These bullet points from Coach Bob Knight are a part of Alan Stein’s 12 pdf Basketball Coaching Nuggets Collection.
No matter what your opinion of Coach Knight or of these points, (Or any coach for that matter), there are still some good points you can adapt and make your own. Certainly there are some points that you don’t agree with, but hopefully some you can use!
Also included in the list is a short video of Coach Knight giving an explanation of one of his points on timeouts.
- “The single most important aspect of coaching is running effective practices.”
- “The goal is to make practice more difficult, physically and mentally, than anything your players will face during a game.”
- “I always designed my practice plans the night before and then made tweaks a few hours before
practice began.” - “I never let a player shoot by themselves; they had to have a rebounder. Shooting by yourself is not
game specific.” - “I hate casual shooting. EVERY shot must be preceded by working to get open and catch and shoot
under game like conditions.” - “Everything in my practices were designed for advantage vs. disadvantage. Putting players in a
disadvantage forces them to communicate and concentrate. - “I began every practice for 40 years with simple 4 corner passing drill that required absolute
concentration.” - Coach Knight to player, “Son, if you can’t listen and follow instructions then you can’t play.”
- “My practices were not set up to be easy or enjoyed.”
- “The shot fake is the least used skill on offense. Why would you ever shoot under pressure? An
effective shot fake creates an offensive advantage.” - “We did partner shot fake drills for a few minutes every practice.”
- “Offensively, stay away from the baseline. The baseline is the best defender in the game!”
- “What is the best thing you can do in a close game? DRIVE to the basket and put pressure on the defense! Not jack up jump shots.”
- “Driving to the basket creates easier shots, better passing angles, and puts the other team in foul trouble.”
- “90% of all defensive fouls are committed with the hands. We do several drills every practice with the
players’ hands behind their backs.” - “Defense should be played with your feet and your brain, not your hands.”
- “Every drill we do involves full court transition. Even if we are working on half court offense, the defense will go in transition after a rebound or made shot.”
- “Basketball is a full court game, so every drill must be done full court.”
- “At any point during practice, call a timeout. Huddle the players and give them 4 or 5 specific
instructions. Then send them back on the court. Wait 15 seconds and then ask them to write down the
4 or 5 things you asked them to do. It is scary how little they will recall.” - “Players must be able to carry out simple instructions from the bench to the court. If they can’t, then
they can’t play.” - Defense 101: “When the ball hits the floor, defensive help is mandatory.”
- “Shoot FT’s at scheduled intervals during practice, not before/after. Do it when they are tired. Add
pressure to every FT (run sprints, etc.).” - “First stat I look at after the game–did we make more FT’s than our opponent shot? If so, we usually
won.” - “Every halftime, find something the team needs to improve. Also acknowledge something they did well.”
- “From October to Christmas break, our practices were 2 hrs and 15 min. Every practice after that was 1 hr 15 or 1 hr and 30 min tops.”
- Offense 101: “Move the ball against the zone. Move players against man to man.”
- Offense 101: “Passing is your best weapon against man to man. Dribble penetration is your best weapon against zone.”
- “When playing vs. man to man, the defense decides who guards who. When playing against zone, the offense decides who guards who.”
- “Pass fakes make the zone move. Use them!”
- “Screening is the most underutilized, yet most effective weapon an offense has.
- “The toughest offense to guard is one that has 5 players constantly moving. 5 players that must be guarded.”
- “Don’t complicate winning.”
- “More games are lost my dumb than are won by smart.”
Click the play arrow and make sure your sound is on to watch the video. If you are interested in learning more about the basketball coaching DVD that this sample came from, click this link: The Essentials of Coaching Basketball
You can see find more information about the Learn from the Legends Basketball Coaching Series featuring Bob Knight and Geno Auriemma DVDs by clicking this link: Learn from the Legends. The entire series consists of 6 DVDs and can be purchased at a special bundle price at this link” Learn from the Legends
