Practice Drills Update

Being that we are all in the midst of our seasons by now, I thought I would share some practice drills for everyone to look at.  As I have noted in the past, I like drills that are competitive, high intensity and reflective of the offensive and defensive philosophy of the team.  I hope everyone has a happy holiday season and that these drills help.

Bob Anderson Drills

Ballard High School Shell Drill

Kevin Boyle Shell Drill

Consecutive Shooting Drill

Tom Izzo Drills

2013 South Dakota Coaches Association Sanford Power Coaches Clinic

Here are some clinic notes I took while attending the 2013 South Dakota Coaches Association Sanford Power Coaches Clinic this past fall.  This is always a great clinic and one of my favorite times of the year.  There are a number of good drills as well as some good ball screen stuff.  Hope you enjoy.

2013 South Dakota Coaches Association Sanford Power Coaches Clinic

Troy Culley: Phil Beckner - 100 Things

I got this great resource from Coach Troy Culley's blog.  This set of notes has some amazing coaching thoughts that will challenge every coach.  Thanks Coach Culley for sharing such a great resource with the rest of the coaching community.

Troy Culley: Phil Beckner - 100 Things

2013 Golden State Playoff Playbook

I have recently put together a playbook on the 2013 Golden State Warriors playoff run last season.   It took me a while to breakdown all of the film, but I finally got it done.  Even though I am not much of a set play kind of coach, I really enjoyed making this playbook.  If you are interested in seeing more on it, follow the link below.

2013 Golden State Playoff Playbook

1-4 High Continuous Action

1-4 high offenses can be very interesting to coaches. It allows for a variety of scoring opportunities as well as some easy pressure releases against aggressive defenses.  Today, we are going to take a look at 1-4 high continuous action.  Even if you are not looking for a complete offense, there are still scoring actions out of this that could be used as sets or entries for other base offenses.

1-4 High Continuous Action

Preparing for the First Game

We start practice on Monday.  We typically have approximately 2 weeks prior to our first game.  One of the things that is important for many teams is to get in all of the required elements for that first game.  This is important to think about as you plan out practices.  Therefore, I am going to share some resources that will help you in this process.

Rick Struggs First Game Checklist

Xavier Situation Cards

1-4 Wing Pro Strong

Here is a 1-4 high offense called Wing Pro Strong.  It has some typical UCLA and wing ball screen actions in it that give some great scoring options.

1-4 Wing Pro Strong

Grinnell System

If you watched ESPN today, you probably heard about Jack Taylor from Grinnell who scored over 100 points for the 2nd time in his career.  Regardless of your thoughts of the Grinnell system, it is still an amazing.  With that in mind, I thought it be fitting to provide some resources on this system.  I may have already done this so I apologize if that is the case.

Dave Arseneault - The Grinnell System

Grinnell Run and Gun - How it Works

Grinnell System Clinic Notes

The Grinnell System Power Point

I also thought it would be fitting to include some game film to kind of put this in to perspective as well.  Sometimes see the system in action can help.

84 Points in the First Half

Grinnell vs Wartburg - 2nd half

Clarkston Bantams Carolina Set

This is a nice set that I came across in my basketball files.  It would be a good set action for teams that utilize a shot clock.  I also like the back cut reads that are built within the set.  It is one of the more interesting sets that I have seen in a while.

Clarkston Bantams Carolina Set

5 State Hoops Basketball BLOG

I want to throw out a plug for a great basketball website that has a ton of information for coaches.  The site is called 5 State Hoops and it is ran by Coach Chuck Thompson.  I have been looking through the site the past couple of weeks and have really enjoyed the wealth of resources that Coach Thompson provides.

5 State Hoops Basketball BLOG

Seattle Pacific BLOB 3 Low Series

A friend of mine sent me this baseline out of bounds video that has some nice options out of it.  Seattle Pacific is the team running the play and there are multiple clips of the different looks you can get out of it.  I think you will like this blob.

Seattle Pacific BLOB 3 Low Series

Fundamental Practice Drills

Here is a variety of drills that you can use in your practices or in your skill development.  Fundamental drills offer a lot of variations to traditional drills and can also be a great mix for combination skill development drills.  Hope they help your team fundamental skills.

2 Ball Cone Dribbling

Tony Bennett Ball Handling Workout

V Cut Passing

Scott Drew Baylor Development Drills

Practice Plan Samples and Practice Drills

Finally getting some time to post some basketball stuff, so I thought I would share some resources on practice planning and practice samples.  Personally, planning practices is one of my favorite parts of coaching.  I think that having a detailed and organized practice plan is vital to running an effective practice.  Hope these examples give you some things to consider when practice planning.

Bobby Lutz Practice Planning

Coach K Practice Planning

How to Organize a Practice

New Jersey Practice Notes

Nolan Richardson Practice Philosophy

Rob Slopek Season Planning

Eric Mussleman Practice Notes

2-3 High Offense Updated Links

It was brought to my attention that one of the links in this post was linked to the wrong file.  I have made the correction, so if you want the file, you can download it from the page link below.

2-3 High Offense Updated Links

Diamond Quick Hitter

Here is a quick hitter I put together that would be a good end-of-game quick hitter that would give you a quality corner 3, wing PNR action, with a post duck-in.   One might think that you could trap the wing as 1 comes around for the fake hand-off.  However, if this gets trapped, 1 will be open in the corner as his guy will be involved in the trap.  At this point, 1 will have a baseline driving lane while the post seals his defender.

Diamond Quick Hitter

Matthew Syed: Does Talent Trump Effort?

Coach Troy Culley shares this video with us that I think you will really find interesting.  It is something we have all probably talked about within our own coaching communities.  I would be interested to hear some of your comments after listening to the video.

Matthew Syed: Does Talent Trump Effort?

Todd Schlimgen: New BLOG Contributor - Mount Marty College Practice Drills

Professional Bio: Todd is a native of Scotland, SD and a graduate of Scotland HS and SDSU. He started his career in Sisseton, SD where he taught American History and was the 8th grade football and 9th grade boys' basketball coach for 2 years. He then went to Colman-Egan HS for 3 years where he taught Spanish 1 & 2, 6th-8th Social Studies, and World History. He coached Jr. High and Asst. Varsity Football, Head Girls' Basketball, and Head Boys' and Girls' Golf. The girls' basketball team went to 2 state tournaments with 4th and 2nd place finishes. They won 3 DVC regular season championships and 3 DVC tourney championships. They had a record of 66-7 during his 3 seasons there. The girls' golf team also won 3 DVC championships and qualified for 3 State B Tournaments where they finished 4th, 2nd, and 5th to go along with an individual boy taking a 2nd place finish at state. He then went to Harrisburg HS for 1 year teaching Spanish 1 and was the Head Girls' Basketball Coach. They went 13-9 and lost in the district championship. Since 2009, Todd has been an Assistant Women's Basketball Coach and Assistant Men's and Women's Golf Coach at Mount Marty College.

Coach Schlimgen is showing us some great shooting drills that they use at Mount Marty College.  These drills are high in intensity, give players a lot of repetitions and are competitive.  All characteristics of a a good drill.

Todd Schlimgen Mount Marty College Practice Drills

Practice Shooting Drills

As practice closes in for most of us, we are starting to narrow down specific drills that fit within out philosophy of the game.  I think that can be one of most challenging yet most fulfilling elements of practice planning. I like the challenge of evaluating an existing drill and tweaking it to fit our style at Tea Area.  Our head coach is very good about analyzing what we do and modifying existing drills to fit our system.

Therefore, my challenge today is for you to evaluate the shooting drills that I am going to share with you and modify them to fit your philosophy on footwork, offensive actions, and so on.

2 Minute Shooting  Drill

2 Ball Pass and Shoot

3 Ball Baseline Drive

Chair Lay-ups

Post Figure 8's

2 Man Competitive Shooting

USA Basketball Shooting Drills - Don Showalter

2-3 High Offenses

The 2-3 high offense offers a variety of different offensive actions.  One of the most prominent offenses out of this formation is the Princeton offense.  It allows for good cutting, screening and driving actions from the wing.  I hope you find these various 2-3 high offenses beneficial.

Double and Triple Screen Offense

2-3 High Back Pick Offense

Dana Altman High Post Offense

Kevin Pigott Princeton Offense

Sean Miller: Practice Drills

If you are like me, I am always looking for a new drill that I can adopt or modify to fit our style of play.  Sean Miller is a great coach who has some great practice drills that I think you will all like.

Sean Miller: Practice Drills

David Saur: Relationships With Your Players

Relationships with our players…

As the season has begun for division 1 college basketball teams and the rest of the country soon to follow I wanted to touch on something that sometimes gets lost in the daily grind of a season but plays a huge role in the success of every team.

It is my belief that the better relationship you are able to build with your players the better chance you give your team to be successful. Of course NOTHING replaces talent, skill, toughness and execution but the deeper the bond you are able to build with your kids the more you will be able to get out of them. You will never be able to build the same bond with every player on your team but I believe the head coach must develop that bond with the core of his or her team. Assistant coaches play a major role in these relationships by creating a supplement to the bond the head coach has built with your team’s core but also building a relationship those players outside of that core. As those players often times can move a team in either direction on the success ladder.

From my experience it takes many attempts at spending time with your players on and off the basketball floor. I am certain that a player must KNOW a minimum of three things without question to have complete trust of you and ultimately push themselves to a point they never imagined they could reach. First a player must believe you truly care about them as a person and their success not only on the court but off it. You can build this bond through strictly life, school and personal conversations never once reaching the topic of basketball. I have found players find this time refreshing and you can often learn a lot more about your player than you ever thought through a simple conversation. The next thing a player must feel from you is that you believe in them as a basketball player. No matter how frustrated you might be with a certain player you must find a way to communicate your believe in your players ability and communicate your desire to help them reach their full potential together. That it’s a shared journey. I have found players really appreciate a coach who is not only demanding but believing. A few words of encouragement go a long way. The final thing a players needs from you is honesty. No matter how hard the truth might be for a player to hear you must give it to them straight up. If you are able to convince a player of my first two points first, this one is much easier for a player to hear. At the end of the day your players want to know exactly where they stand, they hate the grey area just as much as you do as a coach.

Call your players, text your players, talk with them after practice and even share a meal with them one on one. Just like building a relationship with that girl/guy you just met it takes time to build trust. Spend the time and give the effort and you can build a strong bond with your players…..Its more about the Susie’s and Joe’s than the X’s and O’s!

Dave Saur

Horns Zipper 2

I have been intrigued with zipper actions lately so I put together this set action that would be good for teams that have a strong PNR / DHO game. Hope that it is something that will help your playbook.

Horns Zipper 2

Golden State Horns 54 Slam

This is a set that I saw Golden State run last year that I found interesting, especially if you have a big who can attack off of the dribble.

Golden State Horns 54 Slam

Boston Celtics Punch 5

Doc Rivers is one of the best in the game at drawing up high scoring sets, especially out of time out situations.  This is a set called Punch 5 and it is a nice quick hitter if you have a point guard who is good at shooting off screening actions.  It also gives a nice post isolation as well.

Boston Celtics Punch 5

Miami Heat Chest Get Set

Even though the Miami Heat have some amazing athletes, they run some of the best set actions in the NBA.  Today, we are going to look at a set called Chest Get. It ends with a  nice Side PNR action with a duck-in from the post and corner kick for a shooter

Miami Heat Chest Get Set

Transition Offense

Well, it has been homecoming week here at our school and it has consumed most of my time and energy.  With that being said, it has been a good week and the kids have been having fun.  We have a big football game tomorrow night so I am excited to watch our players play a good game.

I thought I would share a variety of good transition drills that everyone can look at and modify to fit within their system.  The one misconception that I see or hear when talking with coaches is that in order to be an effective transition team, you need to play like North Carolina, Grinnell, or VCU.  The other misconception is that you have to have deep bench to have strong transition team.  Being effective does not mean you have to push the ball as hard as you can and taking a shot within the first 10 seconds of the possession.  Effective to me means that you use opportunistic situations to put pressure on the defense and hold them accountable for getting back on defense.  Some games will allow for more opportunities than others.

Therefore, we are going to look at a number of transition resources.  Some of these I have shared in my emails that I send out to those of you who subscribe, and others I have posted on here on my blog.  Either way, I believe these resources can benefit any program.  As always, take the elements that fit your team strengths.  Hope they help.

UNLV Running Game

Attacking Ball Screen Secondary Break

Josh Kerkau 5 Out Transition

Tom Izzo Numbered Break

Contentment In Wonderland

I am going to continue a theme here on motivation material so I thought that I would share a piece that I think is really powerful.

Contentment in Wonderland

Errol Gauff: Team Building

I found this resource to be rather useful in regards to team building.  This is an area that I am always looking for new ideas to keep our team close.  A lot of the time, it is team chemistry that decides the success of the season, not the X and O side of the game.

Errol Gauff: Team Building

Ronnie Enoch: 3 Man Defend Drill

Here is a nice defensive drill that encompasses a number of defensive concepts.  One of the most under taught defensive concepts, in my opinion, is footwork on a closeout.  This is something that should be worked on every day.  Hopefully this drill is one that you can use to help your players in this area.

Ronnie Enoch: 3 Man Defend Drill

Competitive Practice Drills

Coaches are always looking for new competitive practice drills to improve the play of their team.  The tough part, however, is finding a drill that fits with your system or being able to look at an existing drill and then modify to fit what you do.  Today, I offer a number of different drills for you to look over. Hopefully they fit what you do. If not, study them and modify them to fit your philosophy.

Steve Alford Competitive Shooting Drills

Stop and Score Drill

Perfect Lay-ups

Iowa State Combination 1-on-1 Drills

1-on-1 Rebound Outlet and Score

Competitive Rebounding Drills

Teaching rebounding can be a tough area to teach.  Teaching rebounding out out of a man set than teaching rebounding out a zone set.  Teaching rebounding out of a zone set can be different than teaching it out out rotational concept. Therefore, we are going to explore some different rebounding philosophies.  Hopefully, you can find something that fits your philosophy to the game.

Competitive Rebounding Drills

Andrew Gantz Rebounding

Skip Prossor Rebounding Drills

Motion Shooting Drills

From an offensive standpoint, motion offense is on the funnest things to watch when executed properly.  There a variety of motion offenses, and it takes a special coach to effectively teach motion offense.  Here is a good resource that provides a number of combination shooting drills that will help build up your motion offense.

Motion Shooting Drills

College Sets Playbook

Even though I personally don't like using a lot of sets in our offense, I really do like studying them.  I like to look at sets, and then modifying them or using parts of them to fit the strengths or our players.  With that being said, I came across this playbook that has some really nice set actions used at the college level.  This resource provides a variety of scoring actions in both man and zone sets.  Study the actions, and think how they might play into your system.  Think about the strengths of your players skill sets and modify them to put your players in situations where they can be successful.

College Sets Playbook

BLOB Plays

Here is a nice collection of baseline out of bounds plays.  The best coaches look to score out of baseline out of bounds situations.  Each coach should take some time looking at ways to get his/her best players scoring opportunities out of these situations.  Sometimes, in my opinion, the more simple the play, the better.  It allows players to learn how to make the reads rather than learning a play that has complicated movements.

BLOB Plays

Belmont Box Sets

One thing I like about box sets is the flexibility.  There are so many things that you can do out of a box set that allow you to get into other offenses or even isolate a player.  This box set is ran by the Belmont Bruins.  I think you like the scoring actions used in this set.

Belmont Box Sets

Wil Rey: Ball Press

This press resource covers Wil Rey's Ball Press defense.  Coach Rey gives a number of great press concepts that allows teams to apply strong ball pressure while not giving up easy buckets.

Wil Rey Ball Press

Andy Einfield: USC Fist Series

Andy Einfield took the USC position this past year after the Florida Gulf Coast run this past NCAA tournament.  Today, we look at his Fist Series that they will be running at USC this year.

Andy Einfield: USC Fist Series

Sarunas Marciulionis: Guard Play 2013 2013 Adidas Eurocamp

Here is a good video on guard play as taught by Sarunas Marciulionis.  Lots of good teaching points that I think will help you develop your guard play.  This video was shared by Troy Culley.

Sarunas Marciulionis: Guard Play 2013 2013 Adidas Eurocamp 

Zig Ziggler: A Little Extra Effort

If you are not familiar with Zig Ziggler's motivational resources, you should definitely start looking for some.  He has some great resources for coaches to use with their teams.  This resource is called A Little Extra Effort.  Great locker room material.

Zig Ziggler: A Little Extra Effort

Lason Perkins: 2012 Olympic Sets

Coach Lason Perkins provides this breakdown of Olympic sets from the 2012 Summer Olympics.  This is a must see set of eBooks.  I found these from Coach Troy Culley who has one of the best blogs when it comes to providing FREE basketball resources for the betterment of coaches. Typically, you have to pay to see information like this.

Lason Perkins Olympics Sets 1

Lason Perkins Olympics Sets 2

Onley Central College Basketball Drills

If you are looking for some new basketball drills, I think you will like these drills provided by the Only Central College Blue Knights basketball team.  It has some great defensive, transition defense and rebounding drills to add to your library of drills.

Onley Central College Basketball Drills

Andrew Haysom Defensive Thoughts

Here are some good defensive thoughts and topics from coach Andrew Haysom, who at the time was a Level 1 NCAS, Greenvale, Victoria.

Andrew Haysom Defensive Thoughts

George Karl Double Pump Clinic Notes

George Karl is a great basketball mind, especially at the NBA level.  Today, we are going to take a look at some clinic notes from Coach Karl.  He talks about all kinds of important elements of coaching and playing.  I think you will like these coaching notes.

George Karl Double Pump Clinic Notes

Jack Bennett Gap Offense

This is an interesting zone offense ran by Jack Bennett called Gaps.  He talks about some great zone concepts such as player positioning and distorting the zone.  A great zone offense resource.

Jack Bennett Gap Offense

ACM Practice Drills

I found this resource rather interesting.  Has a bunch of nice practice nuggets that I think will be very beneficial to coaches.

ACM Practice Drills

Anson Dorance Core Values

Anson Dorrance is one of the greatest American coaches.  He not only is a great teacher of the soccer, but he is a mastermind of the character elements of teaching.  Don Meyer has always been a huge advocate of him, and that carries a lot of weight for me because I think Don Meyer is also one of the greatest coaches of our time. I think you will really like this resource and hope you can take a few items from it.

Anson Dorrance Core Values

Baseline Out of Bounds Playbook

If you are looking for some new ideas for baseline out of bounds plays, I think you will be able to find some answers in this playbook.  There are a number of different plays out of different alignments that will give you great scoring opportunities.

Baseline Out of Bounds Playbook

Hoffstra Up Tempo Offense

If you are looking for some new ideas or are wanting to implement an up-tempo offensive system, you will like this resource on Hoffstras Up Tempo Offensive System.  It contains the philosophy to their approach as well as drills to teach the system.  A great resource in my opinion.

Hoffstra Up Tempo Offense

Larry Dean Jackson: Motivate 1st BLOG

Wanted to give a shout out to Larry Dean Jackson's blog called Motivate 1st.  Coach Jackson has tons of great basketball information that he shares on his basketball blog.  If you are looking for motivational material to use this season, I would definitely check out Coach Jackson's Motivate 1st blog.

Mark Swasey: Player Development Approaches

Taking a step away from College coaching has opened some incredible doors that were once closed due to the demands and nature of the job.  One such example is the opportunity to take these pictures with players ranging from 12-19 years old in Southern Australia.  

For a few weeks in July this year I was offered a chance to conduct 4 basketball clinics at the Starplex in Gawler, Australia in the suburbs of Adelaide.  Nestled in the heart of one of the finest wine regions in the world, Ricky Simpson, the director of Starplex offered me an opportunity to join him in what has become Southern Australia's top basketball development program.  

Ricky came to Australia from his hometown of Atlanta, GA to play for the Adelaide 36ers after a great playing career at Concordia University in Minnesota.  Ricky married an Aussie and three talented and beautiful children later found himself making Australia home.  

Ricky is joined at Starplex by an ex-NBA player with the Denver Nuggets, Kevin Brooks.  "KB" as everyone calls him is one of the humblest and endearing professionals I have ever met.  The opportunity to work with Ricky, KB and one of my mentors, Mike Olson (pictured to my left), was tremendous.

The opportunity to get back in the gym and work with athletes was invigorating to my spirit.  The boys and girls we worked with were every coaches dream.  Wide eyed, big ears and no egos attached.  The attentiveness and willingness to branch out of their comfort zone was inspiring to all the coaches at the camp.  The level of play that we saw, particularly from the U14 group was outstanding.  Being a part of building the development program for these talented youth is exciting and I am looking forward to returning in another year.

There were 4 clinics, 19 and under, 14 and under, 12 and under and a post clinic.  All totaled we served over 120 athletes and the response to our instruction was overwhelming.  The graciousness of the parents and local staff like Judy and the Business Manager Dale was incredible.  It was refreshing to be in a place where people shared their appreciation for our efforts with hand shakes and thank you's.  Player after player waiting in line to say "thanks" when the camps were completed.  What I experienced over a two week span in "Oz" reinvigorated my passion for the game.  

Back Stateside, I believe the culture of entitlement that we see building momentum here in the United States could take some notes from the folks Down Under.  There has been a recent debate circulating throughout social media lately about the impact AAU basketball has had on the sport.  While there are many positive aspects of the function AAU has in the exposure it allows for our young student/athletes in the US, there are also many drawbacks.  One of these drawbacks is what is being perceived as a "growing sense of entitlement" among our youth and parents.

The concept is simple.  AAU teams are formed  and enter into competitions throughout the country.  At these competitions is where virtually every college coach in the country spends hours and hours of their time recruiting.

What AAU and these tournaments bring is the "hope" that a college coach will like a player enough to recruit them and with that recruitment more "hope" that a scholarship of some type will be included.

It this very "hope" of a scholarship through exposure that parents are investing thousands of dollars in for their children.  In order to get exposure, teams have to play games and what we are seeing as a result is a serious dip in development.  There is much more emphasis on playing time in games than on the actual development of the athlete.

Look at the NBA draft this year alone. 8 out of the top 20 draft picks were of International origin. The state of international basketball is catching up to the US and one of the reasons for this is that the international structure is mainly based on development, NOT exposure through games.

The issue of entitlement is complex and very much real in our youth sports world today.

Many parents who are paying thousands of dollars to an AAU program expect that their son or daughter will be given the opportunity to play.  The money involved is at the root of the problem.  The "be given an opportunity" mentality is even more of a problem. Have we completely lost the concept as a culture that we must "earn and work for our own opportunities?"

We are also seeing a drastic change in the sense of inherent loyalty and more importantly any accountability of the athlete.  If a coach isn't playing the player what they (or the parent) feel is an appropriate time, or is "not being used right", or whatever the disgruntlement of the parent/player may be, all they have to do is leave the team and join another.  So we have a major issue here.  AAU programs need the dollars to exist, AAU coaches need happy players and parents to keep their rosters filled and the biggest losers in the whole game actually wind up being the youth themselves.  With no accountability and no sense of loyalty being instilled in our youth, the current structure of AAU has unwittingly created a sense of entitlement without a significant effort across a huge population of our youth.  

I am hopeful that some change can come to AAU and across all of our youth sports programs.  The relatively unregulated growth of this and other organizations has led to some serious problems that we are only now beginning to realize. 

Here in Sioux Falls, SD I am encouraged to see that the number of individual development instructors for basketball is growing.  This is something that will help our young players in the long run, from a development standpoint.  That development is all individual though and the fact remains that basketball is a team sport.  We need a culture in AAU that will teach the concept that the team is always more important than the individual and that sacrificing ones ego for the benefit of the team is OK and in fact a very important life lesson! Right now the structure of AAU is accepting the concept that the individual is more important than the team.  

Mark Swasey

Match Up Press

The match up press is another press that can give teams a number of difficulties.  There are a number of prominent coaches who use a variation of a match up press.  These would include Billy Donovan, Rick Pitino, and Shaka Smart.  This is something that I have been studying a lot this off-season.  Much like the run and jump, it will take some time to teach to the players, but once in place, I think it will be very beneficial.

Billy Donovan Press Build Up

Rick Pitino Press Notes From Assistant Coach

Rick Pitino Pressing System

Rick Pitino Press Defense

Shaka Smart Pressing Presentation

Shaka Smart VCU Havoc Press

Run and Jump Press

The run and jump press can be one of the most effective presses out there, especially against teams that like to use a dribble break with a really good point guard.  The run and jump is a great way to get a star ball handler to give the ball up.  There are different versions and approaches out there, so we are going to take a look at some popular versions of this style of pressure defense.

Dean Smith Run and Jump Defense

Forrest Larson Run and Jump Press

Snake Bite Run and Jump

Run and Jump Q and A

Eddie Andrist Sample Run and Jump Practice

2-1-2 Press

I feel that a great compliment to the 2-2-1 press is the 2-1-2 press.  We often will run this after a free throw situation.  We always put our guards in the lane when we are shooting a free throw.  This allows us to get into our full court pressure immediately.  Some coaches like to keep their bigs in, but we tracked figured that the number of offensive rebounds we actually got off of free throw situations did not outweigh the benefit of being able to get into our pressure defense immediately.

The 2-1-2 is not really that much different that the 2-1-2 in my opinion and we are able to run the same trapping schemes out of it.  We simply put our best combo defender in the middle of the defense.  This play needs to be athletic, but more importantly, a really good decision maker as to when to trap and when to stay home or even fake trap.

I hope that these 2-1-2 resources provide some good ideas as to what you can do with the talents and skill sets of your players.

Vance Downs 50 Press

Crowly County 2-1-2 Press

Scramble Defense

This is one of the most interesting defenses out there for me.  It encompasses a variety of difference pressing and stunting options.  It really became popular by coaches from coaches like Dean Smith, Cheryl Burnett, Dan Ninham and  Jim Larranaga.  The scramble defense can be ran different ways, but it is predicated on running different trapping and pressure sequences based on certain situations in order to keep the opponent off balance.   Therefore, it can be quite complex to teach.  However, with a little bit of thought, you can come up with your own scramble package quite easily and not make it too hard to teach. Therefore, we will look at some resources from different coaches who have ran a scramble package.  Hope they give you some ideas.

Jim Larranaga Scramble Defense 1

Jim Larranaga Scramble Defense 2

Jim Larranaga Scramble Defense 3

Cheryl Burnett Scramble 1

Cheryl Burnett Scramble 2

Cheryl Burnett Scramble 3

1-2-1-1 Diamond Press

The diamond and 1 press is a very common press system used by coaches.  Coaches such as Bruce Pearl, Bobby Gonzalez, and Tubby Smith. This style of press can be very aggressive.  What I find interesting is that most zone presses shift into a diamond formation after the ball is declared.  With that being said, we are going to look at a number of resources on different 1-2-1-1 presses.

Bruce Pearl Diamond Press

Bobby Gonzalez Black and White Press

Tubby Smith Black and White Press

Craig Escherich 1-2-1-1 Press

1-2-2 Press

Another popular press is the 1-2-2.  This press allows teams to apply strong pressure on the ball and can create a number of trapping instances.  This is another press where you can vary your pick up points to keep the other team off balance with your pressure.

Loren Wallace 1-2-2 Ball Press

2-2-1 Press Variations

The first press style that we are going to look at today is the common 2-2-1 press.  This is one of my favorite presses because there are so many different things that you can do within it to cause problems for teams.  Some coaches will use it as a means to simply slow teams down by means of containment looking only to get long lazy passes.  Other coaches will use it as a very aggressive style to trapping and causing turnovers.  There are a number of coaches who are known for using a 2-2-1 variation press.  We will take a brief look at some of these coaches.

Jim Calhoun 2-2-1 Press

Vance Walberg 2-2-1 Press

Dave Leitao Attacking 2-2-1 Press

Tom Moore 2-2-1 Press

Andy Landers 2-2-1 Press

John Kresse 2-2-1 Press

As you review these resources, you will find some common elements between them as well as some noticeable differences.  Hopefully you will find something that you can use, even if it is just a teaching point, concept or drill.

Full Court Pressing Systems

Talk about a busy busy busy summer for me.  With going back to graduate school to get my masters in Education Administration, I have had a lot less time to do basketball stuff, which is strange for me.  I just got back from a family vacation where we went up to Minnesota to fish for a week.  We had a blast.  We didn't catch as many fish as we normally do, but the family time was great. 

With that being said, our school year starts tomorrow and will be around my computer much more often now to post basketball items and resources on a daily basis.  So thanks to those of you who still come around checking things out.  

To get things rolling this week, I am going to share different resources on pressing systems.  There are so many different variations of pressing systems out there that I could spend a month sharing resources and philosophies.  In our program, we use a couple of different presses to speed up the game and keep our opponents on their heels.  I spent a lot of time studying coaches who use pressing systems as a part of their program.  These included Dan Ninham, Rick Pitino, Billy Donovan, Don Meyer and Vance Walberg.

The reason we press is not that different from other coaches who press regularly.  These reasons include:

1. Increasing the number of possessions a game
2. Play deeper into our bench and deeper into our opponents bench
3. Wear down (mentally and physically) the opponent, especially their guards
4. Increase the number of transition opportunities
5. Create chaos 

With that being said, if you are going to be a team that presses, whether it is selectively, all game, an aggressive press or more of a passive press, I feel that you as a coach need to be willing to accept a few things.  

1. Control - You need give up some control of what takes place on the floor.  We try to limit the amount of thinking that players have to do.  Not because they are not capable, but because we want them to be reactive and to make plays within the system we have created while not having to do a lot of thinking.  For example, we tell our players that if they find themselves in a situation where the ball ends up in a trapping situation, even though it is not a designed trapping location, to TRAP the ball.  As a coaching staff, we understand that we are going to get burned at times and give up lay-ups.  However, as long as our players are playing hard and making good basketball reactions, we know that down the stretch our pressure defense will wear teams down.
2. Fouls - Granted, no coach teaches his/her players to foul (other than in special situations).   However, the more aggressive your philosophy, the more willing you need to be with your players fouling.  With that being said, I do not believe that allowing players to foul is a good thing.  In fact, we get on our players heavily for fouling while keeping in mind, when kids are playing hard and trying to make plays, they are going to foul.   I believe that having an aggressive mindset, this is bound to happen and I need to keep an open mind about this trade-off.  
3. Variations / Selectiveness - I believe that the best pressing teams are selective and vary their presses.  I could spend a whole week on this topic alone as there are so many different ways to vary your presses or be selective with your trapping.  For example, one method that we use is using the same pressure but varying our pick up points.  22 High for us means face guarding the inbounds pass, while 22 Mid allows the ball to be inbounded.  Both presses follow the same rules and principles other than handling the inbound, which makes carry over for players from press to press simple.  We can do the same thing out of the 2-1-2 with only a minor adjustment.  For example, 21 High, we still deny the inbound pass.  

With all this being said, in the upcoming days, I will be sharing different press systems that are used at various levels.  I hope that this will give you some ideas on how you can use full court defense to help you win games.

Boston Celtics Sets

Here is a great resource on some set actions ran by the Boston Celtics.  Doc Rivers is one of the best X and O coaches in the NBA.  I think you will like the screening actions as well as the spacing with these set actions.

Boston Celtics Sets

Aaron Johnston: SDSU Women's Drills

Being from South Dakota, I thought I would share some drills used by Aaron Johnston from South Dakota State University.  Coach Johnston does a great job with the women's program which has made some great runs in the NCAA tournament.  I think you will like this drills.

Aaron Johnston: SDSU Women's Drills

Metro State Practice Clinic Notes

Here is a good set of clinic notes from a Metro State practice. As you have probably gathered from previous posts, I am a huge Mike Dunlap fan.  I love his teaching approach, attention to detail and his validation for doing what he does.  His defense this past year for us improved our style play tenfold.

Mike Dunlap: Metro State Practice Clinic Notes

Orlando Magic Playbook

Coach Troy Culley shares an amazing playbook on the Orlando Magic.  It has a wealth of X's and O's.  It has everything from sets and quick hitters, to sideline out of bounds to baseline out of bounds plays.  Thanks Coach Culley for sharing such a great resource.

Orlando Magic Playbook

Dick Bennett Resources

Today we are going to examine some resources on Dick Bennett.  Coach Bennett is well known for his packline defense and his blocker mover offense.  He is also is very respected by other coaches for his ability to simplify the game and apply basketball to life lessons.  I hope these resources help you with your upcoming season.

Dick Bennett Packline Defense

Dick Bennett Blocker Mover Offense

Dick Bennett Louisiana  Basketball Clinic

Ganon Baker: Ball Screen Angles

Ganon Baker is one of the best when it comes to player development.  This resource focuses on using different ball screen angles.  Coach Baker gives great detail and visuals to show the proper angles involved in the ball screen.

Ganon Baker: Ball Screen Angles

Louisville Women's Scouting Report

Well, it has been a while since I have had time to post anything on the blog, so I am glad that I am able to share some things tonight.  I came across this resource on a detailed X and O scouting report on the Louisville Women's basketball team.  It has tons of information and I think you will be able to get some good plays from it.

Louisville Women's Scouting Report

Bounce and Chase Drill

Here is a good drill that emphasizes transition defense.  I love transition defensive transition drills and I think it is one area of the game that is under taught and under emphasized.

Bounce and Chase Drill

Dave Strickland Triangle Entries

For those of you who run the triangle offense, you will want to check out these entries into the triangle offense as provided by Dave Strickland.  These entries could also be used for other offenses as well.  There are a variety of entries that are used here which will give you some flexibility based on your players skill sets.

Dave Strickland Triangle Entries

Hubie Brown: 1-3-1 Zone Attack

Continuing our discussion on how to attack a 1-3-1 zone, we take a look at an approach used by Hubie Brown.  This offense he used back in the 80's when he coached against the Lakers.  It is very simplistic but puts a lot of pressure on the both the middle defender and the baseline defender, which has kind of been at theme for attacking this defense.  Hope you like it.

Hubie Brown: X Zone Offense

Sets to Attack a 1-3-1 Zone Defense

Continuing on with our study of how to attack the 1-3-1, we are going to look at some set actions that you can use to attack a 1-3-1.  Again, we see that these actions rely on screening the bottom defender of the zone.  This screen alone puts a lot of pressure on the defense.

Sets to Attack a 1-3-1 Zone Defense

Attacking a 1-3-1 Zone Defense

The 1-3-1 zone can be a difficult zone to attack, especially with long athletic teams.  It allows teams to play in passing lanes, as well as aggressively trap out of it. Therefore, I am going to provide some resources that you can use to attack the 1-3-1 zone defense.

The first resource we are going to look at has a nice action where the bottom defender of the 1-3-1 gets screened for a player to come to the corner.  This action is really good because often the bottom defender has corner responsibility. The other good screening action here is the diagonal up screen against the middle defender.  Typically, when the ball is thrown to the corner, the middle defender will drop.  With the screening of this defender, it opens up the dive and feed into the low post.  

Attacking the 1-3-1 Zone

John Groce Transition Offense

Here are some transition notes from John Groce that have some influences from the Phoenix Suns that incorporate a lot of transition ball screen actions.  With style of play, your players will enjoy being able to get out and run and make some plays by using their athleticism.

John Groce Transition Offense

Match-Up Zone Defenses

Being someone who likes match-up zones, I thought I would share some resources on various match-up zone defenses.  There are a wide variety of match-up zone defenses.  They differ in their rules and alignments.  Here are some basic reasons why I like the match-up zone defense.

1. It is hard for other teams to simulate the defense at practice
2. A lot of coaches struggle deciding what to run against a match-up zone
3. It allows you to put tremendous pressure on the offense 
4. Incorporates man defensive concepts

Therefore, I am going share some variations of match-up defenses out there. 

Flip Saunders Match-Up

David Blatt 1-1-3 Match-Up

Ester Match-Up

Dover Match-Up

Matt Kellet: 2012 Individual Skills Workout

This is a great off-season workout that you should really take a look at.  It has a great breakdown of drills that address fundamental play.  Coach Kellet provides descriptions and diagrams of the season individual workout drills.  Hope you can take away something from this great resource.

Matt Kellet: 2012 Individual Skills Workout

Christine Stapleton Clinic

We are going to take a look at some clinic notes from a clinic where Christine Stapleton was the clinician.  Coach Stapleton provides some great perspectives on youth coaching as well as some drills that you can incorporate into your practices.

Christine Stapleton Clinic

Jim Christian Leopard Zone Offense

The Leopard Zone offense is a great way to attack zone defenses like the 2-3 zone.  It focuses on getting the ball to the middle of the zone, which will cause problems for any zone defense.  I think you will like this offense for attacking zone defenses.

Jim Christian Leopard Zone Offense

Will Rey Ball Press Notes

If you are looking for a different approach to applying full court ball pressure, you should take a look at Will Rey's ball press.  I think you will like the constant pressure on the ball and the trapping options you get out of it.

Will Rey Ball Press Notes

54 Wide Series

Today's basketball sets are from a series called 54 Wide.  These sets are based on the 5 and 4 man setting wide pin screens for scorers.  What I like about setting wide pin screens, is the slip action that the screeners get. Makes it hard for teams to show / hedge on the screen, because you then give up the slip.  If teams do not show / hedge on the screen, it puts more pressure on the cutter defender because it becomes a simple read for the cutter.

54 Wide Series

Troy Culley: Red 2 14 High Side PNR

Coach Troy Culley shows us a pick and roll set out of the 4 high set.  I think you will like the scoring action that this set provides. Thanks Coach Culley for sharing this play with us.

Troy Culley: Red 2 14 High Side PNR

Gary Nottingham: Late Game Special Situations

One of the most under taught and practiced aspects of basketball, in my opinion, are late game special situations.  So, today we are going to take a look at a resource on that very topic.  You will find tons of practice ideas that will help your team prepare for various special situations.

Gary Nottingham: Late Game Special Situations

University of California Speed Offense

Today, we are going to take a look at the University of California Speed offense.  I love looking at different philosophies to playing uptempo basketball.  Hopefully you get some good ideas to add to your offensive system.

University of California Speed Offense - Part 1

University of California Speed Offense - Part 2

Akin Shooting Drills

If you are looking to change up some of the shooting drills you are using this off-season, you should take a look at implementing the Akin Shooting Drill series.  These drills have a lot of repetition, are high intensity and are game like.  All which make up an effective drill.

Akin Shooting Drills

Auszuege DDB Playbook

I thought that this playbook had some good offensive actions as well as good spacing.  Even though it is written in a language that I am not familiar with, I still thought it was a good resource. Spacing is always important to me and think it is one of the most vital aspects to good offense.  This playbook clearly demonstrates this concept, thus all of the cutting and driving lanes produced in this offense.

Auszuege DDB Playbook

BCG Diamond Drill

Well, I want to start off by saying that graduate school sure takes up a large portion of my day.  I recently started working on my Masters in Pre-K-12 Administration.  Needless to say, this has been eating up most of my day and night, which is why I have not been able to post as frequently as I would like.

With that being said, I wanted to pass along some resources that I have come across lately.  The BCG Diamond drill is a good defensive drill that Billy Gillispie used as a part of his pressure defensive system.  I think you will like the effectiveness of this defensive drill.

BCG Diamond Drill

Atlanta Hawks Offensive Sets

Here are some offensive sets ran by the Atlanta Hawks.  In my opinion, NBA sets can sometimes be to complicated to run at the level that I coach, high school boys.  However, once in a while I come across one that I think our players have the ability to run.  In this case, the Jersey Pin play really appealed to me.  I really like setting pin (narrow and wide) because not only does it give great scoring options for the cutter, but it also has great scoring options for the screener.  If the screener can learn to read how his defender is playing the screen, he can get all kinds of good looks.  I hope these plays are a good addition to your playbook.

Atlanta Hawks Offensive Sets

Bark and Bite

He barked out his rules, listing them one by one. Boasting of consequences and the things he’d done. “This is how it’s gonna be, so this you’d better do! If you break these rules, then buddy you’re through! I wanna’ see this and I wanna’ see that! I don’t like this and I don’t like that! Don’t test me kid, I have done it before! If you don’t like it then there’s the door!” Well as the season went, discipline began to fade. Players lost belief in the threats he had made. Rules were broken; players were allowed to slide by. Teamwork was forsaken and thrown out to die. He warned us daily, but we knew him too well. He didn’t mean a word of the threats he would yell. Coach talked tough, but we never saw him fight, because our coach’s bark was worse than his bite.

--- Todd Howey

Argentina Base Line Out of Bounds Play

I found this baseline out of bounds play to be pretty interesting. It has a lot of screening actions, which can be  difficult to defend.  Even if you switch screens on in-bounds plays, I can see a lot of slip opportunities in this play.  I hope it is something that will be a good addition to your playbook.

Argentina Base Line Out of Bounds Play

Coach Troy Culley's New Basketball BLOG

I wanted to put in a plug for blog contributor Troy Culley and his new basketball blog.  Coach Culley has a wealth of knowledge and is great about helping other coaches out, so I highly recommend that you check out his blog.

Troy Culley's X's and O's

Scotland SLOB Isolation Play

I thought that this sideline play would be a good play to run with a short shot clock.  Not only do you have the isolation on the entry, but I love the rub action for a hand-off with the person in-bounding the ball.  So many times, defenders forget about the guy throwing the ball in and he/she can get a good look at the basket.

Scotland SLOB Isolation Play

Dean Smith: Building Team Unity

Today, we are going to look at a motivational resource focusing on building team unity. Dean Smith has managed some heavy personalities and great basketball players.  I think you like some of the ideas that Coach Smith provides to build strong team chemistry.

Dean Smith: Building Team Unity

Mark Swasey: 3-3 1/2 Court Sprint, Breakdown and Play Drill

Of all the practice drills out there, one of my all time favorites has to be the 3-3 1/2 court drill referred to as "Sprint-Breakdown and Play".  I was introduced to this drill by Keith Boucher, an extremely successful Women's Basketball Coach at Keene State College, while I served as his graduate assistant in the early 1990's.  Of all the drills over my career as a head coach, this is one of a handful of drills that I utilized on a consistent basis every year. 

3-3 can be a tremendous teaching tool for a coach and provides unlimited learning opportunities for players.  This particular drill can be used to stress virtually any aspect of the game that you desire and all while in a competitive, fast paced environment. 

The basic pattern is to pick two teams, I will base this on having 2 teams of 6 but any number can play.  I have often used captain schoolyard picks or if I wanted to have a few certain players get more time together/or apart, myself or an assistant could pick.

Once the two teams are established the rules for that day are established.  Each team will play offense for 3 minutes and defense for 3 minutes.  There is a 1 minute break in between for a transition and rest period.  A coach can use different methods for selecting which team goes first.  Shooting free throws or giving the option to the team which didn't get first pick are two options I like.  Getting the players to think for themselves and strategize is something I feel to be important in every practice session.  Would a group want the ball first and then have only 1 minute of rest to play defense?  The scenarios are great ways to get the players to think about strategy and learn from the decisions they make.  The goal of putting players in situations where they have to think the game in practice should be paramount in a coach's mind when preparing a practice plan.  I believe that when players are put in situations where they learn to think on their feet in practice, it helps them develop the confidence to figure things out on the court in games, by themselves.

Once offense and defense are decided the coach will stand under the basket with the ball.  Every possession starts with the coach passing the ball to one of the 3 offensive players in the wing/wing/top of key spots.  The defensive players must have all feet in the paint.  On the pass the players must assume a proper defensive position.  For the sake of the drill, I do not stop play.  After the drill is over, I like to ask the players what they thought worked well and what didn't.  Inevitably the players figure out that not jumping to the ball, closing out well and getting into the proper lane lines or helpside position is the main cause for giving up baskets. 

Once the ball is caught by the offensive player he/she can shoot it immediately, drive or pass.  The game is on!  A defensive team that doesn't anticipate where I might be passing the ball, is slow and/or low on the close out or not jump to the pass will typically struggle in this drill on the defensive end.  From an offensive standpoint I always give 2 points for a 3, 1 point for a 2 and 1 point for any foul by the defense.  A manager or an injured player keeps track of turnovers and 1 point for each turnover is to be taken off at the end of the 3 minute possession. 

For the Offensive Team, you can also create additional scoring opportunities.  You can give points for offensive rebounds, a point for an assist, really anything that needs to be emphasized can be scored.

For the Defensive Team I give 5 points for taking a charge, 1 point for a deflection, 2 points for a steal.  I don't give a point for a defensive rebound.  Depending on the day and if there were certain areas that need work, I like to award or take away points at the end on the defense as well as the offense.  Great block outs, great seal in the paint, great post feed etc..  Not closing out, not jumping to a pass, not communicating etc..  Any area you want can be focused on.  I try to keep it simple early in the season and as the season goes on, add to the difficulty with more take away points on both the offensive and defensive ends.

The coach calls the fouls and a manager or injured player runs the clock and keeps score on the board.  I want to give the offense as many possessions as possible and make life as hard as possible on the defense.  The 6 players involved in the first possession have to get off the court immediately following a change in possession.  The ball should be passed to the coach appropriately or a take away point results for that team.  Immediately upon receiving the ball the coach throws it to the next offensive player at either wing or top positions.  This can sometimes lead to confusion on both offensive and defensive ends if the teams are not being alert and communicating early and often with each other.  Keep an eye on those defensive players for trying to cheat outside the paint, that is the only time I call them back and the players learn quickly that getting into a low defensive stance, anticipating my pass and being on their toes is the only way to stop that 3 pointer from going up.  Offensive teams learn that just shooting the 3 is only effective if they are making them!  Many teams lose because all they shoot are 3's, making the defensive team's job easy.  The lessons to be learned from this simple drill are endless.

I like mixing up the "consequence" for the losing team.  Most times, I'd allow the winning team to determine the losing team's fate.  It's always interesting to see how the players would handle that responsibility. Sometimes it was just 5 push-ups, other times it was a ladder and other times it was something foolish or funny.  The best teams I ever coached would actually all run together, win or lose.  It was those few precious teams that were the most fun to coach.  Getting to that level of teamwork is truly special.

Enjoy the drill.  I certainly welcome any feedback on this drill should you choose to use it and am always available for questions if you have them.

Mark Swasey

3-3 1/2 Court Sprint, Breakdown and Play Drill

Daly Wisdom: Chuck'isms

Even though I am a die hard Celtics fan, I can still appreciate rival coaches and their approach to the game. This resource provides plenty of thought provoking basketball nuggets for all of us to think about.

Daly Wisdom: Chuck'isms

Cuba Zone Offense

Today, we are going to take a look the Basic Cuba zone offense.  Being a coach that runs a very aggressive match up zone defense, I can appreciate what this zone offense is attempting to accomplish. If you are looking for a zone offense, you might want to check this out.

Cuba Zone Offense

2011 Alabama Coaching Clinic Notes

Today's clinic notes are from the 2011 Alabama Coaching Clinic.  I really loved the section on Kevin Eastman.  He has such a wealth of information and he presents in such a simplistic and practical manner.  Probably why I like him as a coach.

2011 Alabama Coaching Clinic Notes

2012 Buckeye Offense

Today's offensive playbook is over the 2012 Bucknell Offense.  There is a lot of good ball screen sets in this playbook.  I hope it helps your team this season.

2012 Buckeye Offense

Iowa Press Break

Here is a nice little press breaker you may want to consider using.  Seems like it would be simple to put in, while being highly effective against pressure teams.

Iowa Press Break

Bobby Hurley: Player and Parent Contracts

Gives players a Basketball Contract to sign and parents sign.
 Address Team Standards

1.  I will represent myself, my team, my family properly at all times.
2.  I will take my education seriously, knowing that my education is for a lifetime.
3.  I will refrain from the use of tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs.
4.  I will be on time for school, school or team activities, practices, and games, and understand that I must communicate in advance when I will not be able to attend via a parent or guardian

Dave Leitao: Building Your Profile

Here is a great resource on how to build your coaching profile as told by Dave Leitao.  I think this resource will give you some good things to think about.

Dave Leitao: Building Your Profile

200 Shot Workout

If you are looking for a way to track your players shot totals throughout the off-season, you may want to checkout this workout.

200 Shot Workout

Troy Culley: Defensive Mindset Article

Coach Troy Culley provides us with a great resource on establishing a defensive mindset.  Being a coach who emphasizes a defensive mindset, this article really appealed to me.  Like rebounding, I strongly that one of the biggest keys to playing good defense, regardless of your defensive philosophy, is effort and then wanting to play good defense.  Hope you enjoy this resource that Coach Culley has provided.

Troy Culley: Defensive Mindset Article