Fun and competitive shootaround drills designed to get plenty of shots up and get players’ bodies moving on game day. According to a 2014 article from SB Nation, Hall of Fame coach Bill Sharman “introduced the shootaround as a way to burn off nervous energy on game days and begin focusing on the task at…
Five Possessions: Villanova Fundamental Skills
#FivePossessions – Five curated possessions from the Villanova Wildcats where they demonstrate their exquisite brand of fundamental soundness. Powered by immaculate spacing, sweet shooting, a lethal drive-and-kick game and exquisite fundamentals, the Villanova Wildcats have captured two recent NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championships. A slightly different cast of characters won each of those two titles,…
The Benefits of Developing a Rebounding System
A rebounding analysis of where the ball actually lands, and how to ensure your players are grabbing as many boards as possible. *Update: The latest episode of A Quick Timeout Podcast features Fran Fraschilla who discusses several rebounding points related to this article – click below to listen. 🏀🎧📲 On today’s podcast, @franfraschilla joins the show…
Keys to Designing a Dribble Drive Motion Practice Plan
A comprehensive approach to creating a practice plan that simultaneously focuses on skill development and game-like situations. The Craft of Practice Planning Practice planning is one of the great obsessions of basketball coaches at all levels. There is probably no aspect of their job that coaches spend more time on then designing the perfect practice plan. As a…
Transition into Training: Tips to Engage Youth Basketball Players
Helping players make a smooth transition from their day into practice is extremely important, especially in youth basketball. Coaches – can you spare five minutes prior to practice to engage the brain, and thus the athlete? Through no fault of our own, coaches have been conditioned to want to immediately “get after it” as quickly as possible in order to…
Player Development: 10 Dynamic Drills That Utilize Cones or Chairs
Adding cones or chairs into drills is a great way to simulate defenders, taking skill development to another level. Although there are many areas in which coaches need to focus on at any given time, it is essential to include skill development as one of the primary focuses throughout the season and off season. Sure – building team…
Finish Like a Pro: Drills to Improve Scoring at the Basket
Teach players how to finish with both power and finesse in a variety of ways near the rim with these drills. Summer is a great opportunity to become a better player or coach. This post shares four drills to improve one of the most important skill for every basketball player – finishing. Many players and coaches focus…
Scoring Made Simple: 3 Easy Yet Effective Shots to Practice
Don’t sleep on the fundamentals – add these three simple shots to your player development routine and see scoring go up! There are several ways to score in basketball, with the jumpshot being a primary one (especially in today’s game where the three-pointer is so heavily emphasized). But, to become a complete player, it is important to…
Buying in to Defense: 8 Drills to Guard the Basketball Better
Sure, a huge part of playing defense is mindset and attitude, but these eight drills will teach skill and technique. Oftentimes, when coaches talk about focusing on skill development in practice, they are referring to working on offensive skills like shooting, passing, ball handling, and finishing. Being a successful defender is almost always considered an…
Big Man Camp: Steven Adams
“Big Man Camp” featuring Steven Adams of the Oklahoma City Thunder and middle scoring moves from the T-Post position. Summer is basketball camp season and below is a virtual “Big Man Camp” featuring Steven Adams of the Oklahoma City Thunder. In this series of videos, Adams demonstrates the “Get Middle” scoring series from the T-Post…