Offensive Efficiency and PPP

When I saw Coach Walberg speak at the Mid-South Coach's Clinic this fall, he talked a lot about points per possession and shooting percentages in terms of offensive efficiency and shot selection. The numbers do not lie and they are the foundation upon which we are basing our offensive and defensive tactics this season.

We want to shoot 30% or higher from three point range in every game we play. 30% from behind the arc works out to an average of almost 1.0 points per possession. Another goal is to shoot at least 50% percent from inside the lane. Making half of our shots inside the key is also 1.0 points per possession (ppp.) On the other hand, shooting the midrange at 45% (excellent shooting for most high school teams), only works out to 0.9 ppp. The truly most efficient way to generate offense, however, is to get to the free throw line. Shooting 70% from the line -- a very attainable goal for our varsity team -- is a whopping 1.4 ppp, and the added bonus is that you are getting the other team in foul trouble at the same time!

Therefore, when we are on the offensive end, we want to go to the rack and get fouled as often as possible. (Tonight we shot 47 foul shots, which has got to be a school record!) If our penetration is stopped, we want to kick it out for open three pointers with our feet set in "lock and load" position. Moreover, we want to avoid the midrange jumpshot, and really value the basketball to limit our turnovers (obviously a turnover is 0.0 ppp.) On the defensive end of the court, we are trying to force turnovers, and failing that, force teams to shoot contested midrange jumpers and then rebound the heck out of their misses!