John Calipari: Warm-Up & 1-on-1 Drills

with John Calipari,
University of Arkansas Head Coach;
University of Kentucky Head Men's Coach from 2009 to 2024;
.771 winning percentage at Kentucky;
2020-21 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Guardians of the Game Award for Inclusion;
2015 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee;
2015 AP College Coach of the Year;
2012 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship;
2011 Telly Award for 'MVP Basketball with Derrick Rose' instructional video;
4x Final Four (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015);
3x Naismith College Coach of the Year ('96, '08, '15);
2015 AP College Coach of the Year;
3x NABC Coach of the Year ('96, '09, '15);
2x Basketball Times Coach of the Year ('96, '15);
2x Adolph Rupp Cup ('10, '15);
2009 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year;
2009 Sports Illustrated National Coach of the Year;
6x SEC Regular Season Champions;
6x SEC Tournament Champions;
4x SEC Coach of the Year ('10, '12, '15, '20);
Memphis Head Coach from 2000 to 2009;
3x C-USA Coach of the Year ('06, '08, '09);
4x C-USA Tournament Champions;
5x C-USA Regular Season Champions;
2008 Final Four;
2002 NIT Champions;
Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) Assistant Coach from 1999 to 2000;
New Jersey Nets Head Coach from 1996 to 1999;
UMass Head Coach from 1988 to 1996;
1996 Final Four;
3x A10 Coach of the Year ('93, '94, '96);5x A 10 Regular Season Champions;
5x A 10 Tournament Champions;
played college basketball for UNC Wilmington and Clarion

John Calipari is well known for developing players and doing what is best for his athletes. He has sent numerous players to the NBA and professional leagues, but more importantly, his players have turned into great leaders too.

In this video, Calipari teaches you some of his favorite warm-up and 1-on-1 drills that help players get better. He introduces each drill before explaining how he builds upon each drill within the first 15 minutes of each practice.

Perfection

Getting your players loose and warm is important before getting into the grind of a practice. Coach Calipari begins every practice with his Perfection Drill. In it, players have four dribbles to go the length of the floor and score a layup. You can put a score and time behind each situation to make it a competitive drill. This will help your players develop the ability to push the ball in the open court and score going at full speed.

If you want to play fast, you have to practice fast. After going 1-on-0 down the court, you can build into 2-on-0, 3-on-0, and 3-man weave with four passes. Your athletes must possess the ability to pass and catch if you want to play fast!

1-on-1 Work

Calipari first shows a combo drill that he uses to help his guards learn to initiate half court offense. Meanwhile, post players read the ball handler and focus on showing their body or numbers for a post entry. Once entered, posts use and develop post moves to score.

The next step for this drill is to have the guards work to get an inside foot and create space between them and their defender, allowing them to get open on the wing for another post entry.

Defensive Philosophy

Calipari shares the defensive skills your players will need to play fast. He demonstrates how to use defensive lunges instead of a traditional slide. Defensive lunges teach players to keep their hips square and not allow their opponent to turn the corner and beat them to the basket.

To conclude the presentation, Calipari talks about the importance of building leaders within your program and why these skills are the coach's responsibility to teach. Once you teach your players how to lead, their actions will be transferable and will lead to team success. Coach Cal shares some examples from his previous teams that highlight the selflessness of his former players.

Coach Calipari has had great success over his career. He works hard to develop his players on the court so they can been successful in their future careers once they leave college. The drills and philosophies in this video will help your players play their best and develop into excellent all-around athletes.

61 minutes. 2018.