Mark Pope: Executing Power Plays in Transition & Half-Court - Making Your Offense More Efficient!

with Mark Pope,
University of Kentucky Head Men's Coach ;
BYU Head Coach from 2019 to 2024;
Utah Valley Head Coach from 2015 to 2019;
BYU Assistant Coach from 2011 to 2015;
Wake Forest Assistant Coach from 2010 to 2011;
Georgia Assistant Coach from 2009 to 2010;
played professionally from 1996 to 2005;
1996 NBA 2nd round pick (Indiana Pacers);
played collegiately for University of Kentucky from 1994 - 1996;
1996 NCAA National Champions;
played collegiately for University of Washington from 1991 -1993;
1992 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year

Mark Pope's rich coaching and playing pedigree has helped shape him into one of the rising coaches in the game today. In this valuable coaching video, Pope breaks down the principles of the 'power play' concept and how learning to practice it can be a life-changing evolution for your players and program!

Coaching Background

As a player and then as an aspiring coach, Mark Pope was fortunate to have an incredibly rich stream of influential coaches who shaped his outlook and philosophies on coaching and what is valued and focused on in practices. Rick Pitino, Lynn Nance, Billy Donovan, Larry Bird, George Karl, Rick Carlisle, Mark Fox and Dave Rose all played a part in Coach Pope's development as a coach. Pope's ability to pick up valuable coaching nuggets from each coach he played for and coached with has created a thoughtful, analytical coach who focuses on practicing ways to create advantages for his team every time they take the court!

The Power Play

Coach Mark Pope has taken a hockey concept - the Power Play - and uses its principles in defining ways to create advantages for his players when they are on the floor. The energy you must focus on as a coach - and then practice to perfect - is: How can your team - through skill, scheme, ability, pace and plays 'earn' a power play?

Coach Pope talks about the 3 main principles of an effective Power Play - 

• Earning it - creating or recognizing the opportunity to attract a defender and thereby pulling a defender off of another area or player - Pope states that "If I can 'earn' a second player, someone else is open!" - . at that point, you have to 'Deliver' it to them!
• Delivering it - Once the defender has been pulled toward you - the ability to get the ball with perfect execution to the player that has the advantage; once received - you have to 'Finish'!
• Finishing it - You have to Finish! Pope shares several ways to get off quick, high percentage shots

Quicks

Coach Pope details Quicks - a finishing shot by your bigs that avoids confrontation, avoids turnovers, and if practiced religiously, can change your bigs' life! Quicks are clean, efficient ways to finish a power play.

Pope runs a couple of drills to demonstrate how to perfect the Quicks in practice. A pick and Roll drill shows the timing needed to execute a perfect quick. Adding a blocker and really focusing on the skill of catching are added in as well.

Quicks with Floater

Adding the guards into the equation adds another efficient, advantageous way to finish a Power Play. Pope spends time on the release, the timing and hand position to ensure proper, quick release.

Shooting

As a college coach, Coach Pope spends very little time working on shooting mechanics with his players; the arrive to his program with good shooting ability but he takes time to discuss the most important thing he is looking for in his shooters - as great shooting is essential as a part of the finish of a Power Play.  

Pope's 'key' when he is watching a player shoot is the psychological 'ownership' of every shot you take. When a shooter fires a three and immediately backs off and heads back on defense, you can see the disconnect between the shooter and their shot. Pope encourages  every player 'own their shot' - and follow through and stay present in the moment of the shot.

Power Play Breakdowns

Coach Pope shows a series of 2 on 2 and then 3 on 3 breakdowns to institute an awareness and understanding of how to earn the Power Play and then how to Deliver. The earning becomes a tendency once the drill is run a few times and the delivery becomes better with practice as well. This is another moment in the session when the focus on earning, delivering, catching and then finishing all come together.

Stampedes and Maggettes

Coach Pope also shares a drill he calls Stampedes and Maggettes; Corey Maggette was a masterful NBA guard who was able to make fluid, purposeful moves that were perfect illustrations of how to earn a Power Play. The stampedes were similar in design but instead of moving toward the pass, they were away from the pass.

The end result is a fluid, moving action that creates excellent Power Play opportunities.

Transition

Transition is a Power Play-rich time on the court where advantages present themself regularly. Coach Pope sets up a couple of drills that will help you run your team in game-speed drills that allow them to work to earn the Power Play and help you to keep focusing on opportunity creation where there are no contested shots.

Ball Screen

Coach Pope reviews priorities when you are setting ball screens as it relates to Power Play.  The key point in setting a purposeful ball screen is to force the defender to go over the screen and also, to focus on buying space and time. These keys will help your ball handler earn the Power Play and the play that unfolds is one with uncontested, high percentage shots.

Power Play is a hockey term in its origin but can so easily be used and applied to basketball. Coach Mark Pope has created an entire way of thinking, in pieces, that with practice and application in your program, can facilitate a team of players with superior basketball IQ as it relates to spacing, creating opportunities and finding uncontested, high percentage shots.

75 minutes.  2024.