Billy Kennedy: Building a Championship Man-to-Man Defense

Billy Kennedy demonstrates 14 of his favorite drills to build the hard-nosed man-to-man defense he used at Murray State, earning him two conference titles and two Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year Awards.

You will see Coach Kennedy's defensive philosophy and the benefits it brings to the floor: player accountability, toughness, teamwork, using what you know, and producing sound fundamentals that win championships.

All of Kennedy's drills build the man-to-man defense from the ground up from 1-on-1 to 5-on-5. Drills you will see include base half-court man-to-man drills, full court drills, transition defense and rebounding drills.

The drills include:

• Wall Sits
• Defensive Close-Outs
• Close-Outs and Contesting Shots
• Close-Outs with a Dead Call on Loss of Dribble
• 2-on-1 Offense vs. Defense to learn how to prevent layups in transition
• 2-on-2 Full Court Energizers emphasizing full court fundamentals, then playing live half court
• 4-on-3 Disadvantage Drill
• 4-on-4 Live Drills
• 3-on-2, 2-on-1 Transition Defense
• Partner Rebounding
• 2-on-2 Help Side Rebounding
• Circle Rebounding Drill
• 5-on-5 Circle Rebounding Transition Drill
• Triangle Slide Drill

Throughout the video, Kennedy emphasizes fundamentals, closeouts, strong rebounding, picking up the ball, solid transition defense, and never giving up an uncontested layup.

In this video, you will learn how to condition defensive stance, close out on ball handlers, block out shooters, defend screens and defend in transition. The staples of what you need to shut down your opponent's offense!

Produced at the Spring 2011 Tunica (MS) clinic.

69 minutes. 2012.