Blog
Advice from an NBA Shooting Coach: Random vs. Blocked Shooting Practice
There is a great idea out there that coaches need to implement in their shooting practice, but they need to be careful how they are using the idea. The great idea is using random instead of block shooting practice. Let me start by giving very simple examples of both so that you understand what I’m talking about. Block practice is
Improve Your On Air Basketball Drills
The one simple idea to improve your on air basketball drills is to add defense. This may seem obvious, but too many drills are run on air. On air means there is no opposed defense and therefore no game-like decisions. Running a 3-on-0 breakdown of an offensive action is an example of an on air drill. The opposite in many
Basketball Press Break: How to Inbound vs. Full-Court Pressure Defense
I appreciate that there are many ways to do the right thing in coaching basketball. However, when it comes to press break, and more specifically how to inbound the ball vs. full-court man-to-man pressure defense, I do feel there is one wrong way. Passing the ball inbound directly to the ball side corner creates a disadvantage for an offense. I can say
How to Teach Players to Read Advantage and Disadvantage
We use one-on-one drills to teach our players how to read advantage and disadvantage. We define advantage as any time an offensive player has a shoulder to chest relationship to a defender. The disadvantage is when an offensive player has a chest to chest relationship to a defender. These definitions all relate to the ball, you, check concept of defense.
How to Develop Mental Toughness with Constant Challenge in Practice
“Talent is a piece of the performance puzzle, but a small piece.” – Penny Werthner If you ask coaches they would probably rate mental toughness as one of the most important determinants of success. If that’s true do you know how to practically develop it? Do you believe you can develop or change it? Mental toughness is one of the
The Basketball Defensive X-Out: A Sure Fire Fundamental Guaranteed to Improve your Team’s Defense
I get asked a lot about what things I teach that are under-utilized by many basketball coaches. My answer is consistently the same…the basketball defensive x-out. A defensive x-out is when two players on the weak side of the floor switch checks in a defensive recovery situation. Why is an X-Out Important? The defensive x-out allows your players to help
Passing Tips for the Basketball Inbound Passer
The best inbound teams I have coached have all had one thing in common…they have had a better than average inbound passer to enter the basketball. It is not as easy as it seems to inbound the ball. Breaking down all aspects of inbound offense is an often neglected part of the basketball coaching process. One of the little things that
Questions to Ask to Improve your Basketball Game Coaching
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” – Sun Tzu The best coaching advice I got to develop my game coaching was to coach in as many games as possible. There is no short cut in this process. To improve your game coaching, you need to
The Basketball Second Cut Concept Explained
One of the principles of basketball I picked up from Chuck Daly years ago at a clinic still holds true today. The principle of offense states that, “the defense cannot stop two things in a row.” This means that the defense is focused on stopping the first action. This focus on covering initial actions can result in secondary actions being
NBA Practice: Training Camp with George Karl and the Sacramento Kings
During the 2015-16 season I was able to take a sabbatical from coaching. This lead me to to many opportunities to observe practices around the world as my family and I traveled. Here are my notes from an NBA practice with the Sacramento Kings and head coach George Karl. I am grateful to have spent three days with the Kings. The
Basketball Immersion
