Joe Abunassar's Player Development System

with Joe Abunassar,
Founder of Impact Basketball;
has worked with over 100 NBA draft picks in the last 7 years; Kevin Garnett, Chauncey Billups, John Wall, Kyle Lowry, Dion Waiters, Rudy Gay and Ricky Rubio are a few of his athletes in recent years

With players all level having busy schedules, how do we find time for player development? One of the most renowned player development trainers in basketball, Joe Abunassar, uses on-court and off-court demonstrations and lectures on what it takes to be a successful basketball player. With four core areas of emphasis, Coach Abunassar gives a glimpse of what he has done to develop multiple NBA lottery picks and some of the greatest NBA players of all time.

You will see how to train small and large groups of players, how to communicate with players, and how to structure your drills to get the most out of your training sessions. Additionally, you will see the seven foundations of Abunassar's full-year developmental program at Impact Basketball.

Basic Skill Work

The emphasis of skill development drills that translate into a game is the core of what Abunassar does when developing players. The skill development drills presented pick up in tempo as the workout continues to get players to play with more confidence at a faster speed.

To warm up the players during skill development work, Coach Abunassar starts with ball-handling drills. One of the drills is a two-line drill with the front line of players dribbling the basketball and the back line working their leg muscles. This basic warm-up drill improves handling of the basketball and gets muscles activated for activity.

In developing shooting, Coach Abunassar goes beyond shooting form and mechanics and gets into working in simulations at game speed. A two-player shooting drill that works on getting open and basic ball handling simulates game situations at game speed effectively. Focusing on efficiency, the shots are designed to get a shooter set before actually receiving the basketball.

Playing on the Move

In the second part of the video, Abunassar shows ways that his skill development work can be incorporated into your team's offense. Starting with the curl cut, players demonstrate using proper footwork and squaring to the basket before taking a jump shot. Shot fakes and finishing with the dribble for a one-dribble pull-up or lay-up are then added to get players to play in their element.

In addition to the curl cut, the pop cut, trail cut, and flare cut are also demonstrated. One aspect of the drills shown is they can be adjusted to big players and guards alike by adjusting the work off of the cuts to the abilities of the players based on their position.

Each cut can also simulate playing against a defender, or, can be used against live defense. By working on elements that include how to handle a defender, the skills of a player being able to play and score on the move can be enhanced.

Combination Drills

When developing a perimeter player and a post player together, both players can be utilized with combination drills. The first of these are low post entry drills. Here, the guard enters the ball into the post and can either work with a cut-through or can even fill the ball-side corner.

Second, high post entry is demonstrated. Here, the pinch post becomes the focus of skill development within the framework of the offense. Variations include having the guard drive to the basket or shooting after getting the ball back from the post player on the hand-off.

A third area that is worked on is the pick and roll. With teams adding this maneuver into their offense on a more consistent basis, Abunassar goes over the finer points of its' execution by both players involved. The drills to work on pick & roll are supplemented by shots for both the ball screener and the dribbler.

Whether you are working to improve a player who is preparing for a season in professional basketball or someone who is starting out in grade school, drills are presented to improve players at any level. Abunassar's teaching approach will help your players take their game to the next level.

"The list of players that have trained with Coach Abunassar is a virtual who's who of some of the best NBA players in the last 20 years. The drills and core philosophy in getting players better translate for every player from grade school on up to the pros." - Customer Review.

132 minutes. 2016.