Mike Jones: Blueprint for Building a Championship Practice

with Mike Jones,
Old Dominion Head Coach;
Maryland Assistant Coach from 2023 to 2024;
Virginia Tech Associate Head Men's Basketball Coach from 2021 to 2023;
DeMatha Catholic High School (MD) Head Coach from 2002 through 2021;
2006 US High School National Champions;
all-time record at DeMatha of 511-119 (.811 winning percentage) ;
9x Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Regular Season Champions;
8x Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Tournament Champions;
4x Maryland Private School Tournament championships;
6x Abe Pollin City titles;
6x Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament Champions;
at DeMatha, guided six players who went on to play in the NBA;
played collegiately (Old Dominion), professionally in the CBA and internationally;
2019 USA Basketball Developmental Coach of the Year;
2019 USA Basketball Men's U16 National Team Coach (Gold medal at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Brazil);
3x USA Nike Hoop Summit Team Head Coach (2013, 2014 and 2018)

Winning starts in practice with hard work. Developing players to become champions and working towards a championship starts with how you practice and the type of high-quality work your players put in each day.

Mike Jones has been on the championship side of things his entire coaching career. As a coach who has led winning teams at every stop along the way in his coaching journey, he’s been known for teaching players how to work hard, be competitive and focus on the fundamentals.

Whether it’s by the number of Gold Medals he has helped Team USA earn, the career wins and championships he’s won or the vast number of fundamentally sound players he has developed over the years, it’s the consistent approach to running practices and the type of quality instruction he provides to players on a daily, that is a common denominator to his success at every level. 

In this instructional video, Coach Jones provides you with his ‘blueprint for building a championship practice’ - one that develops players into championship-level competitors during the season. 

Ball Handling, Contested Finishes

Having confident players who can handle the basketball is a foundational component for any championship team. Building players who excel at ball handling - those who keep their cool under pressure and limit turnovers - comes through a daily practice process that features skills training. Coach Jones stresses that players must possess an imagination when it comes to handling the basketball and simultaneously focus on ‘seeing the floor’ while constantly surveying for opportunities. Developing these traits, according to Coach Jones, comes as a by-product of doing work in a daily ball-handling routine. Jones shares 6 drills you can put your players through to improve their ball handling.  

Coach Jones shows you how to use time to create a competitive edge and to make players push themselves to perform better than the previous rep. In this routine, you will see your players improve their aggressiveness with the ball and gain confidence in their crossover, while also becoming better at executing behind-the-back and between-the-legs moves.

Developing finishing skills around the rim and getting to the rim is another skill set that helps separate championship-level players from the average player. Coach Jones uses the same ball handling skills and combines them with finishing moves.In the ball-handling/finishing skills segment, players work on developing proper technique and skill in finishing around the rim by using: Euro-Step Finishes, a 2-foot finish, the pull-up and kick-out shot. While doing this work out, players both compete against each other and their own ‘personal best’ numbers for finishes made versus the number of reps taken.

Half-Court Skills Breakdown, Full-Court Screening Actions

Coach Jones begins this portion of the lesson by covering the importance of getting daily practice repetitions on ghost screens and dribble-handoff work. With players building their skills and improving their ability to finish around the rim, they must also possess the ability to apply these same skills to decision-making while moving at game speed.

To show how this is done, Coach Jones shares several practice segments where players work in the half court, while focusing on decision-making out of dribble handoff situations, ghost screening situations and ball screen reads.

Using a 2-on-0 and 2-on-1 situations, players must execute the correct move based on how the defense defends the action. This is critically important work designed to build and improve a player’s decision-making skills while under pressure. In these practice sessions, players move at game speed and develop the quick reaction time needed to read the defender and attack the rim accordingly. 

As practice progresses, Jones sheds light on the practice progression of work that leads toward a segment of full-court decision-making skills. By starting with ball handling and progressing through finishes and half-court decision making - your players will now be ready to apply their newly-honed championship skills in the open court.  

Coach Jones finishes with a segment of work that covers the skills needed in transition. In this segment, players work on using drag screens and getting downhill, while making the correct decision on whether to kick out or finish at the rim.  

Building a championship player through practice is where everything begins. By progressing through a practice that contains ball handling, finishing, half-court breakdowns and full-court decision making, your players will find themselves transformed into championship level players. Championship level players lead to championship level teams!  

This video is the toolbox for transforming your practices into productive sessions that focus on all the critical components of making a difference in player development - while also simultaneously keeping your drills competitive while maintaining a focus on conditioning and stressing key fundamental skills.

This is a must-own video for coaches who are looking at taking their program, and players, to a championship level and beyond!

Coach Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars.‘Coach Jones provides excellent detail on how to build a championship practice and program. It’s great to watch his step-by-step plan for developing players’ skills and confidence, pushing them to become championship players!’

86 minutes. 2023.