Each player should have a ball in their hands and stand in a stationary position. The player takes the ball and dribbles the ball from hand to hand for 30 seconds. Make sure each player is dribbling the ball below the knees and with the head up. Make the players go error free for 30 seconds or they must start over. Error free includes keeping the dribble below the knees and with the head up for 30 seconds without losing the ball or looking down.

Once that part is down then have the players stick one leg out and practice bouncing the ball between one of their legs for 30 seconds with the same fundamentals as before.

Once they are able to do the above drills then work speed into the mix and have the players count how many they can do in a 30 second period of time. Competition is always good.

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We have a lot of young players who are learning to take care of the basketball and the finer points of ball handling. One of the best drills for young players to perform is a between the legs drill.

This drill isn’t done by simply standing up and bouncing the ball between your legs. This is done by maintaining a low dribble and controlling the ball as you dribble between the legs. First, with your right leg extended ahead of the other take the ball and start to dribble all the way around your right leg using one hand. Do that for 30 seconds before changing legs and changing hands. Once you have gone error free for 30 seconds with each hand then start to go in figure eight pattern changing hands along the way. The ball must remain below your knees at all times and your head must be up. Focus on feeling for the ball.

Once you have that down then go in reverse directions.

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For coaches and players alike it is important to take time each practice and devote it to handling the basketball. Though I believe that the best ballhandlers work on their skills year round it is still important enough to allucate time at practice.

One of the drills that should be done and taught is the behind the back drill. I’m not saying that a behind the back dribble has to be part of every players arsenal, but I am saying that the drill will naturally improve you in that area.

Here’s how it works:

For coaches: Form equal lines and have the player at the front of each line take the ball and alternate dribbling behind the back from the right to left hand and left to right hand. Make sure that the knees are bent and the head is up. Don’t allow any player to be hunched over with his neck looking for the ball. This isn’t easy at all to do at first but with continual practice it does get better.

As the player progress you can start them moving up the floor with each step equalling a dribble hand change. Once players get to half court without a mistake they are ready to step it up further but going at a faster pace.

Players: You can do this by yourself whenever you have the time or when you are in your driveway. Do the drill until you master it and then move to another one and another one.

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With my lovely rant yesterday against North Carolina I’m sure you’d assume that I want them to keep losing and that isn’t true. Those that know me know that I never cheer for Duke. In fact, Duke is on my list for top 5 most hated sports teams. I don’t want to get into the reasons just know that for me I am nearly as happy when Duke loses as when Illinois wins.

This game though is going to be won by Duke. I’m accepting it now and buying into it so that when it happens I won’t be dissapointed. North Carolina is coming off some horrible losses and is just in a funk right now. Duke will pressure those weak Carolina guards into some bad choices and Carolina is still a year away in my opinion. This year just isn’t the same and Carolina had better win at home cause they for sure aren’t winning at Duke.

I do think the game will be close and I will be watching very closely just in case Carolina wins. If that happens my night will be better and I’ll take the family out for ice cream.

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FALL OF CAROLINA BASKETBALL

I normally write every couple days but I read this article today and had to laugh. I actually read this and laughed out loud. How ridiculous is it to call out Carolina as ‘the Crash of Carolina basketball’? Then i had to read through an article about Roy Williams not being able to sleep at night. Name one college coach who feels envy right now. Sure you’ll get sympathy from Calipari and coach K but not the coaches in 4th place in the atlantic 10 who have their life riding on this. I look at the roster of UNC and I see 7 mcdonald’s all americans. Do you realize that most programs in the country won’t have 7 EVER in the history of their program let alone at one time? I know he lost players to the pros but he also is coming off 2 titles in 5 years.

I’m sure Bill Carmody at Northwestern is crying for Roy. HIs team has never been to the tournament ever and he has to scrape for every high level recruit he can get. He doesn’t get Mcdonalds AA’s. I wonder how he sleeps at night.

The article just bothered me in a number of ways and I love Roy Williams. He recruited a teammate of mine in high school and i got to deal personally with him and he is class all the way. This just might be the first time he’s experienced life on this side of coaching and I’m sure it isn’t fun. Luckily he has his two titles and other final fours to fall back on and doesn’t have to worry about being fired. Other coaches aren’t so lucky.

I don’t want to make this seem like Roy doesn’t work hard either because he does. He’s a great recruiter but he also has the benefit of recruiting for Carolina and that’s a big big thing. I love Roy but I know he’ll be just fine. Those kids have no leader on the floor right now and that person may not be on their roster. I have a hunch they’ll be just fine. Anyone agree?

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A great shooting drill for young players is spot shooting.  This helps players develop muscle memory from different areas of the court and as a coach it helps you learn where players are comfortable shooting from and where they have the highest percentages.

To begin the drill identify 5-10 spots on the floor and have them marked if you want to.  Take groups of 3-4 players and have them start at spot 1.  Player 1 shoots the ball and rebounds his own shot and passes to the next person in line.  Player 1 gets in the back of the same line and the drill continues for 1 minute.  Once a minute passes players change to spot 2 and continue the drill.  Coaches should keep track of percentages to judge improvement over time so keep a clipboard handy and a notebook if necessary.  This drill will run straight for 10 minutes and it isn’t a bad idea to run them through it more than once if they really struggle.

If you have younger players that you are coaching then have them shoot closer distances.  If you want to make it a contest then split the teams up and have them start at different spots and make it a contest.  I’m all for competitive games.

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One of my favorite times to shoot the ball is off a cut.  It is easy for me to set my rhythm and my feet and mentally prepare for a pass and shot.  Players that go into cuts with indecision will either not get the shot off when it is available or they simply will miss the shot because of lack of mental preparation.

To practice this form two lines of players on each side of the floor free throw line extended at 45 degree angles.  One line passes the ball and the other line shoots the ball.  The players in the shooting line will run hard down to the low block and then V cut hard toward the foul line.  On the way to the foul line the passer throws a solid chest pass to the shooter who goes right into the shot.  Players rotate lines and then switch sides.  The drill shouldn’t go slowly though and players should be moving quite a bit.  The player shooting the ball should concentrate on getting his feet set as well as getting the shot off quickly.  If your players are missing these shots over and over then have them start closer than the foul line or have them simply go slower until they understand the drill.

This drill can be used on all areas of the court and make sure players are going in and out of their cuts at a good speed.

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Talk about your classic drill.  The Mikan drill is nearly as old as basketball as it is named after George Mikan who was the first great true big man in the sport.  George claimed this drill helped in several areas of the game including coordination, concentration and the ability to finish around the hoop with either hand.

Here’s how it is done:

Player starts under the basket with the ball above his head.  Player steps left foot over right foot and shoots a right handed layup.  Player rebounds the ball and immediately crosses the right foot over the left foot and shoots the ball left handed for a layup.  Pretty simple but a few things to focus on.

1.  Keep the ball above your shoulders.  When you lower the ball people tend to steal it so keep it up and protected with your elbows.

2.  Focus more on the correct form instead of speeding through the drill. 

3.  Establish a rhythm when going side to side to increase confidence and performance.

Once these things are done you are ready to go quicker and see how many you can do in 30 seconds.  If you do the drill for a minute your head will be spinning and you’ll be seeing stars.  30 seconds is plenty and make sure that you are using both hands to do the drill.

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One of the most difficult plays for most young kids to make is the pull up jumper.  It becomes a problem because kids struggle to be able to stop and go straight up with a shot which is crucial to the pull up jumper. 

Here’s a drill that you can use to help players get better in this area:

Form lines of players at midcourt each will a ball.  Players dribble at a controlled speed to about 10-15 feet away where they take a jump stop and go straight up with a shot.  Players rebound their own shot and throw the ball to the line they came from.  Make sure that players are dribbling with each hand so they can learn to shoot off a pull up dribble with either hand when necessary. 

Make it competetive by seeing which team can make 10 baskets the quickest.  Focus on the footwork of the play by not allowing travels.  This is difficult for most young players to get so go slowly enough that they understand the purpose of the drill and that they are coordinated enough to accomplish it. 

focus:  on the jump stop, going straight up on the shot, being able to use both hands.

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