Creating Competitive Practices

Kermit Davis offers an inside look at how to structure competitive, high-intensity practices that promote teamwork and communication among players. You will see the emphasis coaches place on building energy in the gym through demanding players to communicate and be engaged in every drill.

By mixing whiteboard sessions with 17 on-court drills, Coach Davis shows you breakdown drills that help to emphasize key actions in his offense and fighting through several types of screens in half court defense. You'll also get multiple drills to create a mindset of getting back in transition to set the defense.

Offensive Skill Drills

Coach Davis' up-tempo offense looks to spread opponents out to open up dribble penetration and cuts off screens. Through white board diagrams and on-court demonstration, you will see five different offensive drills that build this attack mindset on offense.

The 2-Ball Draw & Kick drill develops spacing off drives and using pin down screens to score. You'll see how perimeter players play off passes inside with screening actions through the 3-on-0 Post Entry drill. Other drills emphasize how to communicate and share the ball in transition, as well as how to read the defender in order to create scoring opportunities from off-ball screens.

Defending Screens

Middle Tennessee emphasizes 10 defensive categories in everything they do. You'll learn how these concepts are incorporated into four breakdown drills that focus on defeating several different types of off-ball screening actions.

Coach Davis uses white board diagrams, on the court walk throughs, and player demonstration to explain his strategy for defending flare screens, down screens, stagger screens, floppy action and screen-the-screener actions. Additionally, you'll see how the Blue Raiders defend middle and side ball screens with different concepts. These drills emphasize concepts that will help your players minimize breakdowns and stay attached to their match-up on defense.

Transition Defense

To prevent yielding easy fast-break points from the opposition, four defensive transition drills are utilized along with an additional 10 minute controlled scrimmage. Each drill places the defense at a temporary disadvantage, which forces the remaining unit to communicate in order to stop the ball and prevent a quick score until the trailing teammate recovers.

Coach Davis illustrates his Transition Defense Game on the whiteboard along with on-court demonstration to show you how he brings out competition while working on this phase of the game in practice. The 5-on-2, 2 in the Corner drill overloads the defense by challenging them to get back versus two players who are designated to fast break while the shot is in the air. You will also learn how you can work on special situations, such as out of bounds plays, while working on getting back with the End-Line Defensive Transition.

Coach Davis illustrates all the elements that go into planning an intense and efficient practice, and also presents a blueprint for developing a tough-minded and highly competitive team.

116 minutes. 2016.