Slappin' Glass Podcast

In this high-level, candid, and engaging return to the show, Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy joins Slappin' Glass for his third appearance. Van Gundy dives deep into what it takes to defend the NBA's best players—emphasizing the fundamentals of transition defense, rebounding, and avoiding reckless fouling. The conversation explores stunt vs. full help principles, creating physical defenses through communication, and the challenge of preparing against high-powered offenses.
A special edition of “Start, Sub, or Sit” covers skill development, offensive rebounding priorities, and what Van Gundy learned moving from broadcasting back to the NBA bench.
Authentic, honest, and packed with coaching wisdom, this episode is a must-listen for coaches at all levels looking to sharpen their defensive philosophies and leadership approach.
Topics Include:
Defending elite players with discipline and fundamentals
Communication as a driver of physicality
The evolving role of offensive rebounding in the NBA and other levels
How to give appropriate and impactful feedback to players
Van Gundy’s “sniper rule” for transition defense 😂
“Start, Sub, or Sit” on skill development and late-game coaching lessons
To join coaches and championship winning staffs from the NBA to High School from over 70 different countries taking advantage of an SG Plus membership, visit HERE!

Concordia St. Paul head coach Matt Fletcher joins Slappin’ Glass to detail the guard-to-guard screening system his staff built around a roster of multiple point guards and an undersized five. Fletcher explains how “bump, tap, hit” gives screeners three answers—screen-and-roll, ghost, or hit-and-pop—while creating an empty side and forcing the defense into switch-or-stay decisions.
The conversation moves into the teaching behind the system: charting each player’s screening mix, entering the first action within three seconds, and adjusting traditional deep-corner running to improve timing. Fletcher also separates playing fast from shooting fast through zero-second decisions and green, yellow, and red shots. He lays out their cutting progression from memorized responsibilities to personnel-based reads, including why two feet trigger the cut, how the helper’s chest cues movement around Barkley actions, and why late cuts are usually safer than early ones. The discussion also covers second drives, skip passes, and using the dunker spot to organize relocation.
In Start, Sub, or Sit, Fletcher weighs transition defense, defensive rebounding, and defensive aggression when playing with pace, then explains why Concordia St. Paul crashes four or five and adapts pressure and ball-screen coverage to its personnel. He closes with staff alignment, developing young assistants like players, rebuilding a program around local recruiting and continuity, and the investment outside basketball that keeps coaching in perspective.
What You’ll Learn
 How “bump, tap, hit” gives guard-to-guard screeners three different answers from the same entry. 
 Why Fletcher charts each player’s screening mix instead of allowing a shooter to ghost every time. 
 How Concordia St. Paul adjusted its corner-running rules to enter the first action within three seconds. 
 Where zero-second decisions fit within a green, yellow, and red shot-selection system. 
 Why cutting responsibilities are memorized before players begin making more personnel-based reads. 
 How the driver reaching two feet and the helper showing their chest trigger movement off the ball. 
 Why the ballhandler’s scoring tendencies change cutting timing around Barkley actions. 
 How a defense sitting on the cut can expose the skip pass and second drive. 
 Why crashing four or five can create extra possessions while limiting an opponent’s transition opportunities. 
 How Fletcher progressively expands the responsibilities of young assistants as their comfort and experience grow.
To join coaches and championship winning staffs from the NBA to High School from over 70 different countries taking advantage of an SG Plus membership, visit HERE!

The 2026 G-League Coach of the Year, Vitor Galvani, joins us to detail how he built and adjusted Hedge & Plug in Brazil and the G League. He explains why the coverage made sense in what he calls a “scoring guards league,” how the pickup point changes the plug technique, the triggers for releasing the hedge, and why re-screens and late flips can put the coverage under real stress.   
The conversation moves behind the ball to Galvani’s “Protection Plan”: the MIG and Fence, jumping pickups to discourage direct corner skips, choosing when not to X-out, “See Numbers Go,” peel switching, and building Black, White, and Gray changeups around the same defensive identity. On offense, Galvani gets into KYP on guard-to-guard screens, creating separation before the action, Hot Stove versus Cold Stove screens, and using second-side pass-and-chase actions to attack switching.    
In Start, Sub, or Sit, Galvani challenges the usual pace conversation by starting shot selection, connecting offensive involvement to defensive effort, and explaining why his team moved the ball side to side with purpose. He closes with the relationship between shot quality, Tagging Up, and offensive rebounding, along with the daily investment that shaped his coaching education.
What You'll Learn
How the ballhandler’s pickup point changes the on-ball defender’s responsibilities within Hedge & Plug. 
 The two triggers Galvani used to release the big from the hedge. 
 Why re-screens and late flips are difficult Hedge & Plug counters, and when switching becomes the emergency solution. 
 How the MIG and Fence form the “Protection Plan,” including having the Fence jump the pickup rather than automatically X-out. 
 How “See Numbers Go” and peel switching turn aggressive gap positioning into opportunities for steals. 
 Why Galvani trained some peel switches as reads rather than relying on a defensive call. 
 How Black, White, and Gray allowed his team to change the ball-screen picture without abandoning its defensive base. 
 Why KYP comes before pace and technique when teaching guard-to-guard screening. 
 How separation, randomness, and “action on top of action” keep guard-to-guard screens from being steered or jammed. 
 How shot selection can influence offensive pace, defensive effort, Tagging Up, and offensive rebounding.
To join coaches and championship winning staffs from the NBA to High School from over 70 different countries taking advantage of an SG Plus membership, visit HERE!

Hood College Head Coach Chad Dickman joins us to discuss how his offense uses spacing, pace, and unorthodox ball-screen actions to force defenses into decisions they rarely get to rehearse. Dickman explains the thinking behind Hood’s early empty-side flat ball screens, the intentionally “jumbled” three-man side, and why he wants the ballhandler making decisions before the defense can settle into its preferred coverage.
We get into how Hood teaches players to flow from one action to the next without stopping to reorganize, including ghost flares, blind flares, slips, re-screens, and the occasional quadruple ball screen. Dickman details the practice work underneath that freedom: screening angles, speed, distance, live 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 breakdowns, positionless reps, and teaching players to keep attacking even when the spacing gets messy. He also explains the difference between attacking in two-man actions and stringing out three-man actions to what Hood calls the “lookout point.”  
In Start, Sub or Sit, Dickman ranks playing off two feet, deceleration, and quick finishes at the rim. The conversation moves into jump stops, reverse pivots, shooting on the move, and why high-pace offense still requires players who can stop under control. He closes with the value of years spent watching film, testing ideas, and adapting them to personnel. 
What You'll Learn
Why Hood will intentionally load three shooters onto one side to create more room for an empty-side two-man game.
 How “going early” forces the screener to react to the ballhandler instead of allowing the defense to organize its coverage. 
 Why the first action does not have to produce the shot if it can compromise the defense for the next action. 
 How Hood flows into ghost flares, blind flares, slips, re-screens, and other re-triggers without prescribing a fixed sequence. 
 Why screening angles, speed, distance, and ballhandler paths are taught before worrying about stacking three or four actions together. 
 How Hood prepares for two or three players arriving at the ball instead of stopping the possession to correct the spacing. 
 Why two-man actions are played more aggressively toward the rim while three-man actions often look to reach the “lookout point.” 
 How jump stops and reverse pivots turn paint touches into passing opportunities rather than forced finishes. 
 Why every player gets reps handling, screening, and playing from every spot in a positionless offense. 
 How the quadruple ball screen grew from experimenting with actions that opponents were unlikely to have practiced against. 
To join coaches and championship winning staffs from the NBA to High School from over 70 different countries taking advantage of an SG Plus membership, visit HERE!

University of Washington assistant coach and longtime NBA coach Charles Klask joins Slappin’ Glass for a detailed conversation on building structure underneath a free-flowing offense, defining offensive priorities, using analytics to shape behavior, and teaching switching defense.
Klask breaks down how to identify your best decision-makers, build an offensive hierarchy around player strengths, and create what he calls “rich possessions” by involving your “rulers” while attacking the opponent’s “rusty defenders.” He also discusses retriggering offense after the initial action, short-roll spacing and passing solutions, shot-selection priorities, offensive rebounding, tagging up, and balancing freedom with clearly defined rules.
In Start, Sub, or Sit, Klask dives into coaching development and the importance of asking better questions, organizing and grading film, and taking effective notes. The conversation then shifts to switching defense, including physicality at the point of the screen, KYP decisions, defending slips, shrink responsibilities, and using switching as a disruptive weapon rather than simply an emergency solution.
What You'll Learn
How to build structure underneath a random, conceptual offense
Identifying “rulers,” attacking “rusty defenders,” and creating rich possessions
Using player strengths to determine offensive roles and decision-making freedom
Offensive analytics, shot hierarchy, offensive rebounding, and tagging-up principles
Why asking better questions can improve both player learning and coaching development
Teaching switching defense through physicality, KYP, screen navigation, and disruption
To join coaches and championship winning staffs from the NBA to High School from over 70 different countries taking advantage of an SG Plus membership, visit HERE!