Sacramento Kings: The Vance Walberg Connection
While Sacramentans watch the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors carry the torch for California in the postseason, they can rest their psyches for a moment before the NBA draft rumor mill begins to turn.
The priorities for the front office will become apparent as the draft approaches, but one man’s presence will be guaranteed and integral to the Sacramento Kings’ makeup in the upcoming season. Can you guess his name …?
Wrong – it’s assistant coach Vance Walberg. Of no relation to the also-famous Mark Wahlberg, Walberg is a veteran of high school, collegiate, and professional coaching, with a reputation for idiosyncratic offensive designs. Walberg became known in basketball geek circles as the mad scientist who developed the dribble-drive motion offense during his time at Fresno’s Clovis West High School and Fresno City College.
Subsequently, the fast-paced system was adapted and implemented by John Calipari during his time at the University of Memphis, with the result being the university’s first NCAA title game in 35 years in 2008.
The system typically employs a point guard and a center (doubling as a penetrating guard in this setup, while the 2 and 3 wait in the wing in case a 3-point shot would be attempted instead of a layup. The 4 is in constant motion, moving weakside to create space for whichever of the 1 and 5 are driving at the moment.
This is Mr. Calipari’s take on the system:
Walberg was hired in February not only for his offensive prowess, but for his history with Kings head coach George Karl. Walberg and Karl are kindred spirits, as well as former co-workers during their days in Denver. Karl’s interest in having Walberg around is understandable — he too espouses systems based around basic structures which allow for maximum player input.
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Though too loose a grip can lead to the downfall of a coach or team (see Scott Brooks), it can also prove the mettle of coaches and players alike. Karl and Walberg are clearly in the camp which endorses “controlled chaos” as opposed to a paint-by-numbers, formulaic strategy.
As they see it, the allowance of systematic improvisation not only serves as a measure of the fundamentals and nuances drilled into players by their coaches, but the ability of those players to absorb those things and build upon them. Indeed, when a coach teaching the system encounters a lack of that absorbtion or a resistance to the overall concept, things can get ugly.
Walberg learned this the hard way during his brief tenure at Pepperdine in the late 2000s.
The fact that Vance Walberg and those he has was able to implement this style of play to great success on so many basketball stages shows his the system’s potential to earn players’ devotion to it. After all, it affords them the tools to empower themselves and each other.
There are fewer offensive permutations to this system than, say, the triangle offense, but there is a common core of player intuition, trust, and responsiveness. This, as Karl has mentioned time and again since February, is what the Kings have been so sorely lacking.
As Walberg notes in this demonstration, his offense was developed with the goal of winning games without having to depend on the clutch shooting heroics to which some players gravitate. With the addition of solid NBA marksmen, however, many more options are opened up offensively for any team employing the dribble-drive rubric.
This is not to say that the system is designed to shine gleaming spotlights on all involved. During a local media interview, Walberg emphasized that complete commitment and understanding (especially among bigs more used to conventional roles) takes time. Despite the simple skeleton of the offense, patience is among the core skills needed to ensure its success.
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Whether due to sloppy play, injured personnel, or both, the Karl/Walberg school of offense has been on a long snow day.
Over the course of the upcoming Summer League and regular seasons, it will become apparent how effective the pair are at combining their offensive ambitions with an equally sound defense, as well as just who can stand out and stand together while taking on the schematics of a Walberg-influenced weave.
Much of that outcome is dependent on how Karl constructs the rest of his coaching staff, a chore he never got to during his short time in Sacramento this year.
Walberg is excited to work with such a young, developing team, and Karl is likely to be rejuvenated by his time in Sacramento if he can help mark a turning point for the organization over the next few years.
With both men fully invested for the long term, the Kings’ coaching duo have the opportunity to settle in and make things happen with a combination of some genuinely talented players and some newly planted seeds. Let’s hope the front office allows this bud to bloom.
Next: NBA: 10 Players Who Deserve More Appreciation
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