Doug Bruno: Building Your Offensive Philosophy Through Individual Skill Development

How coaches teach is just as important as what they teach athletes. In this video, Doug Bruno gives you the foundation around which you can build your own coaching philosophy.

Bruno has been regarded as one of the best basketball minds in today's game. His ability to teach at a deliberate pace where players can focus on detail has resulted in top-rated offensive teams year in and year out. From learning to build a better player to improving your teaching method, you will become a better basketball coach and teacher by watching Coach Bruno explain his philosophy.

10 Ingredients of a Building a Better Player

Bruno spends time explaining how you can develop your players through daily skill development. He not only stresses becoming a player skill-wise, but also mentally and emotionally. The ingredients that make a dynamic and complete basketball player, according to Coach Bruno, include:

• A love to compete.
• Ball handling skills and performance in pressure situations.
• Attention to footwork.
• Focus on all aspects of offensive moves: with/without the ball, on the bounce, in triple threat and in the post.
• Great eyes and vision.
• Listening ability and being coachable in order to develop IQ.

Teaching Method

A player is only as good as their teacher. Learning to become a great teacher and developing a method where players will flourish is just as important as having the right mindset.

Players need to know the teaching mode and attitude of practice every day. Understanding what kind of day and teaching they will receive that day creates the perfect setting for learning and developing skill.

Bruno explains how starting slow and building through demonstration, imitation, and repetition will create the perfect learning environment for players to develop their optimal skills.

Offense and Drills

Coach Bruno uses one of his favorite offensive drills to demonstrate how his philosophy works. Starting with simple triple threat situation, he shows how to use a shot fake and attack an open gap. He builds onto this by adding crossover footwork and executing a change of direction move.

While developing a guard in the open court, Bruno turns his attention to the other part of offense: players without the ball. He teaches how to get open using a V-cut and use a backdoor cut for an open layup. As he lays his foundation, he also progressively builds the 1-4 offensive system with scoring options off of a hand off, fake hand off, square up and attack, and split/slip option.

Coach Bruno's offensive philosophy, through detailed player individual development, is one that every coach, at any level, will appreciate and find applicable to use with their team in the seasons ahead!

Produced at the 2017 Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Clinic.

68 minutes. 2018.