Basketball Drills

This play is designed to use against teams that go under on ball screens. It was contributed by Houston Women’s Assistant Coach Vonn Read.

Coach Vonn Read has submitted several plays from his playbook series The Basketball Encyclopedia of Plays to the Coaching Toolbox.

If you can’t use this exact play with your personnel, I hope it gives you some ideas on what you can do to play to your players’ strengths when you are playing a team that goes under on ball screens.

Coach Read has also served as an assistant coach in the WNBA with the Phoenix Mercury, Orlando Miracle, and San Antonio Silver Stars.

He was an advanced scout for the Orlando Magic as well as The Charlotte Sting.

This is a Re-pick set to take advantage of teams that go under on ball screens

Diagrams created with FastDraw

 

The 5 player will run up to set the ball screen, allowing X1 to go under.

The 4 player will cut to the elbow area.

 

 

As soon as X1 goes under the screen, both the 4 and 5 players will set a double stack ball screen for the 1 player on the cutback dribble.

Again, this play is used against teams that go under on ball screens.

X1 utilizing the “Under” scheme will now have to fight under 2 ball screens, which gives the 1 player a wide open 3 pointer, elbow jumper or drive layup.

 

If either post defender hedges out, the 1 player can throwback to the 4 player popping, looking for the 3-pointer or high low pass.

 

Coach Read has also put together The Basketball Encyclopedia of plays. You can check them out here: The Basketball Encyclopedia of Plays or read more about the books:

Any coach looking for the latest and innovative plays from the Professional, College, or High School levels can stop looking. With a compilation of over 7,700 different plays, you will never need to purchase another basketball playbook again. These playbooks can be used as a great reference tool for years to come. This 2 Volume Book includes plays from 19 different play categories, and they are the most extensive playbooks on the market.

The Basketball Encyclopedia of Plays (Platinum Series) contains over 7,700 Plays (Both Volumes combined) from the NBA, WNBA, USBL, and College levels from someone who has worked as an Advanced Scout or Coach on each level!!! This book has been intensely compiled over the last 21 years, with plays taken from a lot of NBA Coaches (past and present), WNBA coaches, and College coaches (Men’s and Women’s) from around the country.

Any coach that is serious about improving their knowledge of the game from an X and O standpoint will benefit tremendously from these books. These Books can be used to discover New Quick hitters, add a New Package to your playbook, or develop an entire Offensive System. There are a lot of new ideas and concepts in these books to study, and the Basketball Encyclopedia of Plays can be a great resource for coaches on all levels!!! This book is definitely for those X and O junkies who are always looking to improve as a Coach.

“THE GAME IS ALWAYS CHANGING? ARE YOU?” Vonn Read

Here is the link: The Basketball Encyclopedia of Plays

This defensive drill is from Mike Neighbors.

His newsletter goes out once a week and is one of the best out there for basketball coaches.

If you are interested in being added to his list, let me know and I will pass your email address along to him.

One of my goals is to provide resources every day that basketball coaches can use.

But my main goal is to provide an opportunity to stimulate your thinking with the posts that I send out.

I hope that you find the majority of them useful, but even if you don’t like or disagree with a post, if it kindles your thinking about ways to improve what you are doing or how you could improve upon what I have presented, then that is even better!

I like this drill, but you could certainly add other actions that you must defend against the teams that you play.

 

Defensive player (x1) must jump to ball and get in position to not allow cutter to go across his face.

 

 
 

 

Offensive player clears to the help side of the floor and defender establishes help side position.

 

 
 

 

Coach skips ball to offensive player. Defensive player must closeout and keep the ball out of the middle.

 

 

 

Ball is skipped back to the coach and the defender must deny the flash cut.

 

 
 

 

Offensive player returns to help side and coach makes a baseline drive. X1 must get outside the lane and take a charge.

 

 

 

Coach back dribbles to wing and shoots. Defender must box out outside the lane.

 

 

You can do the same drill with the offense starting on the wing and the coach at the top slot. The third version of the drill is starting the offense in the baseline corner and the coach on the wing.

These three drills are from Coach Kevin Eastman.

Coach Eastman was a long-time college assistant and head coach. He also served as an Assistant Coach for the Celtics and the Clippers.

He ended his basketball career as the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Clippers before retiring.

The drills are designed to improve/measure toughness and give you some ways to condition with the basketball and in game-like movements and clock situations.

This post is from Dallas Wings Assistant Coach Mike Neighbors.

FRONT OF THE LINE OR BACK OF THE LINE

I have referred many times to the book PRACTICE PERFECT: 42 Ways for Getting Better at At Getting Better as a valuable resource for all teachers/coaches/leaders.

This concept was one of the 42 Rules that I found we were able to apply to our basketball practices. Coupled with the concept of teaching PRECISION skills differently than you teach DECISION SKILLS, we implemented a FRONT OF THE LINE vs. BACK OF THE LINE philosophy in all of our PRECISION SKILL situations. A precision skill is one that we want to be done a certain way, every rep, every time, with no variation, and extreme attention to detail. For example, closing out to a great shooter. We have specific technique and language that we use every single time. We tolerate nothing outside of our acceptable standard of performance. We accept nothing short of perfect when working on this skill.

When doing VEGAS closeouts. A basic one player going 5 in a line behind drill working on the techniques that we teach. If the first player properly executes the closeout to a great shooter, she goes to the back of the line. The next player comes out and we proceed. Let’s say this player doesn’t have “high hands”… she goes to the front of the line and next player comes into the drill. While that player is going, a coach tells (or shows using a cell phone camera or flip video) that player what they did incorrectly. This player waits for the teammate on the court to finish and then she goes again. We keep repeating this front of the line vs. back of the line pattern until we complete the time allotted or desired reps.

Let that sink in visually for a second.

You probably have an initial thought. What about the kid who initially went to the back of the line? She might never go again. Correct… and answer… DO YOU CARE? I don’t. She got it right. Chances are she got more than one rep anyway but the point is, you get more reps with those that really need it.

We quickly saw marked improvement in all our PRECISION SKILLS employing this method. It also evolves quickly into a peer situation of players being the critics and pointing their teammates to the front or the back. They are actually tougher on each other than most coaches!!

As with everything we share, experiment with it and make it your own. Then share with the group the things you tweak or change.

For more information and background on the research behind it, check out the book by Lemov, Woolway, and Yezzi.

As I have said many times, Kevin Eastman is one of my favorite coaches to study for both skill development for players and for professional development for coaches.

I was fortunate enough to meet him when he was here in Indianapolis at his Coaching U Live Clinic.

Kevin was a long time college assistant and head coach.

He was an Assistant Coach for the Celtics from 2004 to 2013.

At that time he made the move to Los Angeles with Doc Rivers and was on the coaching staff last year.

He served as the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Clippers before retiring in 2016.

This video is a segment from his NBA Drills for all levels course. It is a part of his 8 Video Coach Development 8 Course Series set which includes High Intensity Skill Development, NBA Drills for All Levels, Stimulate Your Offensive Thinking, Defensive Strategies and Teaching Points, Strategies and Philosophy for Coaching Success, Stimulate Your Defensive Thinking, Defending the Pick and Roll the NBA Way, A Champion’s DNA.

Coach Eastman’s 8 video course bundle is on sale as our Black Friday special. Normally, it is $112, but it is on special for $49 through Wednesday at midnight Eastern Time. After that time, the price will return to normal.

You can find out more about this special price at this link: Coach Development 8 Course Series