NABC On the Court Open Practice with Dave Paulsen: Skill Development + Practice Drills for Offense & Defense

with Dave Paulsen,
Holy Cross Head Coach;
Fordham Assistant Coach from 2022 to 2023;
George Mason University Head Coach from 2015 to 2021;
Bucknell University Head Coach from 2008 to 2015;
2x Patriot League Coach of the Year;
4x Patriot League Regular Season Champions;
2x Patriot League Tournament Champions;
Williams College Head Basketball Coach from 2000 to 2008;
2003 NCAA Division III National Champions;
2004 NCAA Division III National Championship Runner-up;
2001 ECAC New England Champions;
2x NESCAC Regular Season Champions;
3x NESCAC Tournament Champions;
3x NESCAC Coach of the Year;
2x NABC D III National Coach of the Year;
2003 NABC D-III New England Coach of the Year;
Le Moyne Head Coach from 1997 to 2000;
1998 NNE10 Regular Season Champions;
St, Lawrence Head Coach from 1994 to 1997;
1997 UCAA Regular Season Champions;
1996 NABC D-III New England Coach of the Year

Dave Paulsen has successfully built programs at every stop in his career. Pushing his players to be their best, along with his "excellence is never an accident" mindset, have helped his programs rise to the challenge year after year. In this video, you'll see how Coach Paulsen puts together practice based on a scrimmage the previous day. You'll learn how Paulsen puts into place things his team needs to work on from the previous scrimmage to push his players to get better.

Combination Work

Ball screen work is important in Paulsen's offense. Coach Paulsen shows how they break down to teach ball screen actions from the wing. At stations, coaches and players work on delivering game-like passes and taking realistic shots coming off of a wing ball screen, throwing back into an alley screen, and hitting the post rolling off of the ball screen.

Offensive Progression

Helping players eliminate turnovers and bad passes starts with 5-on-0 offense because it helps them know where their teammates are going to be. In their "2" offense, Coach Paulsen has players go up and down the floor to work on hitting each option off the ball screen - post, drive, and throwback. In 5v5 Cut Throat, players work on handling ball pressure in their "2" offense and taking care of the basketball coming off of a ball screen.

Defense

Rounding out the practice is a look at how Paulsen works to improve their half court offense. In Cowboy Competitive, players cut off the lane as an offensive player looks to attack the rim off of a ball screen. This is a great 2v2 drill that offers continuous reps and helps your team work on different ball screen defense strategies. Finally, in 5 Man Shell, Paulsen puts it all together by having his players work on both sides of the ball, offensively handling pressure and defensively stopping ball screen drives and cuts.

In this open practice video, you'll get a look at how to use breakdown drills to work on ball screen offense and work on getting shots off of the ball screen. Coach Paulsen's knowledge of ball screen offenses has helped him amass over 400 career wins. You are sure to come away with concepts and teachings points that will benefit your team.

133 minutes. 2021.