NABC On the Court Open Practice with Frank Haith: Skills Players Need to Practice + Zone & Transition Defense

with Frank Haith,
Texas Assistant Coach;
Memphis Assistant Coach from 2022 to 2023;
University of Tulsa Head Coach from 2014 to 2022;
2020 American Athletic Conference (AAC) Coach of the Year;
2020 NABC District 24 Coach of the Year;
University of Missouri Head Coach from 2011 to 2014;
2012 Associated Press (AP) College Basketball Coach of the Year;
2012 USBWA Henry Iba Award;
2012 AP Big 12 Coach of the Year;
2012 Big 12 Tournament Champions;
University of Miami Head Coach from 2004 to 2011

Come into the gym at the University of Tulsa and see Coach Frank Haith and the Golden Hurricane in action! You will see a full practice from start to finish - stretching to free throws. Half-court sets, baseline out of bounds plays and more are jam packed into this on the court, open practice with Coach Haith!

Warm-Up, Shooting, Post/Perimeter Work

Players take the floor for practice with a dynamic stretching routine that encompasses the whole court and incorporates ball handling. Included in their warm-up routine is a review of their offense. You will see their press attack as well as several half-court plays in a 5-on-0 play review. Continuing to get his players focused and ready, Coach Haith has the team split into two groups and get up shots in a shooting progression drill. This is a great one for getting up a bulk number of shots in a short amount of time.

Next, players split up into post and perimeter groups to work on position-specific moves and shots. You will see different attacks and finishes from the perimeter and post positions as well as a continuous 3-on-0 drive & kick drill.

Passing & Defense Drills

Emphasizing the importance of passing and catching, the Golden Hurricane go through two full-court passing drills that reinforce their up-tempo style of play. The Blowout Drill gets players conditioned and works on the kick-ahead pass that is so important to fast break basketball.

Moving to the defensive side of the ball, Coach Haith has players work on positioning and footwork on slot drives and pivots on the wing. The Wall Jump Drill will get your post players moving their feet and contesting without fouling on aggressive baseline drives to the hoop. To really get things going and competitive, players are put into a Charge Drill. This develops the habits of keeping your head on a swivel, jumping to the ball, and finishing with a charge.

Coach Haith also shows his Baseball Drill, which is a super competitive 1-on-1 team drill. You will see how you can put different parameters and scoring points into the drill to emphasize your defensive principles. Haith then has his players work on closeouts and saving the ball out of bounds to the corner.

Rebounding, Shell Defense, Transition Defense

Next, you'll see players work on blocking out and rebounding in a 3-on-3 rebounding game. Sticking with the defensive mindset, athletes move on to the 4-on-4 Shell drill. In this segment, you will see how Tulsa players guard different types of screens, ball screens, as well as how they trap the post. Adding players to make it 5-on-5, Coach Haith has his team guard multiple half-court sets.

Switching to transition defense, the Golden Hurricane go through two drills to work on their transition principles of "basket, ball + white line + weak line." You'll also see how to convert quickly from half-court offense to transition defense in the Transition D vs Coaches drill.

Rounding out the practice, Haith has his team review multiple baseline out of bounds plays. You will get several plays from two different alignments that will surely put points up on the board!

This video serves up a great opportunity to learn from a fantastic basketball coach with an inside look into the Tulsa men's basketball program led by Frank Haith!

110 minutes. 2021.