How "Mapping" Speeds Up Decision-Making, Improves Aggressiveness, & Makes You a Better Scorer

Coach D, this system works great with all levels. As a HS girls' coach, the principals are the same. get them to a spot where they are a threat, you don't have to be a 3 pt shooter. Get them to the elbow or short corner. if you have players that aren't a scoring threat, use them to get your scorers open. Their best becomes pass first, screen second, layup third. Find that something that they are good at and build from there. Know your spot and get there. We had a girl this year all she could do was a left handed layup. But man! she was good at getting there from anywhere, both elbows, blocks short corners 3pt line, didn't matter. For a 5'6" post she could be unstoppable.
As Don says "The same things happen over and over, just in different locations" "If you weren't open, no one would pass you the ball"

Like

Rick - Good questions. There are plenty of different opinions on this. I'll give my two cents.

You can take the mapping concept and tweak it a lot of different ways.

First of all it works for a lot of things... not just decisions "off the catch". I have used mapping a fair amount and will say it works really well for us. I use it for what you do after you pass, what to do when coming off a screen, and so on. It just makes kids more decisive.

Next I'll say that it might sound counter-intuitive, but the A-B-C concept above can actually help with passing and ball movement because you push players to make decisions immediately (attack) and faster. If there don't have a good shot or drive they make the pass to the open guy really quickly.

I know some coaches that tweak the decision process. I have seen it a number of different ways including:
- Shoot, pass to post, reverse
- Shoot, drive, pass
- Etc

I know some coaches that give each player a different decision mapping sequence. Some tell them to look to pass first. Or drive first.

I know some coaches give them the mapping decisions and also tell them to have an idea what they will do before they catch the ball (in other words... you generally have an idea if you'll be open to shoot before you catch -- or if the defense is loaded on on ball side and you should pass right away). In any case, the mapping decisions are still they same... you just make the decision sooner.

I personally tell my players to look for shot and drive first (immediately). And then we really emphasize ball movement. Our players generally move the ball really fast and make really fast decisions. I'm not one of those coaches that make them square up every time. I know some very good coaches that make their kids do that. We often times make a catch and then pass right away without squaring for a shot because they already know it's not a good shot and the defense is loaded on ball side. But it all starts for us with "think shot" first mentality and then "lay up". I do not want them passing up good shots! So that is always the first thought. We do not shoot many pull up jump shots but if I'm training a player individually I will add that option.

I think the key take away is:
- to do something immediately (it just makes everything better)
- the mapping concept is an effective tool to use for a variety of different decision making situations
- this simple concept gives players an effective tool and confidence in the decisions they make on the court

Like

Hey Rick, great questions. Jeff covered a lot of this already, but I wanted to add one thing.

The mapping sequence refers to individual offense. If I recall correctly, Don Kelbick (creator of the Attack & Counter mapping principle) does this because, as Jeff alluded to, there are many ways to teach offense and passing. He didn't want to restrict people using his skill development system because they had different team offense beliefs.

You can always modify things to better suit your belief system and team. I know some coaches who say whenever they catch the ball on top of the key, if guarded, immediately reverse it. They don't want them attacking the rim because they want more ball reversals.

And in fact, I know a few coaches that teach everything in Coach Kelbick's skill development system except mapping and the mentality. These coaches just have some different beliefs on offense and decision-making.

Personally, I teach this mapping sequence. Then once I am satisfied with my team's aggressiveness from a 1v1 perspective, I create one simple rule for offense and passing.

"If a player has a better scoring opportunity, immediately pass them the ball."

And you gradually teach them as you progress.

Of course, players are going to miss opportunities. They are going to make mistakes. But I don't like to add too much to their thinking process.

If they start catching and pausing, they won't be effective on the court. Catch and attack or catch and pass.

Like

Rick, other Don Kelbick's keys are 1," you are never more open than when you first catch a pass", 2, "do what you do best" & 3, "make the defense read you. " All of these together lead to the A,B,C mapping that you create for your players, each WILL be different depending on their skill. So first, always be in a position where you are a threat. if you aren't a 3 point shooter get to where you are so that you can be a catch and shoot threat. If you take it to the hole best, attack the rim immediately, then go to B & C, pull up, pass. if you can't make the pull up jumper, your pass game comes in. every player should know what their ABC is and their team-mates' ABC is. That's when the magic happens.
Best of luck! Ernie

Like

Thanks for the question, Kelvin Ben. Whew... that's a tough one to answer via a forum like this. There are many variables.

Is it a knowledge thing? Do they know when they should make the extra pass?

Is it an experience thing? Do they have enough repetitions to recognize the situation?

Is it a selfishness thing? Do players just want to score themselves for some reason?

Is it a situational thing? Does it only happen in certain situations?

What age group is it? If they're young, they may not "see" it, similar to the experience question above.

Like

Jim, thank you for the kind words. That's an honor to receive a compliment from someone with that much coaching experience. We will not be at the Final 4... need to get to the next one!

Like

Thanks for sharing, Charlie!

Like

Hey Eric, the check is in the mail. :)

Like