Customer Reviews

A System of Game Execution, Observations of Ralph Miller's Pressure Basketball

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I purchased this book last winter at mid-season and I soon realized that I had uncovered a gold mine. Author Steve Seidler was an assistant to Ralph Miller at Oregon State from 1980-1987. Ralph Miller is probably the greatest college coach of all time but never got the credit he deserved because he could not attract blue chip players to Oregon State. Therefore, the closest he ever got to a national championship was one game shy of the final four ( 1982 ). But if you take a look at his record and if you consider what he accomplished with limited talent at OSU, you find that in retrospect, his accomplishments were much more impressive than the name brand coaches. ( John Wooden, for example, finally beat a Ralph Miller team when he began attracting the Abdul-Jabbars ( Alcindor ) and Waltons. Prior to that era, Ralph's teams at Witchita State and Iowa upset Wooden three straight times. ) The beauty of Ralph Miller's pressure basketball system is that it is simple. It reduces basketball to the components that always win games: defense, constant pressure, proper spacing and teamwork. And it leaves out ridiculous drills and impossible-to-understand offenses. Miller's system is based on six drills, a basic offensive set and two simple defenses. No, you can't read it once and understand it. You have to study it. And you will have questions. But Steve offers his e-mail address and is really good about responding to questions. A video is also offered with the book. I found this to be very helpful because you see how the drills need to be executed by the players ( the video is essential for this ). And you see the Miller offense and defense in action. Results? I immediately employed several of the drills and offensive/defensive sets. It is difficult to switch gears during the middle of a season but I did as much as I could. My first-year high school team improved dramatically. They ended the season at 15-7, 23rd best regular season record in the state in their division. The drills were very helpful. This summer, I have employed the whole system and I can see the improvement and efficiency in their game. And the teamwork has improved. Ralph had 50 years experience and in that span, had only three teams with a losing record. Understand the beauty of this system, trust it and employ it. More than likely, you will take your teams to their full potential.

I have over 50 books and videos relating to baksetball coaching. Some deal with certain aspects of the game, others deal with a system. A System of Game Execution is by far the best coaching book I have ever seen. It tells of the history of basketball, how that history is related to the system, the philosophy of the system, drills for the system, and how everything within the system ties together. The book is written by Steve Seidler and explains in detail the system used by the late Ralph Miller at Oregon State University. Steve was an assistant to Ralph at OSU. Steve also provides his e-mail address and is very good about replying to e-mails. The system is sound and easy to teach and learn. The drills help the players to teach themselves the system. The system is based on team concept and pressure on the opponent at all times. I feel every basketball coach on any level should have this in their library. It is a book you can read again and again and learn something more each time.

Steve Seidler has captured Ralph Miller's philosophy in written form. The book's organization is perfect for coaches of all levels. It covers the fundementals of individual performance and applies them to team strategies. The motivational tools provided throughout the text provide the fuel for making everything happen. This book not only tells you how to be successful, it shows you.

I grew up in Corvallis as a rabid Oregon State University Beavers basketball fan, and I was in my mid twenties when Coach Seidler was an assistant to Ralph Miller. "The Orange Express" was by far the best coached team I have ever seen, and, as Sports Illustrated noted in 1980, those players "could pass a pumpkin through an inner tube!"
Coach Seidler has taken a personal interest in the growth of my team, as he communicates the details of this system to me by email and by phone.
This system is exciting to coach, and my team has improved a great deal in a short period of time because of our coaching staff's committment to the 1-4 offense, and to the pressure defense techniques that are outlined, in great detail, in this book.
This book clearly explains this system in a user friendly fashion.
I am currently coaching at a new high school in Oregon, with a team comprised of only freshmen and sophomores. We are competing against some of the best teams in the State of Oregon.
To see the growth of the players, and the joy that they have in creating turnovers and backdoor opportunities against much more experienced teams has made our committment to this system worth far more than the relatively small price of this book.
I am proud to be developing a program that honors the memory of Coach Miller.

This book does a great job of explaining Coach Ralph Miller's system of game execution. As a Ralph Miller fan for many years, I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated reading this detailed analysis of this style of basketball which can be easily applied to the high school level of play. The concepts and techniques are used by our coaching staff to simplify and make the game more fun to play.

After reading the book and watching the video, I could see why Ralph Miller was so successful. His mastery of the fundamentals and ability to integrate them into everyday practice was outstanding. Steve Seidler's book is a must for young coaches searching for a sound fundamental system of teaching basketball.

There are more ways to coach basketball than just the popular theories of today's game and this book provides the methods and approaches to this. The book does a real good job of explaining from step 1 to completion of a system that utilizes and maximizes teaching time and how to accelerate the learning curve of the player.

The content of the book is outstanding. Any coach who reads this book will be able to take the information and immediately incorporate it into winning basketball games. By teaching the fundamentals that Coach Miller has used, tremendously helped our program. The way the whole system is explained really enabled me to become a better coach and understand the simplicty of the game.

The video was also outstanding. Being able to visually see what the book outlined helped in the understanding of the entire system. From practice drills to game footage you can see how and why Coach Miller was so successful. I have watched it over and over again and learned something new each time.

I too am a girls' basketball coach for a northeastern US High school at the JV level. I want to begin by saying that I wish I had found Steve Seidler's book when it was first published. It is THE single best resource for total implementation of a sound basketball system.

For years I had been scouring the many basketball publishing catalogs looking for just the right mix of titles to build my team system. I was searching for a full court defense that would recover into a ball pressuring half court defense. In addition I did not want a rote pattern offense but instead was interested in a ball control offense which allowed the players to learn basketball and react to what the defense gave them (after trying to secure an easy fast break basket). After having spent hundreds of dollars, if not more, in an attempt to find all the ingredients I needed to implement a successful basketball system, I finally found it all in one neat package. I had stumbled upon some of the important aspects of "Cappy" Miller's scheme with my investments, but it would have taken years to figure out which variables were contributing to the varying degrees of success I had achieved. This book and video package is exactly what I have been looking for as Coach Seidler has quite ably conveyed the 38 years of experience Ralph Miller had already accumulated. Not to mention coach Miller's relationship to Naismith and Phog Allen as incredible resources and connections to the history and development of the sport.

Now that the varsity coach would like to implement Miller's 1-4 offense after the JV's succesful deployment - I can better understand the purpose behind the 7 drills Coach Seidler outlines. The offense is difficult to run successfully without using each drill (my able, and very successful in his own right, colleague does not yet see the value in the split post drill, for example). This was evident as I struggled implementing the scheme in our summer league without fully understanding the drills. In other words, Coach Seidler is correct. It is true that one may find it difficult to implement pieces of the system without the 7 drills. The video is a must watch for one to understand how the 7 drills are to be implemented.

I highly recommend purchasing this set. I look forward to finding out how well it works with a 13u AAU girls' team as well!

I remember Ralph Miller's Oregon State teams while growing up in the Midwest. I rarely got to see them play on Television(no cable), but when I did, there was something about the way they played that made me want to play like them. As I grew up, I realized it was the fundamentals, limited turnovers, uptempo transition game with a disciplined offense that were the keys. They played the game the way it should be played. When I came across Mr. Seidler's book/tape, I just had to see what Ralph Miller's "secrets" were. As I read and watched the tape, I soon found out that it was the system that made the difference. Not one or two things that a coach plucks out of the book. That was engrained into my head by numerous e-mails with Mr. Seidler. He kept telling me to re-read and continue to watch the tapes. As I did, things became clearer and I began to see how the whole system worked. I began to see a little of what Coach Miller had spent 40 years working to perfect. Now I'm starting to teach it to my players and were getting results. It's simple, fundamental and proven. I'd highly recommend this to ANY coach at ANY level. And use Mr. Seidler as a resource. He's very gracious and has "lived it" while assisting Coach Miller.