One of the greatest games that kids play all over the country is one that i always called elimination.  Sure it goes by other names like bump out or knockout or lightning and the list goes on but the game is still played the same way.  In fact, just last week a group of 10 grown men spent a half hour playing as we waited for more people to show up for our lunch time games.  It was fun and ever more fun because I won a few times.

For those that need refreshers the game is played by choosing a spot on the floor and forming a single file line from that spot.  Two balls are in play with the first two players in line each having one.  The object of the game is to make a shot before the person behind you makes a shot.  If the person behind you makes it before you do then you are out and the game keeps going on.  The player who makes a shot passes to the next player in line and the game just goes on.  If the initial shot is missed then the rebound must be tracked down and put in with the same rules applying. IF the person behind you makes a shot before you then you are out.

It’s a great game that is competetive, fun and teaches shot making under pressure. I love it.

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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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When I was younger I would go to basketball camps and they would have tournaments to see who was the best 1 on 1 player in camp. I would always do really well until I played the kid who developed before the rest of us. You all know who i’m talking about. So the fast developing kid who has body odor just backs me down near the basket and scores the ball and I lose. I hated it and it wasn’t legit. The kid didn’t learn anything and all I learned was that deodorant was a good thing.

As I got into high school our coach had us play 1-1 against players we would normally go up against and he would have us play it from where our position was. If I was a point I would have to originate the ball at the top of the key. The wing players, the wings and so forth. The kicker was that we were only allowed 1 dribble or 2 dribbles to make our move or shoot it. It finally evened out the playing field and made the drill realistic.

What I learned:

1. You don’t have time to take 5 dribbles to get to the basket
2. You have to be creative in ways to get GOOD shots off
3. You realize how important strength was because you had to make your dribbles work for you
4. The triple threat position is the key to being a solid offensive player because from the triple threat i could set up any shot i wanted.

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I’m a big fan of using structure and competition in every practice and in every drill. Players get better when they are challenged and push and things don’t come easy. I’ve included a list of 2 drills that bring out competition and focus on offense and defense.

3-3 Offense/Defense Drill

I like to set this drill up with 12 players. If you have 9 that is fine but understand that the players will get extremely tired. It’s not a bad thing that they are tired but if you are working with younger players this drill can tire out some players sooner than others.

3 lines are formed near the top of the key. The players at the front of the line step out and are on defense. Those players remain on defense until they get 3 stops. A stop consists of a missed shot and rebound, a steal, a turnover, taking a charge, 5 second call…etc. The offense is trying to score and doing all they can to score without limit to dribbles or amounts of passes. They must play by the rules or the defense gets credit for a stop. Some coaches do this drill making the defense get 3 consecutive stops and that works but 3 stops gets a good flow going between the groups.

If the offense scores the ball then they go to the back of the line and the next group takes over. The team that is offense when the 3rd stop is made is the next to go on defense. Coaches should make sure the teams of 3 are as balanced as possible and score must be kept. The offense gets 1-2 points per basket (2 points being for a 3 pointer) and the defense gets 2 points per stop. The level of points to win is determined by the coaches. Great game that brings out the competition in every player. There is nothing like watching these kids compete after they have given up 5-10 straight baskets. They have to fight to get out of defense.

8 Spot Drill

This drill is great to use as a competitive shooting drill amongst players and is most effective when practicing at a gym with multiple hoops and support. Set up 8 spots on the court and I don’t even care where they are. These 8 spots should range in distance from 5 feet to the 3 point line. Each player must make shots from all 8 spots before the drill is completed. The coach will blow his whistle to start the drill. Each shooter is given a rebounder and only 1 basketball to do the drill. The player who hits shots from the 8 spots first yells out. The rebounder then becomes the shooter and the drill starts over. I had coaches who would do this in tournament fashion so that the winners of the drills played each other. Other coaches would time us and the players with the best times would compete for a small prize.

Both are simple but great drills to bring out competition and game speed.

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These playoffs are going to be a mere formality for the Cavs and the Lakers as they make their way to the finals. The Cavs cruised to a 4 game sweep of the Pistons and the Lakers pounded the Jazz to a 4-1 series win there. I just can’t see other teams really stepping up and challenging either of them.

However, if I was going to pick a team to give one of these guys fits it would be the Nuggets causing the Lakers all sorts of problems. The Nuggets have size, depth and athletes and they have a great point guard as their leader. Chauncey Billups has literally changed this team into a contender and it showed last night more than ever. The Nuggets beat the Hornets by 58 points and it was that bad. The Nuggets will be able to run with LA and have the athletes to really cause problems. LA won’t sweep them but they’ll gut out the series win.

In the East, the Cavs are the class right now. With KG sitting for the Celtics they are missing that one piece of the puzzle that would get them past the Cavs. Instead KG is hurt and the east just isn’t going to put up much of a fight against Cleveland. The Cavs hold the best home and away record in the league and Lebron is hungry for his title. If the Cavs can win a title with this team it would be amazing because the Lakers have more overall talent and pieces. Even the Nuggets have more overall talent but the one thing they don’t have is Lebron and he might be enough.

I think the Lakers win it all in 6 games believe it or not.

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Even at a young age it is important to teach players about cutters going to the basket and cutters going away from the basket. While all cutters need to have attention paid to them there are some who need more than others. Let’s look at a few simple situations and how to handle them.

A cutter that needs special attention is anyone that is cutting toward the basketball. Those players tend to go harder because of the sense they will get the ball and have a solid chance to score. It is very important that this cutter receives some sort of contact. I’m not saying to slam the guy and put him to the ground but make sure you are chest to chest with hands up so to discourage any pass. The defense really needs to decide where he wants the offensive player to go and to slightly guide him in that direction.

Last week I wrote about jumping the cutter by getting in his path and the same holds true here. To slow down the player cutting to the basket make sure you get in his path to discourage the pass. If this is done correctly the defense will then be able to push/guide the offense out of harms way and focus on playing help defense.

Other situations don’t need as much attention such as when a player passes the ball and cuts the opposite direction. The defense should never relax, but the need to jump the cutter or bump the cutter isn’t necessary because the player isn’t attempting to get the ball in a scoring position. Stay at arm’s length away, depending on your defensive scheme, and make sure you have vision of the ball, man and basket at all times. If the player you are guarding is one pass away from getting the ball then the defense should try to force a pass where the guarded player is out of range or position for a shot.

I love watching solid team defense and good teams realize the principles behind jumping cutters and bumping cutters. Teams that understand and use these ideals save themselves 10 points a game or more on defense.

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I have to keep covering this because I get asked so many questions about it. The jump stop is the most underrated move in the game of basketball and is taught at a young young age but never really mastered. Kids do lay up drills constantly where they just run at the hoop and jump off one foot and lay the ball up. Kids rarely do drills where they go at the basket and jump stop to get control and power in their layup and it needs to have greater focus in today’s game.

The only way to get better and comfortable at the jump stop is to practice it. We’re working on getting some film done for drills and putting them on the site for an example but for now you’ll have to search youtube for video on jump stops. Anyway, to get better at the jump stop let’s understand why the move should be used. First, you need to create space between you and the defender. Second, you need to gain control of your body and get the power in your legs.

A jump stop is done by dribbling, jumping and landing with both on the ground at the same time. I’m constantly asked about traveling on the jump stop and that happens you don’t land with both feet on the ground at the same time. I recommend that every game you talk to the ref before hand to get his/her interpretation on traveling with the jump stop because some don’t understand it as well as others.

To practice the jump stop simply take the ball, dribble it and jump in the air landing on both feet at the same time. Don’t worry about getting distance or space or anything, just get used to the move itself and that can be done standing in the same spot for 15 minutes. Once you feel comfortable, which is done when you have jump stopped comfortably after dribbling with each hand, then start to try to get some distance. Dribble, jump (off one foot) and land and do it over and over. This is going to feel funny at first but the key thing to remember is to make sure that you are landing with balance. If you find yourself falling forward or to a side then you are doing it wrong and you should go back to mastering the basic move of dribbling, jumping and landing.

When practicing the drill place a chair in the middle of the key. Take a ball and start at the foul line. Dribble directly at the chair and jump stop right in front of it as if the chair is the defender. Make sure you go straight up with your shot and knock it in. If you are falling forward and hitting the chair then you are doing the move wrong and need more practice.

Please feel free to email me on this or comment on the blog because I’m such a proponent of this move for players of all ages.

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I’ve been getting a lot of emails lately about jump stops and how to avoid being called for traveling. I think it is something that at the lower levels a lot of refs have different ideas of traveling and what it is. Make the time to talk to the ref before each game and get his understanding of traveling as it relates to the jump stop. Take a couple minutes and physically get their understanding of what a jump stop is what will they call for traveling.

I believe the jump stop is one of the best moves in basketball and of the most underutilized at lower levels. Players that are younger consistently get themselves in trouble by feeling they have to go off one foot for a layup or a floater and it usually leads to a charge call. If players can learn at a young age that a jump stop will keep them under control and allow them to gain a physical advantage over another player they will be that much better.

To practice the jump stop honestly just take a ball and bounce it once and practice coming to a jump stop by landing on both feet at the same time. Don’t worry about gaining distance on the jump stop, just worry about landing with both feet at the same time until you feel comfortable. Practice with both hands becase some players are more comfortable going into a jump stop off one hand more than another. Once you feel comfortable then start to add distance to the jump stop. That is when the move gets really powerful for you. When you are able to take one dribble from the foul line and end up under the basket or one dribble from the top of the key and end up in the middle of the key you will really start to learn how this move helps you. If i have a player on my hip i can take one dribble, jump and land and go right up into a shot or at least remain composed to be able to pass but you won’t get yourself into trouble.

I think it is important to add that the ref will most likely call you for traveling if you don’t land both feet at the same time. Dribble, jump, land, remain composed, power up for the shot all while understanding the point of the move is to gain an offensive advantage over the defender.

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This was the fastest NBA offseason I can remember and i think it was aided by the Redeem Team winning the gold medal.  The olympics truly broke up what is usually a long summer away from basketball for me.  Training camp brings a lot of promise for teams and individual players alike.  Deron Williams is coming off a contract extension that got him 70 million.  Gilbert Arenas signed for 100 plus million and then had another knee surgery and is going to be out for a month or two of the season.  The Celtics look to repeat in the NBA as the Lakers look to get back to the finals.

But there is another side to training camp and that is the hope that it brings all NBA free agents looking to make a team.  For a player who is undrafted and looking to make a squad, the minimum salary is 400k plus.  What job can you get where you make that in your first year?  Other players try to prove themselves so they can get that one big contract that can set them up for life.  A few years ago, the Memphis Grizzlies signed Brian Cardinal to a multimillion dollar deal and nobody knows why to this day other than he is a great teammate and a guy who is willing to do whatever it takes to beat you.  That’s what I think of when I think of when I think of training camp.  It isn’t about the starting 5 but usually the last 2 spots where the excitement is and where lives are changed.  The 12th man knows he isn’t going to play much but he knows his role.  He also knows that if he plays his cards right he can have a long career and make great money doing it. 

Some teams have 3-4 guys who should be 12th man material.  We call those teams the Supersonics and the Clippers.

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The key to every good team is the ability to stop the other team from scoring.  Any great coach will tell you that.  They will also tell you that the key to winning is getting more talent than the other team.  Great defense will always beat good offense though and that is the absolute key.

I’m biased but my favorite program to watch play defense is Illinois.  Bruce Weber knows his stuff.  He was an assistant under Gene Keady for 18 years before getting a head coaching offer at Southern Illinois.  Coach Weber really got the Salukis playing well and made a name for himself there and when Bill Self left Illinois for Kansas, Weber got the job.  He immediately turned the team into a contender and got them to the final 4 his second year there and was within 5 points of winning the title that year.

Coach Weber has a DVD set on defense that is titled: Bruce Weber: 20 Competitive Drills for a Championship Defense and it’s very good.  With on-court demonstration, Weber introduces 10 full-court drills for defending in transition and fastbreak situations. Weber also shares 10 half-court man defense drills covering competitive rebounding, aggressive perimeter and post defense, and end of game situations. In addition, Weber shares 10 things every coach needs to do to build and maintain a successful team at any level of competition! 

I’ve watched nearly every Illini game in coach Weber’s tenure and he is highly regarded as one of the best defensive coaches in the country.  They get after it and make every team they play very uncomfortable.  The past few years they struggled but it wasn’t because of their defense and very soon the Illini will be near the top of the rankings again.

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