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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Since we have a great audience of individuals who are young coaches I thought I’d put together a drill that can be used at practice to help develop some beginning post moves.  Have the players line up on the left side at the lower block.  The coach should stand on the right side of the court near the 3 point line at a 45 degree angle. 

The player at the front of the line has the ball and he throws it to the coach on the opposite side of the court.  The pass is to be a chest pass that is firm and direct.  If the player throws a slow lobby pass then have him/her try it again until they get it right.  Once the pass is made to the coach the player sets up on the opposite block with his back to the basket.  Make certain the player has his feet on or a step above the block with his feet outside of the lane.  Once they catch the ball have the players work on the following moves:

Drop step toward the baseline-This move is done by catching the ball and moving your baseline foot toward the basket.  This is a drop step and should be accompanied by a dribble.  Finish this move with a made layup.

Drop step toward the middle- Instead of moving your baseline foot this time you move the opposite foot toward the middle of the key.  Finish this move with a jump shot or a jump hook.

Square up Jump shot- Catch the ball and immediately pivot to face up to the basket and go right into a jumper.

Square up shot fake- Catch the ball and pivot to face up to the basket.  Fake a shot and drive either direction for a layup.

Make sure you work all sides of the court and that players are able to use both hands.  They don’t need to be experts right away but over time make sure they are developing and working to make it better.

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This is a two man shooting drill where one person shoots and the other defends. 

Identify 5 spots on the court all 15 feet away from the basket.  Player A is on defense while PLayer B is on offense and standing on the 1st spot on the court.  Player A holds the ball in his hand and passes the ball to PLayer B while running towards him.  Player B takes the shot and goes after his own rebound.  PLayer A goes to offense and waits as Player B rebounds the ball and throws it to PLayer A.  As the pass is made Player B sprints at the offensive player to contest the shot and the drill continues to each spot with each player rotating spots around the court.

The drill should continue until each player has shot from each spot.

To improve the drill add 1 dribble moves, then 2 dribble moves or shot fakes.  The point is to practice with defenders coming out on you to contest your shot.

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To really focus and concentrate on your form while shooting I recommend doing  a basic form shooting drill.  Coaches can use this but I use this every time I go to shoot baskets just to get my shot comfortable and to get warmed up.  It teaches me to focus on fundamentals and making sure I’m doing the little things.

Start by identifying 5 spots on the floor all within 3-5 feet of the basket.  Don’t leave a spot until you’ve made 5 shots from each spot while maintaining correct shooting form.  Ensure that a couple of the spots are shots that need to be made using the backboard.  Get your own rebounds and then start over taking a step back from each one.

When i watched Larry Bird do this drill he didn’t make it out to 15 feet for a half an hour and worked up a great sweat in the process.  He was so focused on making the short shots and making sure that his shot was correct that by the time he got out to 20-25 feet the form was already in place and it was easy for him.

We are not all Larry Bird but we can take we he did and learn from it.

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Each coach should form two lines with players lined up at each elbow.  Players shoot jump shots or set shots or whatever is comparable to their age.  The player at the front of the line shoots the ball and rebounds his shot and passes to the next player in his line.  The player does not change lines but gets at the back of the line.  Players shoot the ball from both sides simultaneously until the first team gets to 10.  Change sides and go again.  Losers condition.

It’s a simple but great drill to work on short to midrange jump shots.  It is great for warmups and some light competition.  To make the drill more fun up the totals to 20 or 30 makes.

Something to focus on during this drill is the pass from the rebounder.  Make sure the passer knows how to get the ball to the shooter.  The shooter should also be ready to receive the ball by already having the knees bent and in shooting position.  Sometimes the team that wins is simply the team that gets the most shots up.

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