Practice Drills to Improve Player Fundamentals

with Ryan Odom,
University of Virginia Head Coach;
VCU Head Coach from 2023 to 2025;
2025 Atlantic 10 Regular Season Champions;
2025 Atlantic 10 Tournament Champions;
Utah State Head Coach from 2021 to 2023;
UMBC Head Coach from 2016 to 2021;
2021 America East Coach of the Year;
made college basketball history when he coached UMBC to the first ever #16-seed win over a #1-seed in the NCAA Tournament (2018);
led UMBC to a 25-11 record, including the 2018 America East Conference Tournament Championship, in his second year (a school record for wins);
2018 Hugh Durham Award recipient (Given to the nation's top mid-major coach);
2017 Joe B. Hall Award recipient (Given to the top first-year coach in Division I)

UMBC, the 16 seed, and called "the ultimate underdogs", were able to dismantle a top-ranked defense with their up-tempo drive and kick motion offense in upsetting the top seed in the 2018 NCAA tournament. A rock-solid foundation of strong fundamentals were necessary in order to accomplish such a feat. In this video, coach Ryan Odom shows some of his most effective drills for establishing this skill set with your players.

Ball Handling

Warm up your players while improving their handles with the "Freelance Drill". Your entire team can efficiently work through a variety of moves to change pace or direction. You will also see how defenders can be incorporated to provide players with some additional challenge.

Full Court Passing Drills

Two drills are demonstrated that will improve passing, catching, and shooting while playing at high speed in transition. The "5-4-3-2-1 Drill" challenges your players to execute with precision while progressively increasing the difficulty of passing and catching. The "3-Line Passing Drill" is a great way to break down common actions in your transition attack. Coach Odom demonstrates how you can run through several drive & kick and ball screen options using this format.

Pick & Roll Drills

The technique, timing, and reads required to successfully execute ball screens require a strong connection between your players. Odom shows how he uses the "2-Man Ball Screen Series" to develop this chemistry between the ball handler and the screener. Numerous pick & roll options from Odom's offense are explained. You will learn how to use side, angle, and middle ball screens. Additionally, twists and re-screens are both demonstrated to help you counter defensive strategies by catching them off-guard.

Shooting Drills

In order to excel with UMBC's style of play, you will need shooters that can spread the floor. The "V-Cut Shooting Drill" can quickly involve your whole team for shooting practice around the entire court. The "Drive & Kick" drill can break down dribble penetration options in your half-court offense while also reinforcing the types of shots that will be created from these actions.

Every coach wants players that can dribble, pass, and shoot at a high clip. Coach Odom gives you some great practice drills that perfectly reinforce essential basketball fundamentals!

44 minutes. 2019.