NABC On the Court Open Practice with Dave Richman: Man-to-Man Defense & Breakdown Drills

with Dave Richman,
North Dakota State University Head Coach;
2015 Summit League Regular Season Champions;
2x Summit League Tournament champions ('15, '19);
2015 Summit League Coach of the Year

Dave Richman, Head Coach at North Dakota State University, gives you a detailed look at how he prepares his team defensively. In this high energy practice, Coach Richman works primarily on defensive concepts, focusing on details and accountability. With a total of 10 half-court drills, Richman takes his team through his defensive philosophy. During this practice session, you'll watch North Dakota State work their way up from close-outs, to positioning in the gaps and ball screen defense.

Warm-Up and Defensive Breakdown Drills

The first segment of practice consists of a dynamic warm-up and three breakdown drills to enforce the concepts of close-outs, stunts, and switching on defense. Coach Richman uses these drills to instill these concepts while simultaneously giving lots of individual feedback. Next, the concepts from the breakdown drills are combined into the 3-on-3 half-court drill, allowing the defense to work with a live offense. Richman and his staff provide continuous feedback to players with a lot of attention to detail.

Offensive Breakdown

The next section of practice is devoted to the offense with the "Spread Cutting" drill. This drill teaches filling empty spots after cutting or driving to the basket. These concepts are then applied into a 4-on-4 shell drill and combined with defensive positioning in the gap. In the "4 vs. 5 10-Pass" drill, four players on offense need to accumulate 10 successful passes against the defense. This drill will teach your players necessary defensive rotations and how to find openings on offense.

Ball Screen Defense and Rebounding

Using a breakdown drill, Coach Richman explains the concepts of ball screen defense from his defensive philosophy. The drill is performed with a defender and is quickly expanded by using a 4-on-4 format to practice live situations. The final drill is "3-on-3 war rebounding", with scores kept on the total amount of rebounds per team. Finally, practice concludes with a walk-through of some offensive sets against NDSU's next opponent.

With enthusiasm and an eye for detail, Coach Richman leads his team through an energy-filled practice focused on defense. With a well laid out practice plan, you'll learn several defensive concepts, plus how to use various breakdown, shell, and live drills to improve your players.

99 minutes. 2021.