Coaches Call for Smarter Training and Stronger Bonds

By Mason Lauron

Even though videos of kids doing complex basketball drills are easy to find online, developing a young player’s skills for a real game requires a deeper personal connection and live coaching that the videos simply cannot provide.

That was one of the key points that several college and professional basketball coaches made during a recent clinic for coaches who work with young players.

“Do we want people to be able to dribble around a cone? Or do we want people to be able to make decisions?” Washington Wizards assistant coach David Vanterpool asked the 50 or so coaches who attended the clinic. “If we want decision makers, we have to help create decision makers.”

Vanterpool made those remarks Sept. 14 at the Twenty2 Basketball Coaches Clinic & Networking Brunch. The event – which took place in the gym at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Maryland – was hosted by The Blake Bozeman Foundation.

The foundation was established to honor the memory and legacy of Blake Bozeman, a former guard for the men's basketball team at Morgan State University who was killed in a Washington D.C shooting in September 2023. One man, Cotey Wynn, is awaiting trial in connection with the case.

Bozeman’s father, Todd Bozeman, who served as a coach at Morgan State – including during his son’s time as a player there – wants people to remember his son as more than just a basketball player. The married father of three was also a realtor and active community member after his playing days.

“He was a giver and connector. He helped a lot of people,” Todd Bozeman said. “I wanted people to remember his name.”

The Blake Bozeman Foundation uses basketball as a way to focus on mental health awareness, financial literacy and gun violence education.

“My vision is for the foundation to continue to connect people and create a community,” Bozeman said. “That’s what the Blake Bozeman Foundation is about.”

The coaches clinic featured 11 speakers from both the college and professional level to discuss coaching strategies and player development.

Vanterpool said he uses “integrated training,” which forces the player to think about what they’re going to do next. Vanterpool gives his players multiple options throughout the drill, and they have to choose depending on what he shouts at the beginning of each rep.

Anwar McQueen, co-founder and CEO of TEAM – an acronym for Tech Exposure and Access through Mentoring Inc. – spoke about the increasing role of performance analytics to help players improve. Performance analytics help coaches track the amount of specific shots, passes, actions and even plays teams run throughout the game. TEAM teaches players and coaches how to use performance analytics more effectively. 

“When the Warriors exceeded 300 passes, they won 90% of their games,” McQueen noted.

McQueen, a former guard for the University of California, Berkeley, says while he understands the value of coaches relying on previous experiences and their “feel” for the game, he believes learning how to use performance analytics is vital for coaches everywhere.

“I don’t think it's mutually exclusive,” McQueen told Sneaker Theory. “The hidden gem is it’s part of performance at any level.”

McQueen demonstrated how to use the software Hudl Sportscode when watching film. 

“It’s more of a language about how you interpret what’s happening on the field or the court,” McQueen said.

The ability to track these things is extremely valuable to every coach and team, according to McQueen. “This is a big separation for people trying to get jobs,” he said.

Chris “Fat Cat” Cole, assistant coach for Verona Commonwealth University, told attendees that building a relationship with the player as a person is more important than focusing only on the player as a player.

“Being present in what you’re doing matters,” Cole said. “The most important thing in his development is for that kid to believe in you.”