We recently announced the 2026 Slappin’ Glass SoCal Coaches Summit, an opportunity for coaches to come together, exchange ideas, and connect with the basketball community in beautiful Southern California.
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In anticipation of this year’s event, we’re looking back at several presentations from our previous Summits and revisiting some of the most powerful lessons that have stayed with us.
Each clinic is available in full on SGTV. For those who missed them, or want to watch them again, we highly recommend exploring the complete collection.
Let’s take a look back at some of the best from past SoCal Summits:
2024 Summit
🔒 Tom Bialaszewski – Developing an Offensive Identity {Orlando Magic}
Coach Bialaszewski led us through an offensive conversation that connected early offense, advantage creation, and late-clock decision-making within one clear identity.
Defining Pace Clearly
Many teams want to play with pace, but Coach Bialaszewski emphasized the importance of defining what that actually means.
For his teams, the goal was to reach the scoring area within four seconds. Playing fast was not simply about taking an early shot. If the offense pushed the ball deep, pressured the paint, or forced the defense out of its structure, the possession had already started successfully.
Advancing the ball early can flatten the defense and force it to protect the rim before it is fully organized. That inside-out reaction creates the spacing and opportunities the offense wants.
Building the Advantage
The advance pass was a central tool for putting the defense into rotation and turning an initial advantage into a larger one. From there, rip-and-go attacks, middle cuts, and quick ball movement helped create driving lanes and keep the defense scrambling.
Coach Bialaszewski also stressed the importance of protecting the team’s identity. Whether the game reaches the final minutes or the score begins to shift, the offense should not abandon the pace and principles that produced its success. Stay committed to the process, continue creating advantages, and trust that quality shots will follow.
🔒 Darren Savino – UCLA’s Defensive Concepts & Drills
Coach Savino gave us a detailed look at the techniques and habits behind UCLA’s disruptive defense, with principles that can translate across levels.
Being Disruptive
UCLA’s goal is to make the offense uncomfortable. Pressure speeds up decisions, disrupts rhythm, and creates rushed shots and turnovers.
On drives where the ballhandler can see the help, defenders bluff and recover while staying in the passing lane. On blind drives, they are empowered to attack the dribble and pursue the steal. UCLA teaches a two-hand strip to improve control and reduce the risk of a foul.
One of their best opportunities comes on a baseline drive that has been cut off. As the ballhandler spins away from the on-ball defender, the next defender is positioned to attack the ball.
Connected in Chaos
UCLA does not build its defense around avoiding every rotation. Instead, players are trained to remain connected and recover when pressure creates temporary disadvantages.
That approach better reflects what happens against quality offenses, where even strong defensive possessions eventually require multiple efforts, communication, and scramble habits.
The same principle applies to their blitz coverage. The big pressures the ball while the guard plugs the pocket pass, allowing UCLA to stay aggressive without immediately exposing the roll.
🔒 Phil Beckner – Player Development Myths
Coach Beckner shared a clear framework for building skill development that transfers. Emphasizing simplicity, precision, and purposeful repetition.
Simplify the Skill
Get directly to why the skill matters and the essential details that make it work. Removing unnecessary complexity gives players greater clarity and allows them to train with more speed and intent.
Prioritize Precision and Force
Strong ballhandling begins with controlling the location and force of the dribble. Before adding creativity or complex combinations, players must first make the ball work with them.
Master What Happens Most
Rather than collecting endless finishing solutions, Coach Beckner prioritizes the finishes players use most often: the traditional layup, inside-hand finish, “Nash” finish, and two-foot power finish.
Train With Purpose
Every drill, movement, and shot should connect directly to the decision or action being developed for the game. New or complicated does not automatically mean more effective.
2025 Summit
🔒 Zach Guthrie – Rethinking Pre-game Warmups {Lakers}
Coach Guthrie brought tremendous energy to the gym with his approach to pregame preparation. Rather than relying on a traditional warmup, he turned the time before tip-off into an opportunity to rehearse game actions, opponent coverages, and the decisions players would face later that night.
At the center of the workout was his 4v4 Build Down.
4v4 Build Down
The drill begins 4-on-4. After a shot or turnover, the player who finishes the possession and their defender leave the floor. The remaining players immediately re-space and flow into a predetermined 3-on-3 action.
The sequence continues from 3-on-3 to 2-on-2 and finally 1-on-1.
This is not pickup basketball. Each phase begins with an established action or concept, but players must read the defense and play naturally from there. The quick transitions between phases also reinforce spacing, communication, and a next-play mentality.
Key Takeaways
Create More Decision-Making Reps:
The drill produces multiple game-like situations in rapid succession while training players to transition mentally, re-space, and recognize the next action.
Shape the Environment With Constraints:
Coaches can narrow the available options through specific actions and reads without scripting the entire possession.
Make Drills Representative:
Building pregame work around how possessions actually unfold prepares players more effectively than isolated movements or traditional scripted warmups.
🔒 Johnny Tauer – Intrinsic Motivation {St. Thomas}
One of the Summit’s most valuable and unique presentations came from St. Thomas head coach Johnny Tauer, who drew on both his coaching experience and academic research to explore intrinsic motivation in players.
The Power of Intrinsic Motivation
Coach Tauer explained why internally driven players are so valuable. Players who already love to compete, learn, and improve are more likely to sustain their effort than those who constantly need motivation from an outside source.
Here were a few of his most important lessons:
1. Recruit Motivation Instead of Trying to Create It
Rather than asking yes-or-no questions such as, “Do you love basketball?” or “Are you a hard worker?”, ask players for specific examples of how they have responded in different situations. Their answers, and the details behind them, offer a much clearer look at what truly drives them.
2. Watch Actions, Not Words
Habits, coach-ability, curiosity, and self-directed work reveal far more about a player’s motivation than anything they say during the recruiting process.
3. Protect Autonomy
Players are more likely to remain engaged when they feel a sense of ownership over their work and development.
4. Diagnose Before Labeling
A drop in motivation may come from reduced autonomy, disconnection from the team, or a loss of confidence—not poor character or a lack of effort.
🔒 Jerrod Calhoun – Matchup Zone Principles & Favorite 5-Out Actions {Cincinnati}
In a wide-ranging presentation, Coach Calhoun shared the building blocks of his program, from intentional practice design and offensive habits to a matchup zone built to keep opponents uncomfortable.
Practice With Purpose
Coach Calhoun is highly intentional with how practice begins, using early scenarios that require players to communicate, recognize coverages, and solve problems together.
Rather than scripting every decision, the defense is given the freedom to dictate the possession. This creates more representative situations, forces the offense to read what is happening, and naturally raises the level of competition.
Cutting Is a Daily Habit
With the goal of becoming one of the best cutting teams in the country, Coach Calhoun works on cutting every day.
Repeatedly rewarding hard, well-timed cuts builds trust within the offense. Players become more willing to move without the ball because they know their effort will create opportunities for themselves or their teammates.
Adaptive Defense
Coach Calhoun’s Matchup Zone {🔒} was built to do more than protect space. Its purpose was to crowd the ball, disguise where pressure was coming from, and keep the offense from settling into predictable reads.
Three principles drove the defense:
Five Defenders Guarding the Ball:
Every player used an open stance and showed length toward the ball, while weakside defenders worked toward the midline. The goal was to shrink the floor and make the ballhandler feel surrounded.
Attack Blind Ballhandlers:
Utah State was willing to invite certain passes, particularly into the middle, because they created opportunities to pressure the catch.
Any time a ballhandler turned or dribbled away from a defender, that defender had the freedom to launch a “random attack” on the ball.
Change the Coverage:
The matchup zone did not handle every ballscreen the same way. Utah State often ICE’d first-side screens, then hard hedged reversal or pass-and-chase actions. Those contrasting coverages prevented the offense from finding a consistent solution.
These were just a few sessions offering a glimpse of what has made the SoCal Coaches Summit such a valuable event: high-level coaches sharing practical ideas in an environment built for genuine learning and connection.
We’re excited to bring that experience back to Chapman University on August 14–15 for the 2026 Summit. This year’s presenters will again take us inside the concepts, teaching methods, and program-building ideas shaping their teams, with opportunities to continue those conversations off the court throughout the weekend.
For the full presentations highlighted above, SG+ members can revisit the complete Summit collection on SGTV.