Sponsored by
Follow the Hoop Heads Podcast on:
Turning basketball analytics into fundraising impact. Every stat tells a story — and now, every story drives sponsorship, engagement, and team growth.
This Week’s Hoop Heads Podcast Episodes
MAUREEN HIRT – DENISON UNIVERSITY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH, 2026 NCAA D3 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS – EPISODE 1256
Maureen Hirt is the Women’s Basketball Head Coach at Denison University where she led the Big Red to the D3 National Championship in 2026. On their way to the title, the Big Red took down two unbeaten squads and became the first NCAC team to win the national championship since DePauw in 2013. In her 4 seasons at Denison Hirt has compiled a 75-36 overall record.
BREAKING DOWN THE CAVS PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE PLUS A LOOK AHEAD TO SPURS/THUNDER GAME 6 - EPISODE 1257
On this episode Mike and Jason discuss the Cavs' dismal performance against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. They break down the Cavs' defensive issues, the James Harden experience, Kenny Atkinson, Evan Mobley, and whether Donovan Mitchell can be the best guy on a title team (no). Then they look into all the potential strings the Cavs could pull to change up the roster including LeBron and Giannis. Finally, they look ahead to tonight's Game 6 between the Spurs and Thunder.
DR. DANIEL JACOBSEN – SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST & FOUNDER OF MINDFIT – EPISODE 1258
Dr. Daniel Jacobsen is the founder of MindFit, helping coaches and parents build mentally tough athletes through proven sport psychology training. Daniel has spent 8 years working directly with high school, collegiate, and elite athletes not in a lab, not in an office, but on the court, in the locker room, and in the high-pressure moments that define seasons.
"TikTok Shop is our fastest growing channel" 🚨
Zainith Agency is a boutique digital marketing agency exclusively focused on TikTok Shop.
They’ve worked with brands like Momofuku, Obvi, First Day, Ice Shaker by NFL Star Chris Gronkowski, and more to set-up and scale TikTok Shop to over $15 million in sales last Q4.
For a limited time, they’re offering a free 30-minute consultation/audit for brands doing at least $1 million/year in sales. Spots are limited. Claim yours below.
This Week’s Coaching Articles
This article argues that traditional repetitive drills often fail to prepare players for real game situations because basketball requires constant adjustment, decision-making, and problem-solving. Using the Constraints-Led Approach, coaches can build “repetition without repetition” and functional variability by creating practice environments where players must adapt to changing defenders, spacing, timing, and rules. Small-sided games, added constraints, and a willingness to let practice look messy help players develop transferable skills that show up when the game becomes unpredictable.
This article argues that coaches often mistake practice efficiency for practice effectiveness, especially when using shooting machines and highly scripted drills that produce lots of repetitions but fail to recreate the decisions, timing, pressure, and variability of game shots. Small-sided games and defended, decision-based shooting drills may produce fewer isolated shooting reps, but they better prepare players for real performance because they combine shooting with passing, dribbling, spacing, defense, confidence, and shot selection. The author concludes that “game slippage” is really a sign of poor transfer from practice to games, so coaches should design practices that include more game-like constraints rather than simply chasing higher uncontested practice percentages.
In this article Ben McCollum explains that being around “first-place people” immediately reveals a culture built on extreme work ethic, competitive edge, and high standards. He emphasizes that while coaches can develop skills, they should not have to constantly coach effort, attitude, or competitive spirit. For McCollum, talent is not enough, successful players must bring energy, avoid draining the room, and consistently raise the standard for everyone around them.
This Week’s NBA Articles
This article traces Giannis Antetokounmpo’s remarkable rise from a skinny, unknown prospect from Greece to one of the defining NBA stars of his generation, highlighting his humility, work ethic, physical transformation, and championship peak with the Bucks. It contrasts the joy and wonder of his early Milwaukee years with the current uncertainty surrounding his future, as trade rumors, contract questions, and organizational tension have made his relationship with the franchise feel increasingly strained. Despite the drama, the article emphasizes that Giannis has always given everything to the game and to Milwaukee, remaining a uniquely human superstar whose greatness is defined as much by his kindness and loyalty as by his historic on-court accomplishments.
This article argues that while top-five NBA draft picks are highly coveted, they rarely turn into franchise-changing players who deliver playoff success or championships for the teams that drafted them. Looking at championship roster construction this century, the author shows that title teams are usually built through a mix of trades, free agency, later draft picks, and smart asset management rather than simply tanking for elite lottery selections. The Spurs’ recent core built around Victor Wembanyama is presented as a rare exception, but the broader conclusion is that losing your way into contention is far less reliable than many teams and fans believe.
This article explains that the NBA’s new “3-2-1” lottery reform is designed to reduce tanking by flattening odds, limiting repeated top picks, expanding lottery drawings, and giving the commissioner more power to punish teams that intentionally lose. The biggest winners are teams like the Spurs and Thunder, who already built strong cores under the old system and have stockpiled future picks, while small-market teams, the Trail Blazers, Grizzlies, and Kings may be hurt because it becomes harder to rely on bottoming out or traded future picks to land franchise-changing talent. The Heat and Wizards are presented as winners because the new system rewards teams trying to compete from the middle, while the broader takeaway is that the league is shifting value away from being terrible and toward accumulating picks, staying competitive, and building through multiple roster-building paths.
This Week’s College Basketball Articles
This article explains why John Calipari proposed moving the SEC Tournament to the beginning of the regular season to create an early showcase, reduce the late-season grind, and give teams more rest before the NCAA Tournament. The idea has some appeal because college basketball’s opening week often lacks marquee games, and an early SEC event would add energy while easing the tight turnaround between conference tournaments and March Madness. However, the article argues that moving such a valuable March television product to November is likely impractical, making early-season SEC showcases or select November conference games a more realistic alternative.
This article explains that Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Maria Cantwell have introduced the bipartisan Save College Sports Act, which Cruz describes as possibly the “last, best hope” for federal legislation to stabilize college athletics. The bill would give the NCAA and its members antitrust protection while addressing athlete compensation, transfer rules, eligibility limits, coach movement, Olympic sports protections, media-rights pooling, and concerns about the SEC and Big Ten pulling too far ahead financially. A key compromise is that the bill does not ban college athletes from being classified as employees, signaling that more negotiation will likely be needed before any legislation can pass.
This article explains how the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline has become a major moment in college basketball because NIL money now gives top players more incentive to return to school instead of staying in the draft. Several notable players withdrew and will be major college storylines next season, including Tounde Yessoufou transferring to St. John’s, Jeremy Fears Jr. returning to Michigan State, Tyler Tanner staying at Vanderbilt, Rueben Chinyelu returning to Florida, and Amari Allen going back to Alabama. At the same time, a number of high-level prospects chose to remain in the draft, showing how the deadline now reshapes both the NBA Draft board and the national college basketball landscape for the following season.
This Week’s YouTube Coaching Videos
This video breaks down the playbook of Olympiacos Coach Giorgos Bartzokas with footage of 34 different actions/sets.
This video breaks down 7 of the best flare screen plays from college basketball this season, sets used by elite programs to create space, force tough closeouts, and generate high-percentage shots. These are the same types of actions top teams use to free their best shooters against high-level defenses.
This video breaks down the Pack Line strategy of forcing ball handlers into the middle. The Pack Line focuses on off-ball positioning, gap help, and managing vulnerabilities like perimeter shots and baseline drives.
Forwarded this email? Sign up here
