Open Practice: Skill Development Drills

Tom Izzo's players consistently perform their best toward the end of each season. One thing is certain come March: Coach Izzo's team will be poised for a deep tournament run. This annual assertion is a testament to Izzo's player development throughout the long regular season.

Now you have the opportunity to see how one of the nation's elite programs develops the skills necessary for a deep postseason run. You'll observe players performing a variety of team and position-specific skill development drills that work on ball handling, finishing at the rim, passing, shooting and more. In addition, Coach Izzo explains his practice planning philosophy and how to develop a great coaching staff.

Ball Handling and Attacking the Basket

In this practice, you'll see eight practice drills that improve a variety of basketball skills. The Daily Dozen drill works on several methods of finishing at the rim so your players are able to get past shot blockers. Garland Ball Handling is a perfect drill for getting your entire team dribble move repetitions without taking too much of your practice time. Coach Izzo also includes his favorite practice drill, Three Man Shooting, which has perimeter and post players maintain their spacing off of dribble penetration and ball screens to create open shots.

Position-Specific Shooting Drills

Your players will work on their footwork to pull up into jump shots under control from off the dribble or on the move. Guards work on taking jump shots while running the floor in transition, creating shots off of dribble hand-offs, and spacing off of dribble penetration for open shots.

Learn how to develop a series of scoring moves with your post players. Players demonstrate scoring from the block and rip moves to get to the rim from the high post. They also develop their mid-range game with jump shots in transition or from flashes into the paint.

Becoming a great team with consistent success is all about player development. Coach Izzo shows you how he helps his players become better on a daily basis in this live practice video. Through Izzo's fundamental concepts and high energy practices, you'll get to see the magic behind Michigan State's success.

63 minutes. 2015.