Open Practice with Katie Gearlds: Defensive Build-Up & Shell Drills, Transition & Half Court Offense, Ball Screen Defense & More

with Katie Gearlds,
Purdue University Head Women's Coach;
2024 Leroy Keyes Athletics Hall of Fame (Purdue University);
Marian University Head Coach from 2013 to 2021;
2x NAIA National Champions (2016, 2017);
played for Purdue University from 2003 to 2007;
2004 Big Ten Freshman of the Year;
2007 Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player;
2007 State Farm College Three Point Champion;
1st round WNBA draft pick (Seattle Storm);
played professionally from 2007 to 2013;
as a high schooler, was 2003 Miss Basketball (Indiana);
2003 McDonald's All-American Game MVP

Being a top scorer in her playing days, Purdue’s Katie Gearlds was well on her way toward learning to craft and build her coaching philosophy. Coach Gearlds has built teams to be ready for postseason success. With 2 recent NAIA National Championships at Marian and an NCAA appearance in just her second year at Purdue, building a contender at the highest level of basketball is imprinted into her DNA.

In this Open Practice instructional coaching video featuring on-the-court live practices, Coach Gearlds pulls back the curtain and provides you a front row seat to observe and learn how she builds her team-wide defensive toughness, as well as the drills and workouts she uses to develop knockdown 3-point shooters to compete in one of the toughest college conferences in the country!

Offensive Warmup, Transition Drill 

Teaching players to either finish at the rim or pass off of two feet can be a winning differentiator for your program and players. Opening practice with some warmup drills to get your players loosened up while emphasizing fundamentals, Coach Gearlds shows off the ‘Dribble-Drive, Kick Out Drill,’ where players learn to properly execute a jump stop on two feet and locate open teammates as they pivot and look for a kick out to continue attacking the paint.  In the ‘Shot-Fake, Ball-Fake Drill,’ Gearlds has her players work on ball control, while executing and improving the ability to fool defenders with either a shot fake or jab step. The skills developed in this drill is sure to keep opposing defenders on their toes and open up more scoring possibilities for your team.  

Once warmed up and ready to roll, Coach Gearlds demonstrates the benefits of pushing your players up and down the floor with high energy and intensity. In a drill called ‘Transition Kick Ups,’ Boilermakers players are shown working on pushing the ball down court after securing a rebound and looking to kick the ball ahead into high-percentage shots within your transition offense system. From kickout 3-pointers to rim-runner layups, this drill incorporates all of these options and more.  

Defensive Buildup, Ball Screen Defense

Coach Gearlds then dives into a valuable section of her practice session that stresses individual and team defense. Starting with a skill workout called ‘One Closeout and Defend,’ players are learning how to keep their nose on the ball, while moving their feet.In the ‘Defensive Reversal Drill,’ Gearlds has players working on defensive positioning from closing out on the ball, to sprinting toward proper help-side defense – which is a terrific drill for both improving help-side defense, while also preventing paint touches from the wing.

In the ‘3-on-3 to 3-on-2 Drill,’ Coach Gearlds shows how to build your defense, while improving your transition offense while initiating 3-on-2 layup situations that helps her players gain confidence to get late stops and a quick bucket in a tightly contested game.Building up to the ‘4-on-4 Reversal,’ players learn to take away baseline drives and rotate out of a skip pass – which helps your players deny any easy, open 3-point shots from the corner. 

Rounding out the defensive buildup is a segment where Coach Gearlds dives into the critical components of what makes a good ball-screen defense. In this section of the practice session, Gearlds teaches how to prevent easy middle drives, while protecting the paint – a defensive tactic which has kept her teams as one of the perennial lock-down defenses in the country year after year. Gearlds begins this segment by having defenders play in 2-on-2 situations, which is critically important to help break down the concept of defending ball screens and makes them easy for players to understand and pick up. Putting all the skills work together, leads into a demonstration of the ‘Transition-Stop-and-Go Drill, which utilizes the entire defensive scheme. This drill demonstrates how to focus on defending ball screens, while emphasizing getting easy buckets in transition. 

In this highly valuable Open Practice video, Coach Gearlds outlines her entire defensive philosophy and provides a first-hand look at how she builds up Purdue’s shut-down defense. Through breakdown drills and emphasizing simple, yet critical techniques, Gearlds showcases how she prepares her team early in the season prior to embarking on a grueling conference schedule. 

Adding the defensive drills showcased in this must-watch instructional coaching video, as well as the valuable strategies for improving your transition offense, will go a long way toward taking your basketball program to the next level!

Customer Review: 5-Out of 5-Stars: ‘Coach Gearlds does an excellent job of teaching in this video, especially all of the defensive principles she emphasizes!’

89 minutes. 2023.