Make Basketball Practice Time Your Winning Time -

These notes were taken by Jim Ponchak, and sent to me by Steve Smiley

Clinic To End All Clinics III Manhattan College

Jim Calhoun with Kevin Ollie

Make Practice Time Your Winning Time
Jim Calhoun

• “Most teams take a break in practice for shooting.” – Bob Knight
• Winning questions – know the answer beforehand
◦ ex. “Why are you shooting a low percentage in games?” “You’re a terrific shooter taking bad shots.”
• The hardest Coach Knight went in practice was shooting drills.
• You can’t just shoot, you must take game shots at game speed.
• Ben Gordon took 500 game speed 3 point shots every night and charted them.
• Coaches should have packages of drills
◦ ex. UConn’s Defensive Package includes shell drill (they do it everyday), zig-zag, 1-on-1, etc.
• Practice with a purpose
◦ If someone from outside your program comes to your practice, they should be able to learn
how you want to play by watching that practice.
◦ If they cannot tell that, you are wasting your time in practice.

4 Things the Coach Can Control

1. Every team can rebound if you put enough emphasis on it

• Drills
• Emphasized throughout practice
• Can’t give a lot of 2nd shots
• Real judge of your defense is FG% defense
• % of offensive rebounds you get – 40% + is good
• % of defensive rebounds you get – 65% + is good

2. Defense

• Contest all shots
• Pressure the ball with help behind you
• Pressure everything from the NBA 3 point line in
• Make them shoot, pass, or dribble; don’t let them stand with the ball
• Force offense where you want them and then contain them there
• Need to make stops when the game is on the line
• Defend through all of practice, make the defense challenge the offense
• Have a thought of the day (ex. Nothing great has ever been accomplished without great enthusiasm.)
• Have an emphasis of the day (ex. Rebounding)

3. Run

• more possessions
• allows for more mistakes
• allows you to play more kids
• run for conditioning and in drills
• get #s to create good shots and create rebounding advantages

4. Play Hard

• steals
• charges
• make everything competitive in practice
• everything is a slice of the game
• 60% of practice is full-court (helps teach)
• 20 minutes of practice is assistant coaches doing warm-ups
• 4 minutes of shooting each day
◦ Players take in-between shots
◦ 1 minute at each spot
◦ They should make 110 swishes or 140 bank shots

• Technique work
◦ how to feed the post

• 15 – 20 minutes fast break
◦ 3-on-2
◦ 2-on-1

• Practice must be
1. Who you are
2. What you are
3. What you want to be

Kevin Ollie

• Play hard
• No substitute for hard work
• Be prepared to play
• Coaches must have enthusiasm
• Coaches must have love of game, not passion for it
• Passion is temporary, love is unconditional
• One of the greatest gifts a coach can give a player is believing in him
• All drills are done at full speed
• Can’t go half speed in a game
• “The game starts the day before.” – Larry Brown
• If you’re prepared, all things fall into place.

UConn Men’s Shooting Drill

Do not accept incorrect technique, correct it in the drill so you do not create a bad habit.

Shooting Drill #1

• Shooter sets up defender by taking him away and then curls to elbow for shot.
• After shot, back pedal to 45 degree angle
• Rebounder gets the rebound and passes the ball back to the coach
• Shooter sets up defender by taking himaway and then curls to elbow for shot• After shot, back pedal to 45 degree angle• Rebounder gets the rebound and passes theball back to the coach

Coach passes the ball to the shooter and then closes out on the shooter

Shooter rips through low and drives for the layup

Shooter should cut the shoulder off of the defender as he drives by him

Shooting Drill #2

Coach dribbles up the floor

Shooter sprints to the wing

Coach passes to the shooter

Shooter catches the pass as an airborne receiver and shoots

Shooter runs under the basket and out to the hash mark

Coach gets the rebound and passes to the shooter at the hash mark

Shooter drives to the elbow and makes a right to left crossover move

Shooter gets the defense to lean on the crossover and drives by him for the layup