Daily Practice Structure + 14 Drills for Any Team

with Ben Jacobson,
Utah State University Head Coach;
University of Northern Iowa University Head Coach from 2006 to 2026;
2026 MVC Tournament Champions;
5x Missouri Valley Coach of the Year (2009, 2010, 2015, 2020, 2022);
4x Missouri Valley Conference regular season champions (2009, 2010, 2020, 2022),
5x Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Champions;
University of Northern Iowa University Assistant Coach from 2001 to 2006;
North Dakota State Assistant Coach from 2000 to 2001;
University of North Dakota Assistant Coach from 1993 to 2001;
as a player, was North Dakota Mr. Basketball in 1989;
played collegiately at University of North Dakota;
ended his career as the school's all-time assist leader

One of the best ways to stimulate your approach to basketball practice is by observing other successful programs and coaches conduct their own practices. In this video, you will see a practice run by longtime UNI head coach Ben Jacobson. Jacobson's teams are well known for their grit and defense, often taking down power conference giants. You'll get an inside look at how practices are organized from start to finish, and steal some drills and ideas from one of the best coaches in the country!

Building Fundamentals and Intensity

Coach Jacobson shows how a three-stage rotating warm-up can help players establish solid fundamentals at the start of every practice. These drills build better ball handlers, better finishers and better passers at every position. Teams with these kinds of fundamentals can make great strides in player development.

In addition to demonstrating how to layer progressions of different drills, Jacobson details innovative constraints you can use to help keep your team's intensity high throughout practice. You'll see how an accomplished coach who averages over 20 wins per season enhances player learning by alternating between on-air drills and drills that feature one or more defenders.

Improving Offense and Defense

Coach Jacobson continually challenges players both mentally and physically as he illustrates various ways to transition between half-court and full-court work. He shows how to build multiple actions into your transition game to help your team become better at scoring and attacking the basket before the defense has a chance to adjust.

This video will help you improve your coaching by:

• Showing four different options off a transition attack that maximize scoring chances.
• Giving you defensive drills with a competitive structure that encourages player communication.
• Presenting key metrics that players can shoot for in each drill to keep player development on an upward path.

Opportunities like this are great for coaches to see how the best programs in America run their practices without having to travel hundreds of miles! Jam-packed with ideas on both drills and pacing of practice, this video from Coach Jacobson is an indispensable addition to your coaching library.

71 minutes. 2020.