I often talk to coaches and they say that they plan on installing a new offense or defense in the fall. They say they want to go to a dribble-drive motion, or a Princeton offense, or they want to use a new zone offense they picked up from watching another team run it last season. Fast-forward to the end of the season, and when I ask coaches how the new system worked, I get a lot of responses that the system never worked the way it was supposed to, players were either too robotic, moving from place to place without really reading the defense, or players just ignored the play and freelanced.
I would say that the number 1 problem I've seen from coaches trying to install an offense or a defense is that they don't teach it in a progression. They start on air 5v0, then after a few reps they go 5v5. The players run the system but they don't really know what they're doing because they haven't spent the time on the intricacies. They have the big picture idea of how it is supposed to work, how it is supposed to look like, but they don't know why they are doing it. Coaches are on the sideline yelling and screaming at players to pass when they shot the ball, or shoot the ball when they were supposed to pass.
Sometimes, as coaches, we forget that at the end of the day, it's the players that have to play. As a coach, you can draw up any offensive play to beat a given defense, and vice versa, but that's all clinic talk, that only exists on the chalkboard. What really counts is whether or not your players can execute it. The best system in the world isn't going to do a darn thing if you can't teach it to your players. To me, that is really the essence of coaching, being able to communicate and teach it to the players.
So how do you teach in a progression? You want to start with a foundation and build on prior knowledge, you want to teach it step by step. Always start in a 1v1, then "progress" to 2v2, then 3v3, then 4v4, before going to 5v5. You don't go to 3v3 until the players have mastered 2v2. Basically, if you can't break your system down from 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, then you don't understand the system enough to be teaching it in the first place.
Teaching in a progression also helps you organize your practices better as well. It forces you to break your system into chunks which fit nicely into your practice blocks, such that you are maximizing the amount of reps the players get and minimizing the amount of standing around.
Another benefit of teaching in a progression is that when you want to make adjustments, or when you are having problems with your system mid-season, you can easily go back to 2v2 or 3v3 and find out where the breakdown is.
Finally, when you teach in a progression, you come up with your own drills on how best to teach your system. The best drill is the one that puts your players in the most game-like situation within your given system.
I've been recovering from laser eye surgery the past couple of weeks which would account for my lack of updates recently. Over on the X's and O's forum, a coach had posted an interesting observation from this youtube video below, and how they use towels to emphasize the proper positioning of their hands during their shell drill,
I've never thought of using towels or skipping rope as another coach had suggested but I think it would help alot in reinforcing the proper position of the hands, palms out, pistol at ball, thumbs pointed in. 
I love any little trick like this to help in reinforcing concepts. If you're interested in the video above from Coach Pat Summitt then definitely check out Pat Summitt's All-Access Practice DVD. Coach Summitt is the head coach of the Lady Vols of the University of Tennessee and winner of 8 NCAA championships.
We all know one of the keys of great Man-to-Man defenses is teamwork and help defense. This is where your players' basketball IQ will be tested defensively, being in the right position defensively for help but not losing sight of their man. Went through some notes from the NIKE clinic this past spring and Bob Huggins has a couple of good teaching points on help defense that might help reinforce the concept. 
Tape a “help” line on the court every day
o From rim to rim, middle of the court
o Guys need to straddle the help line
o If they’re not at the help line, they go to treadmill
2v2 Sprint to Help Drill
o Coach up top
o Player at each wing (offense & defense)
o Pass to one wing, other wing must sprint to help line
o We do this every day during practice
o If they don’t sprint and straddle the help line, they go to treadmill
I'd like to experiment with treadmills in practice someday. I always hate it when we do sprints and suicides and there is always someone who is loafing. You can't cheat the treadmill. For more great practice ideas for M2M defense, check out the Bob Huggins 2-pack DVD which includes his M2M defensive philosophy and intense practice drills. Coach Huggins is the head coach of the men's basketball team at West Virginia University.
One-and-Ones Free Throw Shooting Drill by June Daugherty
Posted by bruchu Labels: Drills, Offensive Skills, SituationsWe all know that free-throws are important, and in games, its the first one you take that often is worth more in a one-and-one situation. I came across this great competitive team drill for free-throws from Coach Duane Silver's newsletter the other day. It is a drill developed by Washington State women's head coach June Daugherty. Hope y'all are enjoying your summer, and enjoy...
A GREAT FREE THROW SHOOTING DRILL
By June Daugherty
Coach Daugherty uses a free-throw drill with the following rules: The players start with eleven points and shoot one-and-ones. If they make the first shot, subtract two points, and if they miss the first shot add two points. If they make the second shot, subtract one point, and if they miss the second shot, add one point. The first player or group, depending on how you divide it up, to reach zero points WINS.
If you're always on the lookout for more great practice drills, check out Bruce Pearl's New All-Access Practice DVDs. Coach Pearl is the head coach of the University of Tennessee.
Bobby Knight on the Dribble Against Zone and Man Defense
Posted by bruchu Labels: Drills, Motion Offense, Zone Offense
Downloaded some great notes the other day which cover Bobby Knight's DVD on Practice Planning and Drills (notes created by coaches at Springs Valley Blackhawks). One interesting tidbit that I thought I would share is Coach Knight's philosophy on the dribble, against zones, and against man. He says that the dribble is the most effective against the zone, and against man he is straight motion. An extract:
Four Possessions
- Inside man should be the screener
- Do not throw the ball to the corner
- Talk about balance to your players…get the ball off the baseline…don’t crowd baseline!
- Players have a tendency to resort to the dribble vs. man, but Coach Knight actually encourages the
dribble against a zone
o Dribble against a zone every time that you catch the ball on the perimeter
o Attack a seam
- Causes the top defenders to react and move
- Dribble does more to change a zone than anything…it forces it to become something that it does not want to be
Man Offense: Eliminate the Dribble (No Dribble Drill)
- This drill develops cutting and spacing as well as encouraging good passes
- Players should only dribble to change position or to get to the basket
- Teams develop confidence that they can score without putting the ball on the floor
- Man/Man D…three-point line is the last line of defense for picking up the ball
o Half-court is the farthest
o Point of pick-up is dictated by how quick you are and how quick the offense is
- Post players need to hold their posts…don’t come off the block
o Other players do not come into areas where a post man is holding a post
- Don’t just run around…SEE AND REACT
- Offensive players need to get off the baseline
- No cross court passes against man-to-man defense
Traditionally, the idea against the zone is that you move the zone with the pass, by quick reversals and skip passes. But I've used the dribble in the past to great effectiveness against a zone as well, so I think there is a lot of merit to this idea. As for against man defense, I can see Coach Knight's point about over-dribbling, but the dribble penetration is still the hardest thing to stop for the defense.
Competitive Conditioning Drills with Alan Stein
Posted by bruchu Labels: Defensive Skills, Drills, Offensive Skills, Strength and ConditioningI've always been a big fan of Alan Stein's strength and conditioning videos primarily because everything he does is targeted specific to basketball. Sometimes when I watch kids go through off-season (or in-season for that matter), they're doing things that maybe relevant for say football, but basketball requires very specific skills.
After a long stint with Montrose Christian, Coach Stein has joined famed DeMatha as their strength and conditioning coach. If you're like me, you probably don't have the luxury of having a dedicated strength and conditioning coach on your staff, but thanks to the Internet, you can bring a little Coach Stein with you. Coach Stein has been starting a Youtube series focusing on a bunch of stuff he is doing with his team. You can follow them on his Youtube channel, or his blog.
In this clip here, he has his players go through a series of conditioning drills in a progression leading up to 100% and head to head. I love the idea of competitive conditioning drills. Setting goals, and having the kids go up against one another in practice. Take a look,
With the offseason upon us, I was going through some more individual skill development stuff and came across these notes from a Danny Hurley clinic where he was talking about ball handling. Definitely something you want to really hammer down during the offseason. For me, ball handling has always been addictive because as a small guy, it was important to have a good handle. But I know for other bigger guys it can get frustrating, so it's important to use drills that are flexible to allow players to work on different things. I like this drill because it allows you to do that (I've cut out the first part of the drill which is just up-downs using the same move, but you can start with that first before moving on), so without further ado, Danny Hurley...
Setup:
Teaching point: Remember that your players must be focused on going hard at all times to get better at what they are working on. Shoot FTs to rest in between sets.
So you'll need 3 chairs, cones, or markers for the drill. Place the first 2 at halfcourt on either sideline. Place the third one at midcourt.
For each section of the drill, you will go down the right side of the court on the way up and back and then do the same thing on the left side of the court down and back.
Spin Move:
The first move to work on is a spin move. Speed dribble up to spot 3 with your right hand. Spin dribble at spot 3 putting the ball into your left hand. Defensive slide from spot 3 to spot 2 while dribbling the ball with your left hand. Once you hit spot 2 spin dribble back to your right hand and in 3 dribbles get all the way to the hoop to finish. Do this move up and back on the right and left sides. When starting on the left side you will use your opposite hand you used from the right side.
Shuffle/Move:
For the next 3 moves you will use the shuffle crossover, shuffle, between legs, and shuffle behind back. You will come from the baseline to the halfcourt spot doing shuffle, crossovers.
Once you hit the spot you shuffle cross to your left hand and move from spot 3 to spot 2 defensive slide dribbling with your left hand.
Once you hit spot 2 you will crossover from left to right and take 3 dribbles for a pull up bank shot, pull up jumper or pull up 3 pointer. Do this coming up and down the right and left sides. Use the opposite hand you used from the right side when doing the drill from the left. Next, do the same drill with the shuffle, between legs and finish with the shuffle behind back.
Teaching Points:
Like all drills this one must be done at 100%. Make sure and do every move low to the ground and work on snapping the ball quickly. When the drill is asking you to focus on handling and hand speed don't worry about sprinting, concentrate on improving you handle. Remember, you can add in things to this drill to make it fit your needs. You can also adjust it to be more or less intense based on your skill level and condition.
For more ideas on individual skill development and offseason drill work, check out the Brand new DVD by Derrick Rose and John Calipari on Point Guard Skills & Drills Series. Derrick Rose is the starting point guard for the Chicago Bulls and John Calipari is the Head Coach of the University of Kentucky.
Found a couple of great timed shooting drills to use. I got these from some old notes on motion concepts created by Coach Pfeuffer in Pennsylvania. I had the chance to put them through some 8th graders that I was helping out with the other day and they really liked it, plus its a great conditioner.
3 line—12 Second Shooting Drills
- Set up with 2 players on each side of the center circle. Player on right side has ball. Third player is on right wing at three point line. 12 seconds on clock.
- Player with ball will dribble at right elbow. On dribble the wing player will make a basket cut and go all the way through to opposite side of court. The player who started on the left side of center court will sprint to left side of court and will work will set a screen for the cutter.
- Now players will run the various screens and cuts, and passes for 12 seconds and take a shot at the buzzer. Don’t give the offense too much to think about, just
have them “play” out of concepts. The only “rule” we use for this drill is that whoever has the ball should have that side of the court to himself. The other two
players should be screening and cutting on the other side of the court. After a few repetitions the players will get used to working with each other and will surprise you with the motion concepts that they have picked up.
- Players like this drill as well if you use the clock because they get to take shots at the buzzer.
3 line—12 Seconds 2 shots drill
- Same setup as prior drill and same initial action.
- This time however players work together and take a shot about 6-7 seconds into drill.
- After shot the shooter will run to the top of the key. Other players go to the offensive glass, whoever does not rebound will then sprint to the top to screen for
the initial shooter. The rebounder will then pass to the shooter so he gets a second shot at the buzzer as he comes off of the screen.
Looking for improvement help during this summer? Take a look at Jay Wright's DVD on 28 Competitive Drills for Shooting and Footwork. Coach Wright is the head coach of Villanova.
I'm always on the lookout for good shell-based drills for M2M defense. This one is a good one to teach help defense concepts and closeouts. If your team is playing good team M2M defense, you will always have situations where you are disadvantaged, 3-on-2, 4-on-3, as a result of your defense shifting to stop the ball, so it's always critical for your players to be able to closeout properly and split the offense properly until your teammates can recover. I got these from an older Xavier Newsletter, I like it because there is a quick turnaround so that you can get a lot of players through it instead of a lot of players standing around while 7 players play 4 on 3 for 3 minutes.
4-on-3 Closeout Drill:
1. The drill begins with four offensive players versus three defensive players. The offensive players cannot move without the ball. The drill is halfcourt only.
2. The defense must get three consecutive stops to get out. Possession of the ball by the defense equals a stop. If the offense scores or is fouled before a "third consecutive stop" occurs, the consecutive stop count returns to zero.
3. The offense must shoot on three passes or less.
4. On every catch by an offensive player, one of the three defenders, the closest one, must actively closeout and defend the ball. A defender should not have to take two consecutive passes.
For more shell drill info, check out Kevin Boyle's DVD on Building a Man Defense. Coach Boyle is head coach of St. Patrick's High Shool in New Jersey and a part of the NIKE Grassroots Basketball Program.
I was looking for a rebounding drill the other day and came across this one from a drill notebook of the Texas A&M women's team. I like it because it involves players moving and cutting instead of your generic box rebounding drill when players are mostly static. Here it goes:
Triangle Rebounding
This drill starts with three offensive players -- two players on both blocks and the other opposite elbow extended from the coach. All three players have a defensive player on them. Every time the coach dribbles the ball the offensive players rotate in a triangle. The defense has to work on not letting the cutters cut their face and staying in correct position whether in denial or help side. After a few rotations, the coach will then shoot the ball and the defense has to make contact, block out, and secure the rebound. The offense must go hard to rebound it.
Anyways, for more rebounding drills to use in your practices, take a look at Kermit Davis' DVD on Competitive Rebounding Drills. Coach Davis is the head coach at Middle Tennessee State University.
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.
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.
Fall Workout Drills on Offense for Guards and Forwards
Posted by bruchu Labels: Drills, Offensive SkillsA coaching friend of mine was looking for some new ideas for drills as the season nears. So I went through some notes of mine and found some real good stuff in a newsletter run by Arizona head coach Sean Miller when he was at Xavier. They called it "Xavier Fall Workouts - Warrior Series", broken down by guards and forwards. Enjoy...
Below is a breakdown of one of our most productive series of workouts this fall. Drills A-F are predominantly used with our guards, and G-K are mainly used with our posts.
GUARDS
A. Sidelines Touches "Baby J's"
B. Half court Touch
C. Touch and Shoot
D. Layup, Elbow, Corner
E. Backpedal Shooting
F. 7-5-3-1 ½ Ct.
POSTS
G. Tap, Pitch, Post
H. Tap, Pitch, Touch, Post
I. Pepper
J. Ricochet
K. Rim Running Ladder
A. Sideline Touches "Baby J's"
1. Coach rebounds and passes.
2. Player starts on L sideline and runs to the 12 ft.
mark in front of the rim to receive pass from under
the basket.
3. Player runs to R sideline, touches, then runs back
to same mark to catch and shoot.
4. A total of 12 shots are taken, 6 coming from each
side and then another 6 shots after shot faking,
taking no dribbles and shooting again.
- Emphasizing the "one, two step", and "change
pace" going to the sideline and returning back for a
shot.
B. Half Court Touch
1. Player starts in the corner along the baseline and
jogs to halfcourt.
2. He touches halfcourt with his foot, turns and
sprints to the basket on 45? angle.
3. He receives a pass from the coach who is
standing on the elbow.
4. Player starts new line in opposite corner.
5. Player shoots (6) shots on each side - a one
dribble power layup, a one dribble single leg layup, a
one dribble stride stop step thru, a bank shot with no
dribble, catching at 28 ft. and dribbling across lane
for a baby hook, catching at the 20 ft. mark and
passing back then receiving a pass for no dribble
layup.
6. A total of 12 shots are taken.
C. Touch and Shoot
1. Player moves to a spot then sprints to an
opposite spot, catches and shoots using the 1-2
step footwork.
2. Coach rebounds the ball and passes to the
player who returns to the original spot, touches and
moves quickly to shooting spot, ready to catch and
shoot.
3. Shoot 5 shots from 5 different spots.
-25 total shots are taken.
D. Layup, Elbow, Corner
1. A coach passes for a power layup and also
rebounds the ball for shot #1. The player starts at
the 28 ft. marker.
2. A player curl cuts to the elbow, receives a pass,
and shoots shot #2.
3. The player moves to the corner, "long strides",
establishes proper footwork and shoots shot #3.
4. The player then jogs to the opposite 28 ft. marker
and begins the same 3 shot cycle.
5. A total of 15 shots are taken -- 3 shots x5 sets.
- The shooter must work hard to change speeds
while cutting. For example, going from a jog to an
all out sprint must be in place when touching the
28ft marker and then cutting to the basket for a
layup.
E. Back Pedal Shooting
1. The player backpedals from the baseline until the
coach slams the ball to the ground.
2. He then sprints to shot #1 and catches and shoots.
3. The player back pedals from shot #1 until the
coach slams the ball again. ON the slam of the ball
the player sprints into shot #2 at a different spot.
4. A total of 15 shots are taken, 5 sets of 3 shots.
F. 7-5-3-1 ½ Ct.
1. Player cuts for a shot, coach is at the top of the key
as the passer. Player rebounds his own ball and
passes back to the coach. He shoots 7 shots. The
player throws sharp passes.
2. Player then cuts for a shot on the other side and
executes the same. This time he shoots 5 shots.
3. The player repeats this for 3 shots on the original
side and then 1 shot on the opposite side again.
4. The player has shot 7-5-3-1 shots alternating sides
for each number of shots.
-16 total shots are taken.
-Any number of cuts can be made. However, the cut
must be the same throughout the segment -
alternating sides.
G. Tap, Pitch, Post
1. The player taps the ball off of the backboard 5
times.
2. "Snatches" the rebound and outlets to a coach.
3. The player posts up for five shots.
4. He then sprints the floor to halfcourt, touches, and
then returns to tap second ball off the other side of
the backboard five times.
5. "Snatches" the rebound and outlets the ball to a
coach, sprints to halfcourt, touches, and then runs
and catches an "over the top" pass for a transition
dunk.
6. The player then alternates sides of the backboard
for 5 post up shots on the opposite side and an over
the top pass from the opposite side from the start.
-10 post shots and 2 finishes are taken for 12 total
shots.
H. Tap, Pitch, Touch, Post
1. The player taps the ball off of the backboard 3
times and "snatches" the rebound and outlets the
ball to a coach.
2. The player follows the pass and touches the ball in
coaches hands.
3. He then dives to the opposite low post where he
receives a pass for a low post score.
4. He then repeats (above 1.) on the other side of the
backboard.
5. The player repeats 5 times for 2 sets.
-The players takes 10 total post shots.
I. Pepper
1. The player starts under the basket and passes to
a coach on the wing.
2. He then posts and receives a return pass from the
coach.
3. The coach moves to a 2nd spot as the player
executes a low post score and his own rebound.
4. The player passes again to the coach, posts at a
different spot, receives a return pass and scores.
5. This is repeated for 5 low post scores.
-Please note if a player receives a pass with both
feet in the lane, there is no dribble. On any pass out
the post player gets "deeper" when he reposts. Also,
emphasize no travel with no dribble.
-10 total shots are taken - 5x 2 sets.
J. Ricochet
1. A player passes to a coach. He runs to touch the
ball in the coaches hands. A second coach ricochets
the ball off of the backboard.
2. The player pursues the rebound.
3. The player snatches the rebound and passes the
ball to the second coach and posts up to receive a
return pass for a low post score.
4. This is repeated 5 times for 2 sets for a total of 10
shots.
K. Rim Running Ladder
1. Player starts by rebounding a missed shot and dunking the ball.
2. After dunking the ball, he sprints to halfcourt, touches, turns and receives an over the top pass for a
score.
3. He then repeats (above 1.) 6 times with the over the top pass coming from different angles.
4. The player takes a break with 2 free throws and then executes the drill for 5 times, 2 free throws, 4, 3, 2,
1 until he makes both free throws following his last time.
5. 22 total shots are taken including the missed shot dunk.
For more offensive development ideas, check out Sean Miller's DVD on Offensive Improvement. I am very much looking forward to a new era in AZ Wildcat basketball with Sean Miller at the helm.
It's already September and I'm still wondering where summer went. It's always exciting at this time of year though with the beginning of the school season starting, the start of football games, and the beginning preparations for the upcoming basketball season. Anyways, I went through some older notes today, always looking for more great drill ideas. I found a bunch of great ones from Kevin Eastman speaking at a coaches clinic several years ago which I thought I would share. Coach Eastman keeps up a great website which is chalk full of great basketball info, definitely worth checking out, and signing up for.
Warmup Passing Drills:
Some of you do star passing, corner passing, etc... same idea here but it's always good to have more than 1 that you can use to change things up a little.
In this first one, the idea is that you throw the ball to the right and exchange spots with the player directly facing you. You can add a second ball or even a third ball to speed things up if you have a really large group,
Your basic pass and follow drill. Pass, sprint, replace, the third player drives for a layup. Emphasize a low sweep of the ball and a hard attack to the rim,
Chair Dribbling:
Can be done from left or right, but mostly from the left so that players get more practice on using their off-hand. At each of the chairs, players must perform a crossover, then 1 dribble, and finish with a left-handed layup. Back to the start and repeat at each chair,
Intensity Layups:
Set a time goal, like 15 seconds for 4 layups. Really emphasize turning the corner and exploding to the hoop. You can add jumpers afterwards, point the chairs so the seat is pointing toward the sidline,
The idea here is to add some pressure defense, preventing the dribbler from getting to the chair. The dribbler must try, by using dribble moves like a crossover or hesitation dribble, to shake the defender, get to the chair for a pull up jumper,
Now, the shooter goes past the chair and turns back for a shot over the top,
Post Drills:
Post players do a jump hook at each chair or a drop step and layup,
To practice posting up and catching the ball. Players pass into the post, post player must catch the ball with one hand and fire it back out with the same hand to the sideline. You can have 2 more players on the weak side and have the post player go block to block to practice catching with the opposite hand as well,
Post 1v1, each player must go around the chair to play 1v1 to replicate the game more accurately,
If you like any of Coach Eastman's stuff, or you just like the Celtics where he is an assistant coach, then check out Kevin Eastman's DVD on Multiple Player Chair Drills.
Another good full court drill to use which I got from the same French drill book. It emphasizes transition defense, rebounding, and 2-on-1 transition offense. You can make it a continuous drill with 3 new players each time.
3 Man Tap Drill into 2-on-1:
X1 will toss the ball off the backboard and sprint hard to the opposite baseline
becoming the defender in the 2-1 situation.
O2 will also tap the ball off the board and O3 will rebound the ball after O2's tap
out-letting the ball to O2 who has filled either the left or right corridor.
O2 will push the ball up against X1 looking for a defensive commitment, O3 will trail and fill the other wing,
For more practice planning and drill ideas, Bobby Knight's brand new Practice Drills DVD is now available.
From a French drill notebook here is a good full court passing drill you can use maybe as a warmup drill at the beginning of practice, or maybe at the beginning of the season to emphasis good sharp passes, no drops, and speed. You'll need at least 2 players at a time, but can go with as many as 8 at one time. If you want to use the whole team you can have a line at the baseline. For benchmarks, you can set a time of how long it takes for the whole team to go through X number of times and if they miss the benchmark the whole team does extra pushups or suicides. You can also choose to add pushups or suicides for each missed pass or turnover.
Inside to Outside Passing:
In this drill, the inside players run the lane making the required, passes (chest, bounce, behind back, volleyball etc.) to each other.
At the far baseline the players peel off to their side line and run the outside
lanes passing over the top of the inside lanes.
For more practice planning and drill ideas, Bobby Knight's brand new Practice Drills DVD is now available.
Any team that wants to run and play uptempo must utilize their forwards in their fast break and early offense. Roy Williams of UNC calls it going "key to key." Probably most of you coaches have heard of or run some variation of "Kentucky layups" -- not sure where the name comes from but I'm thinking its Rick Pitino. Anyways, here is a variation of Kentucky layups which should be good at working on those forwards going key to key and of course, conditioning. I got the drill -- called First Big Drill -- from the Coaches Clipboard website run by Basketball BC:
First Big Drill
First Big Drill uses four players, two post players and two perimeter players, and requires these players to make two trips of the floor.
O4 starts the drill by making a shot and immediately out-letting the ball to O1. As this is occurring, O5 sprints from the foul line to the front of the rim at the other end. O1 will pass the ball into space and let O5 run onto the ball for a lay-up. O2 and O1 must sprint the floor and touch the baseline at the other end. After out-letting the ball O4 must sprint to the opposite foul line.
After making the lay-up, O5 immediately takes the ball out of the basket and outlets it to O2. O4 touches the foul line, turns and sprints to the opposite basket, and looks for a pass over top from O2. O1 sprints to the opposite end and O5 tries to recover the ball out of the basket before it touches the floor.
After this group of four players has completed two trips the next group should be ready to go.
This drill cannot be done well without the players giving maximum effort. It is a great conditioner, teaches all players to run the full length of the floor, works on passing skills and the post players finishing at a high rate of speed.
For more ideas on transition offense, check out Lorenzo Romar's DVD on Finishing in Transition. Coach Romar is the head coach of the University of Washington.
I was forwarded this website by a coaching friend one day, and since then it's been one of my favorite websites I visit. It is called DreAllDay, and it is run by a fellow named Dre Baldwin. One of the best parts of his website are his videos that he's uploaded to youtube, showing some individual development drills. One of my favorites are his ball-handling drills, like this one:
For more professional tips, take a look at Ganon Baker's DVD on 42 Advanced Ball-Handling Drills.
I think most coaches have used some variation of the cut throat drill -- a continuous game of 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 with three or more sets of players. In most cut throat drills, when the offense scores they stay on offense, and a new defensive team rotates in.
I went through some older notes and came across these 2 drills which are basically defensive cut throat where instead of the offense staying on, the defense must gain 3 stops in a row to win. Of course you can add some kind of incentive for the team that gets 3 stops first. You can make sure players are working on their defensive assignments and responsibilities by enforcing "perfection rules":
1. Emphasis of the day
2. High hands, Jump to the ball, Block all cuts, Talking
3. Coach watches and if defense does not do the emphasis they are out.
3-on-3 Defensive Stops Cut-Throat:
1. Defense must get 3 shut-outs in a row to win
2. Coach checks
3. If defense stops they stay
4. If you score on offense you get to play defense
4 on 4 Full Court Defensive Stops Cut-Throat:
1. Play 4 on 4 cut-throat. If the defense stops the offense, they must get back. The B’s will be the new offense and bring it at them.
2. The team that was just the offense must run to the other end so that they can be ready to come in.
3. If the offense scores, they hustle back and play defense.
4. 3 stops in a row wins
If you want to see this and other great defensive drills run live, check out Bruce Weber's DVD on 20 Competitive Drills. Coach Weber is the head coach of the Illinois men's basketball team.
I think a lot of you coaches out there run some kind of rebounding drill where the coach tosses it up and you let 2 or 3 players go at it. I was thinking lately of how to combine a bunch of things together into one single drill to achieve the following:
1. Competitiveness.
2. Minimize standing around.
3. Work on multiple skills at the same time.
I'm stealing the name of this drill, the N.B.A. drill (No Babies Allowed), from a similar drill I got from a set of Kansas Jayhawks coaches notebook (not sure how old though) but tweaked it to accomplish the above 3 objectives. I'm sure this drill will really get the ire of your players, good to use if they're slacking.
N.B.A. Drill:
Objective: Emphasize toughness, rebounding, finishing at the rim, and conditioning
Setup: Coach at the free-throw line with ball, 3 players below mid-lane facing the coach.
Time Limit: Until someone scores, or 4 tries.
Description: Coach shoots to miss to make a rebound. All 3 players turn around and compete to gain possession of the ball. The ball must not touch the floor. The player who gains possession attempts to shoot the ball without dribbling. If the ball is scored, replace the other 2 players with 2 new players. If the ball is missed, all 3 players should once again secure the rebound and repeat until someone scores. If nobody scores after 4 tries, replace all 3 players.
Addition: To add the conditioning, have all the other players on the team run laps around the gym in a line. As players get replaced in the drill, take new players from the front of the line, replaced players go to the back of the line. Have another coach with a ball around midcourt fire chest passes to players running laps, to keep them sharp, and fire chest passes back. If the player drops the pass, or his own chest pass hits the ground before reaching the coach, that player goes to the back of the line.
If you have 1 or 2 players that have an unfair height advantage, you can have them start above the free-throw line in the rebounding portion.
You may not always agree with some of the things he says or does, but no doubt Bob Knight knows how to coach. If you want more practice drills on toughness, take a look at Bob Knight's new DVD on Practice Planning and Mental Toughness. Coach Knight currently serves as a guest analyst for ESPN college basketball.
