Basketball Drills: Competitive 31

By Brian Williams on September 2, 2015

This competitive scoring drill came from the FastModel Sports Basketball Plays and Drills Library.

You can also find out more about FastModel Play Diagramming software by clicking this link: FastDraw

This drill was contributed by Coach Fabian McKenzie, Cape Breton University Women’s Basketball.

He has been a head coach at the university level for 16 years, and has been involved as a coach at this level for 20 years.

He has been involved with the Canadian Women’s National team program for the past 8 years.

If the setup for the drill does not fit your needs, tweak the version you run so that it does.

“31”

Players line up as shown. First player in each line has ball

When coach blows whistle they head to basket and take a choice of shots.

3 pt shot = 3
Inside 3 but outside paint = 2
Layup = 1

They get one shot attempt. If they make it they collect the points for their team.

If they miss they must rebound and get ball to next teammate.

This is a continuous action drill

Our only rule is that your next pass to a teammate must be received on the same side of half court.

In this example, 2’s pass is good. 4’s is illegal and they must go back to opposite side of half before attempting shot at other end.

You could also deduct a point for the infraction.

Drill continues until a team reaches a score of 31

Basketball Drills: Rip Hamilton Shooting

By Brian Williams on September 1, 2015

This toughness shooting drill called “The Rip Hamilton Drill” and is among the resources for both coaches and player available from basketballhq. They have several more videos as well as basketball coaching resource articles.

Please make sure your sound is on to see the video.

Click the play arrow to see the drill. The drill is a YouTube video, so you will need to be able to access YouTube to see the drill.

The Coach in the video is Russ Willemsen from the South Alabama men’s staff.

The drill can be modified to fit your needs and used during your fall skill development workouts or can be used in practices this coming season as well.

To score a point in the drill, the player must make 2 shots in a row from one spot. One shot is a catch-and-shoot three-point shot, the second shot is a one-dribble pull up. The shooter should alternate those shots until they make two in a row. When you do the drill live, shoot pull ups going right for the first 2 minutes and 30 seconds, then shoot 5 free throws. Finish out the last two and a half minutes with pull up shots going left.

The goal of the drill is to score as many “spots” as possible in 5 minutes. Since the video is a demonstration, the shooter only shoots for 2 minutes.

If you run the drill for 5 minutes, there certainly is an aspect of mental toughness as players need to fight through consecutive misses.

I have also posted a second shooting drill video below.

Rip Hamilton Shooting Drill

Hedge Game Situations Shooting Drill

Basketball Plays: 2 Xavier Under Out Sets

By Brian Williams on August 31, 2015

A couple of quick hitters against a 2-3 zone defense to consider adding as something that your upcoming opponents haven’t seen you run.

These two plays were included in the Xavier Men’s Basketball Coaching Newsletter

If you are interested in seeing the rest of the diagrams from that newsletter, click here: Xavier Best of Zone Offense

Diagrams created with FastDraw

4 Across Screen

4 releases to catch the inbounds pass at the elbow.

As soon as 4 catches the basketball, 5 sets a wide down screen for 2.

4 dribbles at the cutter for a dribble hand off.

As the hand off takes place, 1 sets a diagonal back screen for 5.

2 is looking for a quick reversal to 3.

The design is to get the ball to 5 at the basket.

You can have 2 and 4 set a staggered screen for 1 to occupy the defense.

This frame is another way to finish the play.

You can run a stagger away for 1.

The idea for the post is for you to motivate you and your staff to dedicate some concentrated thinking to ways to put your players in positions to take advantage of their strengths.

Box Set Staggers

3 pops to the short corner.

The first cutter, 2 curls the staggered down screen from 5 and 4 .

If 2 is not open, he will cut to the wide wing (elbow extended).

After inbounding the ball, 1 comes off a staggered screen from 4 & 5.

The final option is for 3 coming off a third staggered screen.

Basketball Players Who are Great Leaders…

By Brian Williams on August 28, 2015

This article was posted by Quinn McDowell, founder of Arete Hoops. Quinn played basketball at Archbishop Moeller High School (Cincinnati, OH), 4 years at the College of William and Mary, 1 season in the NBA D-League, and 2 years as a professional in Australia. Arete Hoops is dedicated to helping people of various ages, backgrounds, skill levels, and athletic goals pursue excellence in and through the game of Basketball.

You can read more of his articles at this link: AreteHoops

I hope you can use some of these thoughts to share with your players that you are counting on to be team leaders for the upcoming season.

Signs of Great Leadership

Great Leaders…

1. Make a Difference

Take Tim Duncan for example. He is a dynamic package of killer efficiency that has adapted his game to his teammates instead of forcing his teammates to adapt to his style. Duncan’s value never resided in gaudy stats or eye-popping numbers; rather his greatness was always about something bigger than himself. The real value of his game always resided in his mind numbing consistency and determination to raise the level of his team in whatever capacity he could. In this refusal to elevate his personal desires above the mission of the team he has elevated himself to one of the greatest players the NBA has ever seen. Tim Duncan never set out to be the greatest player of his generation, all he wanted to do was just “make a difference”, and that is the true value of greatness.

2. Embrace Servant Leadership

Does your leader make a difference by serving others? Do they chose to use their abilities to illuminate the talents of those around them? Have they adopted a flexible leadership style that allows them to adapt to changing circumstances and the needs of their team. The bedrock of this leadership style has always been founded on a simple question: what can I do to make those around me better? One of the great marks of a servant leader is that they are remembered as great because of their leadership, commitment to excellence, and care for others.

3. Draw Teammates to Themselves

By definition, a leader is someone whom other people are willing to follow. Great leadership at its most foundational level has the ability to attract a group of talented individuals to accomplish a shared goal. A leader has an attraction about them that players are drawn to. They entice other talented players to join them in working towards a common goal. They have an inviting personality and team-first attitude that encourages everyone to work for the good of the team.

4. Accentuate the Talents of Others

Leaders accentuate the talents of their teammates by helping them come closer to reaching the limits of their abilities. One of the most telling signs of effective leadership is always measured by the growth of people around them. Great leaders help turn average players into good players, good players into great players, and great players into game-changing players. One of the primary goals of great leaders is to invest in the people around them and help raise their level of performance.

5. Create a Community of Trust

Great leaders earn the respect and trust of their followers by submitting themselves to the same standards they enforce on others. Double standards, favoritism, and hypocrisy cripple healthy team dynamics and glorify the individual instead of the group. Great leaders foster an environment of where people are free to speak their minds in a spirit of collaboration and teamwork. They create a safe place for their teammates that is marked by the characteristics of trust, mutual accountability, and honesty.

Competitive Rebounding Drills

By Brian Williams on August 25, 2015

These 2 rebounding drills are from Matt Monroe’s former Hoops Roundtable site.

Matt is the Head Boys Coach at Saint Ignatius in Chicago.

Use these drills as ideas for improving the drills you use to teach and reinforce your defensive concepts and principles.

Diagrams created with FastDraw

4 on 4 Line Rebounding Drill

Brandon Bailey

Coach stands on the baseline with a basketball

Coach calls out a number and passes to one of four players on the peflmeter

Which ever number he calls, that number has to closeout and block out on the player with the basketball

(IN THIS FRAME. THE COACH HAS CALLED OUT 1, 50 1 CLOSES OUT AND BLOCKS OUT x2)

The other players have to communicate and block out the other three players

Once the offensive player catches the ball, he shoots

When the ball touches the rim, the play is live

There are no out of bounds, no fouls, and the offense doesn’t have to take the ball out

The team that scores goes to defense

The team with the most points, or is the line at the end of the drill wins

Creighton Switch Rebounding Drill

Scott Miller, Head Boys Basketball Coach, Glenbard East High School (IL)

X passes the ball to the player on the elbow

O catches and shoots the ball

The first X in each line boxes out the player at the opposite elbow

Play two on two until a team scores

Winners stay on the court, keep an overall score to make the drill competitive

Basketball Plays: White Overload Zone Attack

By Brian Williams on August 24, 2015

This zone attack set is a part of Coach Lee DeForest’s Princeton Offense System.

This set is a part of Coach Princeton Basketball: Keys to Unlocking the Backdoor Offense, but could be run as a quick hitter to complement whatever you run.

This week’s featured eBook bundle is the Coach Princeton Basketball: Keys to Unlocking the Backdoor Offense eBook along with the Practice Plans and Drills for a Princeton Style Offense eBook.

You can see their descriptions at this Link:

Coach Princeton Basketball: Keys to Unlocking the Backdoor Offense & Princeton Style Offense Practice Plans Playbook

Your personnel might not fit those exact descriptions.

Your best shooter might also be your best scorer, etc…

You will just need to decide if your personnel will be successful in this alignment.

If you’re not sure whether this or any set that you are considering using will work, I would recommend to use practices to experiment and see how well they work for you.

I do like the idea of using consecutive cuts against a zone–having a cutter fill an area where another player just cut away from (diagram 4 below)

White Overload Zone Attack

Diagrams created with FastDraw

Basic Overload Alignment v. Any Zone Defense

3 Steps from the nail hole to the NBA slot opposite the player with the basketball.

Force the zone to match up and reverse the ball quick to the shooter (2).

Look for the shot or the 5 on the baseline.

This action should open up the short corner.

5 has the ball. This is the goal of the offense.

The 4 dives to the rim and weak side.

The 3 follows behind the 4 looking for the pass from the 5 for the layup.

The 2 spots up for a kick out.

On reversal to 2 and to 1 the offense resets to the other side.

Look for the 3 filling the 1’s spot as a quick reversal often leaves this open.

This set is a part of Coach Princeton Basketball: Keys to Unlocking the Backdoor Offense, but could be run as a quick hitter to complement whatever you run.

This week’s featured eBook bundle is the Coach Princeton Basketball: Keys to Unlocking the Backdoor Offense eBook along with the Practice Plans and Drills for a Princeton Style Offense eBook.

You can see their descriptions at this Link:

Coach Princeton Basketball: Keys to Unlocking the Backdoor Offense &
Princeton Style Offense Practice Plans Playbook