Skill Development

Written by Kyle Ohman, co-founder of BasketballHQ.com

As a basketball coach, there is always the challenge of finding the right balance between player skill development and what the team needs to work on as a whole. In a perfect world, you would be able to work on both areas as much as you would like, but unfortunately, that is not the case. There are only so many hours on the court and time that you can spend working with your players.

So, what is the correct role of skill development with a team? How should a coach balance skill development with all the other areas that need to be worked on? Every situation is different, but there are some general rules and principles that will help with determining this for your team. So below are some keys that you can focus on with your team and making sure that you are developing your players and building a winning program. 

Player Homework

As a coach, you only have so many hours with your team on the floor, that doesn’t mean though that you can’t give your players stuff that they can do on their own. Most of the time players want to work on their game and get better, they just need direction. So take a portion of your practice or workouts and go over basketball drills that you want your players to be doing throughout the week. Have an emphasis for each week and then hold your players accountable. Let them know that if they want more minutes or a bigger role, these are the areas that they should be focusing on. 

It is important that you are also detailed with your instructions. If you want your players to get stronger, give them a specific workout or exercises to do. If you want them to become better shooters, ball handlers, etc., give them the resources that they need. And, if you are unsure of the different drills or workouts to pass down to your players, do some research. There are plenty of excellent online basketball resources for coaches. So spend some time learning and growing as a coach, and then pass all of this information down to your players. 

Game-Specific Skills

When you are working on drills in your practices, focus on being able to really lock in on skills and actions that are going to directly translate to a game. This will make sure that your skill development time is fully maximized. It will also help with making sure that your players understand what types of shots, finishes, etc. will be available to them in a game. It is also important that you take the time to explain why, when, and where each type of move should be used. This is one of the biggest points of emphasis that we focus on at Tampa Basketball Training. We want to develop players that not only know how to execute different skills, but that also know how to best use them. So make sure that you are teaching your players how to think and understand the game when you teach them different skills. 

Drills Based on Your System

This is similar to the last point but a little bit more in-depth. With this key, you are going to breakdown parts of your offense or defense and then drill them. It could be a screening action, closeouts on defense, drive and kick, or whatever your system focuses on. This will help with building the puzzle and will make it much easier when you finally put together all of the pieces. It will also help to highlight the players that are good at each of these different situations and will expose those who still need some work. For example, if you want your players to work well off of the ball using and reading different down screens, you could use a drill like the one listed below. 

Ray Allen Curl Cut Basketball Shooting Drill

Drills Used for Condition

Another great way to maximize your gym time is to use basketball drills that also work on conditioning. So rather than spending time on strictly running, you could do a high-intensity ball handling, finishing, or shooting drill. This will allow your players to be able to work on different basketball skills, but will also make sure that they are getting in shape as they do. These types of drills are also an excellent way to work on mental toughness as well. As you are going through the drill, add in different variations and see which players are able to adjust and think as they become fatigued. This will allow you to better determine who you can trust at the end of a close game. 

Competition-Based Drills

Competition may not be a skill that you can measure as easily as how many shots a player makes, but it is a skill that is an absolute must for any team that wants to be successful. A great way to work on developing your team’s competitiveness is through competition-based drills. It may be a rebounding drill, shell drill, one on one drill, or whatever you want to work on. The key though is to make sure that players are getting after it and challenging each other to compete and improve. Here is a great example of a rebounding drill that you could use as a competition drill.

Bulldog Basketball Rebounding Drill

The Role of Skill Development in Building Winning Programs Conclusion

You most likely have heard the phrase “It is not about the X’s and O’s but the John’s and Joe’s” and this applies to several different areas of the game. One of them though is this area of skill development. As a coach, you can draw up the best play possible or come up with a “lockdown defense,” but if you don’t have players that are skilled enough to execute them, it really isn’t going to matter. That is why it is so important to budget out time to making sure your player’s talent levels are maximized.

When it comes to the topic of skill development within your program, it is all going to come down to finding the right balance. Dedicate a set amount of time every day to working on skill development in one or two of the ways discussed above, and then if you need to adjust one way or the other, feel free to do so. Just make sure that skill development is a priority with your team if you want to develop a winning program. 

This article was written by Don Sicko and republished with permission. The original article appears at Charting Your Players’ “Good Pass” Percentage: A Teaching Tool.

When I scout, I’m always drawn to players who make many good passes in a game.  Obviously, I appreciate a great pass as much as anyone else but given a choice over the course of game, I’d probably prefer a player to make twenty good passes than 2 or 3 great passes and a few good passes.  But more on that later.

All of us know a good pass when we see one but if we’re going to “talk” good passes with our players, we might need to have a working definition of a good pass.  While each of us might define a good pass a little differently, we would likely be in agreement on a few general principles:

• Low or no risk of a turnover. (Passing away from defender).
• Hits the open man, keeping or putting the defense at a disadvantage.
• Hits the receiver in the hands so he doesn’t have to waste valuable time gathering the ball.
• Avoids passing to a player who can’t quite handle the ball for various reasons (Examples: Certain big men in transition or any player who is put in a precarious position with little time and space to function.)
• Chooses the better of two options-one option being just OK.

Keep in mind that if a pass isn’t “good”, it isn’t necessarily bad.  Most passes that aren’t “good” would generally be called “fair” or “poor”.  We know that “fair” and “poor” don’t lead to winning.  High percentages of good passes lead to winning,

The list of good pass characteristics can be modified as one wishes to suit individual philosophy and terminology.  The important thing is that the coach and players are on the same general page.  As always, when there are subjective evaluations, there is going to be “gray”.

Having gotten this far, what’s next?  Perhaps the easiest way to wade into charting good passes is to videotape a segment of practice-maybe a half-hour of any 5 on 5 play-half or full court and afterwards chart good passes by all your players.  You’ll have some “good passes percentage” numbers for your players but until you have a video session and explain how you arrived at your figures, the numbers will just be raw data.  After your players understand your thinking, the raw data doesn’t necessarily have to be explained every single time.

Getting back to “great” passes, if a player makes some and also has a high “good pass” percentage and a good assist/turnover ratio, the great passes are meaningful.  If a player has a low good pass percentage and a poor assist/turnover ratio, his great passes can be totally empty and meaningless when it comes to winning.

Obviously, keeping track of good passes can be very labor intensive but one doesn’t have to have every game charted.  Once you’ve established it as a teaching tool, it will become a part of your team vernacular and your players will accept it as such.  You can decide how often you’d like to chart good passes.  Perhaps, you would only chart when you saw slippage in your team’s passing effectiveness.

This article is republished with permission. The original article was written by Chris Oliver of Basketball Immersion and appears at Basketball Shot Selection and the Use of Questions.

Basketball shot selection is an individual players’ decision that is defined by the individual, coach or team. For an individual player shot selection is their ability to recognize what is going on in a possession, know the shot options available and choose the best possible shot from all the information they have gathered.

Knowing the proper and most effective shot to shoot in any given situation is a fundamental building block to a successful team and player. Shot selection is dependent on a number of factors, including:

My players have to make countless decisions in a game. Unfortunately, a coach doesn’t have the advantage of time in the middle of a possession to help a player decide exactly which shot will be the best for the moment. I need to train players to think instinctively in order for their shot selection to be advantageous to them and the team. In the moment I influence very few of those decisions. I can’t, nor would I want to, tell my players what to do in each situation.

What I can, and do do, is help my players develop their independence in each of those decision-making situations. A key to shot selection is a player being able to carry out a particular tactic with minimum amount of thought and quick decision-making. Shot selection needs to become an automatic response based on the player’s recognition and reaction to cues from the court position, the opponent’s position and the characteristics of the incoming pass.

As a player’s skill level increases, so do the available shot selection choices, so there is not usually one specific shot that is right for a situation. There are individual differences as well. What may be proper shot selection for one player may not be the right shot for another player if given the exact same situation. For a coach there is a art to limiting the shots a player is allowed to shoot and limiting their ability to develop their game and confidence.

My Shot Selection Philosophy

Yes a shot that is open, in range, and in rhythm defines shot selection for our players, but our view of shot selection goes deeper than a mantra.

Beyond time and score situations, like the end of a quarter, half or game, my players have the freedom to shoot any shot at any time. My rationale, and experiences, have led me to understand that it is really difficult to get open shots. It is also valuable to get those open shots. So regardless of where, or when, that open shot becomes open we want a player to shoot it. Why? Because it is unlikely we will get a better shot in a possession than an open shot.

This is also part of my zero seconds philosophy. We believe that the most open an offensive player is going to get is when they first catch the ball. As such there are no pre-determined movements. We want technical aspects of offensive play executed quickly and decisively with no pause on the catch. This means that as soon as a player’s feet hit the ground they are immediately into their shot, pass, or drive. As a result we do not emphasize jabs or fakes but rather we want our players to make decisive decisions on the catch about whether to shoot, dribble or pass.

We also believe the goal of the offensive player who catches the ball is to score. Because of this they need to attack immediately on the catch with no hesitation to take advantage of a recovering defender or helpside defenders. If they cannot score it is because the defense prevented it. This creates secondary decisions.

The decision making progression on the catch is that we want all players to catch the ball prepared to shoot. Too many players catch the ball unprepared to shoot. We want to build a confident mindset. We also want to force a reaction from the defense on every catch. One of the ways to do this is to ensure that all players catch the basketball with the intent to shoot.

The Use of Questions

My zero seconds philosophy does not diminish the importance of shooting the right shot at the right time. Since any player can shoot any shot at any time we also need to train a player to shoot the right shot at the right time. In my philosophy, it is not what I tell my players about shot selection, but what they tell me. I do not define shot selection for my players. Not one time last season did I criticize a shot. If I define a player’s shot selection than I feel like I am limiting a player’s ability to play confident and free.

How then do I get players to understand what is, and what is not, an ideal shot for themselves and their team? I ask their teammates. If a player takes a shot I ask their teammates if it was a good shot or not. Was that shot a good shot?  I also ask the player who shot the ball what their thought process was. Why was that shot get taken?

Most of these efforts to develop my players shot selection decision-making process happen in practice, and through video analysis. As a coach my goal is to give my players a framework to operate within based on an understanding of percentage basketball. I create a system of play that is in the best interest of our team. The players are then responsible for holding each other accountable to the system of play, and to the best percentage shots that become available within that system of play.

Through our games approach to coaching basketball and the use of questions we can help create the player who shoots the right shot at the right time (Learn more about a Games Approach to Coaching Basketball).

I train my players to make better decisions during practice so that they are free in the games. It is important to give your players a chance to improve their shot selection away from the pressure of competition. It is also important to know that this is not a perfect process. My players still take what I would deem to be bad shots in games. Instead of being accountable to my opinion of what a bad shot it was, however they are now accountable to their teammates opinion that has been shaped in practice.

Shot Selection and Team Accountability

Accountability means being held answerable for accomplishing a goal. The goal in this case is to take good shots for our team to be successful. By using questions to probe players for what is the best shots for accomplishing our goal, we are increasing awareness around clear expectations.

A team works better when players are willing to help each other out, and players are more likely to help each other out when they’re knowledgeable enough to do so. Asking questions helps educate players about shot selection. Most importantly, one of the guiding principles of leadership I stand by is to “make it seem like their idea.” Even though I could dictate what shot selection is, the goal becomes more trusted and supported when it at least seems like it comes from the players.

The Challenge of Asking Questions

The challenge is to get players to be willing to keep each other accountable for shot selection without it becoming divisive or negative. Players should know that criticism of shot selection is beneficial to player and team development. Try to always connect the reason why shot selection is being critiqued. Criticism does not mean negative. When I ask players about shot selection, I don’t just ask when it is a bad shot. To provide a frame of reference for what is a good, and bad shot, I ask questions when both types of shots are taken. We also don’t ask questions about every shot. That would negatively impact the flow of practice.

There is an art to providing well-constructed and thoughtful criticism. Here are some guidelines to follow:

The Good to Great Benefit

The use of questions to create team accountability has helped us build the good to great pass mentality. I am not sure who coined the phrase originally, but I heard it from Gregg Popovich in the context of the extra pass a player makes. Good to great means, even though a player may have a shot opportunity, the next pass leads to a great shot opportunity.

The real value of players understanding the good to great benefit is that it shapes the shot selection decision in a positive manner. Rather than a player who took a bad shot feeling like their teammates didn’t believe that they could make the shot, the accountability is shifted towards understanding that there was simply a better shot on the next pass. Check out these video examples to better understand the good to great concept:

By: Phil Beckner, former Boise State Assistant Coach

Coach Beckner began his career at Weber State and still works out Damian Lillard in the summer.

He has also coached in the NBA G League and on the Nebraska Men’s Staff.

This video was filmed at the PGC/Glazier Spring 2016 Chicago Clinic.

If you want the best in basketball education, then you need to attend the PGC/Glazier Basketball Clinics this Spring!

They’ve changed the coaching clinic game forever with more topics, superior speakers, and a staff pass that includes unlimited coaches from your school.

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Phil Beckner: Game Level Skill Workout Progressions

3 live ball dribble moves form Drew Hanlen, Founder of Pure Sweat Basketball.

The drill is posted in the Pure Sweat You Tube channel. You can access their channel of instructional videos at this link:

Pure Sweat You Tube Channel

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3 Live Ball Dribble Moves

These two videos were recorded by Alan Stein.

At the time he made them, his online presence was through Stronger Team.

Alan is now teamed with Drew Hanlen at Pure Sweat Basketball.

These drills are not meant to be game-like and do violate the concept of two feet, two eyes, two hands when catching and finishing.

However, the only way for players to improve their weak hand is to use it in practice.

Forcing a weak hand overload in workouts is one way to get weak hand reps and not even give players the opportunity to use their strong hand.

Of course, there needs to be a long term plan and commitment to work on these or any drills that you can come up with. Working on them for a few minutes for a few days is not going to help.

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Weak Hand Development Drills Part 2

Weak Hand Development Drills Part 1