Happy New Year.
"Who died and made you king?" was a maternal favorite. These are some of my favorite team practice activities, mostly purloined from great coaches but a few original.
Warmup
Speed layups for warm-up via the Lithuania team at the #JonesCup. I like it because most of warm-up IMO is about getting shots as we shoot more than we get layups in games...the other part is a short burst of energy & enthusiasm so this would take care of that. pic.twitter.com/UQXy7w1Ozg
— Chris Oliver (@BBallImmersion) July 29, 2018
Villanova "Get 50" shooting warmup. The "Wright" stuff...
Defense
Shell drill with live action progressions.
2. Pass and cut through (looking for give and go offense and defense)
3. Pass and screen away
4. Pass corner with drive and defensive rotation
Dog Drill (Kevin Eastman) Everyone has to guard the ball, contain the ball.
Pressure.
Advantage disadvantage (Variation off Knight concepts). My top drill for handling pressure. Full court 5 versus 7 (or 8) with no dribbling. It forces passing, cutting, and encourages excellence in player and ball movement. 5-on-5 looks different during games if your baseline is playing 5 v. 7.
Manmaker (Shaka Smart).
Another drill that forces urgent cutting, good pivoting, and protecting the ball.
Offense.
Specials. Three-possession games, usually 4 on 4 but can be 5 on 5. The initiating action can be a free throw, BOB, SLOB, or ATO play. We generally spend 15 minutes at the end of each practice on specials, as a scrimmage alternative. It also allows
practice of special situations that we excelled at.
Small sided game...3 on 3 inside the split.
Have a coach at each end (if possible) and vary the "spacing" to give players different looks to initiate attack from.
These nine actions help players "see the game" and learn the value of the big four of spacing, cutting, screening, and passing. They are necessary but not sufficient because everyone needs high volume shooting practice. I believe that each should have at least 150 shots per practice. We ordinarily spend about a third of practice on shooting.
Lagniappe (something extra). Everyone wants more range.