27 September 2026
Ep 2025 Should You Be Teaching Fundamentals or Running Your Offense?
Basketball Coach Unplugged (A Basketball Coaching Podcast)
About
Fundamentals vs. Game Tactics
https://teachhoops.com/ · https://coachingyouthhoops.com/ · https://heysammi.com/
TITLE
Should You Be Teaching Fundamentals or Running Your Offense?
SUBTITLE
Every practice plan is a trade between the two, and most coaches get the ratio wrong without ever noticing.
SHOW NOTES
There are only so many minutes in a practice, and every one you spend on footwork is a minute you did not spend on your offense. Coach Collins works through how to think about that trade honestly, why the answer changes with the age group and the time of year, and how to tell from watching a game which side of the ledger your team is short on.
What we cover:
Why the fundamentals versus tactics question is really a question about minutes
How the right ratio shifts from youth to high school, and from October to February
The tell in a game that says your problem is skill, not scheme
Teaching fundamentals inside your offense instead of as a separate block
What happens to a team that only ever runs plays
This week's challenge: Add up the minutes in your last practice plan and find out what your actual split was, not what you thought it was.
Resources: Practice plans, drills, courses, and on court clinics at https://teachhoops.com/
https://teachhoops.com/ · https://coachingyouthhoops.com/ · https://heysammi.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
https://teachhoops.com/ · https://coachingyouthhoops.com/ · https://heysammi.com/
TITLE
Should You Be Teaching Fundamentals or Running Your Offense?
SUBTITLE
Every practice plan is a trade between the two, and most coaches get the ratio wrong without ever noticing.
SHOW NOTES
There are only so many minutes in a practice, and every one you spend on footwork is a minute you did not spend on your offense. Coach Collins works through how to think about that trade honestly, why the answer changes with the age group and the time of year, and how to tell from watching a game which side of the ledger your team is short on.
What we cover:
Why the fundamentals versus tactics question is really a question about minutes
How the right ratio shifts from youth to high school, and from October to February
The tell in a game that says your problem is skill, not scheme
Teaching fundamentals inside your offense instead of as a separate block
What happens to a team that only ever runs plays
This week's challenge: Add up the minutes in your last practice plan and find out what your actual split was, not what you thought it was.
Resources: Practice plans, drills, courses, and on court clinics at https://teachhoops.com/
https://teachhoops.com/ · https://coachingyouthhoops.com/ · https://heysammi.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices