Slappin' Glass Podcast

UC Davis Head Coach Jim Les joins the Slappin’ Glass Podcast to discuss the daily habits behind elite performance, building trust before asking for hard truth, and creating a team environment where productive conflict can be handled quickly. Coach Les explains why urgency starts with what a staff is willing to tolerate, how written player goals can sharpen accountability, and why “the game knows” has become a central teaching idea in his program.
On the tactical side, he breaks down UC Davis’s use of Princeton and chin action, the value of a dynamic catch before the pick and roll, teaching split cuts through clear order of operations, and using multiple offensive modes during a game. The conversation closes with ball-screen coverage complexity, deciding whether to fix or cover a team weakness, and the coaching investment that has kept him learning for more than two decades.
Episodes Chapters
02:51  The traits of elite players and teams
03:22  Urgency habits and editing your life
08:40  How Coach Les changed as a communicator
11:17  Protecting the head coach’s voice
13:40  The game knows
15:47  Building a pre-practice habit system
18:17  Teaching passing off the dribble
19:36  Productive conflict inside a team
22:27  Staff communication and alignment
25:06  Investing in relationships with players
28:51  "Start Sub or Sit" Princeton into pick and roll
30:15  Dynamic catches and sprinting into the screen
32:03  Why Princeton punishes good defensive principles
34:55  Teaching split cuts and the feeder is the leader
36:36  Attacking the closeout before the ball screen
38:12  Using multiple offensive modes
40:02  "Start Sub or Sit" changes in coaching philosophy
41:41  Scaling ball-screen coverage complexity
45:19  Fixing a weakness or covering it
47:05  Coach Les’s best career investment
49:07  Slappin’ Glass recap
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Siena University head coach Nevada Smith joins the Slappin’ Glass Podcast to discuss the difference between speed and pace, the details behind “25 Speed,” and how his teams work to create advantages within the first five seconds of a possession.
Smith breaks down one-handed passing, finishing development, empty-side pick-and-rolls, high-slot spacing, attacking defensive absolutes, and creating “confusion zones” through guard-to-guard actions.
During “Start, Sub, or Sit,” he shares his approach to offensive rebounding, reading ball flight, crashing five, training disadvantaged transition situations, and developing point guards who can commit a second defender.
What You’ll Learn
 Why Smith separates speed from pace—and how he defines “25 Speed.” 
 How finishing work and one-handed passing support a faster offense. 
 Why high-slot spacing and empty-side pick-and-rolls create downhill attacks. 
 How Siena identifies and attacks defensive absolutes. 
 Why guard-to-guard actions create “confusion zones” against switching defenses. 
 How shot selection and ball-flight recognition shape offensive rebounding. 
 Why committing a second defender is Smith’s top point-guard skill. 
 How the first 36 minutes inform Siena’s offense during the final four.
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!

Point Loma Head Coach Justin Downer joins the Slappin’ Glass Podcast to discuss building offensive decision trees around advantage creation, organizing offense into four connected phases, and using the “power of three” to simplify reads.
Downer explains how Point Loma identifies its three best offensive leverage points, recruits primary ball handlers rather than traditional point guards, and teaches ball-screen decisions through three levels: the primary defender, the coverage, and the help behind it.
In Start, Sub, or Sit, the conversation shifts to creating productive adversity, building clear feedback loops, highlighting roles, tagging up, and switching with physicality.
What You’ll Learn
How Point Loma organizes offense into four phases without making the players feel restricted by the structure. 
 Why every offensive decision begins with identifying the advantage it is meant to create. 
 How the “power of three” shapes decision trees, offensive actions, and player reads. 
 Why Point Loma evaluates primary ball handlers through processing and decision-making rather than traditional point-guard traits. 
 How to teach ball-screen reads through the primary defender, the coverage, and the help behind it. 
 Why Downer corrects aggressively during teaching segments but avoids providing answers during competition. 
 How role highlighting allows bench players to retain their strengths when their minutes change. 
 Why tagging up, forcing left, and physical switching help Point Loma dictate the possession before the offense can create an advantage.
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!

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!