Lebron James after the loss of game three to the warriors in 2017

Q: If you could have the play over again, would you still make that same pass?

LJ: If I could have the play over again, I would come off a three-screen situation. Draymond (Green) would switch on me with five fouls. I would get him leaning. I would drive left. I would see KD step up. I would see Stephen Curry drop on Kevin (Love). And I would see Kyle Korver in the corner, one of the greatest 3-point shooters in this league's history, and give him an opportunity in the short corner. I would do the same exact thing.

James did not drop the mic here, but he could have.

From Espn

Team individual workout notes from Kentlake

Everyone

Form Shooting (side backboard touches, lifts, straps, popcorn, Olympic shooting)

Beat the pro, Consistentcy Shooting, Reebok shooting, Bird Drill, Olympic Shooting

.5 Drill (shot, pass, drive(mix mid and finishes), wrap, euro/floater/spin read)

Outside hand breakfast passing

Cut Hips

Finishes= Speed(1 dribble to rim), power (off jump stop, add pump fakes and pivots), Doughnut (rondo add pivots)

Finishes off side dribbles, Shot Fakes, Rips, and other dribble set ups

Step Backs and Pull ups

Post

Sealing= Beachfront property, 1 v1 bowling (ballimmersion), Hi low seal breakdown, Sumo (center circle)

Finishing= 1 step lay ins, mikans, 3 taps, slow finishes, quick ups(shoulder close, quick up drill 1v1)

Post moves= Catch chin Check, quarter turn.  Middle hook, slip step turn the corner(3 steps), New school up and under(front pivot), old school up and under (cross pivot), rack move, fake rack shoulder fake.  Face up series

Rebounding

.5 pick and roll screening= Screen and rim run or pop, if defender goes above you or moves out of your basket line you slip, guards use NBA dribble rule (pull it for 2 dribbles before passing)

Screening and Ducking in /posting within offense

High post and short corner shots and moves=Zone offense

Point Guards

General ballhandling

Ballhandling under pressure (protected crossovers, attack and retreat)

Push shot, euro, spin finishes

Step backs

inch technique, side dribble, skate, stutter technique

Moves= in and out, in and out cross, harden step, iverson cross ( wrap dribbles counter)

Passing with both hands (pick and rolls, traps, post entry)

Dunk spot passing (bounce, lob, wrap

.5 off ballscreens=drive, shoot, reject, re-screen

full court channel 1 v 1

2 dribble from half court 1 v1 

Wings

Reading down screens or other off ball screens

.5 pin down drill ( curl, fade, straight cut)

Euro, spin, push shot, power jump finishes

getting to 4 on 3 or 3 on 2 to play .5 within halfcourt offense

Forced drive drills

Post up work depending on player

Spacing drills

2 dribble from halfcourt 1 v 1

3 v 3 with dribble restrictions

Multiple effort 1 v 1 drills

1 v 1 vs side ballscren/middle ball screen

1v 1 ice to 1 v1 against the pop

1 v 1 off pidown

1 v 1 help off back screener/crosscreen centerfield then recover to 1 v 1

Sink and fill, or help on ball then rocker to 1 v 1

Perfect vision with movement to 1 v 1

Baseball

Other breakdowns of your offense= 1 up, memphis, flex etc

Some individual shell work (e.g. 4 offense with 1 defender checking positioning and technique)

Ed Madec Toughness drills

6 drills, keep in mind this is a pure dribble motion and walberg press program so they run DDM and white 2-2-1 or R and J in almost everything they do

1  Animal Drill 

Take a charge, then dive for a loose ball at half, win a 50/50 rebound on a bounce off the ground, Split a trap through two coaches with pads, Finish at the rim through a pad

(Think Shaka Smart drift drill)

2 Med Ball Reobund

8-15lbs Med ball, line up at elbows 1 rebounder throw med ball up and rebounds it at rim (power box), throws hitch fake, gets hit with pad, finishes through pad, rebounds make, pivots to the outside and throws outlet.

Two sides going at once

3) Capped Rim Transition Game

Play this to 6 points= All buckets and all rebounds are worth 1 point

Working on Ball Pressure, Rebounding, and shot selection

4 on 4 or 5 on 5

One rim is capped, the other is open, Start the game with a tug of war to see who gets ball. Teams play out possessions, if team going towards the open rim scores they press(your press offense, your press defense man or zone).  Once the team going toward the open rim does not score, the drill stops you can teach and switch the teams directions.

4) Tight Space Passing

3 v 3 in the space under free throw line extended outside of the paint.  Its the Dunlap drill, complete 5 passes to get a point.  Defense pressures the heck out of the ball.  Offense pivots jumpstops and takes care of the ball.  Offense has no dribbles and you may choose to tell the defense not to switch.

5) Window Read Drill

Dribble Drive motion drill, Start with pg guard getting open physically against a pad held by coach in the middle at the top of the key.  There will be a player in the dunk spot(DDM) who is guarded by someone from the other team and another coach with a pad at the right elbow.  The guard drives the ball right, through the coach with a pad and reads the 2 on 1 with his teammate at the dunk spot. this would be the 2 on 1 version, add a player at the weak side wing and now its the 3 on 2 version, add a trail player and now its the 4 on 3 version.  The point guard should explode through the pad but then play slow and controlled to read the help d as far as shoot or pass and who to pass to.  It is live and scored by 2’s and 3’s to 11.  O-Boards are worth 1 point, if the offense wants to try for a mid air tip in its worth 2 points but none if they miss. (because its an overload drill you want the offense to play .5.  Emphasize jump stops in tis drill.

6) Team Fire (modified version of Wasberg Scramble)

3 on 2 continuous in phases.  3 on 2, 3 on 5, then 3 on 2 again.  

2’s and 3’s to 11, O boards are worth 1 point (can’t get to 11 on O-board, will subtract points from the other team instead) 

Traditional 3 on 2 continuous set up, though each team has next players lined up at Free throw lines extended. Play no dribble early, then add 1, then add 2 dribbles(this teaches offense to value the dribble, defense to pressure the ball and then gradually guard the dribble) offense attacks and takes their shot, on make or miss they will press with support of the back line two players. Who ever rebounds the ball for the defense gets to stay in while the two players waiting will sweep in for outlet or sprint wide up the floor.  Every made shot is treated like a miss, therefore the offense can rebound it and get a point and/or score it again.

Fundamentals they are coaching= Be wide on the break, No Negative Passes(backwards), Jumpstops, Any other bad habits.  They will simply yell “other way" and its an instant turnover.

The Stride Step

Wing Play

So I wanted to write a post on Wing play as a companion to the Guard play post I wrote awhile back (link here),  for the purposes of understanding what I mean by wing play is a player that primarily is on the receiving end of passes within half court offense.  They will dribble the ball, but most of their offensive opportunities come off the catch.  The video in this post will be of Ryan Arcidiacono from Villanova (congrats on the Natty BTW).


UNDER CONTROL
A theme throughout all these clips is how under control Arc is.  His footwork is on point, he makes moves that are effective but not necessarily sure athletic in terms of speed or vertical ability, and he creates quickness by having NO EXTRA or WASTED MOVEMENT.


ALWAYS SHOT READY
When playing without the ball and spacing on the perimeter its important that your ready to catch and shoot at all times.  The game has changed to a 4 out 1 in pick and roll to drive and kick style, this means you need to be fundamentally sound in terms of having your hips downs, eyes to the rim, hands up, and feet ready to 1-2 step for the entire possession.  The Spurs teach players to play .5 basketball (you have .5 when you touch the ball to shoot, pass, or drive in that order), Jay wright tells player they are most open right when they catch the ball.  By being shot ready you maximize the time you have to potentially score, too of ten a player is not ready to shoot when they catch or doesn't even face the rim.  Furthermore they have have excessive movement in their shot that doesn't allow for a quick release.

It should probably be noted that if you can't shoot, this foot work becomes even more important because you'll probably have to play a .3 style of basketball(where you're looking to pass or drive).  Arc doesn't need much room or time to get his shot off because of what he does in preparation for his shot.  Note the 1-2 step, the hands and the hips.  Since he shows the ability and propensity to look to shoot right away, he's putting his defender in a difficult position where he can't help too far off.

SHOT FAKE
Since he's always prepared to shoot, defenders are constantly moving towards Arc with the threat of his shot in his mind.  So since his shot is a threat, he can use a shot fake to draw mistakes from defenders who are out of control (while he of course is completely in control).

If I were to be picky here, Arc needs to make sure both feet stay on the floor when he shot fakes.  I really like that he gets the ball to his forehead and raises his hips because that makes the fake look more like his shot.  The two footed finish is super fundamental and under control.

MID RANGE GAME
Really pay attention to the footwork in these clips, there is no wasted movement, Arc's steps are precise. His speed comes from the compact movement.

All theses shots are off one dribble and 1-2 steps.  No wasted movements!

PIVOT GAME
When Arc gets in the paint but is not open for a speed lay in, he is able to stay under control and get to two feet.  He then will pivot and force defenders to make multiple efforts to continue to guard him.   This is not a move or concept that requires a 40 inch vertical or a 4.3 speed, just decision making and sound fundamentals.

STRIDE STEP
When Arc does see that he has a lane to get all the way to the rim he is a able to do so with long strides and no excessive dribbles below the foul line.  Watch in the clip as Arc turns the corner on his defender and Strides to the rim once he sees the lane.

Really pay attention to how he doesn't take a dribble be low the foul line and takes two long strides.

CATCH and SHOOT GAME
Wings are going to have sets run for them and so along with Arc ability to be shot ready, he must be able to cut and move off actions and still be ready to catch and shoot.  The clip below shows him making a straight cut off a double screen into his shot.

This will also involve the ability to read your defer in screening actions, here Arc's man tries to shoot the gap, he immediately fade cuts to get a catch and shoot opportunity.

CUTTING GAME

Everyone knows what a back cut is, but usually it is against denial.  I know this is a principal they teach at Villanova where after the driver ends their attack, player off the ball make a second cut.  Since almost everyone helps instead of denying any more, moving and cutting off of and after penetration when your defender is more concerning with helping on penetration.

CRAFTY, GETS DEFENDERS IN THE AIR

These two clips will show Arc getting defenders in the air by using a shot fake, AT THE END of an attack, these are fouls he creates be decisions he's made, furthermore since he's so in control if he wasn't able to create a foul, he could still shoot or pass.

POST UP GAME

Every player should be able to post up, if your player is in foul trouble or just simply undersized it can get you to higher percentage shot and its a super simple skill.  The biggest concept may be the idea that you don't panic when dribbling around a crowd.  Watch how Arc remains under control throughout this possession.

The best part about all the skills shown in this post is that they are all super fundamental skills.  IT bears repeating that even though it will help the more athletic you are, these are all skill plays that any level of athlete should be able to do.  Furthermore these are great examples playing the game UNDER CONTROL.

The guy who invented 5 hour energy

"What's more fun than hard work?"

"We make most of our mistakes from assumptions?"

Mindset, what matters now