuously near the top of the 5A SIC. She has coached players who have gone on to play at the Division 1 level and state Players of the Year. Brydges discusses a number of topics that relate to coaching. A believer in the Positive Coaching Alliance, she shares ideas and methods to develop leaders for your team and create program cohesion. She also discusses the origins of Boise's Pink Zone game which has raised tens of thousands of dollars for breast cancer research. Brydges also discusses some Xs and Os, including on-ball screen coverages and ways to teach proper footwork. She also shares what the Brave program has been doing this summer because of the pandemic.

John Leonzo discusses Teaching Offense with a Games Approach in our first Small-Sided Pod. SSPs feature basketball coaches and experts from outside of Idaho giving short development sessions on basketball. Leonzo helps explain what Small-Sided Game are and how a basketball coach can use them in a Games-Based Approach to practice. He also takes us through how a coach might teach a dribble drive action or concept to a team using the TLC method — Teaching, Learning & Competing. Finally, he provides some helpful tips and reminders for a coach that might be incorporating a Games-Based Approach for the first time. Leonzo is an assistant coach for the Cedarville women's basketball team and runs the website LeonzoBasketball.com. His twitter handle is @John_Leonzo.

Jeremy Dennis joins the podcast to talk about the Borah boys basketball program. Dennis was a long-time varsity assistant before taking over as head coach in 2016. Under Dennis' stewardship, the Lions have won back-to-back 5A state titles. In this podcast, Dennis talks about how years of coaching at lower levels and as a varsity assistant helped him when he became a head coach. He also talks about some cultural aspects of the Borah program that stress players leading and embracing the grind. He also talks about coaching high-level players and drills they use on a regular basis to reinforce the program's values.