Open Practice: Offensive & Defensive Systems

Learn how to design the perfect practice, one that focuses on both offensive and defensive skills. IUPUI head coach Jason Gardner, a former All-American at Arizona, goes through a full practice layout that includes a number of individual drills as well as full team drills. The open practice covers a wide range of skills from transition offense to defensive half-court drills. Players work on man-to-man defense, weak side and help defense, and learn to defend ball screens.

Developmental Drills for Skill Improvement

No matter what level you coach, improving the basic skills of passing, ball handling, and shooting will benefit any team. Players are taken through a warm up that improve players’ abilities to make correct passes, improve condition, and teach players proper spacing while running the floor.

Gardner teaches players how to get open against defensive pressure with a variety of shell drills. The drills are dual purpose as players learn how to jump to the ball on defense and how to be at the help line. Coach Gardner has players work through defense at game speed in game situations. Drills include:

• Wisconsin Passing
• Weave Shooting
• Shell Drill
• Weak Defense on Ball Screens
• Green or Hard Show
• Pacer Drill
• Transition Shooting

Defensive Breakdown Drills

Coach Gardner shares his breakdown drills that define his defensive system. All of his drills emphasize communication and are done at game speed so that the drills are competitive and game-like. Gardner stresses precision in the hard show and in stunting instead of switching on ball screens.

Many of Coach Gardner’s drills show athletes how to defend the post to guard screens against man-to-man defense where offenses space the floor with a variety of strategies. The shell drills are a great lead-in to the half-court defense.

You also see shooting drills that are ideal in the early offense in transition. The drills break down how to space the offense with the post getting down the floor first. The trailer follows looking for a catch and shoot from the perimeter.

Gardner’s coaching style is very low-key, but he does demand a lot from his players. He insists they pay specific attention to detail in each and every drill. There is no reason you cannot do the same with all that is presented in this 94-minute video.