Coaches Corner with Basketball Coach Lucas Chapman
The ReSporter: How are the players going into their game with Wimberley?
Coach Chapman: “The guys are in good spirits. The good thing about high school kids is that they are resilient and they forget things real quick. They’ve done a good job of staying positive and looking ahead. They are excited about starting district, and they have confidence and a belief that we are going to be successful.”
The ReSporter: What are you looking for ratio wise with your Assists to Turnovers game wise?
Coach Chapman: “In an ideal world we would like have a 2 to 1 assist to turnover ratio, but more realistically, any time we can have more assists than turnovers we are doing good things.”
The ReSporter: What would be your number of Three Point shots per game? Yes, I know if they are making them, then as many as possible, but I’m thinking anything over 30% would be doable, based on a chance of getting more offensive rebounds off of shots from that far out.
Coach Chapman: “As a team we are not really concerned about the amount of 3’s we take. We are much more concerned about what kind of 3’s we take. If we are getting the ball inside and then kicking out for wide open 3’s then we will take those every time. We also like to take wide-open transition 3’s. The problem we run into at times, is that we take contested 3’s, which usually don’t go in and lead to empty possessions. When you shoot a 3 just for the sake of shooting it, then you run into a low shooting percentage.”
The ReSporter: And my follow-up: you have only been over 30% shooting from outside the arc, five times in 21 games…is this a result of not pounding it inside to be able to get open shots, or does that even matter?
Coach Chapman: “Like I mentioned earlier, how many times we get the ball to the paint, whether it’s a post feed or a dribble-drive, certainly correlates with our 3-point percentage. When we make the defense collapse and scramble then we are able to get open looks. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you are going to shoot better when you don’t have someone in your face. That is one thing that we preach and chart every game—get the ball to the paint. Getting the ball into the paint is a big focus for our team.”
The ReSporter: Also, last question: I noticed in your game with Blanco that you only did the pick and row once or twice. That play was doing well earlier in the season, what are your thoughts on what will need to be done offensively in order to succeed in District Play?
Coach Chapman: “The pick and roll will certainly be a big part of our offense as we get into district play. Against Blanco we went away from it, but we used it a lot last night and we were much more efficient on offense. It will definitely be a big weapon for us as we move forward.”
The ReSporter: Thanks Coach and good luck with your District 27-3A opener.
