Musician's New Coaches Bring NBA/ABA/CBA Experience

Published on December 1, 2005 under World Basketball Association (WBA)
Murfreesboro Musicians News Release


Team President, Dr. Aldrich Perry announced today the hiring of Coach Steve Tucker as the Head Coach and Director of Basketball Operations for the Murfreesboro Musicians Professional Basketball Franchise.

"After considering several candidates, we feel Coach Tucker is a perfect fit for our program--we are excited he accepted our offer," said Perry (whom everyone calls "Doc").

"Coach Tucker is in high demand and spends his winter seasons as a top coach in the American Basketball Association (ABA), having coached the Texas Tycoons to a 21-10 record (#4 in year end ABA power ranking) and recently spent the summer reorganizing the Fresno Heatwave franchise before reporting to the WBA's Murfreesboro Musicians. The WBA season is a summer league, so we are fortunate to be able to secure Coach Tucker several months early to utilize his awesome skills in not just player coaching, but the early development of our expansion franchise. Our goal is to announce our full roster by Feb 1 and not get involved in the normal last minute rat-race for players that generally happens in the minor leagues of professional basketball."

Coach Tucker is one of the winningest coaches in pro basketball (see his profile on the Musician's website) and brings years of experience to the new WBA expansion franchise, the Murfreesboro Musicians.

Tucker will be assisted by area coaches looking to gain pro experience. In addition, Gerald Oliver from Greenville, TN will serve as Musicians NBA Development and Assignment coach. Gerald also brings a lot of talent to the table having served George Karl and the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant for 5 years as well as coached in the CBA, USBL and collegiately at the University of Tennessee.

Doc states...."When you are preparing players for the NBA--you need NBA caliber coaches. Steve and Gerald collectively have coached over 50 years and have several dozen "students" that have or are presently playing in the NBA. Our GM, Ben Tankard is heavily involved with the NBA in player development. This is the kind of one-two-three punch we need to win championships and place players on NBA rosters. You will have to drive 3 hours east to see the Atlanta Hawks or 3 hours west to see the Memphis Grizzlies to find coaches and players comparable to what we are putting together in Murfreesboro with the Musicians. We are going to surprise some people this first year"!

Musicians Head Coach, Steve Tucker, is a long time professional and collegiate basketball coach has led professional franchises in the GBA, USBL, IBA, ABA, and Internationally. Tucker also has led college basketball programs at Phillips College, Hazard Community College, Hawaii Loa College and Sam Houston State University. He also coached Athletes In Action for two summers, and in 1982 led AIA to a Gold Medal in the Micronesian Games representing the USA in the International Competition on the Island of Guam. Tucker has been named Coach of the Year 6 times during his career and has led his teams to 9 Conference or League Championships. Tucker has also led his collegiate teams to the NAIA, NCAA, and NJCAA National Championship Tournaments. Also, Coach Tucker was selected as the Co-Head Coach for the Western All-Star Team for the ABA All-Star Game held in Las Vegas, NV in February of 2005. Coach Steve Tucker is one of the few coaches in basketball history to ever have won Championships on the Professional, Collegiate, and International Levels!

Tucker will begin his duties immediately for the WBA's newest Professional Basketball Franchise, the Murfreesboro Musicians. You can contact Coach Tucker at: #559/995-5171 (Direct-Office Number) or by email at: coachtucker_musiciansproball@yahoo.com.

The Musicians will tip-off their 2006 WBA Season in April, and will play a series of Exhibition Games to go along with a full WBA Regular Season Schedule. A full Musician's Schedule will be released in the near future. You can follow your Murfreesboro Musicians at: www.musiciansproball.com or www.wbaball.net.

COACHES CORNER:

THE SYSTEM

(The Coach Steve Tucker Basketball System At The Professional Level)

By Coach Steve C. Tucker

OFFENSE: Our offensive system will be very precise and well executed. You will see a team offensively that will cut sharp, screen with purpose, be sharp passers & receivers, have dynamic & powerful post play, and have well executed shot selection. We will always have a balanced offensive attack, yet, we will use our best offensive weapons within our offensive attack to properly attack out opponents.

You will see us use quick sets, by utilizing precise entries that will take us from our fast break situations, right into our half court offense. You will also see us use isolations that will take advantage of our player's individual offensive talents. These different aspects of offense, accompanied by a strong post-up game on blocks will allow us to be a very strong offensive team. I do believe the game is played offensively inside/out! Our precise execution will always be directed at the weaknesses of our opponent defensively, whether it be a mis-match, or just be a part of our offensive attack that our opponent has a hard time handling, you'll see us take advantage of our offensive strengths at every opportunity! It is well known throughout the professional game of basketball to win consistently, you must have a well executed offensive system that is precise & diverse, for in professional basketball the close games always come down to how well you execute your half court offense.

FAST BREAK: Fast Break basketball is such an intregal part of basketball today, and especially so on the professional level! If it is executed properly it takes a great deal of pressure off of your half-court offensive attack and puts tremendous pressure on your opponent to make defensive conversion/transition. Of course to truly have a great fast breaking team you must have the athletes to run the court properly (with proper lanes & routes). We will always be committed to having those kinds of athletes on our team.

Our fast break system will exploit our athlete's true ability to run the basketball court. We will execute two separate fast breaks within our system. Our Regular Fast Break is the basic three lane, trailer, and safety system that we will use on defensive rebounds, steals, lose balls, recoveries, turnovers, etc... This is a quick hitting break that is created basically from our execution & toughness on the defensive end of the court. When we create opportunities for ourselves defensively, we must capitalize on those opportunities and that is where the execution of our Regular Fast Break becomes crucially important for our team to execute these fast break opportunities precisely by taking care of the basketball, running our lanes & routes correctly, and by finishing plays to the basket to score! These kinds of fast break situations are a crucial part of the game of basketball today, for 3 on 2 & 2 on 1 situations and how we attack and finish on these situations will have a major impact on if we prevail during a game!

We will utilize our Lane-Alley fast break after made field goals and free throws against us. This as well is a fast hitting and attacking fast break system that attacks our opponents conversion/transition. We always want to make our opponents guard the full court area of a basketball court, and if we can catch them sleeping (so to speak), then we'll do just that. This fast break allows us to keep constant offensive pressure on our opponents! This is a very structured and organized fast break, where we fill lane & alleys to attack the basket. It is truly a full-court offense in itself! We make sure the court is balanced with spacing at all times when we run this fast break. We utilize many secondary options on this fast break and in many cases quick sets that flow right into our offensive half court system. This is vital in the professional game because of the shot clock! It truly gives us great options to attack offensively and to make our opponents defend us. It truly puts ultimate offensive pressure on our opponents defensively, for if they don't get in position to guard us, then we'll have many good looks & opportunities to score during a game!

Whether we are utilizing our Regular or Lane-Alley Fast Break we must be under control of what we are doing, "For a fast break is like an ego, if it is under control it'll help you Win every time, but if it is out of control, it'll get you beat most every time too!"

DEFENSE: I have always believed in aggressive pressure man to man defense based on basic defensive fundamentals! I don't care what level you are on if you are going to win, you've got to be able to stop your opponent from scoring. We will utilize a full-court & half-court pressure style defensively (with the use of occasional traps & different aspects of defensive pressure) that will work to keep our opponents off balance and put them into a position not to have good looks at the basket or in the best position to score. We'll be diverse defensively using a Multiple Defensive Scheme at times to attack our opponents offense in various ways making them adjust the way they play and hopefully getting them out of the things that they do best offensively! Whatever we do defensively is based on basic defensive fundamentals. We want to be balanced defensively and in the proper position to protect our basket properly. We do not want to gamble within creating defensive pressure, for with balanced & proper defensive fundamental play you attack your opponent with the purpose of taking them out of what they do, forcing them into hurried situations or bad shots, and making them make poor decisions with the basketball.

We want to create as many situations as possible in the possessions that we defend to control what our opponents attempt to do against us with their offensive system. If we are in control and dictating what goes on with our defense, then we're putting ourselves in a better position to Win!

As in any well executed defensive system, great defense always starts On The Ball! The ability to put defensive pressure on the ball with ball containment truly gives you an advantage defensively, for if you do that you take away ball penetration, and without ball penetration, you then do not have to rotate your defense, and that allows you to better guard your basket. On the Ball Defense along with Communication defensively are two areas that are crucial if you are to be a good defensive basketball team! That is where good solid fundamental defense begins!!! We as a team defensively focus on five different areas in building our team defensive scheme: 1. On the ball defense, 2. off the ball defense, 3. help & recovery, 4. post defense, 5. closing out defensive possessions by coming up with Rebounds & Loose Balls & only giving our opponents one opportunity to score. Each of these areas are crucial in building your team defensive scheme, but all are based on basic fundamentals, communication, and on being be tough with controlled aggression. We want to put pressure on you, but we want to be controlled in doing it. Always remember; "Good On The Ball Defense makes you good, but Great Off the Ball Defense makes you Successful!"

Playing defense for our team will not be an option, it'll be a requirement. We will have players who are committed to this style of play or they won't play. We are balanced in all that we do as a basketball team and that includes being accountable defensively within our system, as well as offensively. There is no substitute for this in Winning Basketball, for everyone knows; "Offense gets you headlines in the newspaper, but DEFENSE Wins you Championships & Rings!"

SPECIAL SITUATIONS: The way we handle special situations such as, out of bounds situations, full-court pressure defense, half-court pressure defense, jump ball situations, free-throw lane play, time-out plays, and last second situations will many times determine whether we win or lose a game. Anything positive we can give our team out of these situations always puts us in a better position to win! We always want to be in an attack mode when we play and I believe this is how you approach special situations on the court and within our system. Many coaches take these situations for granted or they approach these situations in a manner of just being prepared for them. Well, I believe you have to take it a step further than just being prepared! We want to attack our opponents in these situations and take advantage of opportunities that can ultimately help us Win the basketball game. "The old saying every point counts truly comes into play when you're addressing your Special Situations!"

IN CLOSING: On a Professional Basketball Team, the person who sets the tone for how you play, compete, execute, and how you ultimately do is the Head Coach! His performance will determine the destiny of our team and for basically everyone that makes up our team. In so many ways the Head Coach sets the tone for our entire Franchise! That's a harsh reality and big responsibility, and as a Head Coach on the Professional Level you have to be accountable, for so many are depending on you to lead. Leadership is something you have to grasp and take hold of in every way. You can never take leadership for granted, for nothing is a given, especially in today's game of basketball. I also consider leading a team a privilege and I've always felt that way about leading and I always will... It is my Honor & Privilege to be a part of the Game of Basketball! There is nothing that I love to do better!!! In Coach Steve Tucker, that is what you'll get on a consistent basis... Stated above is a lay out of our Basketball System. This only gives you an idea of how we play, but watching us as a team employ this system will show you truly how we play, for we'll be a team that will play with passion and a determination that will not be denied! That is the way my teams have always played and how they will continue to play for as long as I walk the sidelines of a basketball court. For me, playing hard is not an option, but is the way WE define ourselves in the way we approach and play the Great Game Of Basketball...

WBA NEWS:

The City of Murfreesboro Has Rolled Out The Red Carpet For Pro Basketball

Murfreesboro Musicians Pro Basketball expansion franchise and the World Basketball Association (WBA) gained support from city officials. "I believe a long lasting relationship was formed today. The city of Murfreesboro has rolled out the red carpet for Professional Basketball we are excited about the inaugural season this coming spring and the future of this franchise"....Ben Tankard/ Musicians GM.

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World Basketball Association Stories from December 1, 2005


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