Basketball Drills

Clinic Notes from:

These are some of the notes presented by Dean Lockwood at a PGC/Glazier Basketball coaching.

He is currently the Associate Head Coach for the Michigan State women’s program.

Dean was an assistant in the Tennessee Women’s Program for 15 years.

He was also an assistant in their men’s program for 5 years.

In between those stints at Tennessee, he has been the men’s head coach at Saginaw Valley State, and Northwood University.

Persistence Drill

The objective of this drill is to develop a mindset of toughness.

Drill is executed with 3 teams of 5 or 3 teams of 4.

Shot clock is utilized; clock can be set at 1:00, :45 or :30. (The longer the shot clock, the tougher the drill is to complete.)

Drill begins with an offensive team attacking the defensive team in the half court. The shot clock starts. Offense can employ anything they want to get a shot. If defense gets a stop, the shot clock stops immediately. Offensive team goes out, and the team waiting (A’s) comes in on offense. If offense scores or gets fouled, shot clock resets and a new offensive team comes in while the defense stays on the floor.

The goal of the defense is to get stops & get the shot clock to expire. (Defense must get PERFECT defensive possessions. Shot clock stops once defense secures ball.)

The goal of the offense is to continue to score, get fouled or get offensive rebounds to keep the shot clock resetting & keep the defensive team on defense.

THERE IS A NEW OFFENSIVE TEAM ON EVERY CHANGE OF POSSESSION.

THE DEFENSE STAYS ON DEFENSE UNTIL THE SHOT CLOCK READS 0:00. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY THE DEFENSIVE TEAM CAN EARN THEIR WAY OUT OF THE DRILL.

If defense takes a charge, :05 can be deducted.

If a possession starts with under :10 on the shot clock, coach can designate to play the entire possession out or to play the shot clock.

You can also use the drill to practice short clock situations.

Numbers Rebounding Drill

Diagrams created with FastDraw

Coach starts with ball anywhere on court.

Xl, X2 and X3 are defenders; all 3 defenders start in paint.

Players 1—5 are offensive players, each assigned a specific number. Players 1—5 are positioned outside of arc but can change positons (But NOT their numbers’) and can also move.

Just prior to shooting ball, coach calls 3 offensive player numbers; coach then shoots and misses. The more realistic the coach can make the miss–a shot off the rim that simulates a miss in a game, the more effective the drill is.

The 3 players called by the coach immediately crash boards. Defenders must communicate, box out the 3 offensive rebounders, and secure rebound. They must recognize who the best offensive rebounder who is coming and get that player blocked out.

Once ball is shot by coach, it becomes live play until 3 defenders secure the rebound. The offense looks to score if they get the rebound.

Scoring system:

2 points for an offensive rebound, plus 2 or 3 points for a made shot off the offensive rebound.
The defense gets 1 point for each defensive rebound and a 1 point bonus for 3 defensive rebounds in a row.

You can also include allowing the defensive to take the ball in transition to the other end as a reward for rebounding

Chaos Rebounding Drill

Defensive team lines up across the floor at the level of the block.

Offensive team lines up across the FT line.

Coach blows whistle and the defensive team sprints to touch the baseline while the offensive team sprints to touch the hash mark lines extended. (See diagram)

Coach shoots ball & misses —— drill is live.

If offense gets rebound, they attack & try to score.

If defense gets rebound, they convert to other end.

(2 ways drill can be executed at this point:
5 on 0 conversion or 5 on 5 conversion)

Point system:
2 points for offensive rebound
1 point for defensive rebound
1 point for a score or a foul

These defensive drills and defensive philosophy with Ben Jacobson are from this week’s featured eBook bundle. The eBooks are Coach Scott Peterman’s Basketball HoopScoop Coaching Clinic Notes Series.

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Diagrams created with FastDraw

Northern Iowa Defensive Philosophy
1. Create an identity for you program- ¼ court defense
2. Charges and Loose balls- you must finish possessions–These are two things that your guys can rally around
3. Communication must be part of everything
4. 4 Key Areas of Defensive Play
a. Guard the basketball- with a certain level of pressure and limited rotation…build a wall
b. Don’t take yourself out of position to guard…shot fake…jab…closouts…jump the passing lane
c. Be part of our team defense- you are not guarding a guy
d. Finish every play- charges, loose balls, defensive rebounds…talk about every day in practice, you cannot give in at the end of defensive possession. You need consequences, competitive drills

Drill: One-On-One Live From the Wing

1. If you want to get better guarding the ball…you must play live one on one
2. Head up on the ball…square
3. You cannot get beat baseline…if he goes middle you must level the dribble off going toward the top of key
4. Ball pressure is scouting based…pressure to your ability…if you can dominate the ball, dominate the ball
5. When the ball is in the middle, you level off the dribble both directions
6. Trace the ball with one hand…as it moves your hand will change…start with a ball call
7. Hand the ball to the offense…end the possession
8. Offense has three dribbles
9. When the dribble is picked up…chest up with your knees bent…both feet on the floor…finish plays in this position…shooters are bothered more this way
10. When starting on the wing the ball must be leveled off above the elbow

Drill: Two on Two Angle of Approach-

1. When the ball is at the top…level it off above the elbow
2. On the wing…don’t get beat baseline
3. Use the elbow as the pack line
4. When off the ball you are in a closed stance…gives you a better opportunity for a short close out when the ball goes to your man
5. As your man moves down the floor you must stay up in the gap…if you get flat in the gap it kills this defense…even with your man…when the ball is dribbled right on top of you, you can never get to the corner
6. Angle of approach- get underneath opponent to approach head on when closing out to your man when he received the
ball…puts you in a position to cut off baseline
7. Take the same angle on the wing and at the top
8. Communicate in the drill…Talk to each other…Talk to each other by name
9. Close out…weight back, chop your steps, throw both hands high
10. Do not bounce when you guard the ball…you cant bounce
11. When you throw up both hands…take his vision away

Drill: Three on Three Angle of Approach
1. New position is the midline defender
2. Ball side foot must be on the mid line…much better position to be in to be part of team defense
3. Same emphasis on angle of approach and close outs

Drill: Paint Touch Drill
1. 3 on 3. offense is trying to touch the paint as many times as they can…or beat them baseline…coach counts
2. When you get loose ball recovery every sprints to help him up…rally around it
3. Make competitive…Defense has an up and back for each paint touch or baseline drive
4. Any time an offensive player is on the move and they leave their feet it has to be charge

Drill: Rotation (3 on 3)
1. Why do you work on rotation if it violates the rules? They are not supposed to get beat but they do
2. Teaches your players how to play…teaches them to play as a team…get stops as a team
3. When the ball goes baseline…mid line defender gets outside of lane line…top man covers down outside the land…butt to the baseline…below the offensive player
4. When the bal comes out…Cover down guys takes first pass…ball defender rotates with his momentum to the mid line
5. Get two good rotations…any more than that and you are just running around
6. Long close out sprint half way first

Drill: Four on Four Scramble

1. Promotes communication
2. Great Daily Drill
3. Offense starts with ball…when coach says go…they scramble to a defensive position…defense then becomes the offense…the new defense must cross the midline and sprint to defensive spots
4. Don’t run to a man…sprint to your position
5. As soon as the defense picks the ball up they are trying to drive and score
6. Get to ball…get is covered
7. Give the offense 18 seconds to score…that is good defensive possession
8. To give the defense more time…require offense to complete one pass (start with this, then go to the dribble)

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Turning the Ship Around
Cory Dobbs, Ed.D.

A maxim of team building is that the biggest wins start small.  This too is true of the biggest losses.  Recently, I was called in by a successful coach to help him save his season from becoming a complete disaster.  At the time of the call the team was five and fifteen.  And four of the five wins came from beating perennial losers. Essentially this team won only one competitive match.

No matter how hard you try it takes the greater part of a season to pull together a group of young student-athletes. Cohesion is never a given.  Unfortunately for the distressed coach who called me for help, the pulling together had yet to take place.  Rather, bit-by-bit the players built relationships that pushed them apart, a gap emerged from player to player.  Conflict avoidance and superficial harmony were the unwritten rules of relationship building.  The result was a downward relational spiral in which morale deteriorated gradually at first, then a tsunami of ill-will permeated interpersonal interactions.

Finally, the team woke up and realized that there was no sense of unity or authentic camaraderie on the team, which translated into a team of selfish and uncommitted players.  Luckily for the coach, most of the players admitted fault (as did the coach) and willingly accepted working side-by-side with the coach to create an engaging and inspiring environment.

Over the years I’ve come face-to-face with the reality that something big always comes from something small.  Small causes are so often the start of something big—both on the positive and negative side of the ledger.  Yet too often we only attend to something after it has already become a hefty problem requiring a massive undertaking.

For the coach and the player to recover the season they realized change was necessary for survival.  The time had come for all team members, coaches included, to shed the illusion that they were building right relationships that would take them where they wanted to go.

COURSE CORRECTION

To inspire the team to quickly adopt changes—those the players proposed and others put forward by the coaching staff—they decided to look to Hollywood.  Yes, tinsel town!

Screen writers tell us that there is really only seven or so master plots from which all stories are developed.  These story structures are called archetypes.  An archetype offers the audience a relatable back-story with a familiar pattern that taps into the mental models of the viewer.  The classic archetypes include: rags to riches, overcoming adversity, the quest, comedy, tragedy, voyage and return, and rebirth.

The idea was for the team’s members to create a story that they wanted to “write.”  All participants agreed that to transform the team required a story that would fit the team today and acknowledge its current realities.  The goal was for the team to agree to adopt, enact, and live the story daily.  The team agreed to undertake the challenge of change by employing the archetype of Disastrous Voyage and Fortunate Return.  This was fitting because this archetype is about progression from naivete to wisdom, from disparity to triumph.  In typical Hollywood movies the protagonist stumbles across obstacles and challenges with the mistaken notion that they know where they are going.  In this real-life voyage the players sadly were heading in the wrong direction to creating a competitive team with a sense of well-being for its participants.

Beginning with the team’s current realities it seemed fitting to “title” the change story Turning the Ship Around.  The student-athletes discussed together their story with candor and enthusiasm—how they got to where they were and how they wanted to go about changing their course.  By agreeing to the archetype they went about living a shape-shifting story of resurgence and resurrection based on building durable and enduring relationships.

Fortunately, the path to turning the season (the ship if you will) around began with small victories.  Not victories on the playing field, rather small wins in building right relationships.  Day-by-day living the narrative of Turning the Ship Around the team did come to experience a successful change of course.  After one more loss the dedicated team lived to tell the tale of a seven-game win streak to finish out the season. By righting the course the team is now ready to set sail for an exceptional season next year.

“Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will care.” -Your Student-Athlete The world of coaching is changing. In Coaching for Leadership you’ll discover the foundations for designing, building, and sustaining a leadership focused culture for building a high-performance team. To find out more about and order Sport Leadership Books authored by Dr. Dobbs including Coaching for Leadership, click this link: The Academy for Sport Leadership Books

About The Academy for Sport Leadership

The Academy for Sport Leadership is a leading educational leadership training firm that uses sound educational principles, research, and learning theories to create leadership resources.  The academy has developed a coherent leadership development framework and programs covering the cognitive, psycho-motor, emotional and social dimensions of learning, thus addressing the dimensions necessary for healthy development and growth of student-athletes.

The Academy for Sport Leadership’s underlying convictions are as follows: 1) the most important lessons of leadership are learned in real-life situations, 2) team leaders develop best through active practice, structured reflection, and feedback, 3) learning to lead is an on-going process in which guidance from a mentor coach helps facilitate learning and growth, and 4) leadership lessons learned in sport should transcend the game and assist student-athletes in developing the capacity to lead in today’s changing environment.

This drill is among the thousands of resources for both coaches and player available from basketballhq. They have several more videos as well as basketball coaching resource articles.

You can use this drill to get some ideas for a way to create a similar routine into your practices or improvement season workouts. I like the idea of a timed competition to keep players focused. You can substitute your own finishing moves such as jump hooks, floaters, up and under, or anything that your players use to score in the lane.

A good time for college players is 8 minutes, but for high school it could be 9 minutes. The best way for you to determine the time is by running the drill with your squad a few times–especially if you make adjustments to adapt the drill to different shots.

Layup drills are 10 makes, jump shots require 8 minutes from each spot.

The drill is from Coach Mike Roberts, University of North Carolina Greensboro Assistant Mens Coach

Please make sure your sound is on to see the video.

Click the play arrow so see the drill. The drill is a You Tube video, so you will need to be able to access You Tube to see the drill.

8 Minute Partner Progression Shooting Drill

This defensive dill was posted in the FastModel Sports Basketball Plays and Drills Library by Kyle Gilreath, Assistant Basketball Coach at Fort Myers (Florida) High School.

Kyle previously served for five seasons as an undergraduate manager and graduate assistant for Billy Donovan at Florida.

You can also find out more about FastModel Play Diagramming software by clicking this link: FastDraw

The drill works on players closing out to their help positions when the player they are guarding does not receive the basketball.

You can apply your defensive rules and make any adjustments to make the drill more like your games.

This is a good way to practice skills involved in defensive rotations so that your team has organized defensive rotations and not chaotic defensive scrambles.

Players start on whistle slapping the floor and footfire. On the pass they close out to where they should be in conjunction with their man and the ball.

The offense can pass the ball around but do not add dribbling yet.

x2 is guarding the coach who catches the basketball, so he closes out on the basketball.
x3 is guarding the coach at the top and closes out into the passing lane (or help gap depending on your defensive scheme)
x1 is guarding the player on the help side and closes out to the midline.

Make sure the defensive players rotate so they aren’t always closing out to the same player.

The second diagram shows the rotations if ball is passed to top.

The defensive players are guarding the same players, so they have different responsibilities when the ball is passed up top. Again, rotate so that all players are guarding different positions and practicing closing out to all spots.

 

The final diagram shows the rotations when ball is passed to left wing.

 

 

 

This video of a free throw shooting drill is with Delta State University Head Men’s Coach Jim Boone.

The drill is a You Tube video, so to be able to watch them, you will need to be able to access You Tube on the server that you are on.

Make sure your sound is on as you watch.

In my opinion, having your players shoot for streaks is a good way to put pressure on your free throw shooters in practice.

The shooter’s goal in the drill is to make 3 in a row. After they make 3 in a row, they report to the scorekeeper

The team goal is to make 100 sets of 3 in a row in 5 minutes. If you don’t like using a set amount of time, you can give them a specific number of times to attempt three in a row. That way you could allow them to use their normal free throw routine.

Coach Boone has won almost 500 games as a college coach. This drill is from his Coaches Clinic DVD which you can find out more about and see more samples from, at this link: Jim Boone Coaches Clinic

Click the play arrow to see the drills.