Anatamony of a Timeout: Tip #2

There are times during a game where you are going to be down X number of points, with little time left and you will be in a timeout situation and your players are going to be looking to you for guidance as to how they can come back and win the game. What topics do you cover in those 30-90 seconds. Hopefully, you have practice these situations a number of times throughout the season so your players have some prior knowledge to go off of, but here are some questions to think about that you will probably need to cover in a timeout situation.


1. How much time is left on the clock and at what point do you need to start shooting 3’s to get back in the game? Obviously, this is going to depend on the current score, but if you are down 8-10 points and there is 2 minutes left, do your players clearly understand your offensive expectations of getting a quick 2 or at what point do they need to be looking for a 3?

2. When you are down 3-4 points with a couple of seconds left on the clock, do your players understand how to miss the second free throw, and what everyone’s responsibilities are on the miss in order to get the offensive rebound and another FG attempt to win or tie the game?

3. Do your players know at what point they need to start fouling in order to extend the game? Do your players know how to properly foul? Do you have a verbal and nonverbal signal?

4. Do your players clearly know your defensive objectives on defending delay game offenses? Do they know who the best free throw shooter is in order to deny him/her and who the worse free throw shooter is in order to foul him/her?

5. If you are able to get back in the game, do your players know whether they should push the ball in the final seconds and try and score before the defense gets set, or should they call a timeout?

Again, the true success of these situations is preparation in practice. This not only prepares your players for these situations, but also helps you as the coach in those situations as well. A few years ago, I took an Advanced Basketball Theory class with Don Meyer. One of the things that he did frequently was work on a special situation at a random time during practice. For example, after or during a drill, you as the coach could call “timeout,” have half of your players go to one coach, and the rest go to another coach where you work on a time and score situation. You can make it a 30 second timeout or a 60 second timeout. The 2 teams would then go and execute the discussed game plan. This simulates stress and spontaneity to your players. This does require some planning with the coaching staff in order for all the coaches to be clear as to what the situation is and what the expectations are.