NABC On the Court Open Practice with Andy Toole: Shooting & Transition Drills

with Andy Toole,
Robert Morris University Head Coach;
2x NEC Tournament Champion (2015, 2020);
2014 NEC Coach of the Year;
Back-to-Back NEC Regular Season Champs (2013, 2014)
190+ career wins at Robert Morris University

In this on the court/open practice video, Andrew Toole takes you inside a team practice at Robert Morris University. Coach Toole places an emphasis on making drills competitive and getting energy flowing during practice. With a heavy emphasis on skill development through competition, Robert Morris basketball shares an inside look on how they have become a championship program.

Warm-Up Period

Practice begins with "Ohio State Lay-ups", a drill designed to create an up-tempo practice. Coach Toole emphasizes making sure that feet are always moving as players make passes. Another point of emphasis is to lead with passes and not to throw the ball behind anybody.

The next drill is "10 In A Row". Here, players drive to the basket and make lay-ups with the goal of the team making 10 in a row. With a manager chasing, players attempt to score against two coaches with blocking pads who use them to make the lay-up attempts more challenging. 10 makes in a row are required from both sides to complete the drill.

Defensive Drills

The first defensive drill you'll get is "Perfect Closeouts", a variation of the famed "Shell Drill" that places an emphasis on closing out to the ball correctly. Next comes "3 Minute Ball Screen". This competitive defensive drill is "make it/take it" and starts when the post comes out and sets a ball screen, forcing the defense to react. If the offense scores, they keep the ball and go again. Otherwise, the defense goes to offense.

Another defensive drill shown is "Disadvantage Transition", which is designed to teach proper transition defense. The objective for the defense is to get matched up and defend the remainder of the possession. Coach Toole makes it a point for his players to know who his players are guarding before they get all the way back on defense.

Shooting Drills

As part of his offense, Coach Toole teaches shooting skills to make his teams efficient from the perimeter. In "4 Minute Threes", players will shoot 3-point shots from four different spots over a period of four minutes. After one minute, the shooting line changes. Emphasis is placed on getting hands ready and "doing work early".

"Dotted Shooting" gives the team a chance to work on scoring off the drive from four spots on the perimeter. The guard will look to attack the goal against managers on defense who will either look to stop the drive or cover a post player from the post on the side opposite.

Shooting practice concludes with "CBS Shooting". This drill has a three-man weave of just two passes where the third player to touch the ball must score a lay-up while the remaining two players get balls passed to each of them for jump shots.

Scrimmage Drills

Keeping the theme of practice competitive and staying with the approach of playing games to teach, Coach Toole has an extensive repertoire of drills that are be used for this purpose. These include:

• Bucks Drill - A drill that trains matching up in transition defense.
• Make It Take It - Teaches offense and defense in a half-court setting.
• Circle the Wagons - Another exercise that gets players used to matching up on defense.

The level of energy and competitiveness of practice shown in this video are what every coach must have in their gym. Coach Toole will undoubtedly get you ready to put some drills and concepts to work in your practices!

75 minutes. 2021.