Game Day Routine for Basketball Coaches: Shootaround to Tip

A game day routine for basketball coaches is the script a program runs on every game day: the morning, the meal, the arrival, the warm-up, the locker room talk, every staff job, the bench, halftime, travel and the first steps after the final horn. It is the operations side of a game. Coaches differ on almost every step, and a routine exists to run the same way every time.

The warm-up drills themselves are on basketball warm-up drills, the halftime decisions on basketball halftime adjustments, the player's mental side on how to mentally prepare for a basketball game, and the late-game calls on basketball clock management.

One Routine, Every Game

Running the same sequence every game, more than any single step in it, is what lowers pregame anxiety. Use one routine for every game, home or road, after a winning streak or a losing one, so there are no surprises. Keep it for playoff and rivalry games too. Don Meyer lists handling wins and losses the same way as part of a program's culture.

Put the routine on a card, post it in the locker room and follow it.

The Morning: Shootaround, Walk-Through or Rest

Coaches split on what the team does before it gets to the gym. Pick one and write it on the card.

• Rest. Notes on Jim Boeheim's program record no shootaround and no game-day walk-through, with players sleeping in and little film.
• Game-day practice. A 40 to 60 minute practice about 5 hours before tip, never live. Quin Snyder renamed shootarounds "Game Day Practices" to change how players think about them.
• The 50/50 walk-through. Rick Pitino walks through half on defending the opponent's offense and half on how they will defend his.

Opponent film can be capped at 20 to 30 minutes and finished 2 to 3 hours before tip, or shown during the JV game right before tip. The report behind it is on basketball scouting report.

Whatever the morning holds, do it the same way before every game.

Meals, Arrival and Dress

Feed the team on a clock and set the report time backward from the tip. The windows differ, so choose one.

• Meal 3 to 4 hours out. Then a light snack 30 to 60 minutes before tip.
• Meal 2 to 3 hours out. With the same snack window.
• Meal 1 to 2 hours out. High in carbohydrate and low in fat, or just a snack 1 hour out.
• Eat together the night before. Don Meyer has the team eat together the night before games, better still if they cook it together. Taking phones and headphones away at team meals gets players talking.

Report times run from 90 minutes before tip to 1 hour to at least 45 minutes, and a floor timeline can start 30 minutes out. Mike Krzyzewski is dressed and ready 30 minutes before tip. Coach Shep's players who arrive early shoot on their own (ball handling, form shooting, free throws) and read the game report posted on the board before the coaches get there.

Dress and conduct belong on the card too:

• Dress alike. Shirt and tie, so the team looks professional walking into a gym. Dean Smith's teams wore coats and ties on road trips.
• Respect the other gym. Arrive early, respect the opponent's space, and greet the opposing coach before and after the game.
• Walk the lines. In an unfamiliar gym, walk the players around the floor before they dress to point out the out-of-bounds lines, which can be hard to see in a gym shared with volleyball.

Set the report time once and never make the players guess it.

The Pregame Talk

Keep the locker room talk short and planned. Cover the starting lineup, the half-court and full-court defenses, the opponent's key players and how to contain them, the offense against man and zone, special and out-of-bounds plays, spacing and screening reminders and the tempo the coach wants.

• Three defensive attitudes. Open with a short personal story, then state them as a group: contest every shot, protect the paint, one shot only.
• Put it on the board. Write the planned plays and defenses on a whiteboard.
• Do not give too much. Krzyzewski walks through the opponent's tendencies without overloading the team.

How much emotion goes into the talk is a real split:

• Calm and fixed in advance. A calm, business-like tone over a big emotional speech, even for a big game.
• Read the room. Krzyzewski decides how much to say from his read of the team that day.
• Preparation, not a speech. Motivation comes from being ready for every situation, and a speech, movie clip or guest speaker lasts only a few minutes.
• Even keel. Denny Crum is quoted on avoiding emotional peaks.

For nervous players the message is simple: nerves are normal, so put them into defense, rebounding and loose balls. And get the coaching done before the game. Serious mistakes belong in practice, and if problems show up in games, go back to fundamentals rather than add plays. FIBA's youth coaching book asks for a pregame table of goals, likely difficulties and the responses to them.

Say what the players need, then let them play.

The Game Day Routine Warm-Up

The warm-up exists to get ready to play, so every drill runs at game speed. A team that starts slowly should first check whether it loafs through warm-ups. Every player takes the shots he will take in the game, the team shoots a few free throws, and the assistants stay involved to keep the energy up.

Three-line layups. 1 passes from the half-court line on the right side to 2 at the top of the key, sprints down the right sideline and cuts sharply to the basket, and 2 passes back for the layup. 2 rebounds and passes to 4 in the right corner. 1 goes to the top-of-the-key line, and 2 and 4 follow their passes.

Lengths and orders differ:

• Thirty minutes from the tip. Stretch, layups, team meeting, jump shots, three-lane weave, foul shooting, a short meeting, layups, then a huddle at the foul line at the tip.
• Five phases in 25 to 30 minutes. A 10-minute general warm-up of jogging and dynamic stretches, sport-specific drills, plyometrics, 5 minutes of static stretching held 20 to 30 seconds, and 5 minutes of mental preparation.
• A drill menu. Two-line and three-line layups, Tara VanDerveer's backdoor layup drill, close-outs that end in live 3-on-3, cutter shooting, a seven-man 3-on-2, and a full-court weave once the opponent has left the floor.
• The practice drill, live. Run the same 3-on-2 in the pregame warm-up as in practice, only decision-live.
• Captains' huddle. Coach Shep's teams end the warm-up with a captains' huddle and go to the bench with one minute left.

Backdoor layups. 3 passes from the left wing to 1 at the top of the key. 1 takes a dribble or two at 2 on the right wing, 2 back-cuts, and 1 throws a bounce pass up the lane line for the layup. 4 rebounds under the basket and passes to the next player in 3's line.

VanDerveer's drill teaches the dribble-at, back-cut rule. Use three balls, go quickly and rotate lines after each rep.

Second time through. X1 and X3 loosely guard the passers, and X2 denies 2 with a foot above the arc. 2 back-cuts and 1 throws an air pass to him.

Seven-man 3-on-2. 1 outlets from under the basket to 3, and all three sprint to touch the half-court line, 3 with a speed dribble, then turn and attack X4 and X5 three on two. Of the four who did not get the rebound or steal, the first two to yell 'defense' guard the next trip.

More layup work is on layup drills.

Warm up the way the team plays, loud and at full speed.

Every Adult Has a Job

Name every job before the bus leaves. One assistant reviews lineups and defensive matchups with the players during warm-ups, one tracks fouls and timeouts with the scorer's table during the game, and one watches the X's and O's.

• The chores. Enter the roster in the scorebook early and check it, pick up the opponent's starters from the table, and make sure there are enough bench chairs, a clipboard with extra markers and an eraser, a stocked medical kit and the stat sheets.
• A spare uniform. Keep a spare uniform for a player whose jersey gets blood on it, and know where to find ice.
• One charting job. Pitino gives one assistant nothing but deflections to chart.
• Assistants stay quiet. An assistant speaks in the locker room and in timeouts only when the head coach invites him.

The paperwork has teeth. In NCAA men's play a lineup or roster change after the 10-minute mark is an administrative technical (Rule 10-2), and the NCAA women's book also charges administrative technicals for lineup and roster changes (Rule 10-12). At high school, check your state association.

If everyone has a job, the head coach can coach.

The Opening Tip

Treat the tip as a small special situation. Tom Izzo counts the jump ball among his special teams and keeps three jump ball plays.

• Concede safely. With little chance to win the tip, line up defensively, possibly with two guards back.
• Score off the tip. With a real height or leaping edge, tip to one of two releasing guards for a 2-on-1, and the guards must not leave early. Run offensive tip plays only with an edge of 6 inches or more.
• Find the tipper. Practice the tip ahead of time to find the best tipper, not just the tallest player.

The possession arrow takes away most of the old advantage of winning the tip, but an early layup still counts. The alignments are drawn on jump ball plays and alignments.

Know the tip plan before the players walk to the circle.

Bench Rules

Write the bench rules down and post them at every bench.

• Stand for every change. The bench stands when players enter or leave, and extends a hand to the player coming off.
• Stay in the game. The bench counts down the shot clock, huddles at foul shots and stays loud when the defense is set in front of it, calling out screens and the opponent's plays.
• Sprint to the huddle. Dean Smith's players sprinted to the bench on a timeout, on a substitution and at halftime. Bench players sprint out to meet the team on a timeout without crossing half court.
• Seat the sub. The player who comes out sits next to an assistant, never at the end of the bench. Rotation choices are on basketball substitution patterns.

Check the bench rule at your level. In NCAA men's play, bench personnel standing while the ball is live is a Class B technical after one warning (Rule 10-4), and the NCAA women's book requires bench personnel to stay seated (Rule 10-12). In both, the head coach may stand in the coaching box. More on those calls is on technical foul basketball.

A bench that is part of the game makes the next sub ready.

Halftime on a Clock

Time halftime and keep it short. Players retain very little, so walk in with 1 to 3 adjustments at most.

• Three blocks of 3 to 5 minutes. Players' time while the coaches review alone, then a team meeting with 1 to 3 keys, then a real second-half warm-up with layups, shots and free throws.
• Coaches first, then 5 minutes. The coaches take 3 to 5 minutes alone with the box score and charts, then a player meeting capped at 5 minutes.
• Rehearse it. Krzyzewski rehearses an 8 to 10 minute halftime in the locker room during practice.
• Time, water, keys. Put time on the clock, let players get water and sit, then give 2 or 3 points.

Who speaks first differs: the coaches after their own review, or the bench players first, for ownership and to keep them in the game. Coach Shep's captains speak before the coaches walk in. Whoever starts, get every player's eyes first, let one staff member speak at a time, criticize the team rather than individuals, use a board for any diagram, and tell a starter who is not starting the second half why.

Put numbers on the board. Hubie Brown posts four defensive numbers at halftime: turnovers, steals, blocks or charges, and deflections. Pitino checks deflections going into every timeout and halftime, with a target of 17 to 22 at the half.

Two jobs keep halftime clean. One assistant confirms fouls and timeouts with the scorer while another gives a five-minute warning, and the second-half starters' names and numbers reach the scorer in time. With a big lead, play the second half as if the score were 0-0. When trailing, chase the deficit in five-minute goals. The length of halftime by level is on how long is basketball halftime.

Walk into the locker room with the keys already written down.

After the Horn

The first minutes after the game are part of the routine. Players shake hands whatever the result. Parent questions wait under a 24-hour rule. The parent policy is on basketball parent communication.

Keep the post-game talk short. Players stop listening within a few minutes, win or lose. Hold it under 2 minutes. What goes into it splits:

• Fit it to the result. After a poor game, say so, credit the opponent and name a few fixes. After a close win, say little and let them celebrate. On the road, one or two minutes, with the real talk back at school.
• A fixed formula. Two or three positives, one teaching point and something uplifting, win or lose.
• A player gives the talk. An assistant or a player, not always a starter, speaks instead of the head coach.
• Every player after a win. Hubie Brown gives each player eye contact and a specific positive.
• Team review, then one-on-ones. A brief meeting on the key moments, then separate feedback before the next game.

Detailed correction waits for practice. Write down every situation the team handled poorly right after the game and build those exact situations into the next practices. Krzyzewski watches the tape the night of the game. Film can run the day before the next game and once midweek, about 30 minutes before practice. Film sessions are on basketball film study.

Recovery starts at the horn: a carbohydrate and protein meal within 30 to 60 minutes and 7 to 9 hours of sleep. On the road, write a travel policy on behavior and attire, give the whole party an itinerary and one point of contact, carry a medical kit and debrief the staff after the trip. Dean Smith did not share the return-trip plan in advance, so players stayed on the game. The travel side is on team travel and logistics.

End the night the same way every time, and the next game day starts clean.

More Game Day and Shooting Guides

• Basketball Substitution Patterns: Shifts, Fouls and Closers
• How to Fix Common Shooting Errors: Read the Miss, Fix the Cause
• Catch and Shoot Basketball: Hop or 1-2 Footwork and Drills

Back to Basketball Clock Management and every Special Situations page.

Keep Building

Related breakdowns

Special Situations

Basketball Clock Management: Foul Up 3, Two for One, Last Shot

Basketball clock management explained: the clock rules by level, counting possessions, foul or defend up 3, fouling when behind, the two for one and the last shot.

Special Situations

Basketball Late Game Situations: Decisions, Fouls and Clock

Basketball late game situations settled before tip-off: the score math, timeouts, fouling up three and behind, the last shot, protecting a lead and daily practice.

Special Situations

Basketball Substitution Patterns: Shifts, Fouls and Closers

Basketball substitution patterns from tip to final horn: who starts, how long shifts run, unit subs, foul-trouble rules, subbing after a mistake and bench roles.