Diary Series: Dan McHale, Asst. Coach - Seton Hall

The old adage that the “Sum of all your parts is better when those parts continue to improve” translates in college basketball as well.  So often we as coaches forget about the most important aspect of our day: getting players better during the season.  For instance, in a normal two and a half hour practice, a player might get up…what…8 shots…maybe 10.  We all know that as the season goes on, we focus more and more on scouting, our defensive philosophy, and tweaking our offense…rather than the individual instruction with our players.

This is where Coach Willard is unique…we actually do just as much individual instruction in-season then we do in the pre-season.  And trust me, it is very difficult to balance this in the rigors of the season with travel and the closeness of games.  You have to get creative with your practice plan for the day (for instance some days we will have workouts in the morning, then practice in the afternoon…some days we will start practice with a 30 minute team individual).  Either way, Coach preaches everyday that we are only going to get better as a team, if we continue to get better as players.  This philosophy becomes infectious, as your players (especially the young guys) start seeing their game improve…and hopefully that translates in Ws!

We focus primarily on shooting, ball handling and footwork…nothing taxing on the body.  Every player from our starting point guard to our backup center will get up between 300-500 shots and will work on a different aspect of their game that needs improving…all before practice begins.  Repetition and “shots within our offense” are what we focus on in these skill development sessions.  Coach Willard believes that getting up shots is fine…but getting up game-speed shots, while simulating situations in your offense, is what makes it productive.

This philosophy might work for some programs, and might not be right for others.  At Seton Hall, player development and improvement is something that our entire staff takes great pride in.  One thing that you can count on…win or lose, the next day we will be back in the gym working to get better individually and collectively.  We are excited that the Big East season is underway…and wish everyone the best in 2012.

Happy New Year and Go Pirates!

Coach McHale

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