Red Jacket Indian

This morning I read a email from a coach in New York talking about the System, and I had to post it here on my blog. Coach Miles was kind enough to give me permission to do so and here it is. It tells why people run the System and why people are passionate about it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

"Good morning everyone! We are a small school in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. Last year we graduated 2 college level players. One is the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in school history. The second in the 2nd leading scorer in school history and the all-time leader in 3's made. We lost our playoff game last year, with these 2 guys in the lineup, 42-33. It was awful and I promised myself we would do our best to never let that happen again. We began system implementation during the Spring and Summer games and had a great pre-season of scrimmages. However, none of the returning players averaged more that 5 points per game (JV or Varsity) and I had no idea what to expect our first game vs. real live competition.


Well, we played our first system game Friday night (12/2) and it was a great way to start! It was a hard fought contest throughout and we led by 12 going into the 4th quarter (Led 41-32 at half, more points than we scored in our last playoff game with 2-1000pt. scorers in the lineup!). Our opponent was able to cut the lead to 2 and our "13th man" made a great post move basket to slow their momentum. We were up 7 with under a minute to go and had our best ball handlers/free throw shooters in the game. Our opponent hit 2 desperation 3's (their only 2 makes of the game) and we were up 2 with 10 seconds left. They fouled, we made both free throws, then we stole a pass and made 2 more free throws to seal a 79-73 win.

Game Stats:


13 played (1 out due to injury)


11 Scored, 6 scored 6 or more points, 3 in double figures and several career highs established.


Shots Taken: 102 (52 3's) has to be a school record


Opponent Shots: 67 (+35 for us)


3's Made: 12 by 5 different players (Possible School Record)


OREB %: 40%


Free Throws Taken: 33 (made 17)


Opponent Turnovers: 40


Our Turnovers: 20

We shot 25% from the field for the game and out hustled our opponent throughout. We went to the OFF press late in the game to get the ball out of the hands of their best player/ball handler and that really helped. We have a bunch of areas that need improvement, but the guys were so excited and couldn't wait for practice Saturday morning. So many guys stepped up and made "big" plays and shots that I found myself getting a bit emotional while watching the game tape. All I have ever wanted was for our players to play hard and with confidence on both ends of the floor. Tonight was the first time that we truly met that basic goal and it is one of the greatest feelings a coach could ever have experienced!

Thank you for the assistance in implementing this new style of play. I hope to never coach another way ever again."










Rich Miles






Red Jacket Indians Boys Varsity Basketball Coach






"p.s. Our JV's are running the system and won their 1st game as well. They fouled way too much, but are young and love our new way of playing the game."