Last post, we covered Coach Geno Auriemma’s 1-4 high offense. This post, I’ll be sharing some of the drills used by Coach Geno for the UConn’s women basketball team.
Exclusive bonus: I have turned this post into a printer friendly PDF. Download Geno Auriemma drills here.
Practice tips and advice
If you can’t make a shot, what difference what plays you’re running?
Coach Auriemma talks alot about practice and how any coach can attend any of his practices anytime of the year.
- Starts practice the same way every day. Not a lot of drills but the uses the same ones every day. Only covers things that players will do in a game.
- Spend more time on your offense than defense. Coach Geno spends the first 2 weeks building his offense and then adds defense later.
- If you don’t have good shooters, work on shooting the ball, a lot, in practice. His offense relies on shooting.
- Practice different types of layups. Reverse, no backboard, wide layups, etc.
- On team shooting drills – take stats. Have managers keep stats on every shot.
- 1/3 of his offense to come in transition, 1/3 to be 3-point shots, and 1/3 to come from ½ court sets. Practice that.
3 Line Shooting and Rebounding
This is a great combo drill that has a lot of little things combined into it: passing, catching, shooting and everything that is included in a rebound.
- Starts with a 3 man weave. 1 passes to 4 and follows pass cutting behind 4. 4 passes to 7 and follows pass cutting behind 7. 7 passes to 1 for the shot. This can be mid-range jumper if you want to focus more on rebounding or as close as the second lane line to focus more on transition looks.
- After 7 passes the ball to the 1, they must get two feet into the paint before they can begin to box out 4.
- It is important that 4 takes the proper line (we use a cone or a coach to for a guide line) here to give 7 the chance to get into the paint so that there is a box out possible.
- This is a great drill to encourage not getting boxed out. 4 can spin, juke or swim move around the defensive rebounder. DON’T SETTLE FOR BEING BOXED OUT!
Fastbreak Layups
- Call each others names every time you make a pass / every time you want the ball.
- Middle line must get to the top of the key in two dribbles • Outside line must hard cut and finish layup.
- 1 rebounds the ball takes it out and passes to 5. 5 passes to 3. Both 1 and 5 switch lines as they come back to the drill.
- Add a coach between the FT line and the 3pt line to emphasize jump stop and body control.
- After the pass the passer with cut to the opposite side of the coach with hands up ready to rebound or get the ball out of the net.
- Must make 10 in a row with no bobbles, fumbles, or dribbles into the layup. Than switch sides. Make sure the the outside lines have proper timing in this drill. They should be cutting to get a pass, not waiting for a pass at the block. This will not happen in a game. Every drill must be game like!
Long and Short
- Divide the team into guards and posts.
- Your post will love to hate this drill! To start the drill your post (4) throws the ball off the backboard and outlets the ball to the guard (2) in the closest line. After the pass 4 sprints to the opposite rim. 2 takes one dribble and hits 1 just inside the three pt line. 1 must time the cut to get the catch no closer than the elbow extended. 1 should be able to catch the ball and finish the layup with no dribble.
- 1 finishes the layup. 4 must sprint to get the ball out of the net, take the ball out of bounds and inbound it to 1.
- After the pass 2 loops underneath the 3pt line looking to be ahead of the ball on the next rotation. 4 inbounds to 1.
- 4 sprints the rim. 1 takes one to two dribbles and hits 3 just inside the three 3pt line. 2 looks to finish the layup with no dribbles. 2
- finishes the layup and the next post (5) get the ball out of the net.
- 2 rotates to the opposite line than they started (layup first line). 1 rotates to the passer first line and 4 gets in the back of the post line.
Passing Drill
- Defensive Stance to Sprints
- Stay in defensive stance as you pass and catch down the floor
- Next group goes when the group in front gets to the top of the key
- When a group gets down the floor, they sprint to the other side of the court and perform the same drill except they sprint and pass instead of doing defensive slides
High post handoff
The 1-4 high is built on the high post action. This is a breakdown drill for the offense and generally used as a warmup.
- Bigs line up on baseline, flashes to high post
- Guard passes to big. Then uses change of speed to get a handoff
- Shoot or layup from dribble handoff
- Other big flashes as soon as guard shoots.
- Add defenders to the guard to simulate handoff
Download: If you want these drills on your mobile device at practice, download our practice planner app here.
Keith Rumjahn is CEO and founder of Coachbase. He coaches a U16 boys basketball team at Chinese International School.
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