The Basketball Podcast: EP264 with David Herbert on Shooting and Elite Development

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David Herbert Quotes:

“We provide a daily training environment of excellence and we strive for that each and every day . . I have eight staff. I have a psychologist, a nutritionist, a biomechanist, a skill acquisition person, an assistant coach, a doctor. We meet twice a week and all we do is talk about the kids. We’re trying to integrate everything.”

“The Opals tradition is that Australian players are great defenders. Australian players play with relentless persistence. They’re assertive, they’re ‘we’ players. We try to make these kids understand what it takes to be an international player for Australia.”

“That kinetic flow and the understanding of the body, how to incorporate the power from legs so you can basically shoot it with soft hands was vital to everyone.”

“Whether you’re coming off a screen or whether you’re coming off a cut, if you don’t have active feet and you don’t catch the ball in the air, you’re not going to have the rhythm and kinetic flow to be able to shoot the ball . . I went to a lot of tournaments earlier in the year in Australia, and for a lot of kids, it was drive footwork not shot footwork. The feet were active, but I think we need to go back to looking to catch and shoot first and then challenge the game from there.”

“When you get into a game, you want to shoot that three early, you want to kick the ball ahead, you want to be aggressive on the rim and let the kids have freedom . . The only way kids learn the game of basketball is to take that shot. And sometimes it’s about taking a risk. But here, when we play a game, it’s not about winning. It’s honestly about developing a system, developing each individual, so that when they leave here, they’re competent at shooting the three, shooting the midrange, attacking the rim with various finishes. And I think when coaches hold people back and say, ‘Don’t shoot!’ the effect that has on players is dramatic.”

“We went through an era of denial defense and pressure defense . . then shifted to more of a pack line, a containment system . . To me, what’s the main danger on the floor with their offense? What’s the main danger individually? Who’s the biggest threat? How’s the team scoring? So, teach players situations.”

“Within your system, you’re not actually teaching the player a range of skills on defense, you’re not actually teaching the scenario . . If you have one set style, you’re not teaching a kid a range of skills even on a close out. Are they a shooter? Are they a driver? Where do my hands need to be to take away the biggest threat right now?”

“Some of the offensive weapons that are out there in the world are tremendous. So, you’ve got to have a range of strategies. You can’t really go in with one. And it’s the situation that you want to defend, not actually a system.”

“If you run 5-on-0 offense, you’re not getting a game scenario. If you do slow 5-on-5, you’re actually able to teach, ‘Okay, the defense did this. So, you do that rather than A, B or C.’ . . that involvement for me is something that’s happened in the last five, six years . .Trying to teach the game a little better with defense in game-like scenarios has definitely improved.”

“The day I became a better coach was when I realized that I didn’t know everything”

David Herbert Breakdown:

1:00 – Daily and Weekly Schedule
9:00 – Basketball Australia
10:30 – Shooting Philosophy
15:00 – Shooting Commonalities
19:00 – Kinetic Flow
22:00 – Active Receiver
24:00 – Shoot First Mentality
27:00 – Team Defense Philosophy
3042 – 31:23 – Immersion Videos AD 2023
31:30 – Conceptual Offense
36:00 – Rebound King
39:00 – Evaluating Assistants
45:00 – What’s Next Mentality
49:00 – Trapping Challenge
51:00 – Slow Learning
55:00 – Conclusion