NEWSLETTER #186 - 2015-2016 XAVIER’S 4 MINUTE WAR At Xavier, we want our players to play with great passion. We are constantly looking for ways to motivate our players to commit to our system and reach their maximum potential. One way in which we have challenged them is with the concept of the 4-minute war. We want our players to play with energy and intensity for the entire game. We motivate our players to put forth maximum effort for a focused period of time. With the 4-minute war, we divide the game into ten four-minute segments. After each segment, there is a media timeout (approximately every four minutes) in which the team has an opportunity to rest for a minute and refocus on the next segment. Each segment is a "mini-game" within the game, and it is referred to as a "war" to characterize the type of effort that is required to excel at the highest level. Our goal is to win each 4-minute war. We chart the results on the bench, and we communicate them with our team at every timeout. The 4-minute wars allow us to provide some measurable feedback about our execution and effort over each segment of the game. Throughout the course of the season, we can evaluate the tendencies of which segments our team plays well and which segments we have lapses. We use the 4-minute war concept as a way to focus our team on playing the "Xavier Way." We want to improve the execution of our system in every game. We want our players to play with the mentality that every possession counts, and that every possession needs to be played with a high level of intensity. Furthermore, we want to play our way regardless of the score at any particular time in a game. If we are winning by several points, we do not want to let down and allow our opponent back into the game. We want to dominate by continuing to develop proper habits. If we are struggling in a game, our disposition is not to change what we do. Rather, we believe in trusting the system, and our challenge is to get our players to play harder with what we do. By breaking the game into 4-minute wars, we focus on the process of playing our system throughout the entire game. There are a number of ways that we incorporate the 4-minute war concept into our practices. First, scrimmage segments are played as 4-minute wars. We want our players to compete every second at a high intensity, and we want them to be conditioned in a way where they play in game-like conditions (i.e., play for four minutes, rest for a minute, and play again). These scrimmage segments also enable us to cover a variety of situations in our practices. A second practice idea is that we play "One Possession Games" in practice. We will have a jump ball to begin the game, and the first team to score wins (losers run). The purpose of this drill is to emphasize the importance of each possession and the value of the ball. We might spread a few of these games in throughout a given practice. CHRIS MACK TRAVIS STEELE MIKE PEGUES LUKE MURRAY MARIO MERCURIO JEREMY GROWE HEAD COACH ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH ASSISTANT COACH ASSISTANT COACH DIR. OF ADMINISTRATION DIR. OF OPERATIONS 7th YEAR 7th YEAR 4th YEAR 1st YEAR 12th YEAR 7th YEAR XAVIER ‘92 BUTLER ‘04 DELAWARE ‘00 FAIRFIELD ‘02 XAVIER ‘03 INDIANA ‘09 CHARACTERISTICS OF A XAVIER PLAYER Below are the 14 Characteristics we have identified as a staff that make up a "Xavier Player". At our opening team meeting this fall, we shared these qualities with our team, mentioning specific examples of each. We stress these characteristics on and off the court throughout the year, constantly reminding them of their importance. Although all are equally important, we find ourselves spending a considerable amount of time on #6. With #6, "Keeping Life Simple", it has never been harder for a college basketball player to do just that. As we have previously discussed with issues such as Myspace and Facebook, access to and influence on college (and high school) basketball players has become nearly unlimited. Everyday, we strive to strengthen the values of our players in order to combat the influx of these outside influences. 1. Embraces high standards 2. Focuses on team goals 3. Unselfish on and off of the court 4. Accepts role, takes pride in it, executes 5. Uses strengths and recognizes weaknesses 6. Keeps life simple 7. Hates to lose everyday 8. Coachable 9. Does things that people don't see 10. Believes that defense is key to championships 11. Focuses on improvement 12. Competes in all that we do 13. Tells the truth 14. Makes no excuses FOLLOW THE X NEWSLETTER ON TWITTER 1 PLAYSPLAXAVIERYS OFO NEWSLETTERF THETHE WEEKW #186EEK TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.1 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 ELEVATOR 4 1.2 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH 7 5 1.3 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH DHO FLARE 6 1.4 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH FIRE 7 1.5 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH PIN DOWN 8 1.6 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH STAGGER 9 1.7 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH STAGGER 2 10 1.8 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH UCLA 11 1.9 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH UCLA POP 12 1.10 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 IVERSON REFUSE 13 All Contents Proprietary 1 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 ELEVATOR 3 3 4 5 2 2 1 4 5 1 1 Enters the ball to 5 at the elbow. 4 & 5 set elevator screen for 3. 3 Cuts under the rim. 4 Sets flare screen for 1. 5 passes to 1. All Contents Proprietary 1 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH 7 1 34 5 2 4 5 3 2 1 2 Iverson cuts. 5 Slips ballscreen. 3 Cuts underneath opposite. 4 Follows with SBS and pops to corner. 1 Passes to 3. 1 Cuts to opposite corner. All Contents Proprietary 1 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH DHO FLARE 1 2 4 5 3 2 5 4 3 1 1 DHO's with 3. 5 Sets flare screen for 3. 1 Cuts to opposite corner. 3 Passes to 4 at the elbow. All Contents Proprietary 1 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH FIRE 3 2 4 5 3 1 4 5 1 2 1 Dribbles to wing. 1 Iverson cuts to opposite wing. 2 Shallow cuts to top of the key. 2 passes to 1. 3 Cuts to opposite corner. 3 451 2 1 Drives the ball hard baseline. 4 & 5 Set stagger screen for 2 to come behind 1 for shot. All Contents Proprietary 1 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH PIN DOWN 5 1 3 5 4 2 3 4 2 1 1 Passes to 2. 4 Lips out to fake SBS, then slips to corner. 1 Sets diagonal screen in middle of lane for 5. 1 Raises to Nail. 3 Sets cross screen for 5. All Contents Proprietary 1 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH STAGGER 1 3 34 5 2 2 4 5 1 2 Iverson cuts. 4 Sets ballscreen for 2. 3 Cuts under to opposite wing. 3 & 5 set stagger screen for 1. 1 Passes to 2. 4 Sets UCLA screen for 1. All Contents Proprietary 1 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH STAGGER 2 3 2 4 5 3 1 4 5 1 2 1 Dribble Entries. 1 Iverson Cuts. 2 Shallow Cuts to top of key. 2 Passes to 1. 3 Cuts to opposite corner. 3 2 4 5 1 5 & 4 Set staggered ballscreen for 1. 5 Rolls. 4 Pops. All Contents Proprietary 1 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH UCLA 1 2 435 2 4 3 5 1 1 Passes to 3. 5 Sets SBS for 3. 5 Sets backscreen for 1. 4 Raises to top of the key. 2 Brush cuts to opposite corner. 1 Raises to the wing. 5 2 1 3 4 4 Passes to 1. 4 Follows pass to SBS for 1. 5 Raises to top of the key. All Contents Proprietary 1 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 HIGH UCLA POP 1 2 4 5 3 2 4 3 5 1 1 Passes ball to 3. 1 Sets Backscreen for 5. 5 Sets Backscreen for 1. 1 Pops to catch. 2 5 4 3 1 4 Sets MBS for 1. All Contents Proprietary 1 MAN OFFENSE - 1-4 IVERSON REFUSE 5 34 5 2 2 4 3 1 1 2 Iverson cuts over the top. 4 Lips out to ballscreen. 3 Cuts underneath. 2 Rejects ballscreen. 5 Dives to block. 5 Flares backside for 3. All Contents Proprietary T.J. McConnell defies odds, lands on 76ers roster T.J. McConnell accomplished on Monday what few thought he could. He made an NBA roster. When the former standout Arizona Wildcats point guard learned he survived the Philadelphia 76ers' final cuts, he "almost teared up in the coach's office. I had to sit down,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Mike White. McConnell was widely regarded as a standout college player who wasn’t built for the NBA game. He wasn’t drafted and many thought he would extend his career by playing over- seas. "It's OK," he said. "There are haters everywhere. Still haters today." Philadelphia is in need of a reserve as Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall rehabilitate anterior-cruciate ligament tears in their right knees.