Basketball Tasmania Clinic – Shooting & Individual Defence

Basketball Tasmania held its annual High Performance Camp and Association Coach course over the March long weekend, with a series of clinics and a live-in camp headlining a fantastic four days of basketball events.

As part of the weekend, BTas held a free coaches clinic in Hobart on the Friday night, with coaches from throughout the state taking the chance to learn and share their thoughts on the areas of shooting and individual defence.

Below are the clinic notes, as well as a video from the event. Huge thanks to Nic Martin from BTas for the spirit of sharing and to long term volunteer and coach Ronnel Riggs for filming and editing the video.

Shooting – the Master Skill

Thoughts on shooting –

• 4 phases of teaching and drilling shooting
  • Technique/form
  • Kinetic chain
  • Repetition
  • Situational
• Any time spent on shooting is a direct investment – devote appropriate practice time to intentional shooting practice
• Don’t mistake repetition for volume – repetition of technique is key

Technique/form –

• How the ball leaves the hand the most important area of form
• Teach ball rotation – common theme of great shooters
• How do they “cradle” the ball and how do they release the ball
• It’s not leg spin – keep the thumb out
• Demand swishes in the form setting – value in the form

Kazan form shooting

• More applied approach to form shooting
• Incorporate movement and constraints
• Still focus on technique
• Pivoting, foot pattern, angle of catch, dribble

Kinetic chain –

Sit, set and lift shooting

• Can your players establish and operate from a basketball stance?
• Sit – base, posture, power generation
• Set – hands, focus, head still
• Lift – energy off the floor, not through the floor
• Partner command
• Add close-out

Repetition –

Marlins partner shooting

• Catch & shoot long 2’s
• Bounce off the sideline
• Shooter rebounds every 2^nd shot
• 5-minutes – record individual makes
• Relationship between passer and shooter
• Active feet and hungry hands

Situational –

Read, adjust and lift shooting

• 1 v 1 with defence “coach friendly”
• Shooter on 3-point line (or appropriate range)
• Defender pass and close-out – technique focus
• Shooter read line of close-out
  • Time and space – lift and shoot
  • High side – slide, lift and shoot
  • Low side – soft curl, lift and shoot
• Be an “active receiver”

Defensive Concepts –

General Thoughts –

• Constantly coach the hands
• Include a close-out in as many drills as possible
• Consistency of being able to guard the first two bounces
• Include a change of stance
• Incorporate movement and navigation prior to the 1 v 1

1 v 1 –

• 6 second shot clock
• Play off the close-out or change of stance – e.g. denial
• Incorporate close-out decision making
  • Shooter – high, early hand
  • Driver – “catch” the first bounce with square hips
  • Define and refine foot angles
• Teach and drill shot contest
• Foul discipline

Drill One – 1 v 1 Alba drill –

• Drill starts with offensive player outside 3, facing away from basket
• Defender has ball, hands the ball around the waist to offence
• On the catch, offence pivots to square up and has max two dribbles to score
• Emphasis for offence on creating TIME & SPACE on pivot
• Defence – hand above ball, stance and defend the first two bounces

Drill Two – Triangle close-out 1 v 1

• Defence starts with the ball in the lane
• Pass to offence out top, who passes to wing
• Defender close out and contain first two bounces
• Offence kick out to other offensive player, defence close and play 1 v 1

3 v 3 –

• Can teach most skills and fundamentals settings in this setting – don’t run straight from 1 v 1 to Shell
• Key areas of progression in 3 v 3 setting
  • Spread game – drive and kick, contain the straight-line drive
  • Ball screen defence – role of third defender
  • DHO – disruption
  • Off-ball screens
  • Post defence – including “Gets”
  • Shot contest and block out
• Help them talk – “talk your task”, make it simple

Drill Three – Drake 3 v 3

• Important to incorporate game-like movement into your defensive Games of Purpose/SSGs
• Game-like entries to action – how are we guarding certain actions?
• Defend the turn-out into a close-out and UCLA cut
• Defend the flare screen/splits action opposite the ball
• Navigate two ball-screens into spread game
• One piece of specific instruction per action
• Pick a popular action from your league and weave into your GOP’s

Shell (4 v 4) –

• Drill static shifts every day – jumping to the ball, stance and hand positioning
• The “eye-test” of your team defence
  • Stance – on and off the ball
  • Hands – constantly coach the hands
  • Eyes – head on a swivel, teach awareness
• Define your language and be demanding in this area
  • Ball
  • One-pass away
  • Two-passes away
  • Rotations
  • Situations
• Drill rotations every time – “everyone wants to stay out of rotation, but the reality is team defence is closing-out, containment and rotations”

Drill Four – Cotter Shell

• 4 v 4 defensive positioning
• 3 passes each shift
• Drilling perfect stance, foot pattern, hand positioning and talk
• On the final pass, drill is live