I like to use this drill because it works on a number of things at the same time, passing, shooting and conditioning. I first saw this from a set of notes from Roy Williams of UNC.
Some key points that coach Roy Williams emphasizes:
- 3 man break (no dribble)
- Trail players run down and receive pass from base-line players for jump shot
- Base-line players then break with lay-up shooter
- Continuous drill
- 115 made baskets in 4 minutes
Now you probably won't score 115 buckets in 4 minutes but it's important to set a goal for made buckets and if your team doesn't make the number, they do extra retribution like wall taps, pushups or more running.
On the first break below, P3 is shooting a 3-pointer. I usually only have our top 3-point shooter and second best 3-point shooter shoot, otherwise, the other players just do power layups.
I posted earlier with specific shooting coaching tips, I recommend Jay Wright's DVD with some great shooting drills. Coach Wright is the head coach at Villanova where he has coached some great shooters like Allen Ray and Randy Foye.
Go over the X's and O's of Basketball Forum to discuss.
I found these clips from the High School Hoop which is DIME magazine's new high school basketball site. I don't pretend to be a big strength and conditioning guy but I think it's extremely important if you're working with elite basketball players that they get qualified training from a specialist. I know some high school coaches don't like these specialized programs but I think in this day and age, of all the things we know about sports medicine, it's important that players get proper instruction in this area.
This first one is just a basic pre-workout dynamic warmup example that some of you probably already do.
This next one involves tennis balls and works on basketball specific skills in quickness and agility.
There is a core set of DVDs that Alan Stein has produced that includes many of the workouts he does with his players. I recommend taking a look at them. Also, I have a few Alan Stein notes that might be useful, check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum to request them.
Great shooters and scorers need to know how to move effectively and efficiently without the ball. A couple of current players that are great at moving without the ball are Allen Iverson and Richard 'Rip' Hamilton. In this TNT video, Rip shows you all the basic cuts and how to use screens effectively. Watch the video and then you can read my thoughts below.
For all you coaches out there, if you run any kind of motion-based offense or continuity, it is essential that your players know how to move without the ball and get open. Many times, you see kids standing around or moving from one spot to another spot and they're never really open or a threat. That is not the point of a motion offense, the motion in the offense is designed to allow your players to use their moves to get open and be a constant threat to the defense.
Here are just some points of emphasis on getting open,
1. Change of speed, as Rip shows in the video, you don't necessarily have to have blazing speed, but you need to be able change speeds effectively to throw your defenders off. When you make your cuts, it's not full-speed all the time, it's a slow couple of steps, then a sudden explosion to the ball.
How powerful is change of speed? I like to use the Jamie Moyer analogy. Moyer is the most average pitcher I've ever seen, his fastball probably tops at 90, but he changes speeds so well. He is the best pitcher I know that uses the off-speed pitch so effectively.
2. Get into triple-threat. When you receive the pass, you should be set and ready to shoot right away. This will allow you to either shoot the ball while open, or attack your defender who is probably closing on you and out of position.
3. Coming off screens properly. Make sure that you use the shoulder to hip rule. To properly use a screen you want to get low and have your shoulder rub the hip of your screener.
4. Use a variety of cuts. v-cut, l-cut, curl, flare, backdoor cut. As Rip shows us, never be in one spot for longer than two seconds. If your not open, GET OPEN.
If you're looking for more on getting open and becoming a better scorer, I recommend taking a look at the Five-star Basketball DVD on getting open and attacking. Coach Bergeron goes through all the basics of cutting as well as flashing to the post and dribble penetration.
Go over the Coaching Basketball Forum to discuss.
This is one of those debates where it could go on and on and on. But nevertheless, it's one of those situations that arise every year and like the debates, the controversy rages on and on. Last year, it was Xavier vs Ohio St., Xavier had a 3-point lead with 9 seconds to go. Ohio St. rebounded the missed free-throw, came down the floor and Ron Lewis hit the game tying 3-pointer. Ohio St. would go on to win the game in overtime.
Here's the situation:
So, we'll set the stage again (but not exactly like the Xavier/Ohio St. game). Your team has been leading for most of the game, it's the fourth quarter and your team is up by 3. At one point, your team was up by 15 in the second half, but they've been playing pressure defense most of the second half and chipped away at the lead.
The other team has scored on consecutive 3-pointers while you have missed the last 2 shots. The clock says there are 38 seconds left in the game and you have possession. You bring the ball up the court and are able to get it across half successfully and after using up almost all 30 seconds of the shot clock, your forward takes a shot but misses. The other team calls a timeout.
There are now only 9 seconds left on the clock and you are still up by 3, the other team will inbounds from the half-court. Do you foul them or do you play straight up defense.
Another wrinkle, when the clock was still at 38 seconds, do you try to get a quick score before the clock ticks down to 30 seconds?? Or do you play out the shot clock as described above?
My Answer:
So, like I said, this is one of those situations that can be debated either way over and over.
What I would do is foul before the other team shoots. Especially if their team has hit a couple of 3-pointers. But I think I still foul even if we've been trading misses. Much also has to do with how confident you are in your own team's free-throw shooting. If you foul, and they hit their free-throws, and you miss yours, you'll only be up by 1 worst case.
To be honest, there are very few high-school teams that I trust have very good pressure free-throw shooters. From what I've seen recently, there are usually only 1 or 2 really good free-throw shooters, so I'd much rather take my chances on them shooting from the line then allowing them to shoot the 3, even if we defend the 3 well.
What is your opinion on fouling at the end of the game to preserve the lead?
Go over the Coaching Basketball Forum to discuss.
As a coach that promotes pressure defense, it is just as important to prepare for being pressured. Late in games, it is essential that your players are ready for all-out pressure when you are ahead. I know that there are a whole videos and books on breaking presses and traps but I've always felt that it is the skillset within your players that will determine whether they will beat the pressure or succumb to it. I believe that you can scheme and align all you want, but if your players aren't comfortable playing with someone attacking and in their face, no scheme will save them from making bad decisions.
Ball Pressure:
When being doubled or smothered by one defender, common sense says to pivot away, protect the ball, and wait for your teammates to help out. I've always believe the opposite is what you want to do. Be strong with the ball, while holding the ball strong either under your chin or just above your head and pivot into to face-up your defender(s). See your teammates in front of you. Use pass fakes to divert the attention of your defenders then make the pass in between the gaps (under your defenders arm, or with a bounce pass). Obviously you'll need to drill this, but it will help your players be more confident and play against pressure.
The Overplay:
When playing against an aggressive overplay, the natural counter is the backdoor cut, L-cut or V-cut. These are all great techniques and I believe in them. But another way that is quite effective to combat the overplay is a simple post-seal. It's just a walk in the direction of the defender, then a quick pivot and step through to establish position. The pass can then be a bounce pass to a target hand or open space. In some cases, this is a safer pass to a wing player if your wing is physically bigger than his/her check.
The Full Court Press:
I usually only have a few short rules and use very basic formations for the press break.
- I like to have P2 as the inbounder as opposed to a P4 or P5 you see in some systems because P2 is usually a guard and better passer.
- I keep as many players up the floor as possible so as to spread the defense and force them to cover us the entire floor.
- P1 does a simple v-cut to the ball. P1 always pivots and faces the defense first before making a move. This is important, because too many times players start dribbling and don't even see where they are going dribbling right into the trap.
- P2 will always stay behind P1 and act as the safety in case P1 is trapped.
- Against the zone press, be strong with the ball and use pass fakes. Be patient and find the open man (there is always an open man). Once the press is beaten, it is to our team's advantage with numbers.
It goes without saying that your P1 and P2 must be confident ball handlers. That is why I also like having P2 as the safety, because once the reversal happens, P2 should be good enough to attack as well. Now if they take away the safety, then I usually have someone (P5) come up to center and anyone can hit P5 who can pivot, get across half and then find the wings to start the break.
I like P3 and P4 to run along the sideline doing v-cuts to start the fast break once they get the ball.
There are some great press-break videos and some are alignment and scheme based, but I really like Bruce Weber's DVD on press break fundamentals. It teaches your players to be aggressive against the press and to always think attack.
Go over the Coaching Basketball Forum to discuss.
I've watched Bo Ryan and his Wisconsin team the last couple of seasons and have been very impressed by the offensive system that he runs. I did a little research and discovered his Swing Offense. As far as I know, the swing offense has been around for a while, but Bo Ryan's is his own design that combines features of both the Flex and UCLA systems.
What I like about Bo Ryan's Swing Offense is that it's very patient and methodical, much like Pete Carril's Princeton 5-out motion. It's a continuity motion 4-out 1-in where all players are expected to be able to play all 5 positions. The reason why I think it's better than the Princeton offense is that it emphasizes getting the ball down low for a higher percentage shot and draw shooting fouls as opposed to a shot from the perimeter.
Now, I've never run Bo Ryan's system, and what I will breakdown is based on my understanding from articles, notes and video. If I have messed up any parts of Bo Ryan's system, please feel free to comment and correct.
Setup:
This is a 4-out 1-in motion offense. To run this offense in my opinion, you don't necessarily need a lot of speed, but you need some size and players need to be disciplined. Players need to understand spacing and be able to make good entry passes. Below is the basic setup of the offense,
OK, so coach Ryan emphasizes that the whole key is to get the ball into the low post. If the point can get the ball directly into the low post from initial setup, that's the first option. When P1 passes to P3, P5 will try to seal his defender high side and get a post-entry low-side for an easy basket. This triangle setup is the basic formation you want.
UCLA high screen and cut:
Now, if neither P1 or P3 are able to get the ball in a good position down low to P5, the motion of the offense begins.
The basic motion is an upscreen by P5 and P1 will cut hard off the pick and head to the basket looking for the ball. If he doesn't get the ball, he will attempt to post up and get the post-entry that way. Coach Ryan emphasizes over and over the use of pass fakes to throw off the defense. This will allow an easier post-entry pass.
On the weak-side, P2 and P4 will v-cut hard to the basket and re-fill. One great counter against zones that coach Ryan also describes is the option of P3 hitting P4 on the v-cut or P2 on the skip pass for the 3-pointer if either is open. But the first option is always down low, to P1 in this case.
Flex screen:
If P3 is still unable to get the ball down-low to P1 on the UCLA screen, this starts the flex screen motion. 
P3 passes the ball to P5 up top who will quickly swing the ball to the weakside to either P2 or P4. P1 will set a flex screen for P3 who cuts hard baseline side and looks for the ball heading to the hoop from P2 or P4.
If P2 can't hit P3 on the cut to the hoop, P3 will setup at the weak-side low post. P2 or P4 will then look to get the ball in the low post to P3.
Continuous Motion:
There are two different variations of how the motion continues from here. The basic triangle is still available here with P2, P4 and P3 as below, 
Or you can swing the ball around with a flex screen and re-run the basic motion from the right side again. Coach Ryan has a preference for the right side and so often-times they will swing it back to the right side looking for the low-post entry again as below,
This is a patient quick-hitting offense. The players are expected to set good screens, cut hard to the basket and move the ball. When the post-entry is made, often-times the defense has been caught in either a mis-match or out of position due to all the screening and cutting and therefore it should be an easy 2 points. All players need to be able to score down low and make shots.
Summary:
Like I said before, I like this offense better than the Princeton because the emphasis is to get the ball down low into a high-percentage shot or draw fouls. I think you can run it against virtually any kind of defense, even against pressure defenses. Against the pack-line, you can use the skip pass for an open 3-pointer on the weak-side. Against the zone, after several ball reversals and pass fakes you should be able to attack before the zone shifts. Against aggressive pressure, you should be able to take advantage of overplays. It's easy to see how Bo Ryan has achieved such success with it at Wisconsin.
It's just a terrific offense to watch. Don't be fooled though, this is a working man's offense. Players must work hard and constantly move the ball looking for the best shot opportunity available. You must be very disciplined, very patient, and very efficient. If taught properly, I think this could be the perfect offense.
For more details get Bo Ryan's 2-disc DVD with details on both his Swing Offense, X-Zone offense and several quick hitters.
Go over the Coaching Basketball Forum to discuss.
Of all the TNT Fundamentals series, this is by far, my favorite. Bruce Bowen could quite possibly be the greatest man-on-man defender in the history of the NBA. Watch this video, he's always moving his feet, in small movements. He uses his feet and body to defend you, and his arms and hands mimic his check exactly. What Bowen says at the beginning of the video is completely true, the only true way to become a great defender is to practice defending against the best player on your team. Watch the video and then you can read my thoughts below.
Here are my tips on becoming a better one-on-one defender,
1. Proper setup, I like to pretend that I'm fencing. Your knees are bent, back straight, and hands up. You should be in this position the entire defensive possession whether you are in the post, ball denial, ball pressure, face-up, or defending penetration. I see kids with their hands on their knees, feet together, etc.. You'll get beat by grandma playing that way.
2. Move your body not your arms. When pressuring the ball or defending penetration, move your feet which moves your body not your arms. Keep you hands well above your shoulders and body up your man. It sounds bad, but you want to motion like you're humping your check without making excessive contact. NEVER REACH IN.
3. Do the mime. When checking your man in close chest-to-chest or within one arms length, you should use your hands like a mime to mimic what your check is doing. Use your fingers in a flicking motion as you mime your check attempting to flick the ball. NEVER REACH IN.
4. Eyes on the belt buckle. I was always taught this and it's always helped me. When facing up your opponent with the ball one-on-one on the perimeter, you don't want to be watching the ball because you'll bite on shot fakes, pass fakes, jab steps or crossovers. Key on your check's stomach.
A great DVD that breaks down the man-to-man fundamentals is Geno Auriemma's 8 Essential Defensive Drills DVD. Coach Auriemma is the head coach of multiple national championship winning lady Huskies of UConn.
Go over the Coaching Basketball Forum to discuss.
