“We think the human body can take only three high-level, hard workouts a week,” Barnes says. In the middle of the Big 12 season, with two or three games a week on the schedule, that means less mandatory practice time and more walk-throughs and shoot-arounds. “There are times during the year when we’re going to be on the floor for more than two hours; other times, for an hour or less.”

Barnes relies heavily on one of the top strength & conditioning coaches in the country – Todd Wright – and numerous graduate students who do research on topics related to basketball and performance enhancement. Few other teams follow this methodology. However, what is most important late in the season – the extra time on the court practicing or having healthy, fresh players? Sometimes, less really is more.

Other coaches are not following Barnes’ methodology:

“Shorthanded Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey, who has a seven-man rotation, started two-a-day workouts in February to toughen his squad for a late Big East push. And Villanova’s Jay Wright, who runs an 11-man rotation, says his team is scrimmaging more at this point in the season than in previous years, to give everyone a regular run. Sometimes starters get the day off so Wright can work out his rotational players two-on-two. ‘This season we’re much more concerned with guys who play 10 to 15 minutes and making sure they’re always involved,’ Wright says.”

At the end of my season, I scrimmaged more than ever, as I played 12 players and wanted to keep players in game shape, as most players played less than a half during games. In previous seasons, as the season neared a conclusion, my goal was not to continue teaching new things, but to keep the players fresh and focused for the late-season games.

Different situations require different approaches, and different coaches approach the same situations with a different set of eyes.

By Brian McCormick
Director of Coaching, Playmakers Basketball Development League

I coach some relatively inexperienced high school players. Since the Monday before Thanksgiving, we have had one scrimmage, eight games and four practices with four more games and two practices this week. We are in a stretch of five games in six days with no practices.

If player development was the goal, the schedule would be far different. We will have played 13 games and one scrimmage before we break for Christmas. When I coached in a professional league, our first game was the first weekend of October, and we played eight games before Christmas.

The high school schedule crams 13 games into one month for developing players while a professional league spaces eight games through three months. While we have had twice as many games as practices this month, when I coached in Europe, we had 4-6 practices per game (and we only practiced once per day because it was not one of the top leagues which often practice twice per day).

In which schedule will a player develop his or her skills?

We have adopted a mentality that believes that players only improve or develop during games. But, this is far from true.

In competitive situations, players play to their strengths: they do what they already can do. If I do not dribble well with my left hand, I dribble only with my right hand. If I cannot make a lay-up with my left hand, I shoot with my right hand. If I cannot guard a good player, I pick the player who looks like the worst player on the other team to guard.

How does this help a player improve or develop new skills?

In practice, players try new things. A practice lacks performance pressure, so a player can practice shooting left-hand lay-ups or dribbling the ball with his left hand without the fear of failure. A mistake in practice does not let down his or her teammates or cause the coach to take the player out of the game. By practicing new or undeveloped skills, a player expands his or her game and improves.

Unfortunately, off-season teams have adopted a similar schedule, often practicing once or twice per week and playing 3-5 games on the weekends. When do players improve if they spend the entire year engaged in a competitive environment? When is the time to develop new skills? When do players add strength or develop quickness?

By Brian McCormick
Director of Coaching, Playmakers Basketball Development League