The definitive guide to 100 point games
Okay, coaching friends. There's been a lot of talk about 100 point games. What is it, where did it come from, why do we use it, and how can you get better at it?
So - what is 100 point games.
Let's start with what it's not.
It is not a "drill."
It is not a "throw in."
It is not a "time filler."
It is not "too complicated."
100 point games is, in its essence, the operationalization of all your variables in playing basketball. It is a measurable, tangible way for players to understand how exactly THEY can contribute to the overall success of our team, and how each phase of the game works in synergy. When we think about basketball (or really any sport - because we have coaches using this framework in football and swim/dive, too), we tend to separate offense and defense into silos. The technical aspects are different, without a doubt. But the tactical aspects are the same.
What 100 point games allows you to do is find what is most ESSENTIAL to you and provide feedback through the scoring of the game. It's the entire point of the games approach wrapped into an activity you could do for an entire practice.
Alas, we've come to the genesis for 100 point games. The big question: Why do we treat these things as different? How can we align what we're doing offensively to what we want to take away defensively? Finally, how can we make these into repeatable, positive habits aka CHARACTER.
If all offenses are designed to switch sides of the floor and touch the paint to generate the best shot available, why wouldn't we score it that way in practice to showcase what matters to us? Everyone wants to "play fast" but do we all really measure that in our scoring? 100 point games works by using the BIG PIECES of what we do - pitch ahead, switch sides, touch the middle, safe exchange, and shot selection - to offer a blueprint by which our players can find multiple ways to be successful. The #EssentialElements are on display every possession.
One of the coach-speaky cliche things to say is, "no two possessions are the same," yet we try to make them the same through sets, alignments, and prescriptions. Yet, in the same breath, we'll also say we allow freedom. Well which is it?
With 100 point games, you can have the best of both (all) worlds. You can use it to run your sets, you can use to it scout (more on that later), and you can use it with multiple defenses. The best part though, is that the scoreboard can provide feedback that you can't.
Let's talk about uses - feel free to add your own here. This is not an exhaustive list: Film review Practice Scouting Introducing a new concept Timeout language (need a 30 point possession) Analytics review (who had more, who won battle?) Watching a different level of play.
How to use 100 point games in practice:
Play it. Know your scoring. Have the scoring available for players to reference. 15:00 on the clock, play to 100. Reset the clock and do it again. Ask questions about what the highest yield plays are? Why that shot? Vary the shot clock.
How to use 100 point games in practice, pt. 2:
Validate the contributions of the NON-bucket getters (your defensive specialists can get the most points of anyone) through the value of their safe exchange of the ball. Example incoming:
Practice example:
Player A pitches ahead early opposite (15) to Player B.
Player B penetrates the paint & kicks weak side (10) to Player C.
Player C takes a wide open 3 and hits it (10).
Which players contributed most to the 35 point possession?
In a normal game or with normal scoring, the only thing reflected on the scoreboard was the 3 points. 71% of that play happening was because those other two players, A&B did their job. But the 29% gets rewarded with oohs and aahs. This is where we talk external formulas.
External formulas are things that guide our behavior based on what we THINK others think of us or have told us or society tells us. When that 3 goes in, everyone cheers. So, we equate success with the ball going in. Well, we don't want counting horses on our team.
Horses were trained to "count" by stomping their foot on the ground. They'd stop when they heard the cheers. They were never really counting, they just were trained for the cheers and the gasps of approval.
So - instead of counting horses, we want high character basketball players who make the next best decision as often as possible - they have repeatable, positive habits that lead to reduced complexity and variability over time.
100 point games provides a framework by which to do that. We can use it to review film from games. Here's an example of that from earlier this year watching the @WNBA:
We can use this in scouting - how does the other team generate their highest value possessions based on what we have determined is important to us? GREAT - let's get better at what we do so we can dominate them at what they do. But it keeps it about us. No counting horses.
"But what about the defense," the coach lamented. Well, I'm here to tell ya - the defense's job is to get the ball back. As @Fergus_Connolly says, defense is offense without the ball. The scoring is designed to shape an environment that sharpens "both" sides of the ball. Instead of saying to the defense, "KEEP IT ON ONE SIDE!" you give the offense points for switching sides. How do I take that away as a defender? "NO PAINT!" Well we give 5 points for that so now we are going to test that theory. This is all feedback you glean from the exercise. Well, why did we lose that round? Because we couldn't keep them out of the paint. They may not have scored very many actual buckets, but that's besides the point. They did what they were supposed to do and we didn't. The aggregate effect of that is going to be MASSIVE.
Pitfalls we have seen when implementing 100 point games are numerous...but the biggest one is scoring EVERYTHING. You cannot, and you must not. Pick 5-6 things, TOPS. The most essential pieces of how you want to play. Do you know what they are? Do the players? here are Mine:
Pitch ahead
Switch Sides
Touch the Paint
Safe Exchanges
Shot Selection
Offensive Rebounding
Charge Taken = 99 points.
Want to reward defense? Give them a win for taking a legit charge. Hmm..no more PLOWING them over to "create toughness." I can see we've lost readers.
Players want to know what they are doing matters. What this does is validate their contribution and returns us to the #HumanComponent. You can be a "bench" player and still contribute to the success of our team. Every player has a role in keeping us afloat. Just by spacing - you might lead us to points. By sprinting and getting a pitch ahead, you're getting us points. By seeking the big advantage, you're getting us points. By tipping an offensive rebound to someone else, you're getting us points.
They may not all show up on the scoreboard like they do in 100 point games during practice, but they'll show up in the aggregate. In going on 7 years of creating and using 100 point games, I can tell you without question this is the best way I've found to teach the following:
1. Shot selection
2. Spacing
3. Seeking
4. Spacing
5. How we CAN play at our best
6. The fluidity of basketball and mistake response
7. Celebrating others
8. Role ID
9. Respect and communication
10. Toughness - up 85-30 and they take a legit charge? Sucks to be you.
The bottom line is that this is not just a crappy little throwaway drill or semantics. This is a game that works on multiple levels and can be used in a number of ways. It allows the players to have an objective framework in which to have freedom and take risk.
It rewards said risk with opportunity to contribute and be successful. It is skill development because all five players are on the mission to score as many points for their team as they can.
Even better, as a coach, you can coach via the scoreboard. You can coach with the whistle. It's less of you talking and more of them learning. You can shape the environment you want to see simply by tweaking the scoring to represent what matters in the program.
When you see something you like - celebrate it. Stop the game and show how the points racked up. Do the same thing in film review. Sit there and score your possessions v. your opponent's possessions.
@CoachJFry asked about debriefing with your team. This is how I would do it. This is how I have done it. I would score the possessions from our team and the other team. And we'd see who had the highest # of 30pt possessions. What did we do well? X% of our possessions = 30+. Y% of theirs were 30+. Did we do the best we could with what we had? Where did we fall short. Let's watch some of these 20 or teen pointers and see where we could have improved those to get a higher yield.
If you made it this far, thanks for sticking around. DM me @rastogi_aseem and @coachk424 and we'd love to help you get started with 100 point games. This is my baby and I want to see everyone have success with it because frankly, I know it works.
