Odds-On Basketball Coaching

In basketball, as in most sports, a large part of a coach's responsibility is to prepare his or her team for games. Yet, little time in practice is typically devoted to readying the players and coaches for specific game situations. For instance, what are the various ways to use dead ball moments to maximum advantage? What adjustments should be made to launch a comeback in particular circumstances? When is it favorable to purposefully miss a foul shot?
In Odds-On Basketball Coaching: Crafting High-Percentage Strategies for Game Situations, Michael J. Coffino presents an innovative system for coaches to prepare for specific game scenarios. Coffino challenges coaches to think differently about what they emphasize in practice, placing greater value on preparing for recurring game situations, crafting strategies by assessing the odds, and creating a culture that elevates how players think about the game. Each chapter begins with an actual game scenario that illustrates the chapter's content and includes discussions of notable college and professional basketball games in order to demonstrate specific points.
Odds-On Basketball Coaching provides a framework for making game decisions beyond instincts and habits. It is intended, more than anything, to stimulate coaches and players to think comprehensively and realistically about how to approach games and practices, fostering an environment where everyone can more incisively make game-time decisions. While high school and youth basketball coaches will find this book most helpful, coaches at all levels will benefit from this novel approach to the game.

Michael J. Coffino was a basketball coach for twenty-four years. He coached primarily at the high school level at public and private schools and won six league titles in his time as a head coach. Coffino has also assisted professional basketball teams. Now retired from coaching and from his position as a trial and litigation attorney, Coffino continues to consult at high school basketball programs across the region. Coffino is the co-author of the book Play if Forward (2016).

Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction: The Four Ps of Situational Basketball
Chapter 1: Timeouts
Chapter 2: Foul Situations
Chapter 3: Substitutions
Chapter 4: End-of-Quarter Situations
Chapter 5: Protecting a Sizable Lead: A Long-Term Game Strategy
Chapter 6: Catch-Up Situations and the Long-Term Comeback Strategy
Chapter 7: End-of-the-Game Situations (Minimal Possessions Left)
Chapter 8: End-of-the-Game Situations (Final Possessions)
Chapter 9: Game Matchups
Chapter 10: Managing the Blowout Game
Chapter 11: The Jump Ball
Chapter 12: Overtime
Chapter 13: Out-of-Bounds Situations (SLOB and BLOB)
Chapter 14: Practicing Special Situations
Conclusion
Appendix A: Game Assignments for Coaching Staff
Appendix B: Game Signals
Appendix C: Specialty Lineups and Player Roles
Appendix D: Special Game Rules
Appendix E: Situational Play List
Appendix F: Possessions Chart
Additional Resources
About the Author