Last week, we sat down with Coach Steve Collins, who has lead Madison Memorial Basketball Spartans to 3 State Championships, 7 State Finals appearances and an unprecedented 12 straight Big 8 titles. He also coached NBA player Wesley Matthews.
In this interview, Coach Collins shares his secrets on:
- Why small sided games are the best
- How to teach proper spacing
- Why you need to practice the BANK SHOT
- Rebounding drills
- How to practice for special situations
Keep reading to find out how you can apply his championship winning ideas to your own team!
Small sided games
Coach Collins believes that the best way to train is to use small sided games. After all, most of the time only a few players are involved in a play, even at the NBA level. Small games of 1 on 1, 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 with different rules get everyone involved and teach players to respond to in-game situataions.
Teaching spacing through 3 on 3
His favorite 3 on 3 drill is where the players are not allowed to dribble. This eliminates the ball screen and forces players to have proper spacing. Proper spacing means standing at least 10 feet apart, making proper cuts and learning to fill the cutter’s open spot.
BANK SHOT: Scientifically proven to be 20% more accurate
Coach Collin also loves the bank shot. He incorporates this into this 3 on 3 by making a rule that the players can only score on bank shots (except from the baseline corner where you can’t hit the board). Bank shots are a lost art but scientifically proven to be up to 20% more accurate!
Bank shot can be up to 20 percent more successful than attempting a direct swish.Click To TweetRebounding is about habit
Coach Collin’s teams do great on boards. Why? He rewards them during practice. If you get an offensive board, you have the right to be selfish and go up. Either you’ll get it in or often times it’s a foul, so he often follows up a rebounding drill with a free throw drill. In his drills, he rewards his players for each rebound and punishes those who lose a rebound. Over time, they develop a habit of rebounding because they know they will be rewarded. Rebounding is not an overnight thing, you’ll need to incorporate the mentality to attack the boards into every drill. One way to do this is to award 2 points to every offensive rebound in every drill.
Special situations
Coach Collins shares how he practices scenarios like:
- Rebounding after a missed free throw
- Drills for taking charges
- Practicing a 1 man jump ball and getting a quick bucket
- Pressure free throws
There are so many situations that we often take for granted but sometimes they need to be practiced. How many times have your players lost an important rebound after a free throw in a tight game? In tight games, it’s often decided by free throws and how often do you practice that?
Here’s a great free throw 1 on 1 drill that simulates getting an offensive board and then scoring off that. Does this happen often at the end of a tight game? You bet.
Another special situation drill. Your team is down 1, opponent has 1 free throw. Practice inbounding and transitioning quickly up the floor for a bucket.
Coach Collin believes that small advantages add up over the course of a game. A quick bucket off the jump ball, or a quick play off a missed free throw can give you those extra wins.
All of Coach Collin’s drills can be found inside the practice planner app here.
Steve Collins