If I coach again, here are some of the areas that I will work on: Motion: During the course of the season – due to combination of complicated school rules and players’ health – numbers fluctuated. Also, it seems as if I personally gravitated towards small-sided games that emphasized pick and roll play. In game situations, we did not involve all five players as much as we would have liked until the middle of the season. I think that more passing and cutting will be harder to defend while also energizing more players. Ball Pressure: The season started later than …
How the Bucks Adjusted & Beat the Suns
After Phoenix won the first two games of the 2021 N.B.A. Finals decisively, it seemed as if Milwaukee would be hard pressed to avoid a sweep. Not only did the Bucks extend the series but they completed an impressive sweep. Most teams do not feature a dominant athlete like Giannis Antetokounmpo but there are some ideas that any coach can take from these games and apply to their own teams. Pressure the Ball: Jrue Holiday did an excellent job of setting the tone and pressuring Devin Booker and Chris Paul the length of the top. This used up the shot …
Mental Training without Games or Practices
In a lockdown, players and coaches must be adaptable to train. Going outside, running hills, cross-training… creativity is a requirement when so many facilities are closed and activities suspended. Finding the motivation for physical training is as much of a challenge as the exercises themselves. It is equally challenging to train mentally during this time. Without games and scarce practices without defense, the incentive to prepare for them may be lacking. Nevertheless, technology and the power of habit give players a chance.
Pre-Game & Pre-Practice
I’ve been thinking about effective pre-practice and pre-game routines and how players can maximize their preparation. A good routine should prevent injury, raise heart rate and mentally prime the athletes. It should be dynamic and challenging, not static and predictable. Take initiative to get better by creating a routine that can be practice during pre-practice, pre-practice and afterwards. Good Pre-Practice Routines… Recreate Games Take shots or perform moves that you use in games or manifest themselves in the offense that the team runs. If drills do not mimic competitions, they will not prepare athletes. Select a weakness that impacts your …
Why We Compete
Larry Bird once said that he “always hated seeing someone watch the ball roll out of bounds.” The quote summarizes a player who could do it all: shot, score, rebound, pass, dribble and defend. Although he was a superstar, Bird would hit the floor, dive into the stands, encourage his teammates and play through pain. From his parents, Bird learned to never take a day off – or in his case a play or a game. When describing Bird, players and coaches use words such as “grit,” “drive” and “competition.” To develop that legend, Bird had to apply that work …
Pin Down Series Drills
When there is sufficient time and space, shooting percentage skyrockets. Use pin down screens to free shooters so they can take high percentage shots. Ray Allen Series (Pin Down A) Learning Goal: Learn how to use pin down screens away from the ball. Points of Emphasis: Stay low & balanced when cutting, using the screen & catching the ball. The cutter starts under the basket and prepares to use the screen. The cutter goes to the left side and curls around the cones in order and receives a pass. After shooting, the cutter goes to the other side and executes …
Transferring the Summer to the Season
Summer’s over, student-athletes are back in classes and high school practices will soon be underway. Many players spent a lot of hours working on their game, training and putting up shots. The next step is to transfer that hard work to the court and turn workouts into wins. Push Others to Get Better After working out throughout the summer, you have become a better player. But you are only one player and basketball teams demand rosters consisting of twelve athletes. Raise the level of those around you by showing teammates how to work out and encouraging them to join you …
Rebounding Drills
Rebounding is a skill & tactic that is neglected in basketball practices. Practices include ballhandling, shooting and defense but sometimes stop short of completely finishing the possession. Among the Four Factors, rebounding accounts for twenty percent of basketball success. Coaches can help by allowing game situation drills to continue beyond one shot, until the defense secures the ball, and by regularly practicing rebounding drills. Drill should instruct individual rebounding techniques & small group tactics for team rebounding. McHale Rebounding Drill (Rebounding Phase A) Learning Goal: Rehearse skills & techniques for offensive & defensive rebounding. Points of Emphasis: Assume a low …
Defensive Drills
Here are some drills that can teach a progression of defensive skills, expanding beyond the ubiquitous Shell Drill. 1-on-4 Defensive Skills (Defense Phase A) Learning Goal: Improve major defensive skills each player should know. Points of Emphasis: Ensure players use proper technique while playing defense at high intensity. At one basket, players take turns playing defense. The defender starts with the ball & initiates the drill by passing to an offensive player on the wing. The defender closes out & shifts positions as the ball is swung, finishing by taking a charge as the last player drives. The defense works …
Transition Drills
As more leagues adopt F.I.B.A. rules & shot clocks, playing at full-speed becomes a indispensable skill on the court. Teams that can attack the basket before the defense has set up & play downhill will generate high percentage scoring chances. Five Man Fast Break (Phase A) Learning Goal: Pass, dribble & score in transition. Point of Emphasis: Move the ball down the court from the first pass to the three-point line in under four seconds. Squads of five players go up & down the court six times (three trips there & back). One of the posts grabs the ball as …
Pick and Roll Drills
In F.I.B.A. play, offenses often go to a pick & roll situation as the shot clock winds down. The action can also be used in transition & half-court offensive systems. Players must not only master the dribbling, passing, screening & finishing techniques but also understand how to read the defense & make sound decisions. Two-Player Game (Phase A) Learning Goal: Understand the basic techniques & tactics required for the two-person game. Points of Emphasis: Move without the ball & dribble at game speed. Two players start in each corner and the remaining players start in the centre jump circle. The …
Weak Hand Drills
In game situations, players must be able to dribble the basketball, pass and finish with both hands. Good defenses will force an opponent to their weak hand so elite players must become equally proficient with both hands. Five Finishes (Phase A) Learning Goal: Control the ball and finish with the non-dominant hand Points of Emphasis: Stay low, read the court, be explosive Set up five goals outside the three-point line (in the corners, on the wings and at the top of the key). The player starts under the basket and using their non-dominant hand dribbles around the cone and finishes at …
Thank You Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan retired this month, ending a nineteen-year N.B.A. career. Duncan was not a compelling superstar because of his style on the court or controversy away from it, but because of his excellence and consistency. The outcome – five N.B.A. championships – cannot be easily duplicated but players from all levels can learn about the process behind it all. Like the rest of the San Antonio organization, Duncan was about doing the right thing as often as possible. He let himself be coached. Gregg Popovich has been known to coach hard or “Go Serbian” and the three players who anchored …
How Role Players Succeed
Richard Jefferson comments on how he adjusted to his role with the Cleveland Cavaliers: “I knew I only could control what I could control. I‘m not a guy that they‘re going to call plays for; I‘m not a guy that they‘re going to run anything for. So I was just like, ‘Richard, just rebound the ball like crazy. Rebound the ball, run the floor, play defense, get on the floor for any loose ball.‘ […] That‘s what I can control, and then try to get shots & try to do some extra things.” Jefferson didn‘t let his limited offensive role …
The Mozart of Basketball Except
My favourite anecdote from Todd Spehr’s book about Dražen Petrović and how he established the team culture for the first Croatian Olympic Basketball Team: Radja admired Petrović most for his work ethic. Invariably, when Radja would show up for national team practice, there would be Petrović, before him, already working out. There were constant reminders to Radja and the others that Petrović’s devotion forced the others to evaluate their own efforts. There was a practice session during the first Coratian team training camp that had ended what Petrović perceived as too early. He promptly went to the team’s physician, Dr. …
Spring Basketball Workout #6
Emphasis: footwork, explosivess, core strength & stability, ballhandling Summary: This is a variation of my first spring workout. By repeating many similar drills & exercises, I hope to reduce coach-centered instructional time so I can focus on individual feedback. Referring to the same basic drills reinforces the teaching points so that the players can practice them on their own. I extended the time of the workout to allow more time in the weight room & on the stairs. Reflection: Establishing habits is tricky. I had to give more feedback than I had hoped to regarding defensive positioning & communication. Even …