Ball Screen Overload
By: Dan Barto, Director of Player Development PTC and The Basketball Academy
As the NBA pre-season gets under way we decided this would be a great week to explore the variations and reads off of ball screen situations. There were two reasons for this.
1.) The kids will be able to watch the NBA and college games with a more critical eye
2.) The current pick up games and practice situations will be more efficient and clean on a daily basis.
Below is the workout for the first day. Our progression of teaching was the following for the sideline ball screen:
1.) Teach all players the how to set up the floor (5 on 5), individual skills and reads to initiate the action
2.) Show how to set and hold screens to give the ball hander and the screen better opportunities to make plays.
3.) Explain high percentage passing angles for particular reads as well as pressure releases
4.) Instruct in a 5 on 5 settings the variations of offensive rebounding angles and pitch/kick opportunities
Monday October 8, 2007
Ball Screen Actions
Understanding how to use the floor
Protecting the ball pressure
Putting team mates in successful situations
Station 1 Sideline ball screen- The Set Up The Handler
Free Throw line extended
Backdown-probing
Looking to set the other three players in the right spots
Knowing personnel strengths and weaknesses
Ability to change speeds and rhythms to get the ball to the correct areas of the floor
Probing drills
Back down drills
Station 2 Sideline ball screen- The Execution The Handler to score
Why and when?
Turn the corner
Drag and attack
Split
Drag and split
Turn down
Training drills into game finishes “See the help, see the shot blocker”
Best percentage passes and why
Setting up the offense rebound instead of forcing pass
Station 3 Sideline ball screen- The Execution The Handler to pass
Attack first versus intiating offense
Why and when?
The roll
The slip
The pop
The rescreen
Screen to post
Station 4 Sideline ball screen- The Set Up The Headhunter
Timing is everything
The better your angle the better your chance of scoring
Leverage you opponent, then quick roll
Post-first (2 seconds)
Know the floor
Listen to the handler he sees the floor
Understand the percentages of being a good screener
We are very lucky to have a talented group of point guards this year and this will be a big part of our systems and sets. We also instruct our players how the situations vary from high school, college, European, and NBA. Each level or league has different rules and much different coaching styles when it comes to mismatch and isolation sitiuations.
Whether it be shot clock situations, Stockton and Malone high lights, what Greece did to the US, Steve Nash in general, using the ball screens to intiate offense, getting shooters easy looks, ball screens versus zones, and creating foul situations. We teach the kids everything.
At The Basketball Academy we want to teach to the top of the class. Yes, over 80% of our graduates end up playing college basketball but more importantly we want to create future basketball coaches, GM's, bloggers, season ticket holders, and men's league all-stars. By showing these players not only how to play but how to analyze and read we hope to intrinsically motivate them to obsessively think the game.
