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Chris Oliver / Basketball Coach Trainer

@coachbballimmersion

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Coaching Consultant to Coaches🌎The Basketball Podcast🎧BDT🧠CLA⚠️Games Approach🏀

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How Aliyah Boston Creates a Full-Court 1-on-1 for Caitlin Clark

One of the smartest transition actions you’ll see in the #wnba isn’t a ball screen at all. As Caitlin Clark pushes the ball in transition, Aliyah Boston sprints the floor and uses a Gortat Screen by sealing her defender on the rim run. Rather than screening Clark’s defender directly, Boston pins her own defender behind the play, preventing that defender from stepping up to help on the ball. The result is simple: Clark gets downhill with far more space and often finds herself playing a true 1-on-1 attack.

What makes the Gortat Screen so effective is that it removes the help defender before the defense can get organized. Boston’s rim run demands attention, but her seal simultaneously blocks the most likely helper from impacting the drive. Instead of creating an advantage through contact on the ball, the action creates an advantage by eliminating help responsibility. It’s a great example of how transition offense isn’t just about speed. It’s about creating space, manipulating defensive roles, and giving your best ball-handler a runway to attack. by @coachbballimmersion

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2 days ago

Maureen Hirt on Building a Championship Culture

Maureen Hirt, head coach of the 2026 NCAA Division III National Champion @denisonwbb joins the Basketball Podcast.

Hear how Denison became the first unranked team to win a DIII national title through a process-driven culture, shared leadership, and player ownership.

In this episode, Hirt dives into:
• Their unique committee-based leadership model (and why they moved away from captains)
• Denison’s 4-out, 1-in dribble drive offense
• Her personal battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and the resilience that shaped her coaching philosophy

Listen wherever you listen to podcasts by @coachbballimmersion

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3 days ago

Keep Your Offense Flowing: Sundance Wicks on Conceptual Offense

How do you keep your offense flowing? In this excerpt from the Conceptual Offense Clinic, Sundance Wicks shares insights to help basketball coaches build offensive flow. Excerpt available on #basketballimmersion YouTube Channel.

Watch the full Conceptual Offense presented by CoachTube and Basketball Immersion. DM for the clinic link. by @coachbballimmersion

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4 days ago

How to Win Buy-In for CLA Game-Based Practices

Every coach who uses small-sided games, guided discovery, or a constraints-led approach eventually hears it:

“Why aren’t they doing more drills?”

“Those kids are developing bad habits.”

“Practice looks messy.”

This blog gives coaches the language to explain why game-based practices work and how to win buy-in from parents, players, administrators, and even other coaches. It addresses the real challenge many coaches face: teaching basketball is often easier than explaining your coaching philosophy.

Coaches will learn:

Why game-based practices often look messy but produce better game performance
How to explain skill transfer in ways parents understand
Why survivorship bias keeps outdated coaching ideas alive
How to address criticism without constantly defending yourself
The four key messages every coach should communicate throughout the season
Practical “sell statements” that help players and parents understand the purpose behind your practice design

If you’ve ever had someone question why your players are playing so much basketball in practice, this article gives you the tools to confidently explain your philosophy and build stronger buy-in from everyone around your program. by @coachbballimmersion

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6 days ago

One of Biggest Misunderstanding in Basketball Development

One of the most important things I tell players is simple: Every time you touch the ball, look to score. Before anyone panics and says, “You’re teaching selfish basketball,” let’s define selfishness.

A player scoring one-on-one when they have an advantage isn’t selfish. A player taking a great shot isn’t selfish. A player attacking an opportunity the defense gives them isn’t selfish. The only selfish shot in basketball is a shot taken against better options.

Think about it. If a player can score every possession one-on-one, is that good for them? Absolutely. But who else is it good for? Their team.

The best offensive players understand that individual development and team success are connected, not competing goals. That’s why we want players hunting quality scoring opportunities. That’s why we want players taking gold-medal shots. That’s why we develop decision-makers, not role followers.

Everything connects back to individual behaviors. When players become better at creating and finishing advantages, the entire team benefits.

So instead of asking, “Are my players being too aggressive?” ask, “Am I creating an environment that develops scorers?” Because great team offense starts with players who believe they can make plays. by @coachbballimmersion

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7 days ago

Magical Play Design That Creates 3 Problems at Once for the Defense

This is elite play design. The action starts with a ram screen into a 5-out ball screen, immediately putting pressure on the defense’s ball screen coverage.

As the ball screen unfolds, a pin-away screen occupies potential help defenders, while the offense flows directly into a slip flare.

Instead of holding the flare screen, the screener immediately slips into space, while the original cutter pops out to the perimeter. In one sequence, the defense must defend the ball screen, the pin away, the flare, the slip, and the perimeter pop.

What makes this play so effective is that this play stacks multiple coverage problems into one continuous possession, forcing defenders to make rapid decisions and exposing any communication breakdowns along the way. by @coachbballimmersion

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9 days ago

The Milwaukee Bucks Player Development Blueprint Every Coach Should Study

Milwaukee Bucks head of player development Johnny Carpenter @coachjcarpenter explains how CLA, offensive principles, advantage creation, decision-making and so much more, creates better player development than scripted repetitions.

Learn more about how an NBA Player Development Department runs with CLA and the support of the head coach, staff and players. CLA is being applied everywhere in the NBA and #basketballimmersion has been a trusted source since 2014 influencing so many coaches. by @coachbballimmersion

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10 days ago

4-on-3 Delayed Vision Drill: Teach Players to Read the Defense

Your players have an advantage - How quickly can they take advantage of the advantage.

A hesitation. An extra dribble. A missed passing window. And they can lose the advantage.

Try professional coach and The Basketball Podcast guest @gaboloaizaperez 4-on-3 Delayed Vision Advantage Drill

Four attackers start immediately. Three defenders face the basket and wait for your whistle before turning to play live.

Now the offense has to read the recovery.

The challenge changes as defenders recover. Players must use spacing, ball movement, and timely decisions to keep the advantage alive.

The delay creates the start. The recovery creates the decisions.

Watch the full video at #basketballimmersion or DM for the setup and constraint options. Save this for your next practice and share it with your coaching staff. by @coachbballimmersion

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11 days ago

Youth Basketballl Offense-Defense Dribble Series

Stop the isolated no defense dribble work when players have other players at practice.

They can dribble with no defense alone on their own. The value of other players is scanning and connecting technique and decisions. Simple. It works.

Bridge the gap between isolated ball-handling and game performance with Guided Dribble Series.

Explore possible constraints and teaching strategies in the latest member video. DM to get started. by @coachbballimmersion

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12 days ago

The science is clear: play more basketball.

A 2v0 passing drill, a three-man weave, or walking through a play with no defense is not playing basketball. Playing basketball means offense against defense and making decisions under pressure.

Those drills remove the problem. No defender to read. No choice to make. No uncertainty. The game is none of that.

Ecological dynamics and the constraints-led approach aren’t asking for fancier drills. They point to one thing: practice should look like the game.

Messier is fine. Controlled lines aren’t basketball.

If they’re deciding against a defender, they’re playing. If they’re rehearsing movements with nobody guarding them, they aren’t.

Play more basketball. Your players will get better. by @coachbballimmersion

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14 days ago

The Hidden Back Screen That Creates an Easy Layup

A stagger screen forced curl action gets a post player the ball at the top of the three-point line. This is followed by a pass to the wing. As everyone shifts their attention to the ball, the point guard cuts and curls back to set a back screen for the big at the top. The result? A clean rim run and a layup that often catches the defense completely off guard.

What makes this so effective is the deception. If you’re looking to create easy baskets without needing elite one-on-one talent, this is a great example of how sequencing actions and screening for your post players can generate high-percentage finishes at the rim. by @coachbballimmersion

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15 days ago

Is Your Coaching Impactful? How to Assess Your Effectiveness as a Coach.

Most coaches step off the floor after a game relying on a dangerous proxy for success: the scoreboard. If the team won, practice worked. If the team lost, players simply didn’t execute.

Assuming your coaching is impactful because drills ran smoothly or because your team won by double digits is a trap. In youth basketball, physical maturity, early growth spurts, and raw athleticism regularly mask inefficient coaching and poor habits. Conversely, a youth team playing modern, decision-based basketball might lose to a passive 2-3 zone while out-developing their opponents for the long term.

Coaching effectiveness isn’t measured by how clean your practices look; it’s measured by retention, adaptability, and game transfer.

If your players can execute a drill flawlessly against zero defense, but freeze when facing live contextual cues, learning hasn’t occurred—only temporary performance.

To eliminate wasted gym hours, coaches must transition from passive assumptions to deliberate evaluation.

#LiveLearnTeach by @coachbballimmersion

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16 days ago