Basketball Drills

Basketball Drills Line Conversion

By Brian Williams on September 6, 2013

In my opinion, converting to defense is one of the key factors to being good defensively. Our goal every time we convert to defense is to force the opponent to play against our set 5 on 5 defense without fouling to do so.

Depending on the level you coach, you will be converting to defense 40 – 60 times per game on average, so it is essential to practice it regularly.

We practice converting off of made and missed shots, off turnovers, and off of made and missed free throws. We use the “change” drill to simulate a turnover. (Coach yells change, offense drops balls and converts to defense, team on defense picks up the ball as if transitioning after a steal.)

Today’s post is a video of another converion drill used by former NBA Coach Mike Fratello to cover his defensive conversion fundamentals and assignments. It is not a fancy drill, but it is effective.

The video is a You Tube video, so make sure that you can access You Tube.

Make sure your sound is on as you watch.

If you are interested in purchasing this or any other Championship DVD, you can use this link:

Mike Fratello Conversion Drill

The video is 90 seconds long–Make sure your sound is on.

Below are some links to other individual and team defensive drills that are posted on the Coaching Toolbox:

Basketball Drills 3 on 3 Competitive Defense

By Brian Williams on August 30, 2013

Ben Jacobsen from Northern Iowa coaches a 3 on 3 competitive defensive drill to work on keeping the ball out of the paint.

Keeping the ball out of the paint is one of the six areas that I emphasize each defensive possession.

This drill is a good way to work on that or to add some variety to your 3 on 3 drills.

This is a YouTube video, so you will need to be on a server that allows you to access YouTube videos.

You will need to click the play arrow to see the video.

Make sure your sound is on as you watch.

Here is a link to all 6 of my defensive areas of emphasis if you are interested looking at those.

If you are interested in seeing more information about the DVD that the samples are taken from, click here: Competitive Drills for Man to Man Defense

Make sure your sound is on as you watch.

Basketball Drills 3 Lane Sureness

By Brian Williams on August 28, 2013

Taking care of the basketball requires many skills as well as a mindset of toughness.

The video in this drill is a 3 on 3 drill to work on sureness with the basketball being conducted by Coach Dave Paulsen. At the time this video was filmed, Coach Paulsen was at Bucknell. He is currently the Head Men’s Coach at Holy Cross.

Make sure your sound is on. I also have the rules for the drill listed to go along with the video.

To learn more about the entire DVD that this sample came from, click here: All Access Bucknell Basketball Practice. Anyone who purchases anything from the store receives one of my basketball coaching eBooks as a bonus. Just email me and let me know which one you would like to receive!

3 Lane Sureness Drill Rules

– Court is divided into 3 lanes

– Offense must stay in their lane and pass to the player in the lane next to them

– Offense is trying to go the length of the court

– Get open, don’t dance

– Make your man change planes and directions to get open

– Hold your man off

– If your man overplays you, back cut

– Defense is trying to get a steal or deflection, steals and deflections count as 1 point for the defense and ends the offensive possession

– After a turnover, the next group goes

– Switch offense and defense on the way back

Basketball Drills Navy Transition

By Brian Williams on August 16, 2013

In order to help clarify our terminology and communication, I refer to going from offense to defense as conversion and from defense to offense as transition.

I believe that every day as a part of your defensive work, it is essential to work on some type of conversion defense.

In my mind being good defensively starts with being very good at converting to defense in order to force your opponents to play against your half court 5 on 5 full strength defense.

A big part of being strong in the conversion aspect of defense starts with not turning the ball over and taking good shots. That allows you to apply your defensive conversion system.

This link is to a post where I have shared some ideas on defensive conversion: 12 phases of a possession
The video is a YouTube video, so please make sure that you are on a server that allows you to view YouTube videos.

You might already use something similar to this drill. I like three things about the way the drill is set up in the video.

1) Having a few players near half-court line to start the drill

2) Throwing a loose ball with the team that gets it to get possession

3) Coming back so that both teams get to convert each way.

Make sure your sound is on as you watch.

Click the arrow to play the video.

There is nothing to purchase to see the drill

If you are interested in seeing more information about this DVD, or any other DVD in the new and improved Coaching Toolbox shop, click here: Drills for Implementing Fast-Paced Transition Offense and Defense

Basketball Drills Second Defender Scoring

By Brian Williams on August 15, 2013

This drill was posted by Coach Randy Brown in Fast Model’s drills and play library.

Randy said this about the drill:

This drill is a turnover killer!

The drill presents a combination of

1. Getting open and catching.

2. facing the basket while ripping the ball through and jab stepping.

3. Driving around defender.

4. Making decision to shoot or drive by second defender, and finishing the play with a basket.

It also creates toughness and ball security.

You can also add a player at the basket with a pad to create contact on the finish.

Drill starts with ball up top. Wing uses footwork to get open on wing.

Rip ball to create space and use jab/crossover jab

Drive ball right of left around defender directly at the basket.

Defender sprints from left block and meets ball handler outside right lane line.

Two options: drive by second defender or shoot shot over second defender to end drill

Randy Brown continues his passion for the game of basketball well beyond his 30+ year coaching career. An 18 year NCAA Division I head and assistant coach he knows the difficulties of coaching and assists coaches of all levels around the world to help improve our ability to teach the game of basketball the right way.

He also tweets a lot of his content. You can follow him here: @CoachRB

Basketball Drills Duke 3 on 3 Defense

By Brian Williams on August 9, 2013

This basketball drill “3 on 3 contest and interchange” is used by Duke to work on contesting passes, and then on defensive rotations.

In the video, former Duke Associate Head Coach (Now Marquette Head Coach) Steve Wojciechowski is putting the players through the drill.

The video is a YouTube video. Make sure that you are on a server that does not block YouTube videos.

Click the play arrow to start the video.

I have a list of links below to other defensive drills that are posted on the site.

The rotations on drivers portion of the drill begins around 1:30 on the video.

The video is 3 minutes and 26 seconds. You will need to click the play arrow on the video to watch it.

Make sure your sound is on.

If you are interested in learning more about the entire DVD that this sample came from, click this link Duke Basketball: Tactics, Techniques, and Drills for Man Defense. Anyone who purchases anything from the store receives one of my basketball coaching eBooks as a bonus. Just email me and let me know which one you would like to receive!

If you would like to purchase a downloadable format of the entire DVD, you can do so by clicking here and selecting “Instant Download” as your format.

Make sure your sound is on as you watch.

If you are interested in learning more about the entire DVD that this sample came from, click this link Duke Basketball: Tactics, Techniques and Drills for Man Defense. Anyone who purchases anything from the store receives one of my basketball coaching eBooks as a bonus. Just email me and let me know which one you would like to receive!