Slappin’ Glass sits down this week with the Head Coach of the Spanish National Team and Virtus Bologna, Sergio Scariolo! The trio dive into a range of interesting topics including Coach Scariolo’s use of alternative defenses, including the philosophy, teaching points, and practice habits behind them, and talk guarding Flare Screens and poise under pressure during the always fun “Start, Sub, or Sit?!”
Inside the Episode
We were honored to be joined on the podcast this week by one of the most successful coaches in all of international basketball, Sergio Scariolo. Coach Scariolo is well regarded for the job he’s done with the Spanish NT and their FIBA success, as well as with his club Virtus Segafredo Bologna. Coach Scariolo explored a number of subjects with us this week including:
- Alternative Defenses: Coach Scariolo has used the “Box and One” and “Triangle and Two” and multiple times in his career and we enjoyed deep-diving with him on the when, why, and how of going to this type of defense. Coach Scariolo was on Nick Nurse’s staff when Toronto won the NBA Title, so we had fun hearing some stories about how they used alternative defenses at the NBA level as well.
- Calmness Under Pressure: Coach Scariolo is known for remaining calm on the biggest of stages, and we dove into how hey does this during a fun “Start, Sub, or Sit?!” question. Hint…preparation helps.
- Guarding Flare Screens: During “Start, Sub, or Sit?!” we also asked Coach Scariolo about guarding that ever tricky Flare Screen, and drill down on how he’d guard it from multiple points on the floor.