Blog

Lawrence Frank Defensive Concepts

By Brian Williams on May 10, 2012

Lawrence Frank (former Coach Detroit Pistons and New Jersey Nets) – Defensive Concepts

I received these notes from Coach Steve Smiley.

“Your every day habits will determine your execution.”

To play on a good defensive team you must:
a. be a good individual defender.
b. be a good team defender.
c. be both a & b.
** If neither, you won’t play! **

Defensive non-negotiables:
1. Sprinting back on defense.
2. Protecting our paint.
3. Closing out hard and contesting the shot.
4. Playing aggressively without unnecessary fouls.
5. All five players blocking out and rebounding.
** No Layups
** No Freethrows
** No corner 3’s

If the ball gets into the paint, what are the consequences for the offense?
1. Charge
2. Steal
3. Deflection
4. Blocked shot
5. Hard “NBA” foul
** Never mention anything about scoring!

Transition Defense:
1 back = Dunk
2 back = Layup
3 back = Jumper
4 back = Got a chance
5 back = GAME ON!
– Win the first 3 steps!
– Stop the ball above the 3-point line
– Get the ball out of the middle 1/3
– Think “help”
– Open shots beat you in transition, but mismatches rarely will.

“Accept who they are. Your job is to make them better than they were.”

The Coaching Toolbox has hundreds of resources for coaching basketball including basketball practice, basketball plays, basketball drills, basketball quotes, basketball workouts, basketball poems, and more!

Jeremy Lin Scoring Workout

By Brian Williams on May 2, 2012

These drills came from Alan Stein’s Coaching Nuggets Collection.

They cover many areas of coaching basketball.

He even put my 37 ideas pdf in there!

These are 4 drills that Jeremy Lin uses as a part of his scoring workout.

There are more drills from the workout available at the URL above.

EXTENDED LAYUPS

Because he isn’t the most athletic player, Jeremy must do a good job of extending to the basket on all layups to separate from defenders.

Drill: Player takes large strides to jump and make extended layup on both sides of the rim. For next rep players self passes to FT line for catch, pivot and score.

STEP THROUGH LAYUPS

Jeremy must also use the art of misdirection to score against larger help defenders.

Drill: Same concept as extended layups but make first step a misdirection jab step before extending into layup. Done on both sides of the rim.

STOP AND GO ATTACKS

This is the move that Jeremy used on John Wall to get the dunk the other night. Defenders try hard to stop NY’s pick and roll. Jeremy reads this well and makes defenders pay by rejecting the screen and attacking.

Drill: Cone is screen (chair can be used too). Player sets up the screen and then makes movement towards it. Player quickly crosses back to other hand and attacks rim with layups already practiced or pull up jump shot.

BOUNCE OUT TO RE-ATTACKS

Lin has great ball handling ability. He is able to keep a play alive when bouncing out from help defense to re-attack.

Drill: Come off pick and roll and attack second cone. Bounce out with dribble and re-attack either driving baseline or crossing over to the middle. Do drill to both sides of the court.

Extended Layups

Motivation for Basketball Players

By Brian Williams on April 30, 2012

This is a short video that is a good message for players to hear regarding basketball practice.

The thoughts apply to both in season practices and to out of season workouts.

I think that sometimes it is good for the players to hear another voice other than their coach’s.

Especially if that voice has credibility.

Even if you don’t want your players to watch the video, I hope it gives you some thoughts to add some variety to the messages you give your players regarding practice and skill development.

It is a YouTube video, which I know some of your school networks may block.

Click on the play arrow to see the video/strong>

Ganon Baker’s Kobe Drill

By Brian Williams on April 23, 2012

I like to end our workouts with a toughness drill.

If the players have worked the way they should throughout the workout, they should be fatigued before starting this drill.

You can score it the best way that fits your players.

You can time them and require that they make each shot (no matter how many attempts are needed to make each one), prior to moving onto the next shot.

Or, you can time how long it takes them to shoot all 4 shots and add penalty seconds for the misses or subtract time for each make.

It is a good way to end a workout.

The contest is not open to beat Ganon, but you can certainly set up a contest to have your players compete against each other or themselves on the time that it takes them to make the 4 shots.

The video is a You Tube video and the sound is not the best, so you might have to adjust your volume setting to hear his instructions.

Point Guard Drill

By Brian Williams on April 6, 2012

The video below shows a drill to work with your point guards–or any player who drives to the basket on getting to the paint and then backing out if necessary.

The drill teaches to bounce off when there is no play to be made, then reattack–all the while the dribbler has his or her head up.

The video is 2 minutes in length.

It is a You Tube video, so make sure that you are able to access that site from the network you are on.

Empowering Your Players

By Brian Williams on March 30, 2012

I received this in Creighton Burns’ newsletter. It was written by: Allison McNeil

Here are 10 things a coach can do to empower his or her athletes:

1. Create a safe/inclusive environment where every athlete is valued for what they do on the court, but more importantly for who they are and what they bring to the group. Appreciate each of your athletes for their uniqueness and the special things they bring to your team. Value the differences in your athletes and see the good in every young person you coach.

2. Allow your athletes some decision making power – on the court and off the court. There are “team” decisions and your athletes should be part of that process. On the court, at practice, use questions to engage your athletes and make them part of the decision making in game situations.

“Tell me and I will forget, show me and I may not remember, involve me and I will understand.”
Native American Proverb

3. Do not do everything for them – give them access to information and resources that they can use to help themselves now and when you are not there for them. We need to support our athletes, but we do not need to hover over them and do everything for them.

4. Encourage and reward assertiveness. Don’t shoot down your athlete’s when the show some assertiveness, it is not about controlling them it is about empowering them.
Here is a great definition of assertiveness: Asking for what one wants or acting to get what one wants in a way that respects the rights and feelings of other people.

5. Teach and encourage your athletes to think critically – to ask questions, to see things differently.

6. Teach and encourage your athletes to have a voice – to make a difference in their own lives, their community, and the world. Encourage your athletes to stand up for the things they believe in. One great way to do this is to have your team adopt an elementary school; to help at a homeless shelter; to visit a children’s hospital. You can also have your team adopt an orphanage, run for Breast Cancer, or raise money for a cause they believe in.

7. Develop independent athletes. When you do this you are increasing their self-esteem and therefore helping them to be more resilient and increasing their chances of success in basketball and in the “real world”. Your goal as a coach should be that they DO NOT depend on you!

8. Allow your athletes to express frustration and anger in an appropriate way, not bottle it up and pretend that everything is “fine” if it is not “fine”. Communication is key. Your athletes need to feel that they can express their concerns without retribution.

9. Listen to your athletes. Encourage open and honest communication – this is a skill that will help them for a lifetime of healthy relationships. There is no chance for successful relationships in life if you cannot communicate.

10. Create a safe learning environment for your athletes to take risks and Learn new things. Compliment them when they try something new, they will have more fun and improve more quickly.