James Anderson - Using the CLA to Teach Your Offense
by Iowa Basketball Coaches Association
Description
Most offenses fall apart when players end up out of position. This course teaches the opposite approach, a conceptual motion offense that removes the spacing template entirely, so players learn to read and play from wherever they are on the court instead of memorizing a fixed spot. It’s the exact system behind a program that rebuilt from scratch and turned into a back-to-back state finalist and 6A state champion, and it’s taught step by step, live, on the floor.
What Coaches Will Learn
- How to teach conceptual, read-based offense without relying on a rigid spacing template
- The “connector” roles that replace a single primary ball handler with two players who initiate action
- A strict, simple shot-selection hierarchy that speeds up decision-making and cuts down bad shots
- The signature “Clyde cut” read off dribble penetration and how to drill it progressively
- How to run “gits” and dribble handoffs that create advantages defenses can’t blitz, switch, or hedge
- Wide pin downs and turn ball screens built on top-foot-on-the-three-point-line precision and more!
This isn’t theory. It’s a complete, tested teaching progression, drill by drill, that took a program from a rocky first-year rebuild to back-to-back state championship game appearances and a 6A title. Coaches get a system that builds decision-making into nearly every drill, so players aren’t just running plays, they’re learning to play basketball.
Ready to Build a Smarter, Faster Offense?
Enroll now to get full access to this course and start teaching your team to read, cut, and create advantages from anywhere on the floor.
Lessons
The Coach
James Anderson is the head boys basketball coach at Lake City High School in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, which competes in the state’s largest classification, 6A. He took over a program in transition and rebuilt it around conceptual offense, a player-driven system that teaches reads and shot selection criteria instead of set plays or fixed spacing. After a first season that ended with a fourth-place state finish, Lake City reached the 2025 state championship game in his second year. In March 2026, the Timberwolves defeated Owyhee 55-47 to win the 6A state title, the first championship of his tenure and the second in school history.
Anderson’s teams are built on constraint-based practice games, repeated shared concepts and a culture of cutting and decision-making. He has studied programs at the college level, including time at Iowa practices under head coach Ben McCollum, and has shared his methods on the Idaho Basketball Coaching Podcast. Among his players is Jordan Carlson, the 2026 Gatorade Idaho Player of the Year, who has committed to Santa Clara.
Ratings and Reviews (0)
This Course Includes
| 24 hours on-demand video |
| Streaming from mobile and TV |
| Lifetime access |
| Certificate of completion |
| 100% money back guarantee |
Course Info
| Rating: | (0) |
|---|---|
| Caterory: | Basketball/Conceptual Offense |
| Duration: | |
| Videos: | 13 |