Program Philosophy

Triple Threat Hoops is a New Jersey-based, nationally competitive AAU Program for Boys & Girls. We prioritize DEVELOPMENT and EXPOSURE for all of our players, evident in our track record of sending student-athletes to Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3 schools. We believe in hard coaching, challenging practices and playing the highest level competition both locally and nationally. While many Programs take pride in winning games in lower level brackets in both local and regional events, Triple Threat Hoops teams will always be in the top brackets at the premier events, in some cases “playing up” Grade levels. Particularly at the younger age levels (Elementary & Middle School), we pride ourselves as a Program in teaching the game, developing individual skills and building mature competitors. A fair balance of winning and losing, hard coaching and supportive encouragement is required for all three of those areas. At the end of the day, we seek to create winning players and winning teams at the High School level. The 16u and 17u levels are truly the first time AAU players will be exposed to the college recruitment process, with many players not being recruited heavily until their Senior years of High School. Investing in the long-term gives our players the best chance for success as High School players when coaches are evaluating them.

How Does This Philosophy Translate Into Gameplay?

In the spirit of both teaching the game and developing individual skillsets, we balance structure with freedom, as both extremes can lead to poor results. If you give too much freedom, games turn into glorified “Pickup Basketball”, where players will not learn the game, but rather learn how to “get their’s”. This can be beneficial for a singular player on a team, but usually takes away from the development of everyone else, on top of creating players with poor basketball IQ. Most parents are familiar with this strategy in travel basketball, where it usually is the Coach’s son or daughter that is allowed play however they like, whilst the other kids must not dribble nor shoot nor do anything but feed the Coach’s kid. We seek to be as far away from that experience as possible.

On the other hand, being too structured, particularly at the younger ages, can feed the Coach’s ego in his or her X and O’s prowess, but oftentimes does not allow for the players to develop their skillsets. There comes a certain level (Usually 16u or 17u), where becoming more structured is necessary to win, as opposing players are too good to keep it simple the entire game, but in Middle School and below, running complex sets each and every possession teaches young players how to follow instructions and play robotically, rather than play confidently and instinctively. Our 4th-8th Grade teams will primarily have a few Half-Court “Plays”, which primarily just encourage movement and spacing, as well as a few Under Out of Bounds plays to score off dead ball situations. Simple actions like DHOs and Ball Screens are nice to teach at the younger ages, as they are a significant part of how the modern game is played. Simple screening actions such as Down Screens or Away Screens are also fundamental to the game, and things we enjoy teaching to our younger players. You will not, however, see our 7th Grade teams running, “Horns Stagger Away into Pistol Zoom”, or worse yet, the “Wing Flex Continuity” which is essentially a never ending series of passing and screening to hopefully get a semi-contested layup or 3-Point shot, but almost never any play that involves ball handling. Overcomplicating to copy NBA teams or oversimplifying to not risk mistakes and control the ball on offense for minutes at a time may serve in the best interest of the Coach, but rarely serves the best interest of the players long term.

Defensively, Triple Threat Hoops prides itself in full-court pressure defense. We believe in being on the attack on the defensive end, which can spark our offense. Furthermore, playing pressure defense typically speeds up the game, leading to more possessions, which equals more development opportunities for our players. Sitting back and packing in the paint, then walking the ball up on offense wastes a lot of precious time where our players could be learning how to play, rather than learning how to stall. To reiterate, coaching High School basketball and coaching AAU basketball are two entirely different things. High School basketball is more about strategy, scouting reports and finding any way to win. AAU is about individual growth in each of our players, which should ultimately create “winning players” that are successful as individuals and on a team. In the theme of both increasing possessions and playing as a team, one of our biggest teaching points is advancing the ball in transition. While most kids’ natural instinct is to dribble the ball as fast as they can all the way up the court, we always encourage looking ahead and making throw-ahead passes up-court when you have open teammates ahead of you. The more we can create steals or missed shots and play on the fast break, the more freedom our players have to play loose and fast. As skillsets develop in the High School years, the game shifts more into the Half-Court, where a higher level of shotmaking and basketball IQ is required to score the ball. We seek to create ample opportunities for our players to develop these abilities before they reach the High School level.