Will Run-n-Gun work at the DI level?

Last week my friend and coaching colleague, Bert DeSalvo, sent me an intriguing text.  His question, will the system Andy Hoaglin and I ran at JCC, work at the highest levels of the game.  I thought it was a great question and one that deserves more than the answer I gave him in my text message, where I simply said that I do believe it will work.

First of all, I believe that any system can work at any level.  However, that doesn't mean that a particular system/style of play will work at every level.  In my opinion, there are so many factors that determine the success of a system.

• Is the coach completely in - if a coach does not have 100% confidence in their system, they will waffle and it will never work.
• Do the players fit the system 
• Obviously this is different in high school and below compared to the college level or the pros.  Below the college level, a system can be started with feeder programs.  That way, by the time kids get to the HS level, they have been brought up in the varsity program's system.  I have also heard of some coaches at the HS level switching systems year to year, and having success, based on their current personnel.  To me, any coach who is able to do that is an incredibly gifted visionary and teacher.
• At the college or pro level, you will recruit, draft, or sign players who fit your coaching philosophy.  There will always be tweaks based on your personnel in any given season, but in general, you will stick with what you believe in and have done all along.
• Does your administration buy in - this may be the biggest key to any system.  Because of our success playing the run-n-gun, we had at least lukewarm administrative support.  However, our system was far enough outside of the box that when our athletic administration changed, we did not have any allies above us for playing something so unique.
• Do your players, especially your leaders, buy in - at least initially, you will need to sell your system to you leaders.  In our case, we would need to explain that a bit less playing time would benefit the program in terms of wins and losses and in many cases, would even benefit those who are seeing the floor a bit less with better statistical output.  Once you have proven success, this becomes easier every year.

So what specifically leads me to believe our particular style of run-n-gun would be successful at the DI level.  I believe it starts with Coach Hoaglin and me.  I don't mean to sound conceited, but I am absolutely confident that we have been blessed with a passion and ability to teach the run-n-gun.  I also believe that we have an eye for exactly the type of talent needed to have success playing the run-n-gun, which in some cases is not the same as the type of player needed to succeed in a traditional system.  I also believe that the fire that we bring to the table and the way we treat our players as part of our family, has allowed and will continue to allow us to have an extremely high success rate in recruiting. 

I am not saying that it is necessary that the two of us coach together.  What I am saying is that if either one of us was brought in as a head coach or assistant, at any level, we would help any program have success playing the run-n-gun.  We know the ins and outs of this system and have spent a ton of time thinking through the tweaks that would need to be made to improve upon it at the next level.

One concern I want to address before I close this blog.  Many people look at what we did at JCC and believe it is nothing more than a circus side show.  Especially in light of some of the things that have been done at Grinnell (see Jack Taylor).  And while our system is essentially what is run by Coach Arsenault at Grinnell, we are 100% focused on playing the game to win.  Coach Arsenault has a slightly different set of circumstances and I love how he gets things done.  He has an extremely successful program, but in order to get his kids a bit of the limelight, which they deserve, he sometimes has to do something unique - especially in games he knows may be a blowout in his favor.  The way Coach Hoaglin and I are wired, winning comes first.  I simply can't change who I am in that regard and at the DI, or DII level for that matter, wouldn't feel the need to do so.  Don't get me wrong, what we do is unique and will bring fans in simply for that, but there is a clear method to the madness.

So Coach DeSalvo, my more long winded answer to your question, is still yes, our run-n-gun can be successful at the highest level with the right people in place.  As Coach Arsenault closed our chapter in his book 'System Successes', "To Andy and everyone associated with the Jackson CC Women's Basketball program, I would just like to say that after watching that film, I now not only have a better appreciation for your level of play, but also for the level of coaching being done within your ranks."