Dustin Kerns: My Favorite Drills for Basketball Practice

Appalachian State head coach Dustin Kerns has developed a high level of toughness within his program. In his first two seasons as head coach, the Mountaineers have accumulated 35 wins and made the 2021 NCAA Tournament thanks to their focus on tough defense. In this video, Coach Kerns takes you through some of his favorite practice drills that fill his players with confidence to take on any opponent.

Warm-Up Drills

Getting players loose and mentally ready for practice is a tough job. Coach Kerns uses diagrams and video footage to open up practice and take you through a few of the warm-up drills they use daily.

Splitting up players helps maximize court space and time. Your players will warm-up and stretch while others use the time to work on their ball handling and passing skills. In Grand Prairie Passing, your players will move up and down the floor as they work on their passing skills, communication, and transition offense. Players race against the clock to get 38-41 makes and work on getting the ball up the floor quickly.

Offensive Concepts and Drills

Building your offense through breakdown drills is a great way to teach. Coach Kerns uses video footage to show you some of the breakdown drills you can use to build your offensive system.

In the How Many Actions drill, players use the actions within their offense and try to run through as many as they can in 30 seconds. This is an excellent drill to add to your repertoire. In Team Shooting, athletes use various ball screens to create scoring angles. In Open Transition, Kerns takes a simple defensive transition drill and turns it into an offensive drill by focusing on pushing the pace and getting a quick bucket in transition. These drills will add to your players' experience and help them increase their feel for the game, rather than run a scripted offense.

Defensive Concepts and Drills

Emphasizing defense creates a culture where defense wins championships. Coach Kerns showcases several of his favorite defensive drills that have helped his team remain competitive in a tough Sun Belt Conference.

Kerns demonstrates how to play 1v1 from different spots so players learn how to defend from all over the court. This is a great drill for learning how to stop a dynamic ball handler from attacking the rim off of a ball screen or shutting down an excellent shooter coming off of different screens away from the ball. In 3v3 Closeout, players are put into a typical 3v3 setting, but are inserted into a game situation with 12-15 seconds on the clock. The defense must defend the mid pick & roll and other various actions away from the ball.

In Sequences, Coach Kerns teaches how they will defend their opponent's favorite actions. This is a great drill to use at the beginning of the season and at the beginning of each practice to prepare your players for any action they will defend.

Using focused practice drills is essential for your program's development. You will love this video from Coach Kerns that uses footage and diagrams to showcase how to run a great practice.

55 minutes. 2021.