Make threes off movement
“Feet ready, rise”
Makes threes coming off screens and relocations
The Wolves Way
Five rungs. Eight buckets. One test for every skill on the list.
Every skill on this ladder earns its place the same way: it helps us create space, create an advantage, or play the advantage before the defense recovers. Space. Advantage. Pace. If a skill doesn’t serve one of those three, it isn’t on here.
Coaches set where a player sits on this ladder. It climbs in order, Foundation through College-Level, and the fourth rung carries the Marion 30: nobody plays varsity without all thirty.
What college coaches evaluate: skill, IQ, decisions under pressure, body language, coachability.
Shooting
Make threes off movement
“Feet ready, rise”
Makes threes coming off screens and relocations
Score the pull-up in traffic
“Stop on balance”
Makes contested pull-ups
Make 80% of free throws
“Same routine, every trip”
80 percent over a season
Finishing
Finish against length and contact
“Absorb, then finish”
Scores over taller defenders
Finish with counters on both sides
“Never the same finish twice”
Uses floaters, reverses, and off-foot finishes
Attacking
Get a paint touch against any defender
“Shoulder to chest”
Paint touches against the best defender on the floor
Run a ball screen and read the help
“Read the low girl”
Right read on most ball screens
Beat denial and traps at full speed
“Pressure opens space behind”
Scores or assists against pressure teams
Passing and Reads
Shoot first, pass second
“Shot first, pass second”
Takes open shots, makes the pass when the shot closes
Pass on time and on target under pressure
“On time, on target”
Assist to turnover ratio above two
Read the help and find the open teammate
“Find the help, find the open”
Hits the weak side on rotations
Off-Ball
Read the defense and cut without a call
“Space is always the answer”
Cuts create catches with no play called
Screen, then slip or pop
“Screen to score”
Gets open after screening
Play any spot on the floor
“Every spot is yours”
Effective at guard, wing, and post spots
Defense
Guard multiple positions on a switch
“Stay down, stay in front”
Holds up after switches
Make three effort plays every game
“Charges, deflections, loose balls”
Three or more effort plays per game
Talk the coverage before the action
“See it, say it”
Teammates in the right spot before the screen
Rebounding and Transition
Win contested rebounds in traffic
“Two hands, high point”
Grabs boards with bodies around her
Race the floor to create an advantage
“Race the arcs”
Scores or creates before the defense sets
Stop ball, then match up in transition
“Ball first, then find yours”
No transition baskets allowed
Competing
Same player up 20 or down 20
“Same face, any score”
Body language matches every situation
Own mistakes on film without excuses
“Own it, fix it”
Names her own errors in film sessions
Lead peers by inspiring, not telling
“Show them, then invite them”
Teammates follow her standard