Open Practice with Jim Larranaga: Full-Court Defensive Drills, Half-Court Trap Rotations, Shell Drills, Herding Drills & More!

In this exclusive Open Practice video, Larranaga's team is shown 'getting after it' in a jam-packed practice filled with breakdown drills that showcase his favorite defensive strategies - all while working toward a goal of putting these learned skills together in a variety of competitive 5-on-5 scenarios that demonstrate how well the players retain and utilize the bulk of this practice's primary points of emphasis.

Full-Court Trapping & Half-Court Rotation Drills

Coach Larranaga wastes no time getting into showing the tools on defense that reinforce his team's defensive philosophy and goals. He showcases a highly effective full-court defensive drills that teaches players how to guard the ball 1-on-1 in the full court in a limited area the width of the lane. He also shows off a 2-on-2 full-court drill that teaches players how to sprint into help position and prevents the ball handler from getting into proper position.

Showing a defensive drill that teaches half-court trap rotation, Larranaga highlights a drill progression that works from 3-on-3 to 5-on-5 and utilizes different situations that arise out of trapping the first pass and then rotating into proper positioning to the ball.

Drills to Build Gap Defense, Transition Defense

Building on the previous segment, Coach Larranaga dives deep into a breakdown of individual defense by utilizing 1-on-1 and 2-on-2 scenarios. This type of work helps players build hard gap-defense, by loading toward the basketball and forcing opponents to pass back to the perimeter.  

Coach Larranaga shows off the 'Munchkin Drill' a full-court practice segment that shows his team how to load to the basketball while taking away the paint; this is an excellent 5-on-0 into a 5-on-5 drill that you can install right away to work on your team's transition defense.  

In the '3-on-3 Play Drill,' Larranaga demonstrates how to use a hard show against ball screen coverage to continue to build your gap-defense and load toward the basketball while taking away the paint!  

'Make It, Take It' - a Competitive 5-on-5 Session

Coach Larranaga showcases an exciting, highly competitive segment he runs in a 5-on-5 setting called, 'Make It, Take It' - which offers game-like examples of how the Hurricanes incorporate gap defense, 2-3 Zone defense and Scramble Defense in full-court scenarios.Coach Larranaga explains that showing off what players have learned in a day's practice starts with playing 5-on-5 in a variety of competitive scenarios. 

The Open Practice nature of this practice allows you to observe how Larranaga holds his players accountable on defense, by setting up parameters that do not allow easy baskets (a huge pet peeve for Coach Larranaga!). 

If you're looking for highly effective defensive drills that can fit into any program's repertoire, regardless of style of defense you employ, this Open Practice video is a must-own title to add to your instructional library!

54 minutes. 2024.