When you run a play, are you “going through the motions” of setting a pick in a certain location (because coach told you to)? Or do you know how to make a pick and roll really work?
Too often I see players who either don’t know they are not working the Pick & Roll correctly or they just don’t care. This is not a problem for just middle school players. The video below features some of the best players in the NBA along with one of the best coaches in the game and while the tips that are offered are important and helpful, the last example shows a glaring problem that happens at all levels of basketball (even with the NBA players in the video).
Did you see what was wrong with the last Pick and Roll in the video?
The player setting the pick let the defense get past him and he rolled too late. Once the player setting the pick makes contact with the ball handler’s defender, he should take control of the interaction, pivot around the ball handler’s defender and get the defender on his back.
Important note… The pivot by the player setting the pick should be in the direction of the ball so you can see where the ball is and what the ball handler is doing. Many players think they can make a quicker move by “slipping” towards the basket but they also loose sight of the ball handler when they do it. They are also giving up the positional advantage that they can get by pivoting around the ballhandler’s defender.
Check out this video that shows a number of ways to “Use a Pick”….
Mistakes by defense? Or great decisions by offense?
Can a Pick and Roll work every time? With every combination of offensive players and defensive players? Probably not but it can work most of the time if, as an offensive player, you understand the opportunities presented to you during a Pick and Roll and can take advantage of them.
If you want to be part of the Pick and Roll conversation, please comment below …
What was missed in this article? Do you have questions about how to work the Pick and Roll? What did you like about this article? Is there some aspect that you would like to see demonstrated on video? Any comments you have are greatly appreciated … just know that only the polite (non-spam) comments will be published on this page for all to see. Join the conversation!
The theory behind the “basketball mile” is to simulate all the running in a full game including the starts/stops, breaks between quarters and more. The reason I am featuring this drill is because it simulates a real game. It also gives you more rest time if you run each segment faster. It might not be an exact match for the running that is done in a game, but it is a pretty good approximation.
QUICK Bonus download for BWM readers…
Coach Wheeler has come up with a “timing sheet” that shows when each segment of this drill should start so you can simply run the game clock continuously and call out start times. The timing sheet also allows you to mark off which players complete each segment. You can even add information such as the winner of each segment. If you want you can record any violations (double dribble, travel or turnover) if you are incorporating a ball into the drill. It’s up to you if you want to add a penalty for mistakes (pushups?).
Click the links below to download the Timing Sheet (using “Save As”) that utilizes 20 second segments or 15 second segments …
One of the key roles of a coach is to challenge the players on their team so they are given an opportunity to grow and improve. The basketball mile is already a pretty challenging drill but how can your team get more value out of doing it?
The PGC article (link here) suggests making the time for each sprint segment shorter (see the 15 second sheet for timing cues) and/or dribbling a ball while sprinting. I might add a few more “twists” to create challenges that will help you in a game.
First, add two free throws at the end and record who makes one or both of them. Free throws at the end of a game (when you are tired) can make the difference between winning and losing. Don’t waste the exhaustion that this drill provides. The timing sheets provide a line at the bottom to collect how each player did on their free throws.
Second, make it more competitive by recording who wins each sprint. Perhaps the player who wins the most sprints takes the last two foul shots for a team win (while individuals can shoot for their own “win”).
Thirdly, how will you start or introduce this drill? How about having two players race each other while the rest of the team watches? If you time them, you can ask the question to the team… is this pace fast enough for us to win our games?
Fourth, can you figure out a way to work in passing as part of the drill? Ideally players would have an opportunity to both dribble and pass based on whatever rules you come up with. Maybe players are paired up so that they pass the ball back and forth as they sprint the first leg and whoever ends up with the ball one step from half-court would have to dribble it back.
Finally, you could record the players who don’t finish the sprint in the time required. They can finish the rest of the sprints “at their leisure” or as additional conditioning work, but those who don’t meet the time targets could be marked on the recording sheet. Can you think of other scenarios? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
Final thoughts about How to get in Basketball Shape?
If you ask any basketball coach they would say that the sooner your players get in “basketball shape”, the sooner they will be ready to learn new skills and compete successfully on the court. The “Basketball Mile” is a great tool and there are plenty of ways that it can help your players get in Basketball Shape … the kind of shape that wins games!
Every player wants to improve the ball handling skills, right? But how? The video below has some excellent examples of “Loose” versus “Tight” handles and the advantages of each. Every player probably has a preference and if you are very good at either one, you can probably overcome most of the drawbacks listed in the video.
Check out the video and let us know what you think in the comments… and look for an added “Handles Tip” from Coach Wheeler under the video.
What did you think? Which type of player are you?
The 3 S’s – COACH WHEELER‘s
Keys to Improved Handles
Coach Wheeler teaches that the 3 Keys to developing your ball handling, a.k.a. “handles” to the point that they are above average are Strength, Speed and Style.
Strength includes, but is not limited to hand strength, arm strength and overall core strength. Lower body strength is important as well but it is largely covered by the second key, Speed.
Speed is important because while dribbling can be impressive, if you don’t score it doesn’t matter. If you can’t move past defenders then all you are doing is wasting time with the ball. This time that could be put to better use for your team.
There are many ways to evaluate speed – long distance (full court), short distances (1/4 court) and even micro distances of one or two steps (enough to get by your defender). The last one is often referred to as “explosiveness”. There are times when you may appear more agile than you really are because you have developed moves that throw off your defenders. Which brings us to “Style”…
Style is sort of a catch-all for the skills you develop and what you can do with the basketball while moving. Most players have a small array of moves that they feel confident enough to use in games. I call these “game-capable moves” and can be almost anything. Examples are a crossover, spin, behind the back, hesitation, inside-out, pull-back and many more.
It is important to put in the practice in the off-season so that you develop all aspects of your handles… Strength, Speed & Style.
Court Awareness, sometimes called “situational awareness”, is a critical skill if you want to be a top player on a highly successful team in almost any sport. In simplest terms, it is being aware of what is going on around you. At the next level, you are aware of what each observation means and what might happen next.
It can also be a very helpful skill in other areas of life. In fact, some of the exercises that will be presented below, are based on articles from military blogs explaining how awareness can be applied in battle and other situations.
Basketball Court Awareness…
Learning from the Master
The short video below shows how one of the best passers of all time uses a highly developed court awareness to make some amazing passes. There are some passes where he is looking at the recipient of his pass but there are many more where he is either looking away or anticipates where his team mate will be to accept his pass (and usually score).
What does Court Awareness mean for basketball players?
Court Awareness, at its peak, means that you are aware of all the players on the court… where they are, where they are moving, who has the ball, where they are looking and even what they might be saying. It extends to knowing the current score as well as how much time is on the clock as well. If your state has a shot clock, court awareness includes knowing how much time is left whether you are on offense or defense.
Seems like a lot of information to process all at once, doesn’t it? The good news is that your court awareness can be developed over time… if you put in the effort to improve.
How to improve court awareness
The K.I.M. game, also known as Keep In Memory, is an effective and enjoyable method to boost your court awareness skills. The fundamental concept behind this game is to improve the player’s ability to recall a dynamic scene accurately, a trait crucial in understanding the constantly changing dynamics on a basketball court.
In this game, you’re encouraged to take a mental ‘snapshot’ of the current game state – player positions, who has the ball, the clock, and the score. Then, as the game progresses, you must frequently refer back to these mental snapshots, updating them constantly. This mimics the real-time process in an actual game, as you strive to keep an updated mental image of the court situation while simultaneously involved in the game.
Interestingly, some relate this game to ‘Kim’s game’ from an old movie, where the protagonist develops a strong memory by recalling intricate details from a scene. Regardless of its origin, the K.I.M. game is a beneficial tool in training the brain to capture, store, and retrieve necessary details swiftly, significantly benefiting the player’s court awareness and overall game performance.
Either way, KIM is a way to improve your ability to take a “mental snapshot” and then access it at a later time. In basketball, this “snapshot” is constantly changing (e.g. locations of players) but since you can’t always see 100% of the court or all the players, having a picture in your mind that you can refer to is of immense value as you are figuring out what you should do next.
Here are some examples of KIM games that you might want to try…
KIM Game # 1 – Team Challenge
[FREEZE] Stop play and have all players close their eyes. Ask questions of each player to identify locations of other players on their team as well as the opposition. Team with most answers correct wins.
You can also take pictures from behind the defense at different points in a scrimmage and, later, use them as a challenge for your team to predict where every player was after seeing the picture for just a second or two.
KIM Game # 2 – Snapshot. Questions.
Take a mental picture of something. Examples could be a billboard (if you are driving), a bulletin board (in a school) or a scene from a particular perspective. Have each person answer questions based on their brief glimpse or “snapshot” of the scene or item(s).
KIM Game # 3 – What’s Different?
I got this exercise from professional speaker and World Champion of Public Speaking, Craig Valentine. He uses this as part of his speeches to help audience members recognize changes. He starts by asking audience members to pair up and designate one as the “observer” and one as the “changer”.
He then asks the “changer” to think of 6 things they could change. Craig quickly stops the exercise before it goes too far and he lets the audience know that 6 things is probably too much. He gives the changers a different goal… change one thing.
Next the pairs of audience members turn away from each other (back to back) and the “changer” changes 1 thing about their clothing or personal “look”, e.g. hair style, location of watch or other items.
After instructing the pairs to turn back toward each other, Craig asks the question, “What’s missing or changed?”. Most observers can pick out the one change. He then repeats the exercise with two changes … and again the observer usually recognizes the changes.
What’s the moral of this story?
How’s your team’s court awareness?
If you start small, you can learn to observe the changes and your ability to see relative changes can be expanded with practice.
The same thing applies to Court Awareness. By using these exercises along with ideas you develop yourself, players will train their brains to be more aware of the location of other players, where they are moving as well as other factors that are part of the game.
What’s next?
First, it would be great if you could post your ideas or feedback about Court Awareness in the comments below. We would also love to hear what types of drills you use and how court awareness has improved the performance of your team.
Second, you might want to learn more about how court awareness figures into something called the “OODA Loop”. Check out this article by Coach Wheeler “Mental Models and the OODA Loop.”
Here is one of my favorite coaching tips from Coach Geno Auriemma. It is about a way that he shows players the proper pace they should be using on the basketball court and the amount of effort / focus that he expects.
Effort is critically important to a player’s development. If a player doesn’t stretch outside their comfort zone, they won’t become one of the players that win.
Coach Wheeler “It’s about Effort”
I use “up & backs” as a key part of the conditioning program for my teams. Basketball is a game of acceleration and getting from one point to another. It is also about putting out bursts of effort and recovering quickly.
Most people don’t realize that the key part of the up/back drill is how long it takes for a player to be ready to do it again. The best players can do multiple runs with minimal rest but the drill must push players so they put out their best effort both while running and when they set their “restart threshold”.
Through years of trial, I now use a “sorting technique” where the 1st 5 players who are ready and step up to the line are moved to their right side of the line. The rest of the team waits until they are done (usually 10 seconds) before they run. Anyone from either group who finishes in less than 10 seconds can “step up” to run with the top 5. This process quickly shows who is in shape and who is willing to put in the extra effort. Maybe I will offer $100 like Coach Auriemma next time…
