Episode 126: John Becker, Defensive Commitment

Guest: John Becker, University of Vermont Men's Basketball Head Coach

In this week’s basketball coaching conversation, Vermont head coach John Becker joins the Basketball Podcast to discuss their defensive commitment. Under Coach Becker, the University of Vermont men's basketball team has been consistently ranked as one of the nation’s top defenses. Their defensive philosophy and techniques are shared.

In nine seasons at the University of Vermont, John Becker has guided the Catamounts to nine 20-win seasons, eight straight postseason berths (NCAA three times, NIT twice, CBI – three times), won four America East Tournament titles (2012, 2017, 2019, and 2020), five America East regular-season crowns (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020) and an NCAA Tournament win (2012). The Catamounts are one of seven programs with at least 12 straight 20-wins seasons – Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, and Saint Mary’s.

Breakdown

1:00 - Modernizing Defense

4:00 - Transition Defense

7:00 - Countering

9:00 - Ball Coverage

17:00 - Practice Scramble Situations

20:30 - Completion of a Scramble

22:00 - Resources

25:00 - Loop Techniques to Close-Outs

33:00 - Scout Specific

38:00 - Understanding the Game

43:00 - Helping their Offense