Basketball: Adding Value

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” - Benjamin Franklin

Adding value is a concept across sport, education, business, and life. Add value to get buy-in, trust, and loyalty. 

Dismiss the big lie of 'self-made man' theory. "I came up from nothing. I had nobody, no money, no resources, nothing." Professor Cornel West says it well, "born into the world, our first expression is a cry for help." 

Share lessons from each collaboration. We add value across multiple dimensions. Be specific. 

Community

• "It takes a village to raise a child." - African Proverb
• Community is a vital part of Servant Leadership
• "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." - John F. Kennedy, inauguration 1961    

Action: How do we engage better with our community? 

Administration (Athletic Department)

• The best way to get respect is to give it. 
• Anticipate when and how our decisions will create waves.
• Choose collaboration over confrontation. That doesn't mean there won't be "walk away" issues.

Action: Cultivate great relationships with the AD.

Coaches

• Professional development of assistants is also part of the job.
• Development includes education, delegation, and soliciting their input.
• We are sales people. Obsess the product. "Make it. Sell it. Build brand awareness." 

Action: How does my action impact assistants?

Players

• How does it feel to be coached by me? "Never be a child's last coach."
• Everyone gets coaching, "caring and challenging." Brad Stevens says to be "warm and demanding." (Radical Candor of Kim Scott)
• Give and get feedback. Remember to be "performance-focused, feedback-rich" to create advantage.

Action: Be relationship-oriented AND task-oriented. 

Parents

• Remember the "Prime Directive" that nobody advocates for a child more than parents. Their chief concern is almost universally the well-being of their child over the good of the team. 
• Be mindful of "The Triad." Parents are concerned about minutes, roles, and recognition. That makes them human, not bad. 
• Consider "The Empty Chair" concept of Dan Pink. Be aware that in our 'directors' meeting' there is an empty chair for our customers. 

Action: Be mindful that hard conversations are inevitable because of economics - the deployment of limited resources. 

Lagniappe. Saban's two questions. 

1. Will I do what I must do to be my best? "Can you make yourself do it?"

2. Will I avoid doing what I shouldn't be doing? "Can you keep yourself from it?"

Basketball: Simple Play, "Fall in Love with Easy"

Play ball. Ed Smith reminds sportsmen about the virtue of PLAY. In the wake of a cricket on-field death, players played. The New Zealand team found comfort in playing instead of mourning. 

Complicating the game with armies of administrators and computers forgets the goal - putting the ball in a hoop. Stay simple.  

See what 'is'. That doesn't nullify the value of measuring performance, a.k.a. analytics. Analytics are another dimension helping us "see" what is going well versus what is not. I remember a parent screaming at his daughter to shoot a three instead of passing. She passed. I explained, "she made the right play. She is one for nineteen on three-pointers this season." Less was more. 

Video helps, too. The easily-forgotten bad pass or shot gets imprinted after the back-and-forth replay, "$#7t shot."

Make ability carry players. Reduce the game to simplicity to free players worry over complex execution. Don Meyer called it "mature simplicity." I say, "fall in love with easy." The superior athlete who can beat the defense with dribble penetration or cutting should do so. 

Traffic in specifics. What promotes simplicity?

• Emphasize fundamentals- footwork, separation, and finishing (almost half of our practices emphasized 'basics').
• Earn excellence in the PnR and two-man game.
• Play small-sided games (more touches, more decisions).
• Limit the number of sets, special situations plays, and defenses. 

Give and get feedback. 

"Speak greatness." Sandwich criticism (Kiss me. Kick me. Kiss me.). 

Summary: 

• Be basic. 
• See the truth (analytics can reveal truths - turnovers, shot quality).
• Use video.
• Leverage advantage. "Fall in love with easy."
• Be great at what happens a lot. 
• Use feedback well. (Kiss me. Kick me. Kiss me.)

Lagniappe. Players learn either direction continuation moves (speed, hesi, in-and-out), reversal moves (crossover, between-the-legs, behind-the-back, spin), and combinations. Better to have fewer sharp tools than a quiver of dull arrows.  We 

Basketball: Maximizing Simplicity (Ecoutez et Repetez)

Tear down our existing structure. Start over. Simplify. That can't mean starting with a list of hundreds. It's the Kondonization of basketball. 

A patient told me, "I throw out that which doesn't give me joy." Another approach is to "tidy a little a day." 

"Simplify the process." Traffic in specifics. Keep, give away, throw out. 

1. "Every day is player development day." - Dave Smart   Develop your 'minimum skill set.'

• Footwork. Balance. Speed. Finish at the rim. Box drills with defense with constraints of finishing on either side of the rim with either hand off either or two feet. 
• Make free throws.
• Expand your range. That's the game mandate. Forty percent of threes is better than fifty-nine percent of twos.
• Develop separating moves, a "go to" and "counter." Everything else is gravy. Ask every player, what is your 'go to' and 'counter'?

2. "Think shot first." - Don Kelbick  When you have the receipts (skill), find your shot. 

3. Become more athletic. Sport rewards explosive athletes who can separate and finish. A jump rope and jump exercises can do that. "Nothing works unless you do." Athleticism helps:

• Contain the ball on defense. 
• Play "longer for harder." 
• Get lateral and vertical advantage. 

4. Stop fouling. Paring fouls was a key part of the Porter Moser program and is one of the Four Factors. 

• "Move your feet." (see #3)
• "Show your hands."
• Don't swat down. 
• Contest shots without fouling. 
• It's a mindset. 

5. "Possession and possessions." Become a 'possession ender' with scores and stops. 

• Opponents get "hard twos" or "one bad shot" by quality defenders
• Quality shots score. 
• Pass better as architects of quality shots.
• Take care of the ball (maximize the value of your possessions). 

Games become 'math' with higher effective field goal percentage (EFG%)  and lower EFG% allowed. Fewer turnovers means more shots. Forced turnovers and more rebounds means more possessions for us and fewer from opponents (Pete Newell's "more and better shots than our opponents.")

My high school French teacher, Mr. Benoit said, "Ecoutez et repetez." Listen and repeat. Great advice remains great advice. 

Summary: 

• "Every day is player development day."
• "Think shot first."
• Become more athletic. 
• Reduce fouling. 
• "Possessions and possession." 

Lagniappe. One guy's opinion. What are we? 

Lagniappe 2. AI input for simplicity 

A coach can prioritize simplicity in a number of ways:

1. Focusing on the essentials: A coach can prioritize simplicity by focusing on the essential skills and techniques that are required to achieve success in a particular sport or activity. By emphasizing the basics and avoiding unnecessary complexity, the coach can help their athletes develop a solid foundation that they can build upon.

2. Clear communication: A coach can prioritize simplicity by communicating clearly and concisely. This can involve using simple language, avoiding jargon or technical terms, and breaking down complex concepts into more manageable pieces.

3. Streamlining training sessions: A coach can prioritize simplicity by streamlining their training sessions. This can involve focusing on a few key skills or techniques during each session, rather than trying to cover too much ground at once. By keeping things simple and focused, athletes are more likely to stay engaged and make progress.

4. Emphasizing fundamentals: A coach can prioritize simplicity by emphasizing the fundamentals of the sport or activity. This can involve drills and exercises that focus on basic skills such as passing, dribbling, or shooting. By mastering these fundamentals, athletes can develop a solid foundation that they can build upon as they progress.

5. Avoiding unnecessary complexity: A coach can prioritize simplicity by avoiding unnecessary complexity. This can involve avoiding overly complicated strategies or techniques that may be difficult for athletes to understand or execute. Instead, the coach can focus on simple, effective strategies that are easy to understand and implement.

Overall, a coach can prioritize simplicity by focusing on the essentials, communicating clearly, streamlining training sessions, emphasizing fundamentals, and avoiding unnecessary complexity. By keeping things simple and focused, coaches can help their athletes achieve greater success and develop a deeper understanding of the sport or activity.

Quick Hits from MasterClass - Get Pumped Up

Learn from great sharers. 

"You don't have to be perfect to be confident." - Malala, Nobel Peace Prize winner

"All it needs is you believing in yourself." - Malala

"The stage is yours." - Malala

"Align our North Star with our actions...say no to what doesn't matter." - Robin Arzon, influencer

"Moments of self-doubt usually mean you're getting out of your comfort zone." - Robin Arzon

"Success is the by-product of hard work..." - Samuel L. Jackson

"Can't be a great basketball player if you can't dribble and can't shoot." - Sam Jackson (on career fundamentals)

"Do you want to be an artist or do you want to be famous?" - Sam Jackson

"The best antidote for fear is competence." - Chris Hadfield, Astronaut

"To hear male colleagues dismiss other women...is scary." - Issa Rae

"You don't have to be a mean person...to get your message across." - Issa Rae

"Men get to do it...they get called visionaries." - Issa Rae

"You can use your voice to make sure the job gets done right." - Issa Rae

"You can't have any self-doubt about your conviction and commitment to do this." - Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO

"Are you willing to sacrifice so much for this endeavor?" - Howard Schultz

"Don't look back and have regrets...I tried something." - Howard Schultz

"I believe we are here to serve the world...render service." - LeVar Burton, actor

"It's important to learn to delay gratification...in favor of process." - LeVar Burton 

Lagniappe. "Stops make runs." 

College basketball coaches who track "kills," or 3 stops in a row, have said they have a 90% chance or better of winning when they get 7 "kills" in a game. 8 will likely increase win odds to 98%!

7 WAYS TO GET MORE "KILLS" IN A GAME!!!!

A #GetBetterBasketball THREAD 🧵 ⬇️⬇️

— Coach DeMarco, EdD (@Coach_DeMarco) January 17, 2023

Lagniappe 2. What's our curriculum? 

Lagniappe 3. "Do what you do." 

Last night Duke’s Jeremy Roach put on a clinic on how to score as a smaller guard :

• Using the rim as a shield from taller defenders.
• Hesitation and change of speed to freeze the defense.
• High arching shots around the rim.
• Ability to finish with both hands. pic.twitter.com/sBzlDFvjOn

— 90 Percent Hoops (@90percent_hoops) March 17, 2023

Total Basketball - Relating Soccer to Basketball

Basketball isn't always at the forefront of innovation. "Total Football" was a Dutch creation that captured the football world. First, an AI summary:

Total Football is a football strategy that was first developed in the Netherlands in the 1970s. It involves a highly flexible system of play that allows players to interchange positions and responsibilities, with the aim of overwhelming the opposition through constant movement and attacking pressure.

The principles of Total Football include:

1. Positional interchangeability: Players are expected to be able to play in multiple positions, with a focus on fluid movement and flexibility.

2. Collective pressing: All players are expected to press and defend as a unit, regardless of their position on the pitch.

3. Attacking from all areas: Total Football relies on constant attacking pressure from all areas of the pitch, with players moving forward and backward as needed to create opportunities.

4. Rapid transitions: The team should be able to quickly transition from defense to attack, and from attack to defense, in order to maintain momentum and pressure on the opposition.

5. Constant movement: Players should be constantly moving and looking for ways to create space and opportunities, both on and off the ball.

Overall, Total Football requires a high degree of tactical awareness, technical skill, and physical fitness from all players, as well as a strong team ethic and commitment to the collective effort.

Some elements sound familiar, right?

1. Positionless basketball: Basketball trends toward players having diffuse skills sets both offensively and defensively, including being able to switch and defend multiple positions. Current iterations often favor creating switches to mismatches. For example on the Celtics, teams set up switches to get a perimeter player (e.g. Trey Young) matched up with Al Horford or Sam Hauser.

2. Collective pressing: "The strength of the wolf is the pack." Basketball allows for enough substitution to allow pressing units, especially with less experienced or less capable teams. All good teams must be able to handle and to apply pressure. I favor "advantage-disadvantage" practice - 2 v 3, 4 v 5, and 5 v 7.

3. High octane: Coach Wooden said, "Basketball is a game meant to be played fast." This applies to both attack and conversion (transitions). Teams with talent advantages seize the day by playing higher tempo basketball. Conversely, underdogs may gain an edge by controlling tempo and limiting the number of possessions.

4. Motion offense: "Movement kills defense." Another elite coach, Bob Knight often gets credited with creating motion offense. It blends concepts of spacing, cutting, passing, and screening. Core principles emphasize getting separation and advantage for high quality shots. Attention to details of vision, setting up cuts, reading defenders, urgent cutting, and timely passing in space and time define success or failure.

The similarities between successful actions are striking.

Lagniappe. Skill, strategy, physicality, psychology. The focus of Coach Ayers here is physicality. Adapt the training to your needs.

Basketball: Analyzing a Player, The Selection Process Examined by Ed Smith

How rigorous is our selection process? The 'offseason' allows us to study the theoretical while developing players. 

As a player, what are you selling? 

• Impact winning at both ends.  
• Make teammates better. 
• Sell personal energy and energizing teammates.
• Make elite decisions.  
• Show, "I am a team player and a winner. You want me on the floor." 

Ed Smith's Making Decisions shares his insights into player selection as England's cricket "Selector" from 2018-2021. Selection has added complexity for cricket with multiple formats - five day Tests, One Day Internationals, and T20 matches (short format). 

Modern basketball evolved from "Total Football" concepts of the seventies - "they were prepared to live with less specialization across positions."

Initial Screen. In some ways similar to the NFL Draft, the selection team created a nationwide search, narrowing selection to about 70 candidates. What's our applicant pool?

Priorities. Get the players who complement our system. Smith writes, "the way things fit together is at least as important as the pieces themselves." That may not apply at the high school level where some coaches can create massive talent imbalances through recruiting. 

Physical makeup. It's not only about skill, size, and athleticism, but health history and durability. 

Psychological makeup. Can we look under the hood and examine the player's character, commitment, 'heart', and resilience? 

Performance. Smith reminds us of the difference between academics - those who often design by 'concepts' and the man in the street - who frames choices by experience. 

The Decision. Is our goal consensus, compromise, or getting the absolute best outcome? 

Scouting blends expert opinion, a both old and new eyes. Remember Billy Beane's observation in Moneyball, "if he's such a good hitter, why doesn't he hit better?" Our eyes can lie in the face of bias - recency bias, anchoring on one performance, or seeing the player as the reincarnation of another star. 

"What decision would you make if you were the only decision maker?" If it's all up to us, our legacy, how would we choose? 

Smith encourages us to ask sophisticated questions:

• Can you make connections other people cannot? 
• Can you identify a helpful analogy? 
• Will you bring an outsider's perspective?
• Can you reconfigure existing information in a new and innovative way? 
• Can you take one position while still inhabiting the counterfactual position of worlds not taken? 
• Can you play with a problem as well as persist with it? 

It's a colossal mistake to believe we have the right answers when seldom have we even considered the right questions.

Lagniappe. Hands too close together?

Basketball: Fast Five, Teaching Better

"Leaders make leaders." Players, "become your own coach." Promote self-sufficiency by giving players more responsibility to teach.

Teach players to "see the game." Get "buy in" by adding value. 

1) Assign players teaching topics. Assign a player a two-minute talk. 

Ideas:

• Moving without the ball (e.g. types of cuts)
• Three common ways to defend the pick-and-roll
• Offensive reads for off-ball screens
• General zone offense concepts
• Five principles for shot selection
• Principles of defensive transition (Dos and don'ts)

2) Get more from video. Give players an "overview" on the structure of a possess:

• Initial spacing
• Player and ball movement to create advantage
• The scoring moment to convert advantage to points
• What do excellent teams and players do differently? 

What do you think is going to happen? What happens? Why and how did an action succeed or fail? 

3) Teach to the test. Review the Four Factors (Eight with defense) - SCORE-CRASH-PROTECT-ATTACK

• Shooting (effective field goal percentage)
• Rebounding 
• Reducing and forcing turnovers
• Free throws 

4) Be specific with teaching methods. Remember the FEYNMAN TECHNIQUE

• Name 
• Define 
• Research 
• Simplify 

Get 'granular' (e.g. photoemulsion versus pixellation). Players should learn the Big Picture and the details. 

5) Be aware of "self-serving" bias. Go back to 'self-interest'. In Community Medicine we learned about  "compliance," why people take or don't take medications. 

• Barriers (costs, individual health beliefs, availability). A player may lack skill, confidence, or trust in the system.
• Efficacy (does this 'medicine' work...) The player can benefit from more skill, strength and conditioning, game knowledge.
• Severity (high blood pressure becomes heart, kidney, or neurologic disease...). A lack of athleticism translates to a bench role.
• Susceptibility (why it matters for you). Attention and practice play only matter if you hope to earn a role.

What's your motivation to improve? 

• Minutes 
• Role
• Recognition  
• Making teammates better 
• Team success 

"Self-pity is not going to improve the situation." 

Embrace "Beginner's Mind"

Bring "Beginner's Mind" to our work, our avocations. Be fresh, be open to possibility, be present. Don't presume high level game understanding with young players. 

Television host Robin Roberts says it differently, "Get to" don't "have to." 

Years ago a colleague boasted, "I can keep anyone alive for 24 hours." Tragically, the Gulf War disabused him of that hubris. Beginner's mind implies humility. 

Expertise shouldn't limit adopting new...or old approaches to solving problems. For example, Zeljko Obradovic teaches the benefits of setting a screen (e.g. a drag screen) with your front facing the basket to see the court better. 

Players often get taught the details before the big picture. That's on us. For example, Pete Newell said the coach's job is teaching players to SEE THE GAME.

• He added, "get more and better shots than your opponents."
• "Master footwork, balance, maneuvering speed." 

Don Meyer shared the evolution of coaching:

• Blind enthusiasm
• Sophisticated complexity
• Mature simplicity

Dr. Fergus Connolly breaks sport into: 

• Initial spacing
• Player movement
• Ball movement
• The scoring moment

Mike Prada simplifies to:

• Initial positioning
• Create advantage
• Take advantage

Basketball informs an elegant symmetry:

• Create separation (offense) and deny separation (defense)
• Take care of the ball and force opponent mistakes
• Take quality shots and allow only "one bad shot"

The more we learn, the more we should understand how much we don't know.  

The more we know the less we must think to execute. 

Lagniappe. "Empty your cup." 

Lagniappe 2. Note the urgent cutting to separate. Exceptional video for young players

 

"Play Harder for Longer"

"Basketball is not a contact sport; it is a collision sport." To paraphrase Dave Smart, part of success is "playing harder for longer."

Everyone knows the saying, "play hard, play smart, play together." Not sure if it came from Morgan Wootten or somewhere else.

Ask players what that means. 

1. Pressure the ball. Defense starts with limiting dribble penetration. Coach Shawanda Brown exhorted, "don't back down, don't back down." Don't play 'dead man's defense' - six feet under. It doesn't please the coach and it doesn't bother the dribbler. 

2. Contest shots without fouling. Blocking shots helps but bothering and disrupting them wins games, too, part of ending possessions. 

3. "Be first to the floor." It can't be a 50-50 ball. It has to be your ball. 

4. Move without the ball. Part of Billy Donovan's '95', what you do when you don't have the ball. Cutting is an undertaught skill. Urgent cutting gets you open. Don Kelbick reminds players that defenders MUST go with them when they basket cut. That opens you 'one way or another.' 

5. Get us the ball. The defensive rebounding 'rules' are positioning and toughness. Block out or 'hit and get'. But nowhere does 'ball watching' gather rebounds. 

6. Set tough screens. Set clean, well-positioned screens. Headhunting means screening the body not an area. Don't throw your shoulder or hip out to screen. 

7. Mindset. Brad Stevens said that he never met an excellent defender who wasn't a good student. This isn't a new concept. 

8. Get back fully engaged in transition. That means 'sprinting' not running, protecting the basket, and stopping the ball. 

9. Be situationally aware. Focus on the right things at the right time all the time. Know the time, score, timeouts, and your responsibility. Lack of awareness haunts you forever with mental mistakes in big games.

10.Take a charge. Drawing a charge ends the opponent's possession and adds a foul to their total. Your coaches and teammates appreciate it. 

Lagniappe. "Toughness is a skill." I laminated and distributed the list of Jay Bilas' Toughness qualities. 

Lagniappe 2. "Toughness" summary. "Basketball toughness has nothing to do with how much you can puff out your chest."

Getting Your Dream Coaching Job: "Be Their Best Solution"

You want your dream coaching job. Explain why you are their best solution. Your solution is not the time to be shy. 

I'm not applying for any jobs, but here are some of my 'reasons'. 

What's your WHY? In Presidential debates, hosts ask candidates WHY they want to be President. Have a compelling reason. "I empower young people for success with skills learned through basketball." Teach players about leadership and empowerment. I use examples like Arlene Blum at Annapurna, Frances Taylor the first woman cabinet member, Lee's victory against overwhelming odds at Chancellorsville, and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the Bowdoin professor turned Medal of Honor winner.

 Coaching is about giving back. 

What's your HOW? As a coach or entrepreneur, explain your "product features" and proven track record. Be specific. 

• Excellence in personal development of players... valedictorian and salutatorian, multiple players with Masters Degrees, graduate from the Naval Academy at Annapolis, multiple Fortune 500 company executives, player in Veterinary school. 
• Excellence in player development... Division 1 player, All-Scholastic players, All League players, State champion, State Finalists.
• Amazon E-book, "Simple Guide to Girls' Basketball," comprehensive guide for coaches. 
• Daily journal/blog with over 3,500 entries. Currently rated #61 in Feedspot Top 100 worldwide best basketball blogs. 

Create a basketball experience. Help players make memories. Add value, get buy-in, and emphasize simplicity and clarity of philosophy - teamwork, improvement, and accountability. 

Use technology. 

• Use video study to teach basketball principles.
• Maintain a drill book. 
• Have a playbook with proven success. 
• Teaching files (spreadsheet) of valuable lessons. 

Have concrete, credible, emotional stories and references.

From the spouse of a New England Basketball Hall of Fame Coach:

"Coach's teams won several state sectionals and Eastern Mass championships, all Class B, 5 league titles, but he always said to the family that the 1973 team was the best. Only team in school history to win a Class A sectional - stunning Andover and St John's Prep. He said you were the greatest leader the school ever had. Some of the greatest memories of our lives is what your team did for the school and Wakefield."

Anticipate the objections. "He's too old."  

Lagniappe. It all begins with spacing. 

Golden State Warriors - 5 out Wide Series

In game 3, the Warriors played small ball to spread the floor.

They use the 5 Out Wide Screen into a fake DHO for a downhill drive and dish in this possession.#5outfriday https://t.co/TBOckMnf9e pic.twitter.com/oNg61YM63F

— Marc Hart (@CoachMarcHart) April 21, 2023

Lagniappe 2. Play under control... Coleman Ayers analyzes DBook. 

What Makes Excellent Defenders Excellent?

Find inspiration for better questions. George Gervin named his toughest defenders. What makes superior defenders?

Tangibles

• Elite conditioning
• Contain the ball
• Challenge shots without fouling
• CARE - concentration - anticipation - reaction - execution
• Active hands without fouling
• Cover 1.5 (responsible for your player and help)
• Measurables - opponent EFG, turnovers forced, steals, deflections, opponent points per possession
• Usually have >= two of three among size, athleticism, and skill

Intangibles

• Attitude "I have to stop this guy"
• Toughness - fight through screens, take charges
• Relentlessness
• Attention to detail - study opponents to anticipate
• "Hard to play against"
• "Team first" 
• "You know it when you see it."

Excellent defenders force their way onto the floor through contributions to winning. 

Lagniappe. Great defenders are "possession enders" who get stops. 

Basketball: Favorite Drills Across a Variety of Activities

"Activity is not achievement." - John Wooden 

It's not enough to work. Do productive work, improvement work. If the best activities incorporate offense, defense, decisions, and competition, then what belongs? 

My protege, Cecilia, worked tirelessly on these drills to make herself an All-Scholastic three times so far in Massachusetts. She led her team to consecutive sectional titles and a state finals appearance this season.  

Most have appeared in blog posts over the years and all have player development value. 

1. Box drills with defense. The offensive player receives a pass or spins the ball to herself at the elbow, back to the basket. She can front or back pivot off either foot and shoot, attack the basket, or take a one-dribble shot. The drill trains both offense and defense. 

2. Small-sided games (e.g. 3-on-3) with constraints. Constraints could include:

• Can't cross the midline bisecting baskets
• Must score in the paint
• Must score outside the paint 
• Can't score until everyone has a touch
• Can't score until there's a paint touch

Via Aaron Fernandez

3. Wing attack. Learn to score from different areas of the court. Choose a couple to perfect.

 

4. Elbow jumpers. Elbow to elbow and elbow to sideline. 

Track results seeking "personal bests." The drills are better with a partner for both competition and rebounding. 

5. Phil Handy ball handling with combinations and video examples. 

6. Rebounding toughness and finishing. 1 v 1 v 1. The ball is always live including after made baskets. 

7. Jump training. Good video with simple exercises and variations...depth jumps, kneeling jumps, and maximum jumps. At my age, I confine myself to "step ups" on one to two steps. I 'step up' and count "one" rep when I maintain a 'controlled descent'. I usually do two to three sets with both legs. 

8. 3 by 3 by 3 combines conditioning, competition, and shooting on the move. 

Condition within drills. Conditioning is essential and should be efficient and productive not punitive. Rebound your shot and become the passer. Get more from the drill by emphasizing crisp passing and require the passer to call the shooter by name to encourage communication. 

Lagniappe. "Repetitions make reputations."