NCDS: Pat Clarke, Asst. Coach - Rhode Island

By: Pat Clarke, Asst. Coach - Rhode Island

An old coach once told me "there are no style points in February.

And it's true.  Late February is the toughest month in college basketball, for a multitude of reasons.

By this point, your team is 20-25 games into the season and its postseason aspirations become clearer.  Have you done enough in the non-conference season?  Have you established yourself as a contender in conference play?  Are you on a win streak and can you maintain it?  Have you hit a rough patch and can you play out of it?  Do you need a deep conference tourney run?  Or is the final horn on your season soon to sound?

We as coaches like to say our teams are like families - and I think it's true.  Not just for some cliche or recruiting coach-speak, but it's because you genuinely care for each other and spend a lot of time with each other, home and away.  At times, I spend more time with the Rhode Island Rams than I do my own family.

And just like most families, there are ups and downs.  By this point in the season, you've spent enough time in buses, hotels and airports on the road, and in the film room and gymnasiums for practice, that patience can wear thin.  As a coach, you need to make sure that things "stay fresh."

Here are some of the things that keep things fresh and everyone on their toes:

1.  Know when to push and when to let up:  At this point of the season, it's important to realize that your players have been going at top gear since mid-October.  It's important to take your foot off the gas.  Sometimes, a light shootaround will pay more dividends than a 2-hour practice with full court drills.

2.  Practice your time, score, possession situations:  Down the stretch of the season, wins come at a premium and it is important to have your end of the game plays down pat.  We had two very important games where the final possession was make-or-break.  At Dayton, we were able to run a time-score-possession play in which Marquis Jones got a good look from 3 and he knocked it down.  That's a play we practice.  At home against Richmond, we ran another play, had a wide-open shot for the win and it just rattled out.  Sometimes the shot goes in, sometimes it doesn't - but you always have to have your team prepared and ready for those situations.

3.  Don't Look Ahead:  The most important game you play in February is the next one on the schedule.  With there being a new bracket posted everyday somewhere online, and the constant bubble talk, the worst thing a team or a coach can do is look down the calendar and pass over an opponent.  Every game counts; none more than the next one you have.

Good luck to everyone down the stretch and in conference tournament play.

Pat Clarke

University of Rhode Island