We are really into the season now. The players should know the plays and be running them well by now. If they are not, who’s fault is it? John Wooden, considered the greatest coach of all time in the States always said, “You haven’t taught until they have learned”. Make sure they are executing the plays the way you want them to. Break down you offence and defence into small parts and work of them until they can perform them with “game speed”. Ok, what are we looking at this month?
Oh, by the way, “HAPPY CHRISTMAS”

1. Coaching
2. Offense
3. Defense
4. Drills
5. Player Tips
6. Books and videos
7. Humor
8. Links
9. Quotes

1. COACHING

Educators often say that the best teachers are found in the coaching profession. Present-day coaches, in my personal opinion, understand the learning processes better than we ever did in the past. Here are some of the steps you can apply to your method of coaching basketball:

1. Keep an open mind and the will to learn.
2. Separate parts of the offense and use them as drills.
3. Use simplified fundamental drills.
4. Use both the whole and part method in your coaching.
5. Learn from experiences.
6. Use progression in teaching fundamentals.
7. Be analytical and use corrective methods.
8. Use proper progression in organizing your team.
9. Use stimulating and interesting methods.
10. Make your drills competitive.
11. Repeat things over and over.

2.OFFENSE – here is another variation of the motion (passing game offense, but this has two post players. Notice the rules for the players. As a coach it’s up to you to make sure that the players are following the rules and doing what you want. Because this offense gives them freedom, you must make sure they are doing things that will

The Double-Post Motion Basketball Offense

Positioning Rules

The Post Men:

You have 2 post players in this offense. They may locate at/or near 7 different spots:

low post(s).
mid post(s).
elbow(s).
top-half of free throw circle.

When the offense begins both posts go down low and post up.

The Perimeter Players:

You have 3 perimeter players. The 5 spots they can locate at are:

the point.
the wing(s).
the corner(s).

When the offense begins the ball is in the point's hands and the other two players are usually in the wing areas. Perimeter players should try to stay about 12 feet apart. If you are more than 12 feet apart - the ball is in the air longer and the chance for a deflection increases.
If you are closer than 12 feet you allow a defender to defend the pass and still be in position to stop the drive. Keep proper spacing.

General Rules

When you make a pass you must move - it is easy to guard someone standing still.
Only dribble for the following reasons:

to make an immediate drive to the basket.
to improve your angle of pass to your teammate.
to get out of trouble.
to prevent a 5 second count violation. It is very important that your players understand what the 5 second count.

Post Rules

Both posts should immediately go to the low post area on each side of the lane and post up. You want the ball in the low post - thus it is very important you teach your players how to post up.
When the ball is passed from point to wing, this is when the posts begin to work together with rules. The weak side post will key on how his offensive post partner is defended.
If the post on ball side is fronted the weak side post will flash ball side elbow. If he receives a pass we look for the low post pin and a high low play. If no high low pass then high post slides down and players have just switched spots.
If the ball side post has the defense playing behind him - the weak side post breaks straight up the lane to the weak side elbow. We want the ball passed into the low post every time in this situation.
Note if the weak side post defender doubles down then the weak side post player needs to get a pass out from the low post for the elbow jumper.
If the defense plays the ball side low post with a 3/4 defense then the ball side post will come and screen for the weak side post. If the defense switches on this play - the screener always steps back to the ball.
A teaching point we always use to prevent turnovers - low post player has his hand up yelling for the ball. When player is going to vacate the post (screen away), we drop our hand a one second count before we turn and go. This prevents turnovers when you pass and the player has vacated the post and the ball hits him in the back of the head.
The post player always has the freedom to break up to the high post when he sees the point to wing pass having trouble being made. This movement opens up the backdoor cut for the wing player.

Perimeter Rules

The perimeter players have 5 spots to locate in. They can do the following:

pass and cut to the basket and relocate to an open perimeter spot.
pass and screen a partner perimeter player away from the ball.
pass and "v" cut and replace yourself.
relocate with a shallow or deep cuts.
pass and slide - this is cutting to an open spot away from the ball.
any time that a pass is made to a high post player, the perimeter player who made the pass sets a pick for the perimeter player closest to that post with the ball. Using this pick that player cuts off the post looking for a hand off and an open path to the basket. Otherwise, keep good spacing, using the 3-point arc to help.

Teaching Methods

Separate the post players and the perimeter players when introducing this offense. Post players learn to work together and read the defense.
The coach can create 2 on 2 situations while he holds the ball out on the wing. The perimeter players learn their rules by going 3 on 3 against each other. The key will be spacing and moving - players tend to want to stop and watch and not move.
When the basic rules are learned we create the following teaching progressions for this offense:

Five on two with defense only on the posts - posts can only score.
Five on three with defense only on the perimeter - perimeter can only score.
Five on Four with coach dictating what player has no defense on him - player with no defender is not allowed to score.
Finally we get to five on five. The coach can dictate different situations such as:

certain number of passes must be made.
specify which player can only score (only the offense knows who the player is).
no dribbles may be allowed.

In summary, this is a great offence. It allows you the freedom to keep your post players near the basket and gives your perimeter players the ball where they are most effective to operate.
I find that your defense improves because this offense makes your defense work so much harder. Try mixing in some set plays within this offense and your man to man offense will be set.

Next month we will cover another offence

3. DEFENSE
The objective of a basketball team defense is to stop the offensive team from scoring. We all know this is an impossible task. More practical is the attempt to take the opponent out of the offense they are trying to run. This can be done by:

From the above, you can see the entire purpose of a team's defense is to limit the opponent's opportunity to score by these three things. The coach must use several factors, the most important one is the available personnel.
It is my opinion the correct defense is one which limits the opponent's offensive attacks. A good team defense, this day and age, incorporates the strong points of both the zone and man-to-man defense. The primary focus in a man-to-man is the person and the secondary objective is the ball; however, teams that use person-to-person as a primary defense also use some zone principles as playing loosely away from the ball. They collapse weak-side toward the basket to prevent penetration, compacting the defense in the basket area.
Conversely, zone defensive players play the ball first and the person second, but must be able to defend against the opponent with the ball on a person-to-person basis.
In the old days, a zone player covered a specific area. It isn't that way, today. Zones of today, flex with a person-to-person attitude at the ball, attacking the person with the ball and preventing a pass into the pivot.
More Man to Man Defense next month

4. DRILLS
Man to Man Defensive Drills
To make the normal man-to-man basketball defense you must emphasize that each defender has two duties:

To coordinate his, or her, movement to those of the team, each player has the following responsibilities:

Close-Out Drill

See the diagram below. Depending on the number of players on your team, make three or four lines along the baseline, and a same number of lines just above the free-throw line extended. Each player along the baseline has a ball and makes a good sharp pass out to the perimeter player. He then closes-out on the ball handler, yelling "Ball! Ball! Ball!". Use correct technique as described above.
Then the receivers will similarly pass back to the next group stepping inbounds and make a close-out.
You can also incorporate passing techniques (chest pass, bounce pass, etc) into this drill, and also make sure receivers are catching the ball with a jump-stop in triple threat position.
Defensive close-out drill

Shooting Drill 3: "3-Man, 2-Ball Shooting Drill"

Setup: Have three players and two balls at a basket. Use the side baskets too. Each group has a shooter, rebounder, and passer. Players should shoot from areas where they usually shoot from in a game.

Wing-to-Wing Motion

(Diagram A)-- The shooter starts at the right wing with a ball, the passer at the free-throw line with another ball, and the rebounder in the center of the lane. The shooter shoots then sprints to the opposite wing, spots-up, and shoots again. He/she keeps repeating this, going wing-to-wing without dribbling. The rebounder rebounds each shot, passes to the passer, who passes to the shooter. Run this for 1 minute. Then change roles, with each player taking a turn at each of the three positions.
3-Man 2-Ball Shooting Drill

BASKETBALL SHOOTING By Dr. Hal Wissel

Confidence is the Most Important Factor in Shooting

Believe in yourself. You want to have confidence in your ability to make the shot every time you shoot. Confident shooters control their thoughts, feelings, and shooting skill. Shooting is much more than good mechanics. It's the feeling, thoughts and belief in your self that comes first. Basketball is a mental, as well as a physical, game. Developing the mental aspect is a key to enhancing shooting as well as performance in all fundamentals.

Three and One-Half Balls Fit in the Rim

To help your confidence it is important to know that the basket is big. The basket is so big that three and one half balls can fit in the rim. This surprises most players. You can get on a ladder and fit three balls side by side over the rim and have enough space to fit and turn your hand between each ball. Realizing that the basket is so big should give a psychological boost to your confidence.

Act Like a Shooter. Keep Follow-through Up Until the Ball Reaches the Rim

To also help your confidence, keep your follow through straight up until the ball reaches the rim. This is not only mechanically correct, but more importantly you will look and act like a shooter.
Feel positive that each time you shoot the ball will go in. Good shooters stay confident even when they hit a cold streak and miss a few shots. After a missed shot, mentally correct the miss and visualize a good shot. Positive affirmation statements ("I'm a shooter!" All net! or "Count it!" for example) that you can say to yourself can promote confident thoughts about yourself and your ability to shoot. You can also remind yourself of past successes to boost your confidence.
Being able to shoot under pressure distinguishes great shooters from the good shooters. You want to take the shot not only when your team is ahead, but when the pressure is on. The direct correlation between shooting confidence and shooting success is the most consistent factor we recognize in great shooters.

Rhythm is the Second Most Important Factor in Shooting

Skills should be smooth, free flowing, and rhythmical and this is especially true in shooting. Mechanics are important, but you want to have good mechanics without being mechanical. Your shot should be smooth and rhythmical rather than mechanical. All parts of your shot should flow together in a sequential rhythm.

Rhythm and Range Come from a Down-and-Up Motion of Your Legs

To help our rhythm and range we use a down-and-up action of our legs, rather than lowering the ball or stepping into the shot. Start with your knees slightly flexed: Bend your knees and then fully extend them in a down-and-up motion. Saying the key words Down and up! from the start of your shot until the release of the ball will trigger the down and up action of your legs that provides rhythm and force for your shot. Your legs and shooting arm move together. As your legs go up your arm goes up. As your legs reach full extension, your back, shoulders and shooting arm extend in a smooth, continuous forward and upward direction toward your target. It is important to keep the ball high with your shooting hand facing the rim.
Use the down-and-up motion of your legs for rhythm rather than lowering the ball for rhythm. Keeping the ball high fosters a quick release and also provides less chance for error. Stepping into your shot may help your range, but your shot becomes a two-count shot. Using the down-and-up method allows you to shoot in one motion or one count. When shooting off the catch the down comes just before the catch and the shot goes up as your legs go up providing for a quicker release.

Basic Mechanics Of Shooting

Basic mechanics of shooting include sight, balance, hand position, elbow-in alignment, shooting rhythm, and follow-through. To develop your shot it is best to concentrate on only one or two mechanics at a time.
Next month more on shooting

6. BOOKS AND VIDEOS -

Basketball Skills and Drills by Jerry Krause, Don Meyer and Jerry Meyer. Second Edition.

7. HUMOR

8. LINKS - Try some of these for ideas

BasketballPlaybook.net
Basketball Coaching Drills
Winning Basketball Plays
Basketball On A Triangle

John Wooden Quotes

Coaches Corner is dedicated to helping you become a better coach. Remember, this is as much a learning process for you as it is for your players. Keep working at it. Talk to coaches you respect and asked them about some of the topics we try to touch on each month.
HAPPY HOLIDAY AND MERRY CHRISTMAS