Watched a great interview the other day on ESPN with West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins. What stuck with me was the idea of having guys in your practice from the next level. In his case, having NBA players in his practices at Morgantown. I think its important from a goal-setting and motivational standpoint for players at your level see what they could be, what they should be. It also ups the intensity, because the really competitive players on your team will want to see how they matchup against the next level.
So, if you're a college coach, having professional players in your practices. If you're a high school coach, having college players in your practices. If you're a JV coach, having Varsity players in your practices. If you're a youth coach, having high school players in your practice. Definitely something to think about.
Here is the video clip of the interview (around 8 minutes) if you want to see it whole. The part about NBA players in practice is around 3:40,
Some other great things that I picked up on from the video:
- 1:00. Coach Huggins talked about the differences in style of play between himself and Coach John Beilein who preceded him at WVU. Beilein's emphasis was on shooting, while Huggins was on size and toughness. Both have had success at WVU. For me, it just goes to show that there are many ways of doing things, and many ways to achieve success. At the end of the day, what matters the most is getting the right system for the right players.
- 5:30. "It is hard to play and think at the same time." I definitely agree with this statement. On offense and defense, your players must get to the level where they are playing basketball, not thinking about every little nuance of their technique and positioning. That is not to say that tactics and technique are not important, but first you must coach age-appropriately, and then players must practice a technique or tactic enough times so that they do it without thinking about it.
For more great ideas for half-court pressure defense, take a look at Bob Huggins' new DVD on Aggressive Trapping Defensive Systems. Definitely looking forward to watching WVU in Big East play this upcoming season.
In anticipation of the start of the regular season for the NBA, some nice clips from NBA TV. I know sometimes the NBA can be guilty of self-aggrandizement but I think these promotional clips are done in good taste.
This first one is the main NBA TV in anticipation of the start, narrated by Kobe Bryant. I like the part where Kobe introduces Shaq into the monologue,
With the globalization of basketball, and the significant amount of spanish speaking players, NBA TV produced this video with a Spanish and Latin American audience in mind, "Ene Be A, simply stated, the NBA in spanish,"
For some reason I was thinking a lot about defense this weekend. Having a great defensive team can help you create a psychological advantage with your team. Similar to the way that teams who have a fast-breaking mindset, a great lockdown defense has the ability to boost the confidence of each individual player and also of the team as a whole. I went through some notes and came across this great set of handwritten notes with Mike Krzyzewski talking M2M halfcourt defense at a Nike Clinic. Thanks so much to the original author (email me if you want credit) and hopefully these will help you as much as they did for me:
Components of Good Defense
1. Conditioning. Never rest on the defensive end.
2. Courage. Don't be afraid to dive for loose balls, or to take a charge.
3. Intelligence. Understand the defense in game situations.
4. Habits. Constant reps. Do defensive drills daily all year long.
5. Attitude. Have a positive defensive attitude. Don't fear failure. Players must have confidence in themselves and their teammates.
Principles of Defense
1. Vision. See the ball at all times
2. Move as the ball moves. Make gradual adjustments if at all possible
3. Communication. The glue that holds all 5 players together. Players must talk and concentrate on what's happening on the floor at all times.
4. Aggressiveness. But don't foul
5. Force to the Outside.
Try to keep the ball outside.
6. Stop ball reversal. The more you force the offense to move, the more chance of them making a mistake.
After O1 passes to O2 on the wing, X1 gets in the passing lane to force O1 away to receive a return pass for a ball reversal,
Priorities and Rules
1. Pressure the ball. Requires an effective stance, wide and on balance.
On dead ball, all out pressure,
2. Stop the penetrating pass. Ball-you-man position. Good stance and balance. Arm extended in the passing lane. Eyes primarily on the ball.
Make the offense catch the wing pass going AWAY from the basket,
3. Stop the penetrating move. Be ready to help on the drive
4. Jump inside to help. If ball goes to low post, post defense gets behind the offense. Wing to point defense helps inside on the post. Keep your back to the basket.
5. Stop ball reversal.
If you've finished reading this post, you might be wondering why all defenses don't look like this? Where are its weaknessess? In the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Belmont nearly backdoored their way to a major first round upset with Duke escaping with a 71-70 win. So yes, this aggressive up-the-line-on-the-line M2M halfcourt is extremely susceptible to teams running a lot of backdoor. But I think that is where your coaching ability to adjust comes in to play. You should have a gameplan for each game which assesses:
- your team's ability compared to your opponent
- how much pressure you want on the ball as a result
- where the point of pickup will be
- whether to trap or not
Anyways, if you are a big Duke fan or know one and you're already thinking of what to get for that coach you know for Christmas, check out Mike Krzyzewski's new All Access Duke Basketball Practice 4-pack DVD which includes 438 minutes of practice and Q&A with Coach K.
Sorry for the lack of updates this past week but with midterms, teaching, and relationships, its been one crazy week, quelle semaine de fou, we say in French. Anyways, for most practices I've run and others that I've observed, most teams run a form of full-court continuous conditioning drill as a warmup. I've used one very similar to the one below in the past with a 10:00 minute clock and a goal of reaching a set number of points. This one is from a set of notes and the drill is titled: 2-1-2 Cycle Conditioning.
Setup
Teams go 5v0 full court. First 5 go and each player takes a shot, for a total of 5 shots going back and forth up and down the court. If all 5 make their layups and shots, then 3 points get added as a bonus. Then the next 5 go. You continue like this, back and forth until 10:00 minutes is up. As a team, they need to score a minimum of XX points, whatever you set.
2-1-2 Cycle Conditioning
To start O5 bounces the ball off the backboard and passes to O1. O2, O3 and O4 run down the floor on a fast break. O1 dribbles down the court and takes a 3 point shot. O5 follows for the rebound. If O1 makes the shot, O5 takes the ball out of bounds. O2 and O3 will cross under the basket and run to the other end. O4 will
run back to the other end, while O5 rebounds the ball and passes to O1
O1 will pass to O2 for a layup. O3 will cross under the basket and run
down the opposite sideline. O4 will run to the end line, reverse and run to
the other end. O5 will run, rebound the ball and pass to O1.
O1 will pass to O3 for a layup. O2 will cross and run the opposite sideline.
After O3 shoots, he will cross too and run the sideline opposite O2. O4 will run the floor, reverse and run to the other end. O5 will run the floor, rebound the miss or take a make out of bounds. O5 will rebound the ball and pass to O1. O2, O3, and O4 will run down the court. O1 will pass to O4 for a layup. O5 will run down the court, rebound the ball, and pass to O1. O2 and O3 will cross and run the floor to the other end. O2 and O3 will cross under the basket and run to the other end. O5 will rebound the ball.
O5 will pass the ball to O1 and run the court O2, O3, and O4 will run to the other end of the floor O1 will pass ahead to O5 for a layup. O5 will clear the floor after the layup. O1 will clear the floor at the mid-court line. O2 and O3 will run the floor and then clear the floor. O4 will run the floor and clear the floor.
I will try to get breakdown some more motion stuff and maybe some zone offense and/or inbounds later in the weekend. In the meantime, for more great practice drills, take a look at Geno Ford's DVD on Toughness and Early Offense Drills. Coach Ford is the head coach of Kent State University.
This video is making the rounds. Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon showing Kobe Bryant his moves. In the clip, they're definitely working on Olajuwon's famous "dream shake" move. If true, and Kobe has the "dream shake" among others down, he's gonna rip it this year for sure.
For more post development skills, check out Mike Krzyzewski's DVD on Developmental Drills for Post Players.
Watching football and catching up with everything else. Went through notes the other day and this good drill caught my eye. I'm a big rebounding guy because I've seen from experience the difference good rebounding can make for a team. Therefore, I'm always on the lookout for a good rebounding drill. If you have one you'd like to share, definitely email me or post it on the X's and O's forum. This one is from a Nike clinic in Springfield, MA with Dino Gaudio, head coach of Wake Forest.
Connecticut Rebounding Drill
Setup: So, you need any 3 players to start as defensive rebounders. I have them setup in a triangle, but the players may find a better setup. Allow them to experiment to try to see what works best. Everyone else lines up in the 5 spots as shown. You can use forwards down low, wings, and guards up top, but changing it up is fine too. You can have a couple of coaches from different angles firing up shots to keep the variety.
The coach calls out 3 numbers. Say 1..3..4. That means 1 person from the 1-line, 1 person from the 3-line, and 1 person from the 4-line go for the offensive rebound. At the same time as the coach calls the number, and it must be the same time, one of the other coaches fires the shot. The 3 X's in the middle must find-hit-get. They must get 3 straight defensive rebounds to get out of the middle. The 3 offensive rebounders who fail on the 3rd straight defensive rebound become the new 3 in the middle.
Coach Gaudio emphasis on offensive rebounders is to never go for offensive rebounds by laying on the defender's back, which usually results in a foul. Instead, try to hit a shoulder or spin off. For this and many more great rebounding tips, take a look at Dino Gaudio's DVD on Winning the War on the Boards.
Behind the Scenes NBA TV with Kobe and Melo
Posted by bruchu Labels: *NBA, Motivation and LeadershipI think as October gets rolling, we all (coaches, players, fans) get a little anxious for the basketball season to start, I know I am. To get you all ready for the upcoming season, a couple of great NBA TV behind the scenes video of NBA training camp with Kobe Bryant of the Lakers and Carmelo Anthony of the Nuggets.
With head coach Phil Jackson probably not traveling on long road trips with the Lakers this upcoming season, Kobe's leadership will be relied on even more. It seems to me that Kobe is relishing the challenge,
Whoever said NBA teams and players never play or practice defense. Melo was really givin' it, in your standard shell drills here in Nuggets practice,
