A Pen And A Napkin

Josh Thompson, Boys HC at Bishop McGuinness (NC), jumps on the podcast this week to discuss a variety of topics, including the UNC-Duke Final 4 matchup, a unique school nickname, making that first deep post-season run, player development, delegating responsibilities to assistants, out of bounds plays and philosophy, and much more. Great conversation with one of North Carolina's best!

Casey Hall and I are back for our review of "Winning Time"! This week, we finally hit some serious basketball material with Episode IV "Who the F . . . is Jack McKinney?". The Lakers hit training camp, McKinney tries to become a head coach and Jerry West comes in to save the day! Enjoy our review!

We're all, to a degree, selfish and want what's best for our programs; however, we DO have to think about alot of factors as we put together our summer programs. In this "Foundation Friday", we talk about the factors that you need to consider as you put together your summer program, plus a big announcement about how things are going at "A Pen And A Napkin"!

Casey Hall and I take a deep dive on "Winning Time" Episode III, uniquely titled "The Best Is Yet to Come". This episode highlights the search for a new Lakers coach, with Dr. Buss adamant that Jerry Tarkanian is his guy. Other subplots include Earvin Johnson's acclimation to Los Angeles socially and Jerry West finding his way. It's our favorite episode so far, so enjoy!

Ever wonder what it's like to win a state championship? Ever wondered what needs to be done to win a state title, or wonder what were the intangibles that led to that championship? We have that handled right here with this podcast! Five state championship coaches, from the first one (Mohs, Martindale and Stoffel) along with a 12-timer (Flynn). We add in a repeat champion in Tim Cannon and the story of the state tournament, Fort Calhoun's TJ O'Connor and his description of their tremendous run and how the Pioneers captured the state's imagination. Enjoy this unique Quick Hitter format!!

The state tournament is a tremendous opportunity to network, to watch high level basketball and to learn from various situations that present themselves. In this pod, I've taken a look at some of the things that I saw last week at the Nebraska state tournament that a coaching staff should consider looking at and prepare for, especially as your season progresses.

Casey Hall and I breakdown Episode II of "Winning Time", HBO's new series on the 1980's Los Angeles Lakers. We chat about the overall episode, then dive into our categories and give our grades on the episode.

In the last of our four state tourney roundtables, Jerome Skrdla of Gretna (NE), Nate Wall of David City Aquinas (NE) and Jimmy Motz of Norris (NE) come on the pod to chat it up at the N-Zone in downtown Lincoln. We discuss timeout usage, developing community support and much more! Enjoy this great discussion, and when in downtown Lincoln, grab a bite to eat at either the Mellow Mushroom or the N-Zone!!

Another day, another roundtable!! Millard West's finest, Marc Kruger and Casey Hall, along with Paul Markley, jump on the pod at the N-Zone in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska. In this pod, we chat about what we look for when voting for postseason awards, how to make all of your players feel valued and much more, including a food review by Carter Plum!!

Another day, another roundtable! Tom Tvrdy returns to this roundtable, along with Sarah Goodwin, GBB AC at Bennington (NE) and Paul Markley, GBB HC at Ralston (NE). We chat about our own self improvement, communication with our players, helping our players balance out their summer activities and much more!