Ep 2046 What Does Your Team Do in the Hour Before Tip?

https://teachhoops.com/

The pregame routine, the warmup that actually warms them up, and the locker room words that matter in game one.

It is forty five minutes before tip. The music is too loud, two players are on their phones, and the point guard is retaping an ankle that does not need it. Coach Steve Collins spent his early years running game night on a vibe instead of a plan, then trying to fix everything with a speech four minutes before tip. His teams came out flat in the opener three straight years.

In this deep dive, Steve walks through the hour that decides more games than coaches admit. How to build a pregame plan backwards from tip, why most warmups look organized but leave players cold, and what to say, and leave out, in the locker room before game one. It is practical, minute by minute, and ready for opening night.

Part 1: The Plan and the Warmup

Why Steve's teams came out flat three openers in a row, and why he finally blamed the hour instead of the kids

Writing the pregame backwards from tip, with every player and every staff member knowing where to be at each mark

Nerves love empty time: giving players a job so worry has nowhere to go

Why eight of ten high school warmups look the same, and why that leaves you down eight

Building the warmup from the game backwards: movement, ball handling on the move, passing against a defender, shots from your offense, and something live

Rehearsing the exact warmup in practice so the first run is never in front of a crowd

Part 2: The Locker Room