Coach John Wooden
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(616) 402-1600 BasketballBasics@charter.net
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Coach John Wooden is the basis of what we do at Basketball Basics. His accomplishments as a coach and mentor can not be overstated. Coach Wooden died on June 4, 2010 at the age of 99. For those interested in learning more about his legacy, this New York Times article is a strong summary of the man.
"He gave so much to basketball and education. In my opinion if he's not as important as Dr. Naismith (the game's INVENTOR), he's right next to him."
UCONN head coach Jim Calhoun
Played overseas for 1 year
Thank you very much for putting together an organization to develop players in West Michigan! At Michigan, we strive to be solid fundamentally on the offensive end and to frustrate teams with our defense, so we are definitely on your side! You are running things in a terrific fashion....keep up the great work. Sincerely,
Dawn Plitzuweit
Womens Assistant Basketball Coach
University of Michigan
Dawn was Grand Valley State's head coach when they won the Division 2 National Championship in 2006. She has since moved on to U of M in Ann Arbor.
We model our instruction after two well known basketball styles:
The PHILOSOPHY of Coach Wooden and the UCLA method
The TECHNICAL approach of Princeton Basketball, with a focus on discipline, well rounded skill development, defensive technique and conditioning.
Coach John Wooden led UCLA to 10 NCAA Men's D-1 basketball championships, including 7 consecutively. He is considered by many to be the greatest basketball coach of all time, at any level.
Our philosophical approach to the game begins and ends with Coach Wooden's anthem of helping develop the players to their full potential ON and OFF the court. The players who attend our instruction receive strong reinforcement with many issues that apply whether they have a ball in their hands or not. A few examples would be: school is first always, respect for one another, hard work, showing up on time, making eye contact, learning from mistakes, handling disappointment, frustration and defeat, winning and losing with dignity, developing poise and composure, improving listening skills. These are just a few of the traits that apply to competitive players on and off the court.
Coach McGannon's college coach was Gary Walters, the current athletic director at Princeton. Coach Walters played at Princeton in the 1960's with Bill Bradley under legendary technician Butch Van BredaKoff (Coach VBK). Our technical approach to the game mirrors the discipline, work ethic, precise natue of skill development and execution of these skills as taught by Coach Walters. Cornel's run in the 2010 NCAA Championship has been referenced many times by the announcers as reflective of this Princeton style: great conditioning, moving with out the ball, tons of back door cuts, opening to the ball DEFENSIVELY and always jumping to the ball.
Coach McGannon's team mate Gene Heyward (in the back row, # 25) is the father of Atlanta Braves outfielder Jason Heyward.