My First Year: Loyola Marymount coach Stan Johnson on establ
Apr 20, 2021 14:07:03 GMT -5
thx4leavinjimlynam likes this
Post by ADG'99 on Apr 20, 2021 14:07:03 GMT -5
Great interview with CSJ in The Athletic today, I won't violate their paywall by posting the whole thing (The Athletic is great, you can get an introductory subscription for $1 a month), but below is a highlight:
theathletic.com/2521852/
theathletic.com/2521852/
From a basketball-specific perspective, what was that systematic thing you wanted to implement and did so pretty well?
I wasn’t going to get rid of guys. If kids wanted to stay, I didn’t say, “you (have) to go.” Especially because of the time we were in. So I inherited a team that had some pretty good size. We had some good girth. We weren’t the most skilled team on paper or on the floor. But the way I want to play, we want to always enforce our will, with physicality. To me, there’s a couple ways you do that.
I felt like we needed to become an elite rebounding team on both sides of the floor. We spent a lot of time on that. As physical as they were the year before, we weren’t a great offensive rebounding team or an elite rebounding team. I wanted that to be our stamp. I think we finished third in the country in defensive rebounding (allowed) and we were up there in the country in offensive rebounding. That does two things: It allows us to play a style that’s hard to prepare for, and we can get to the free throw line. We were up there in free throw attempts nationally. Those were ways for us to get easy baskets, especially for a team that didn’t shoot as well or was not as skilled, and a way to really enforce our will. I was very, very pleased with that.
What was something you expected to work, and it just didn’t, and you had to go away from it?
That’s a great question. I want to play fast. I really want to strike you in transition. Over the years, as I was building what I wanted, from an offensive standpoint I wanted to score faster and play the game faster. I think it’s a fun way to play. I think it’s a fun style to recruit to. And it’s a good way to put people in the seats.
We tried that early. After our two games at Minnesota, I had to go back and really analyze, is this best for this team? My best players don’t run like that. It just didn’t work. We went from trying to play up-tempo after makes to literally where I was almost calling a play if we turned you over. Maybe not that drastic. But I figured, you know what, to win I’ve gotta get my players in the right position and we have to play a slower pace and run plays and execute with this team.
What was the toughest decision you had to make? A buck-stops-here call?
I inherited a team with a couple guys who were, on paper, pretty good. Who most people would love to have. Not being so specific, the decision I made was, I was not going to let my best players get away with anything. Anything. If we were going to be good, at some point, we were going to be good because we fight for the culture. I coach my best players the hardest and I was on them the hardest. It didn’t matter what it was. I did not let them get away with a single thing.
That’s hard, sometimes, especially when you’re new. Especially in this market where guys can transfer and you can lose guys. I made the decision that I was going to love on them but I was going to coach them really hard. They were going to be the example of how we were going to do things.
As you evaluate what you accomplished, what do you hang on to and build on?
We made some huge jumps offensively, across the board. We were one of the most efficient teams in our league (when we didn’t) turn the ball over. I mean, we really turned the ball over. Who knows where we could have been had we not had that. Like I said, I thought our rebounding was as good as anybody in the country. Those are two things we can really build on. You can’t ever fix everything in one year, especially this year. But we have to hold on to those two things. We have to get much better defensively in the half-court. And we have to play a faster brand of basketball, a more attacking brand of basketball, because we’re going to have the guys to do so. That’s what I want to add to that.
I wasn’t going to get rid of guys. If kids wanted to stay, I didn’t say, “you (have) to go.” Especially because of the time we were in. So I inherited a team that had some pretty good size. We had some good girth. We weren’t the most skilled team on paper or on the floor. But the way I want to play, we want to always enforce our will, with physicality. To me, there’s a couple ways you do that.
I felt like we needed to become an elite rebounding team on both sides of the floor. We spent a lot of time on that. As physical as they were the year before, we weren’t a great offensive rebounding team or an elite rebounding team. I wanted that to be our stamp. I think we finished third in the country in defensive rebounding (allowed) and we were up there in the country in offensive rebounding. That does two things: It allows us to play a style that’s hard to prepare for, and we can get to the free throw line. We were up there in free throw attempts nationally. Those were ways for us to get easy baskets, especially for a team that didn’t shoot as well or was not as skilled, and a way to really enforce our will. I was very, very pleased with that.
What was something you expected to work, and it just didn’t, and you had to go away from it?
That’s a great question. I want to play fast. I really want to strike you in transition. Over the years, as I was building what I wanted, from an offensive standpoint I wanted to score faster and play the game faster. I think it’s a fun way to play. I think it’s a fun style to recruit to. And it’s a good way to put people in the seats.
We tried that early. After our two games at Minnesota, I had to go back and really analyze, is this best for this team? My best players don’t run like that. It just didn’t work. We went from trying to play up-tempo after makes to literally where I was almost calling a play if we turned you over. Maybe not that drastic. But I figured, you know what, to win I’ve gotta get my players in the right position and we have to play a slower pace and run plays and execute with this team.
What was the toughest decision you had to make? A buck-stops-here call?
I inherited a team with a couple guys who were, on paper, pretty good. Who most people would love to have. Not being so specific, the decision I made was, I was not going to let my best players get away with anything. Anything. If we were going to be good, at some point, we were going to be good because we fight for the culture. I coach my best players the hardest and I was on them the hardest. It didn’t matter what it was. I did not let them get away with a single thing.
That’s hard, sometimes, especially when you’re new. Especially in this market where guys can transfer and you can lose guys. I made the decision that I was going to love on them but I was going to coach them really hard. They were going to be the example of how we were going to do things.
As you evaluate what you accomplished, what do you hang on to and build on?
We made some huge jumps offensively, across the board. We were one of the most efficient teams in our league (when we didn’t) turn the ball over. I mean, we really turned the ball over. Who knows where we could have been had we not had that. Like I said, I thought our rebounding was as good as anybody in the country. Those are two things we can really build on. You can’t ever fix everything in one year, especially this year. But we have to hold on to those two things. We have to get much better defensively in the half-court. And we have to play a faster brand of basketball, a more attacking brand of basketball, because we’re going to have the guys to do so. That’s what I want to add to that.
