Coach, “What should I focus on?”
The MS Basketball Coach asks, "I have an hour of practice time with my team. What should I focus on?"
Our answer: Defense
The old saying goes, Defense Wins Championships. While winning a 'chip isn't always a real possibility, it is true that defense will always give your team a chance to win.
At Next Play, we run our offensive drills with live defense. Sometimes, we won't allow the D to steal the ball (with hands behind their backs) but in most cases our offensive players must read the defense in order to work on their skills.
At Next Play, we work each practice on defense & communication:
BALL - pressure the ball handler, keep the ball in front of you, force opponent to their weak side.
GAP - play the ball, see your man. Position oneself near the ball handler from having easy driving lanes.
HELP - two feet in the lane. Prevent easy layups. Close out on your man if ball is kicked out.
All five players TALK on D and each player should say one of those three words each time on defense. This takes time to get used to, and players will talk less when they are tired.
One thing you can do to coach this concept into your team this: A) If a player isn't talking, he has to go to the sidelines, do two pushups while his teammates have to play a man down. The social pressure and the disincentive to do pushups will encourage better communication.
Next Play
Check out a wildly used defensive drill called the SHELL DRILL that you can use in your practices.
Connected Basketball
We are Connected at Next Play!
One of the tenants of NPB is that our players play connected basketball. Every huddle, in practice or in a game, we have our players "link up" so that we show each other respect while we're speaking with one another and a physical representation of our teams connectedness. We borrowed this tip from DIII powerhouse Swarthmore College, where Coach Zo was a two time All-American and Coach Ryan was an assistant for six years.
It's uncomfortable at first, but ultimately this simple show of solidarity makes a difference and reminds each member of the team that basketball is a team game and we are in it together, through successes, failures and in the face of adversity.