Slappin' Glass Podcast

In this SG Deep Dive, Dan Krikorian, Patrick Carney, and Eric Fawcett examine how offenses are attacking the hedge-and-plug pick-and-roll coverage that continues to spread throughout European and modern basketball.
The conversation begins with why the coverage has become so effective. Hedge and plug allows the defense to pressure the ball without fully committing two defenders, protect the short roll, and remain compact behind the play. Because many offenses still rely on two quick passes to escape the hedge, defenses have also become increasingly prepared for the rotations that follow.
From there, the group explores ways to create an advantage before the defense can settle. They break down rejecting the hedge, using Gortat screens against the recovering big, flipping or hooking the screening angle, “sticking” the plug defender, and flowing into boomerang rescreens that can turn the original hedge into a drop or switch.
A central theme is the micro closeout faced by the on-ball defender after disengaging to plug the roll. The discussion covers how offenses can attack that vulnerable footwork, along with defensive teaching points involving stance, handwork, jump timing, and calculated risk.
The episode also revisits Dave Collins’ idea of coaching as “informed art.” The group discusses blending cognitive science, ecological dynamics, the constraint-led approach, and predictive processing while still accounting for the players, context, and human feel of coaching.
They close with the European teams and playoff series currently filling their film queues. 
What You’ll Learn
 Why hedge and plug can create ball pressure while keeping the rest of the defense compact. 
 How advanced defenses are solving the pick-and-roll two-on-two and preparing for the offense’s second pass. 
 Why rejecting the hedge can expose the on-ball defender’s moment of disengagement. 
 How to use Gortat screens, flip screens, and boomerang rescreens against the recovering big. 
 What the group means by a micro closeout, and why it gives the ball handler an immediate advantage. 
 Teaching considerations for the plug defender’s footwork, hand positioning, and jump timing. 
 Why offenses need to generate an advantage inside the initial ball-screen action instead of simply accepting the coverage. 
 How coaches can blend cognitive science, ecological dynamics, and predictive processing without becoming tied to a single framework. 
 Why good practices and wins deserve the same level of reflection as poor performances. 
 Teams and playoff series worth studying across the Spanish ACB and European basketball.
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!

This week on the Slappin’ Glass Podcast, Dan and Pat are joined by International Pro Head Coach and player development specialist Matt Jones for a deep dive into shooting development, coaching communication, and building conceptual offense.
The conversation opens with Jones’ approach to evaluating shooters, beginning with one of his core beliefs: watch the player first. Before over-coaching or over-correcting, Jones discusses the value of being a “quiet eye,” identifying inefficiencies, and helping players simplify their shooting movement. From there, he gets into the details of clean catches, loaded wrists, open palms, shot preparation, and how small mechanical improvements can create real gains at higher levels.
Jones also shares how he uses player feedback, feel-based cues, and individualized terminology to help shooters self-correct. Rather than flooding players with technical language, he explains how the best cues often come from what the player physically feels, giving coaches a more useful way to teach shooting under pressure.
In the show’s Start, Sub, or Sit segment, the conversation shifts to finding your coaching voice as an introvert, where Jones breaks down the importance of preparation, listening, terminology, and getting enough coaching reps to build confidence. The episode closes with a thoughtful discussion on conceptual offense, including re-triggers, offensive talk, cutting rules, late-clock structure, and how to help players find the next action without becoming robotic.
What You’ll Learn
How Matt Jones evaluates shooters before making mechanical corrections
Why simplifying a player’s shot can improve repeatability and efficiency
The importance of clean catches, open palms, loaded wrists, and eliminating wasted movement
How to introduce variability into shooting workouts without overwhelming the player
Why feel-based cues can be more effective than over-teaching technique
How analytics can help shape shooting development without damaging a player’s confidence
Why free throws can be used as a powerful form-shot reset inside a workout
How introverted coaches can develop their voice through preparation, terminology, and coaching reps
Why “your terminology is your culture” when communicating with players
How conceptual offense depends on cutting rules, spacing, re-triggers, and offensive talk
Why the player with the ball must think like the point guard in read-based offense
How random practice environments can help players learn to self-organize late in possessions
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!

This week we’re joined in this SG Classics episode by International Head Coach Francesco Tabellini for a deep dive into the concepts behind his team’s relentless style of play.
Tabellini opens the conversation by unpacking the idea of “canceling the pauses” in the game — eliminating the dead space between offense and defense, defense and offense, and every small conversion moment in between. From there, he details how Nymburk builds pace through first-three-step urgency, no-catch zones, early outlets, transition cutting, and a constant pressure-on-the-rim mentality.
The conversation also explores offensive spacing and cutting principles, including baseline cuts on middle penetration, OKC cuts on baseline drives, shortening the pass, and why player confidence is central to shot selection. Tabellini explains how tagging up not only creates extra possessions, but also supports shooting freedom, transition defense, and full-court pressure.
Later, the discussion moves into the defensive side of the floor, including the details of teaching tagging up, evaluating effort, structuring practice to build habits, and using hedge-and-plug coverage as a temporary switch designed to disrupt rhythm, force decisions, and keep opponents uncomfortable.
What You’ll Learn
 How Tabellini defines “relentless basketball” and why it starts with removing the pauses between phases of the game 
 Why the first three steps in transition are a major teaching point for Nymburk 
 How “no-catch zones,” pitch-aheads, and 28-meter cuts create early dynamic advantages 
 Why aggressive cutting can solve spacing problems rather than create them 
 How tagging up can become both an offensive rebounding system and a transition defense tool 
 Why leaving the tag too early can kill the entire purpose of tagging up 
 How Nymburk structures practice to reinforce tagging up without overloading players 
 Why Tabellini views hedge-and-plug coverage as a temporary switch 
 How slips, flips, and re-screens stress aggressive ball screen coverages 
 Why activity, effort, and mistake-fixing are central to Tabellini’s coaching philosophy
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 episode, Dr. Andy Galpin joins Slappin’ Glass for a practical, high-level conversation on basketball performance, recovery, strength training, sleep, travel, and pregame preparation.
Galpin breaks down why improving movement is not just about stretching, mobility work, or lifting weights, but about understanding the physical qualities that allow athletes to move with more range, force, control, and efficiency. The conversation moves from the history of strength training in sport to modern tools for evaluating movement, asymmetries, muscle development, and return-to-play readiness.
A major theme of the episode is recovery. Galpin makes a strong case that sleep is still the most powerful performance tool available to coaches and athletes, especially in-season. He discusses the impact of early practices, late-night games, post-practice downregulation, hydration, fueling, protein synthesis, and how coaches can better organize the schedule before fatigue becomes a problem.
During “Start, Sub, or Sit,” the conversation turns to silent stressors inside a basketball program, including travel, walkthroughs, film, scout prep, pregame warmups, physical contact, and how to prepare players to actually feel ready when the ball goes up. 
What You’ll Learn
 Why strength training can improve movement, range of motion, and athletic expression when it is designed correctly. 
 How coaches should think about recovery beyond soreness, including sleep, hydration, refueling, and rebuilding tissue. 
 Why early-morning practices may be costing teams more than they realize. 
 How post-practice and postgame downregulation can help athletes transition toward better sleep. 
 Why travel is one of the biggest hidden stressors on player performance. 
 How to proactively adjust practice loads around dense parts of the schedule. 
 What coaches should consider with bus rides, compression gear, movement breaks, and arrival timing. 
 How to structure pregame warmups around skill feel, physical readiness, movement prep, and contact. 
 Why players need some level of game-like physicality before tip-off, especially bigs and contact-heavy roles. 
 How physiology, breathing, CO2 tolerance, and arousal levels connect to focus, decision-making, and emotional regulation.
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!

UT Martin Head Coach Jeremy Shulman joins the Slappin’ Glass podcast for a deep dive into building a defensive system around conviction, trade-offs, and player fit.
Shulman discusses the philosophy behind his unique defensive approach, including why his teams lean toward containment, switch heavily, borrow matchup-zone principles without playing zone, and still find ways to generate turnovers without relying on full-court pressure. He also details how he thinks about solving mismatches after switches, layering post coverage, recruiting for basketball IQ, and turning rotations and closeouts into a strength.
In the “Start, Sub, or Sit” segment, Shulman breaks down attacking hedge coverage, including flipping the screen, RAM screens, and re-screens, before sharing broader thoughts on pick-and-roll offense, the power of the pass, and studying ideas that genuinely fit who you are as a coach.
What you’ll learn
 Why defensive identity has to begin with what a coach truly believes in 
 How Shulman blends man-to-man, switching, and matchup-zone principles 
 Why switching everything can reduce confusion against slips, ghosts, and misdirection 
 How UT Martin thinks about post mismatches, doubles, digs, and defensive layers 
 Why putting two on the ball can create steals without becoming a pressure team 
 How scouting, film, and player processing shape scramble defense and closeouts 
 Why trust is the hardest thing to build quickly in the current roster-building era 
 How agents and NIL have changed the way coaches think about buy-in 
 The teaching details behind flipping ball screens against hedge coverage 
 Why Shulman views pick-and-roll as a way to move the ball, not just create downhill scoring
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!