Percy Carr – San Jose City College

Jaguar Basketball

- Old school mentality: No BS! Discipline is key.

- Keep things simple & to the basic fundamentals
- Do not tolerate “back-talk” from your players
- Drill → Jaguar Weave
o 3 player weave incorporating basketball fundamentals
o Stop above the three point line, jump stop on every catch, lay-up’s must be
made with the correct hand, correct passing technique always used (seams
up on pass, block & cup when receiving the pass), grab the ball out of the
basket & go back to other way.
o Any mistakes, in the aforementioned categories, means the group of 3
must start over.
- Drill → Kick Ass Rebounding
o 3 player drill with coach shooting the basketball from the just inside the
foul line
o Coach throws the basketball up & players fight for the rebound. Once a
player has secured the basketball they attempt to score. The first player to
score 2 or 3 basketball wins – losers run.
o After a long rebound or if the basketball goes out of bounds, the player
who retains possession throws the basketball to the coach & receives the
ball back in the paint.
o There are no fouls.
o Can do the drill on both ends of the court with guards at one end & posts
at the other.
- Drill → Shell
o Review standard shell drill
ƒ Doesn’t matter where players are, it matters where the basketball
is.
ƒ Down in a stance at all times, especially off the ball.
ƒ Skip/overhead passes only from wing to wing, use chest passes
from wing to point.
ƒ Screening game – review basics of defending off-ball screens.
o Grow to onsides & offsides
o Zone
o Blue (1-2-2)
ƒ Show rebounding responsibilities
ƒ Fingertips apart defensively
o Blue With (1-2-2 forcing the basketball into the deep corners for a trap)
o Blue Half (w/ trap)
o Red Dog (Box & 1)
- Drills → Basket Work
o Figure Eights – both hands, front & reverse
o Tipping – 4th & 5th tip-in with left & right hand only.

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o Power – player throws the ball up to themselves, rebounds the ball at the
top of their elevation, pump fakes (keeping the ball high), & finishes.
o Hand Ball – 1 vs. 1
ƒ Defender hands the basketball to the offensive player at the top of
the key
• 2 dribble limit
o Blocking out/close out/rebounding – 1 vs. 1
ƒ Defensive player starts on the baseline by throwing the basketball
to the offensive player located at the 3pt line. Using good close-out
technique, the two players then play 1 vs. 1
• Dribble limits, influence to weak hand, ¾ vs. full close-out

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Keith Brown – CSUB
Post Play

- Post play is more than just low post play – build a system.
- 3 levels of play (3pt, mid-range, in paint)
o 3 levels – impact guy, 1 level – role player
- Best move/counter move – play to strengths
- Power dribble, knees flexed, catch the ball off the short hop with arms extended
o Put the ball on the floor with authority
o Heel-toe, step-slide while power dribbling
- Clear pressure (over the top or underneath)
o Over the top – ear to ear, pivot & protect the ball with elbows out
o Pivot in each direction while taking a step, start on baseline & walking out
towards half-court (staying with front pivot)
o Low clear & step through – sweep & protect with elbows. Get the ball
through the zone quickly. Make sure the ball is below the defense &
proper balance is being used.
o High clear, lead step, & power dribble into jump stop – pound it, chin it.
Go somewhere with your dribble & step.
o Low clear, lead step, & power dribble – don’t drop your head.
- Don’t program your bigs to only be able to play & focus in on the blocks
- Pass to coach at the elbow. Hold defender off with inside arm, target with outside
arm. Catch & finish without a dribble. Use over the top clear vs. a smaller
defender & low clear vs. taller defender.
- Only open your shoulders up to the rim if you are going to dunk the basketball.
- Gain ground with your lead step!
- 3 zones (scoring zone – paint, pending area, & pitch area) for post players.
- Don’t like shoulders square on the lane when the ball is at the point – shoulders of
the receiving post must be square to that of the player who is entering the
basketball.
- Seal with top foot splitting the defenders legs. Stepping & sealing in the paint, not
the lane.
- If the post player is the scoring zone then enter the ball with a bounce pass.
- In addition to sealing, it is important to teach post players to re-seal.
- Hold position/seal by moving your feet & using off-arm to hold off the defender -
create an entry angle.
- Play through the defenders hips, especially on a re-post.
- Line of deployment – direct line between ball & the basket. Defensively you need
to push the offensive player up or off the line.
- Once a post puts the ball down, they become a one-dribble player.
- When defender is playing directly behind the post, offensive post should use a ¼
turn to the middle & read how the defense reacts to that ¼ turn. Chin the
basketball, look at the rim, & read the defense. ¼ turn also allows the offensive
player to read where the help is coming from & adjust accordingly.

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- Drill → Post spins the ball to themselves in the post, ¼ turn & fan the ball out to
help-side wing. Follow the ball & post hard in the pending area. Target & catch,
¼ turn & make your counter play.
- Pitch area – like to fan the basketball to the help-side wing while the help-side
post is screening for the help-side wing. After the post screens in, they seal off the
defender & post hard.
- Explosion move. Sit on block & catch the basketball in the pending area. Pivot
with either front or back foot (preferably back foot as not to expose the basketball
& run directly into the defense). Low or high clear, power dribble, & finish.
- Have a plan for where your post catches the ball on the floor.
- Drill → pass the basketball to coach at the FT line. Slide shuffle, on balance with
good base, head up, hands up. Slide along baseline from one side to the other.
Coach throws a pass (can be poor one), post gets hands & feet to the basketball,
catches & power finishes.
- Drill → Post throws the basketball up to themselves off the glass, taps the glass
while rebounding the basketball. Comes down with ball remaining high &
finishes strong.
- When an offensive player grabs a rebound, free foot (pivot until you find a seem),
& score the basketball. Too many times players grab an offensive rebound &
throw the basketball back up around the rim without proper technique or without
facing the basket.
- Coach bounces the basketball up high in the air. Post goes up & grabs the
rebound. While keeping the basketball high, pivots & finishes strong. Extension
of drill – as soon as the post’s feet hit the ground after they finish the initial
basket. Another coach enters the ball from the opposite elbow to post. Multiple
effort drills instill such characteristics in your players.
- Drill → Coach throws the basketball to the post at either elbow. Target & catch
(one hand targeting strong with the other hand fending off the defender), reverse
pivot, create space, & attack with explosive move. Ensure that the post is not
taking a negative step, but is exploding to the basket in a direct-line move.
- Good offense stretches the floor vertically & horizontally.
- Good post players play off the post with two feet & two hands, getting extended.

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Steve Cleveland – Fresno St.
Zone Offense

- Most neglected thing in the preseason is working on zone offense. You need to be
working on zone offense from day one going forward. Be prepared, especially
from day one going forward.
- Concepts & structure
o Attack a zone from the inside-out & there must be ball reversal
o Create a zone offense that works for you – keep it simple & maintain it
throughout the season.
o Attack the short corners & high post – where the zone in vulnerable.
o Be a teacher of how to pass the basketball, especially skip & re-skip.
o Dribble off the baseline – make the back defender go with you. Filling that
area that has just been vacated. Getting the ball in the short corners & high
elbows make the defense nervous.
o Know how to make two defenders guard you. Teach the significance &
understanding of screening the zone.
o Screening, overload, dribble penetration are key.
o On a miss – try to score in the first 7 seconds. If you can’t do this, reverse
the basketball. If you don’t get what you want out of the ball reversal, re-
set the offense.
o Screen the middle man vs. 1-3-1 zone. Side screen the top two guards in a
traditional 2-3 zone. The more screens the better.
o Automatic – when the ball goes the short corner, the opposite big dives to
the basket.
o When the ball gets entered into the high post. The first look is inside,
followed by looking opposite.
- Smack action – high post screens the odd-fronted zone to start the offense.
- PG to a wing, goes to the side of the basketball. Receives a pass back & attacks
the help-side guard.
- Screening the outside of the zone with a good shooter in the corner is a tough
thing to guard, no matter where the basketball is.
- When players do not execute good zone offense, it is not coached & practiced
enough. “Fake a pass, make a pass.”
- The best way to get people out of a press is to attack it with the purpose of
scoring.
- Drill → Two guards & two wings. Wings in deep corners & posts on each block.
Wings with basketballs drive up to elbow-extended outside the 3pt line. Posts
release from the block into the short corner & receive a pass from the wing. Posts
skip the basketball opposite to wing & wing can either shoot the basketball or hit
opposite wing off of screen in from post that originally skipped the basketball.
- Any time you see a 1-2-2 or 3-2, you need players attacking from the elbows
(looking inside, then opposite).
- Zone concepts: Ability to pass, make two people guard one man, set & read
screens (ball & side), transition from press attack to zone set, high post (inside
then opposite), short corner (opposite post dives, skipped then possibly re-

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 skipped), dribble off the baseline, get into seems & make the defense
uncomfortable.
- False motion is always good to give different looks into top/favorite plays. Have 6
or 7 different favorite plays to make the defense move.
- Make sure you have a good press break & attack the basket with the purpose of
scoring.

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George Nessman – San Jose State University
Defense

1.) Decide what you want your defense to be

a. Build your team identity around this
i. Tough, physical, extra-effort, etc.
b. Choose an approach that fits the players you have/get & can be effective
against the top teams in your league, conference, region, etc.
c. We teach from this conceptual framework:
i. Position
ii. Effort
iii. Technique
2.) Two key concepts for us:
a. Keep the ball in front
i. Proper defensive spacing on ball
ii. Active feet & hands
iii. Slight influence out
iv. Challenge all shots & passes
v. 50 (arm across, foot behind) & 75 (arm & shoulder across, foot
behind) in post
b. Protect the rim
i. Position to help off the ball
ii. React, rotate, recover
iii. Lateral help, help down in the post
1. Claw – designated player to attack/double the post on the
catch.
2. Dig – designated player(s) sink to a help position while the
ball is the post, poking at the basketball once the post
player uses the dribble.
3.) Progression drills for these concepts
a. We believe in the power of repetition – we will repeat until our players get
it.
b. Players can’t resist reps – permanent learning demands proper training &
attention to detail. We don’t tolerate short cuts & poor habits.
c. Practice intensity, focus, concentration – premium for SJSU each & every
day in all that we do.
d. Players will do what you demand, expect. “They’ll do what you tolerate” –
Bob Knight.
4.) On-court demonstration
a. Breakdowns
i. 2 vs. 2 post (bigs)
1. 50/75 1 on 1 in post from: blocks, hi-posts, short corners,
etc.
2. Live play to the finish – losers run
ii. 2 vs. 2 perimeter (smalls)
1. A/B gap off reversal

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 2. Help-side down screen
a. Inside/jam technique
iii. 4 vs. 4 stop twice
1. Determine offensive approach (post touch, reversal, ball
screen, upcoming opponent offensive, etc.)
iv. ¾ court live
1. Transition defense – we call this live ball defense
a. No transitional period, you’re either on offense or
defense at all times.

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Steve Coccimiglio – Diablo Valley College
Offense

- Basketball comes down to easy baskets, transition defense is key. Press offense
(being ready after a FT or TO) is also essential. Keep your guys sharp & prepared.
In-bounds sets are important, as well as zone attack.
- Evaluate your players – know their strengths & weaknesses. Run your plays to put
them in areas where they can play to their strengths & diminish their weaknesses.
- Base offense is a triple post.
- Know your team strengths, your opponents will. Understand what opponents will
do to limit those strengths. Driver/shooter?
- Diversity of attack is key. Have an offense with dribble penetration, pounding the
ball in the post, 1-4 spread, etc. Within that diversity, have set plays that look the
same with different results.
- Keep going to the well – if you’re scoring on an opponent, keep running it again
& again until they stop. When they do stop it, go to the next play.
- You need to have pressure releases – especially if you have slow players or poor
ball handlers. Use their pressure against them – step up, backdoor, etc. On any
backdoor cut, make sure you make your players to finish the cut all the way to the
block. If you don’t get it you can chase & replace back. Drive right at your man’s
defender to initiate the backdoor cut.
- Teach your guys to use driving lanes effectively.
- 5 vs. 0, 5 vs. 2 – get a backdoor against one of the two defenders.
- It is essential to get the basketball in the post. It is too easy to guard if you don’t
threaten the basket by throwing the ball inside, even if your players can’t score in
there. Have a specific plan once the ball is entered into the post – where you want
each guy (spot up, screen in, slash to the basket, etc.). Teach your post players to
target & catch, face up, & skip the ball opposite. More & more teams are
collapsing from the help-side of the floor. Anticipate this move in your opponents
& attack it accordingly.
- If somebody is going to guard you in a straight, traditional 2-3 zone. Take
advantage of this & overload a side. “It’s like a hockey power play.”
- If you’re methodical & predecitable, bad teams can guard you.
- Teach jump stops, triple threats, & the basics:
o Fake low, pass high
o Fake left, cut right

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