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All-Access Basketball Practice: Man Breakdown Drills with Kevin Boyle

By adam.warner - Last updated: Wednesday, March 6, 2013

In the latest edition of All Access, we head south to sunny Florida for a practice session with Montverde Academy head coach Kevin Boyle. Follow along as the former Naismith National Coach of the Year leads his squad through a variety of breakdown drills focused on man-to-man defense.

Zigzags & Catch up

Last month, we watched UConn women’s head coach Geno Auriemma take his team through a similar zigzag drill. This time, Coach Boyle puts a little wrinkle on the drill as players go with no basketball.

In this example, players must work on getting their head on the ball so they can turn the ball handler. It’s imperative that defenders get in front of the offensive player. It’s really the key to slowing down a team’s fast break.

So why no ball? Well, according to Coach Boyle, you find out that at this level, most players don’t handle the ball well enough yet to make this drill valuable for the defense.

Next, with “Catch Up”, the drill plays out similar to before, except this time defenders must run to a spot about three feet ahead and then beat the offensive guy to that spot.

Getting Under or Over the Screen

Next, get two players on each side of the full court to act as screeners. Defenders must be away of the screen coming their way and get either under or over it. Be sure to make this game speed. Don’t just go through the motions. As for the offensive player, really try to run the defender into the screen. This is good practice for realistic situations in games.

Tracing a Dead Ball

Finally, get two lines set up. Players will go 1-on-1. The offensive player will dribble and then get stuck somewhere on the court. The defender must play up their face and tough defense. The offensive player works on being strong with the ball.

Next, make the drill 2-on-2 and have the new defender deny a second offensive player. The dribbler will run into trouble on the fast break while his teammate works to get open. The deny defender will do everything he can to prevent the pass from happening. Offensive players should look to go backdoor in these situations.

The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD ”All Access Basketball Practice with Kevin Boyle.” To browse more videos in our extensive All Access lineup, simply head over to our basketball library.

Filed in Basketball Newsletter • Tags: All Access Basketball Practice, BasketballCoach Newsletter, Drills, Issue #57, Kevin Boyle, Man Defense, Man-to-Man Defense, Montverde Academy

Two Proven Set Plays Designed With Your Versatile Big Man in Mind

By adam.warner - Last updated: Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Take advantage of your frontcourt size through these highly effective set plays. Follow along with former Naismith Coach of the Year Kevin Boyle as he walks you through each play before his players simulate them live on the basketball court. Ideal to use against man and zone defenses, these plays will most certainly add an extra dimension offensively for your basketball team this season.

Overview of Action

These set plays are suitable for a number of different scenarios. However, the primary goal here is to get the ball inside to your big men and put them in situations to be successful. Typically, Coach Boyle and company will start by running the play in a half-court setting before sprinting back to cover imaginary opponents on defense. From there, a coach will shoot the basketball and the unit will quickly head out on the fast break.

Power

“Power” is a great play for your big man to get a high percentage look at the basket. Start with your point guard up top and the rest of the players in a box formation at the elbows and low blocks. Get the big guys to start at opposite elbows.

The play begins with the point guard dribbling the ball to the wing. From here, the ballside elbow player comes down and screens for the low block player (on the same side). The low block player then flies straight up and catches the ball up top just above the three-point line.

Now the opposite elbow player screens down and the low block player comes up to the wing and receives the ball from up top. Meanwhile, the big guy who just screened immediately opens up on the block and opens to the ball with his hands up. The passer now cuts to the far corner and the opposite low block player comes up to the high post and receives the ball.

If the low block big guy isn’t open, he can swing the ball to the middle and then look for the lob over the top and an easy field goal chance.

Double Stack

For this play, get your players set up in a double stack on the blocks, with players 4 and 5 high and players 2 and 3 low. The 2 and 3 players start by cutting inside and then out to set up on the wings. The ball is then passed to the wing player. Meanwhile, the ballside big man will come up just above the elbow and set a screen (a la Karl Malone) for the point guard.

Depending on how the defense plays this, the point guard will run off this screen either inside or outside. If open, give your guard the rock for a shot or layup. If not, the point guard should continue to sprint out to the corner.

Next, the ball goes up top to the previous screener and now the big man down low pops out into the lane and looks to receive a pass. Make sure that you duck in for this to be effective. In other words, sit low and make contact. Get the ball to this player and give him an opportunity to score.

Notes: You can also make a quick swing pass to the opposite wing and then another pass to the post for a layup chance or lob. This is considered playing in a triangle with your teammates, a tactic frequently used by legendary coaches like Jerry Sloan and John Wooden.

Filed in Basketball Newsletter • Tags: BasketballCoach Newsletter, Issue #54, Kevin Boyle, Montverde Academy, Set Plays

Winning with Undersized Players: 3 Key Full-Court Defensive Drills

By adam.warner - Last updated: Wednesday, November 14, 2012

In this week’s team development feature, former Naismith High School Boys Basketball Coach of the Year Kevin Boyle breaks down effective ways to compete against bigger, more athletic teams on the defensive end of the floor.

Playing Foul-line to Foul-line

So how exactly do we guard people that are bigger than us? Well, if I am more athletic than you, the first thing I want to do is make the game full court. I want to play you between the foul-lines and not let you post up or pass to the wings and dump it in.

Get Aggressive

Additionally, look to get very aggressive and in the face of your opponent. Be active. Second, challenge every pass. And finally, when pressing or trapping, consider using a diamond press against a team with lower fundamentals. However, if it’s a well-coached team, they know where the traps are. Therefore, against the better teams you should trap man-to-man.

Don’t Double Bigs

Don’t double team big guys in the backcourt. Never waste the trap in this situation, even in the diamond press. Deny everyone else hard and make the big dribble up the court. With dribbling full-court as a likely weakness, this player is more likely to make a turnover.

Drill 1 – Score and Guard the Baseline

Use two players for this drill and start at midcourt. One player has the ball and will dribble hard to the basket and make a layup and the other one will follow. The trailing player gets the rebound.

Next, the shooter touches the foul line and gets ready to play defense against the rebounder on the baseline only. The player with the ball will shuffle side-to-side along the baseline and the defender must now guard aggressively wherever he goes. It’s about getting quickly on the ball after a make.

Drill 2 – The Inbound Pass Drill

Get four players for this drill. It’s essentially the same drill as before except now you are going to work on getting the ball inbounds. One player will work on getting open while the other will guard his man three-quarters. When guarding, dig into the opponent with your forearm and chest, push them low, be in a position to steal, and try to be in a good defensive position if they do get the ball. Get pressure right away.

Also, if you are facing a very athletic guard, it’s important to get below the level of the ball. In other words, the player previously guarding the inbounder will now drop and help defend the speedy guard dribbling up the floor.

The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “Kevin Boyle: How to Win with Undersized Players.” To check out more videos featuring set plays and drills, click here.

Filed in Basketball Newsletter • Tags: BasketballCoach Newsletter, Defense, Defensive Drills, Full Court Drills, Issue #49, Kevin Boyle, Team Drills

4 Valuable Dribble Penetration Options to Beat Man-to-Man Defenses

By adam.warner - Last updated: Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Led by 2010-11 Naismith National High School Boys Basketball Coach of the Year Kevin Boyle, the following drills utilize dribble penetration in order to beat the defense and set up high-percentage shots at the basket. Ideal against man-to-man defenses, look to practice these key offensive options if you’re hoping to improve your team’s decision making while breaking down the opposition.

Option 1 – Jump Stop and Dish

Start players at half court. One at a time, players will dribble down and beat the first defender who’s positioned just above the three-point line. Once players reach the lane, have them make a jump stop before dishing off to a teammate with a left-hand bounce pass.

For the big guys down low receiving the bounce pass, get your fingers up and your feet pointed towards the rim. The goal is to quickly turn your shoulder and chest to the baseline and go up strong with a left-hand lay-up. Meanwhile, ball handlers should look to get deep into the paint for that effective jump stop and dish.

Option 2 – Wing Kick Out

Now get about half of your offensive guys over in a line at the wing area. Next, we will emulate those situations where you beat your man and a big man steps up in the paint. But let’s say that a help defender slides over to guard that offensive block player.

Therefore, in these situations, dribblers should look for the kick-out pass to the wing. Wing players should not fade down. Instead, step up a bit and be ready for that jump shot. Don’t fade down. Step up a bit and be ready for that jump shot.

Option 3 – Drive and Score

This next option works on those situations when the defense comes up too high to help. As soon as that happens, the ball handler should try to cut around the defense and make a strong move at the rim for a layup opportunity.

Option 4 – Pull-up Jumper

This final option imitates when the help defender makes a fake help gesture and just stays back. When this happens, the dribbler can stop and go for a 15-foot pull-up jumper.

The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “Complete Package for Man & Zone Offense” featuring Kevin Boyle. To check out more videos highlighting man-to-man offense and drills, please visit our basketball library. Got a dribble penetration drill that works wonders for your squad? Let us know below or e-mail us at info@championshipproductions.com.

Filed in Basketball Newsletter • Tags: BasketballCoach Newsletter, Dribble, Dribble Penetration, Dribbling Drills, Issue #44, Kevin Boyle, Man-to-Man Offense, Montverde Academy

All Access Kevin Boyle: Pivoting Techniques & Fast Break Drills

By adam.warner - Last updated: Wednesday, August 8, 2012

The latest edition of All Access provides readers with an exclusive glimpse at a Montverde Academy (FL) boys basketball practice. During this recent session, head coach Kevin Boyle leads his team through pivoting techniques in a half-court setting before getting into rapid fire fast break drills.

Pivoting Drills

Although these are basic drills, they go a long way to help lessen turnovers, especially traveling. It’s key that players work on their triple threat positioning and being strong with the ball at all times.

Jump Stop and Pivot: First, the team gets into four lines on the baseline and four players go at a time. Players will dribble up to the free throw line, make a jump stop, turn, pivot, and make a chest pass to a teammate behind. Look to get your feet wide and then turn, pivot, step, and pass.

Tips: Make sure you get your feet spread (about shoulder width apart) and when you turn, keep that same distance. Maintain a strong, wide base.

Reverse Pivot: Through this pivot, you can clear some space against a strong defense and be a threat with the ball. This drill helps with ensuring you have room to pass, dribble, or shoot.

Tips: Watch as the players reverse pivot by using that right foot to swing around. This is where footwork and fundamentals become so important.

Step Over and Sweep: This next pivot move is great for those situations when you go chest to chest with a defender in a game. The motion here is to dribble up, jump stop, get the ball on hip, ball to shoulder, step over, and then sweep.

Fast Break Drills

Drill 1 - Start with a three-man weave. Do this for at least two minutes. Make sure that players get to the sidelines, run the court, and make an effective jump stop at the opposite foul line before delivering a bounce pass in stride for a layup. After the layup, have players immediately make the outlet with a chest pass and head down court (the same way as before) to close out the rep.

Drill 2 – This next fast break drill works on getting ahead of the ball in a game. Start with three lines like before and have three players go at once. Next, the man in the middle will dribble the ball all the way down court and get a layup. Now have the outside guys work hard at getting ahead of the ball. Once the basket is made, the middle player rebounds it immediately and throws a long outlet pass as the outside players get wide and eventually go in strong for a fast break layup.

The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD ”All Access Basketball Practice with Kevin Boyle.” To browse more videos in our extensive All Access lineup, simply head over to our basketball library. Recent All Access sessions feature Herb Magee, John Calipari, and Gregg Marshall.