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This Week’s Hoop Heads Podcast Episodes
NICK HABER – STRONGSVILLE (OH) HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS’ BASKETBALL ASSISTANT COACH – EPISODE 1220
Nick Haber is in his second season as the Girls’ Junior Varsity Basketball Coach at Strongsville High School in the state of Ohio. He has led the Mustang JV team to back to back winning seasons. As a young coach Nick has been focused on learning the fundamentals of coaching while teaching his players the importance of accountability and teamwork.
THE NBA PLAYOFF MATCHUPS WE’D LOVE TO SEE – EPISODE 1221
On this episode, Mike and Jason discuss the matchups they’d most like to see in both conferences come playoff time in April and May. Hornets-Pistons in the East and Nuggets-Spurs in the West top both their lists. For second choices in each conference Mike goes Knicks-Pistons, Nuggets-Wolves, while Jason goes Knicks-Celtics, Wolves-Thunder. They wrap up the pod by discussing the returns of Trae Young and Giannis along with a quick conversation on Luka’s chances of ever winning a title as his team’s best player.
ZACH BRANDON - FOUNDER OF MVP MINDSET CONSULTING - EPISODE 1222
Zach Brandon is the founder of MVP Mindset Consulting and a trusted advisor for professional athletes, coaches, executives, and organizations seeking to maximize performance and build sustainable cultures of excellence. Zach previously served as the Mental Skills Coordinator for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2018 – 2025 where he oversaw mental performance services for players and staff across all levels of the organization. His focus was on helping players and coaches achieve peak performance consistently, while also increasing their enjoyment and satisfaction in sport and life.
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This Week’s Coaching Articles
This article shares how coaches and players can maximize improvement in the offseason by focusing on skill work rather than just playing games. Key areas include ball-handling, shooting, finishing around the basket, offensive moves, and conditioning drills such as running and jump rope. Consistent, focused practice several days per week is emphasized as the main reason some players improve dramatically while others do not.
This article provides a checklist-style evaluation of mental toughness through habits such as setting strong screens, cutting hard, and communicating on defense. Players who consistently perform these small effort plays demonstrate focus, awareness, and commitment to helping the team. The evaluation encourages coaches and players to measure toughness through daily behaviors rather than just scoring or traditional statistics.
This article argues that modern athletes respond best to coaches who balance empathy with accountability. Understanding players’ pressures, motivations, and communication styles helps coaches build stronger relationships and improve learning. At the same time, empathy should not mean lowering expectations; successful coaches maintain high standards while supporting their athletes as people.
This Week’s NBA Articles
This article revisits the famous 1979 incident when Larry Bird punched an opponent during the NCAA tournament while playing for Indiana State. It explores the intense competitiveness and physical nature of college basketball during that era. The story also reflects on how Bird’s fiery personality helped shape his legend as one of the most competitive players in basketball history.
This article examines how James Harden’s move changed the NBA landscape and indirectly strengthened Cleveland’s commitment to Donovan Mitchell as the centerpiece of the Cavaliers. In the aftermath of the Harden trade, Cleveland doubled down on Mitchell as its franchise leader. The team’s belief in Mitchell reflects his elite scoring ability and leadership on a Cavaliers roster that has come up short in in previous playoff runs.
This article lists the most infamous or controversial figure associated with each NBA franchise, ranging from players to executives. These “villains” earned notoriety through scandals, conflicts, poor performance, damaging decisions, or by tormenting a franchise with great play while playing for a different team. The list details how each villain helped shape the public perception and history of a particular NBA franchise.
This Week’s College Basketball Articles
This article dives in to the fact that roster talent is the single most important predictor of college basketball success. Statistical analysis shows that about 80% of the variation in team performance can be explained by the overall talent level of the roster entering the season. Coaching, development, injuries, and chemistry still matter, but they generally account for only the remaining 20% of the variation. A team’s season is 80% defined by how good the roster is before the year even starts, with the remaining 20% being everything that happens after that.
This article explains how Miami (Ohio) attempted to schedule stronger nonconference opponents but was repeatedly turned down by major programs. Power-conference teams often avoid mid-majors that could hurt their resume with an upset while offering little reward in rankings or metrics. As a result, strong mid-major teams can struggle to build schedules that impress NCAA tournament evaluators.
This article tracks the early stages of the 2026 coaching carousel as multiple schools prepare to change head coaches. It highlights programs with openings and potential candidates likely to be considered for those jobs. The article discusses how March and the postseason often trigger rapid movement across the coaching landscape. The list includes 15 current mid-major head coaches and 10 high-major assistants who may be in line to take a over a new program as seasons end and jobs open up over the next several weeks.
This Week’s YouTube Coaching Videos
This video breaks down how Purdue utilizes a specific three-man action to consistently create scoring opportunities. Discover the reads and subtle variations used to exploit defensive positioning throughout the game even while running it dozen's of times against the same opponent.
This video breaks down three proven sets from elite coaches Ryan Schultz, Tim Schuring, and Danny Miles. These are high-level, multiple-option plays designed to punish switching, confuse help defenders, and free your best scorers at the most important moments.
This video breaks down the fundamentals of help defense and how elite defenders position themselves to protect the rim, take away easy layups, and turn help-side rotations into defensive plays.
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