Four time State Champ, Pinewood 'lives by three,' the dribble drive motion offense and Noah
Teams in the Northern California area know when they play Pinewood School and Coach Doc Scheppler, they are going to face a particular style of basketball that can leave them devastated.
That was the case in the CIF State Division V girls championship game this past season when Pinewood (27-6) faced St. Anthony-Long Beach. The Panthers jumped out to a 5-0 lead playing Scheppler's brand of basketball—a quick corner three-pointer followed by tenacious defensive pressure that produced a steal and a layup.
Each basketball move, each frame from the championship game, each defensive stop, each layup, each three-pointer had been scripted, rehearsed and then executed to near perfection. In the end, Pinewood School defeated St. Anthony, 62-44, and hoisted its fourth state championship trophy in five finals under Scheppler.
"Everything we did in that game was well-thought out in terms of this particular style of play," said Scheppler, who has a 403-81 record in 15 seasons at Pinewood. The Pinewood offensive style of play is predicated on the principles established years ago by Vance Walberg, who developed the dribble drive motion offense. This brand of "small ball" relies on players driving toward the basket and either scoring layups or kicking out to perimeter shooters.
"You've heard the saying, 'live by the three or die by the three,'" Scheppler said. "Well, we've been living by the three for a long time."
And for the past four seasons, Pinewood school has used the Noah Select system to help it bury plenty of three-pointers.
The relationship between Pinewood School and Noah started in 2003 when Alan Marty, founder and board member of Noah Basketball, approached Scheppler about purchasing a system.
"It's funny because that was the year my team set a national record for three-pointers made with 331," Scheppler said. "We were averaging 11 threes a game. I asked him, 'why would I need Noah?'"
It wasn't until 2006 when Scheppler was at a shooting clinic and Marty was there giving a demonstration that the coach saw the potential of Noah. There were two Pinewood players present, and being that it was late August, the girls hadn't touched a ball in a month.
"At the beginning of the demonstration, they couldn't hit anything," Scheppler said. "But it didn't take them long to get locked in. Then it dawned on me, this was a viable product that could help our program."
And it certainly has. For the past three seasons according to MaxPreps, Pinewood teams have been ranked in the nation's top 10 in three-point shooting.
Much of Scheppler's offensive philosophy depends on players mastering the catch-and-shoot from behind the three-point line as well as learning how to finish around the basket. And often when his players aggressively attack the basket, they are fouled. Noah has helped Pinewood become a deadly free throw shooting team.
"Doc Scheppler is a legend in the Bay Area, and very well-known in California," Marty said. "Players have a real appreciation of Doc as a coach and his focus on shooting."
When Noah Instant was being prepped for release six months ago, it was decided that Pinewood, located in Los Altos, would be a great place to Beta-test the system.
Noah Instant was mounted on a wall near a side basket in the gym. Now players, and even non-players, come to the gym, turn up the volume and have at it.
"Not being a mechanical or technological guy, Noah Instant is ideal because all I have to do is walk over and turn up the volume," Scheppler said. "Even though it took only two or three minutes to set up Noah Select, we still had to wheel it out and locate the rim. Plus, kids don't have to come in my office and ask me to use Noah Instant, they can just go use it on their own."
And with summer arriving soon, Noah Instant will come in handy for players who want to work on their shooting.
"One big thing about Noah that I feel is not always mentioned is that Noah gets kids in the gym," Scheppler said. "Kids want to come in and practice their shooting."
"I live 20 minutes from Pinewood School, but when I do shooting practice, I always make that 20-minute drive. At Pinewood I can hear Noah's feedback, and it is crazy to waste precious time practicing three's or free throws in a gym where I don't hear Noah talking," said Rachel Marty, Pinewood's senior captain. Next year, Rachel will be playing college ball at the University of California–San Diego.
It should be mentioned in closing that in the finals against St. Anthony, the Panthers faced an imposing height disadvantage. St. Anthony boasted a pair of 6-foot-3 players and four players 5-11 or taller. Pinewood's tallest player is 5-10.
"Our guard-oriented offense can be successful without size," Scheppler said. "It puts you in a position where you can be competitive, and lack of size is not a negative."
The two teams met in December at the Nike Tournament of Champions. In that game, Pinewood was outrebounded 53-15 and shot just 7 for 35 on three-pointers. The Panthers lost by one point, 43-42.
In the state finals, Pinewood was again outrebounded, 41-20, but hit 6 of 18 on three-pointers and 12 of 13 from the foul line. Five different players connected from long range.
"Pinewood played a great game and (Scheppler) definitely outcoached me," St. Anthony coach James Anderson said after the game. "They made adjustments after the first game and we didn't. That's on me."
The future looks bright for the Panthers. Three juniors—Hailie Eackles, Miranda Seto and Kelsey Morehead—were named to the Cal-Hi Sports Division V All-State Girls Team. Scheppler was named coach of the year.