Most offenses begin with a pass to a wing player and as defense has evolved they have made this pass more and more difficult.  Offenses want to start within range of a good shot so the farther away from the basket they are forced is better for the defense.  Defenses force this when they deny the ball on the wing level to make the offense extend out to get the pass.  It is a little thing that leads to wins.

When practicing denying the ball start with 2 players on each side of the top of the key.  These players are not guarded and are strictly there as passers in the drill.  Each wing has an offensive and defensive player.  When the ball is passed from one guard to another at the top of the key, the defensive players want to deny an easy pass to the wing.  This is done by going ‘half a man’ over with an arm extended but remaining in position in case an immediate backcut is made.  The point guard will try to make a pass to the wing player.  The other wing offensive player is effectively 2 passes away from getting a shot so the defender on him is ready in a help defense position by being in the middle of the key.  As the ball is passed to the point guard on his side then he immediately goes into denial position and the other defender becomes the help defender.

This drill should be done slowly at first until the players understand the rhyme and reason for what they are doing.  Once that is understood then this drill should be played at full speed with offensive players trying to score once they get the ball.  Basically a 2-2 drill.

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Coaches that understand and teach defense are few and far between in today’s game.  As I watch youth basketball i get very frustrated at the level of effort that is put out on the defensive end.  Even when I watch game tape of myself when I was younger I am amazed at how poorly coached we were in this area. 

One drill that teaches players some solid fundamentals on the defensive end is the Slide and Attack.  This drill is done by using half the floor and 8 players at one time.  Each side of the floor should have an offensive and defensive player on each side of the basket for a total of 8 players.  To be effective the drill must be done at game speed. 

The offensive player takes the ball to the out of bounds side at a 45 degree angle and goes hard.  The defender needs to stay a half step ahead of the man in a slide.  Once the offensive player gets to the out of bounds line he picks up his dribble.  The defender then gets up close and mirrors the ball for a 5 count.  The offensive player then is able to dribble again and takes the ball to the mid court line where he stops his dribble again.  The defender then mirrors the ball for another 5 count.

Have the players switch from offense to defense and head back to the baseline where they started.  Players need to rotate so that they face different dribblers and the drill is not complete until a player has been on offense and defense from all 4 spots.

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Scouts love to look for lateral quickness in players because they use it to determine that players ability to play solid defense.  Players that are slow laterally have a harder time staying in front of their man on a consistent basis.  Can you work on lateral quickness?  Of course you can.

When you are working on something you have to have what I call measurables or something you are working against.  If I want to get faster I first time myself to see how fast I run and then work to improve it.  Same with anything really that is worth anything.

The Slide and React drill is a great way to test your lateral quickness and improve it by working on it.  Here’s how the drill works:

Start in the middle of the lane, key or paint (whatever you call it).  Get in a good defensive position and be facing the foul line area.  If you are a coach using this drill then point to a corner of the key and have the player slide to the corner and return to the starting point.  This should be timed with a stop watch to truly judge improvement by the players.  If you are doing this drill yourself start in the middle and do every corner while using a stopwatch.  When you have completed the circle record your time and try to beat it. 

For coaches running this drill remember that you don’t have to force them to go in a circle of spots and that you can mix it up.  Typically run the drill for 30 seconds before making them complete the drill by sprinting to the other end of the court and back. 

Don’t forget to truly measure how quickly you are doing this drill so you can determine if your lateral quickness is improving.

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If anyone watched Texas play North Carolina the other day they got a lesson on how to slow down or stop a fast break and it was a good one.  I’m not a fan of Coach Rick Barnes at Texas.  He gets a lot of talent but they always seem to disappoint come tourney time.  He’s a solid recruiter who sells the program very well but until Saturday I wasn’t really sold on him.

North Carolina has a strength of running on made baskets.  They like to get the ball out and go and they have the most feared secondary break in all of college sports.  However, when i watched that game the other day I watched Texas get at least 3 layups off bad inbounds passes to start the secondary break.  Texas would use the man who was throwing the inbound pass as a way to slow down the point guard from getting down court.  Several times a blind pass was thrown and intercepted for an immediate layup.  It was a great coaching move on Barnes’ behalf.

When teams try to stop the fast break the first you have to convince them to do is to get back on defense and not try to steal the ball from the rebounder.  When the shot goes up and is rebounded by the other team then teach your kids to sprint back until they get to the opposite 3 point line and then turn and find their man.  SPRINT back on defense.

Next thing I teach is to stop the dribbler immediately or slow him down.  Get in his path or force him into a certain direction.  When a point guard is getting ready for the outlet pass have the defender crowd him and make him retreat to get the ball.  Never let him get the ball running full speed down to the other end.  If he does get the ball and is going then try to funnel him to a side to shrink the court.  If  the point is allowed to stay in the middle he can do a lot more damage with the ball.

To practice this drill: 

3 Offensive players spaced evenly along the baseline.  3 defenders line up equal to the foul line and on each man.  The coach passes the ball to one of the offensive players and they are off and trying to score.  This is a 3-3 full court drill.  The defense should run back as quickly as possible and work together to stop the other team from scoring. 

The player who gets the ball needs to be immediataly slowed down and funneled to a side.  When in practice have the kids be physical and allow it.  Let them see ways they can slow the dribbler down and make it more difficult.

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This is a great coach speak line that never really gets explained well enough to the kids trying to learn the game.  When a coach says beat a player to the spot he means that you have to get to the spot on the court where you believe the offense is heading before he gets there.  It is one thing to say and another thing to actually do. 

A drill that you can use to help in this area is one that is called ‘Race to Defend’ or simply “Win the Spot” and here is how it works.

Simply take two cones and place them near on opposite sides of the court the exact same distance from the basket.  I would suggest being around 35 feet away from the hoop on both sides.  Two lines of players line up under the hoop with one being the defense and the other being the offense.  The object is for the offensive player to get a layup before the defense can get there and stop him or slow him down.  When the coach yells go both players must go around the cone before heading to the basket.  Since the offense is dribbling I say to give them a 2 count head start before letting the defense run to the cone.  If you find the defense is catching up to easily then simply adjust that time. 

The defense should be able to get there in plenty of time to be able to contest the layup or draw a charge.  The offense must go in for a layup and nothing else.  They must go in and not veer away or anything.

On offense, teach the player with the ball to go in the straightest line possible so as not to take a slower path to the basket.  This drill does involve contact but it will get everyone hustling and is a real team builder.

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When playing post defense many coaches teach playing in front of the offensive player and this is called ‘fronting’ just as it sounds.  However, when a shot is made from outside that leaves the offensive player in excellent position for the rebound.  Teams generally shoot below 50% from the field so the thought on this is that you want to mix it up and do a little of playing behind and ‘front’ the post player.  For me I play behind knowing that they will miss half the shots they take during a game and I want to have a better chance at rebounding the misses.  Here are some ways you can’t teach and practice correct post defense:

During practice run a shell drill with 3 players on the outside (point and 2 wings), 1 post offense and 1 post defense.  EVERYONE needs to learn to play post defense including guards.

Have the offensive player cut from block to block as the ball is moved around the perimeter.  The defender needs to make it difficult for the offense to get to his spot.  Understand that the offense is trained to catch the ball a little above the block and just outside the key.  The defense is supposed to keep them away from that area or push them a little higher.  This drill should be physical with a lot of lower body being used. 

The defender should stay BOTTOM side with a hand up and forcing a pass, if there is one, to the middle of the floor where help defense can easily get there.  IF the defender is playing top side it is too easy for the pass to go in and have a clear lane to the basket.  The defender should not go through the offensive player to stop the pass but should make the pass go to a spot where the offense is uncomfortable catching the ball.

The defender should always maintain physical contact with the offensive player and not allow space.  Once the offensive player catches the ball he should try to score.  If the ball is scored the defense stays until they get a rebound or create a turnover.

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I was there.  I was actually at the game and I brought 3 of my 4 daughters with me.  Now they don’t know Michael Jordan from anyone else so to them it was nothing and I was going to take them to the game regardless if Jordan showed up or not.  I wasn’t alone as 7800 other fans made their way to the gymnasium in hopes of seeing MJ take on Bryon Russell in a 1-1 matchup.  I was very skeptical at first and I should’ve stuck with it but after 10 minutes of hopeless promoting by team owner Brandt Anderson I actually started to believe that Michael Jordan was at the game to play Russell in a game of 1 on 1.  What an idiot i was.

My daughters were and are very confused as Utah county is predominantly white so any african american they see is either Sammy Sosa, Derek Lee or Corey Patterson (all Cubs or former Cubs).  They think that fake guy that showed up was actually Michael Jordan.  I had to explain to them that the best they could do was a 5*6 impersonator who looked 20 years younger, 1 foot shorter and 50 pounds lighter. NOT EVEN A GOOD TRY.

What killed me was that once you realized it was a hoax it was immediately known that the owner had screwed up big time.  Fans were booing like crazy and yelling at Bryon Russell.  Russell came out and said that he knew Jordan wasn’t going to come because he spoke with him on the phone months before and he told him he wouldn’t come.  The owner claims not to have known but he knew.  HE KNEW and that’s what is bothering all of us.  While some fans were booing other fans were throwing free t shirts onto the court and telling Russell he sucked.  I felt for him because he learned again that even during his successful career while playing for the Jazz that nobody cared about him truly and that was sad.  Russell gave the best years of his career to Utah and they played in a couple finals with him.  He deserved better from the fans, but more importantly from the owner.  I guess it wasn’t enough that Russell was going to show up he needed a real ticket salesman and fake Jordan did it.

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I had watched clips of John Wall play a basketball game and was impressed with his skills but nothing compared to watching the guy play an actual game.  I’m a believer in this kid being the most talented player in the nation. 

North Carolina was done on Saturday until Wall came out with an injury.  He was obviously the best player on the court and it wasn’t close and both teams are loaded with potential pros.  That’s when it really hits you about how good the kid is.  In the first half he had a dunk with some people on him that surprised me and got my attention.  He hit jump shots and truly controlled the tempo of the game in Kentucy’s favor.

Going into the game I wanted Carolina to beat Kentucky but watching Wall made me such a fan of his that he just wanted to watch that kid play and do well.  He has a very high ceiling and is better than Derrick Rose was at the same point in their careers.  Wall will come out this year and be a top 3 pick in the draft and he’ll be an all star very soon.  He’ll be a lock down defender with his long arms and athletic ability and be a better passer and shooter than Rose ever will.  Did I mention I love Derrick Rose also?  That’s just how good John Wall is going to be.  He showed a love of basketball and a willingness to pass and trust his teammates and I see him as an All-American this season.

As the season progresses and Wall grows and improves you won’t want to play Kentucky because they are young and getting more confident each game.  Look out because Kentucky is legit.

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Today’s post is strictly me just venting and opening up a bit.  I’m 37 years old with a wife and 4 daughters who are the light of my life.  I have a very good life and basketball is a big part of it.  I’m a huge fan of the sport and I can’t tell you how much joy it brings me to be involved in the game.  However, I am at that stage where I just might hang up my shoes after this season and not play in any organized leagues anymore.  I have nobody to blame by myself.  I have a great job but it is time consuming and I love spending time with my family.  None of them are interested in sports very much so I watch alone at my house but with always a twinge of guilt.  I record the games and watch them when everyone else is asleep or whenever they are huddled around another tv watching some show like ‘Dancing with the Stars’ or ‘American Idol’ or something like that.  My point is that I still study the game like crazy and I love watching it played but I don’t devote any enough time to making myself a better player like I used to and it is hard for me now.  I have never been the type who could skate by without working at it and it is starting to effect me and it hurts inside.  I know I have limited time left to play at a relatively high level for me and the feeling of that is suffocating and tough to deal with. 

Anyone reading this just please enjoy the game and play the game with love and passion.  One day you’ll have to hang up the shoes for good.

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I found out today that our next interview for www.hoopskillsacademy.com is going to be Alan Stein and I’m very excited about it. I was told by a friend of mine, Herb Welling, to get on Alan’s website a few months ago and I have been very impressed. Stronger Team Blog is a great site for anyone wanting to learn about the mental and physical approach to basketball. Alan is an expert in the field of strength and conditioning and has worked with numerous collegiate and NBA players in these areas and will offer a great insight for all of our members.

That interview will hopefully be done this week and available soon after that.

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