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Craig Neal: 15 Skill Development Drills No matter what level you coach, player development is vital to your program’s success. Former Toronto assistant coach and scout Craig Neal spent most of his time with the Raptors in charge of player development. In this video, Coach Neal shows you 15 practice drills that work on every facet of the game. You will see drills for ball handling, shooting, passing, working from the perimeter, posting up, and much more. Ball Handling & Passing Coach Neal presents six different drills that develop the passing and dribbling skills of any player at any level. You will see a drill using two tennis balls and two basketballs that works on a player’s floor vision and hand coordination. Lobo Ball Handling tightens up a player’s dribbling as well as their change of direction. Often overlooked are passing drills like Lobo Passing. Players must focus on completing every repetition with precision. Scoring The name of the game is scoring and Coach Neal has a number of drills to help your players become better scorers. Coach Neal has a certain philosophy of footwork and shows it to you in a catch and pivot drill that helps players create the space needed to score consistently. Coach Neal works dribble moves in the open floor with Dribble Cones. Players combine multiple moves to get an open jumper from the perimeter, a mid-range pull-up, or a finish at the rim. Shooting is a skill that must be developed and Coach Neal does so with three drills that force players to compete with their teammates or against a clock. The results are more accurate shooters with increased range. The drills include: Cone Shooting: helps players refine their body control and have the ability to catch the ball quickly and shoot a jump shot while on the move Two Minute Shooting: works on developing mid-range and 3-point jump shots while forcing players to move and work on their catch-and-shoot technique Beat the Pro: players take seven shots and must avoid missing three to win this competition-style drill Post Play Coach Neal helps players develop a strong pivot foot so post players can improve their primary and counter moves. These include the jump hook, jump shot, spin move, and more. Neal also works on the inside pivot move to help posts score around the rim. Pick & Roll Coach Neal teaches the pick and roll to help both perimeter and post players understand how to put all of their skills together. The Outlet Drill is one that simulates getting the ball out quickly, running the floor, and using the skills taught to get an easy scoring opportunity. All the drills included in Coach Neal’s video are high-level drills used by players at the college and professional levels. They can be used at any level to help improve basic basketball skills.

With the increasing incorporation of zone defense into game strategies by teams at all levels, smart coaches are also looking for more innovative ways to break down a zone. In this course, Coach Craig Neal has outlined his continuity and quick-hitting plays versus a 2-3, 3-2 and a 1-3-1 zone. Working with court demonstrators, he established and introduced each zone offense like he would in a practical scenario, making it easier for his concepts to be incorporated into your program with just a little tweak. He will take you through a 13 set plays and a continuity offense which he uses against a variety of zone fronts. He will also show you quick-hitting plays out of a timeout that will leave your opponents overwhelmed. Finally, you will see five plays for use in special situations against a zone defense. 2-3 Zone and Motion Sets Via his "Regular" zone offense, Coach Neal controlled his offensive alignment based on what type of defense his team is facing. He used a simple 1-2-2 setup against a 2-3 zone to budge the ball and look for post touches in gaps. The guards' responsibilities are to dribble penetrate the gaps in the zone and look for open shots or post touches around the rim, Coach Neal says. In a different look, 15 side, Coach Neal utilizes a ball screen to create 2-on-1 advantages on either side of the zone. Using the ball screen creates an open look for your best shooters on the floor. Coach Neal includes several other variations out of the Regular set, including Thumbs Down, Thumbs Side, Double Fist, Lob play, and an after-timeout set. Motion Sets vs a 3-2 and 1-3-1 Defense Alongside a 3-2 zone, Coach Neal takes his Regular offense and maneuvers the initial set-up to get open looks for your shooters. In Head Pat, he uses a shallow cut with a ball screen to set up your guards for the rim. In 4 out, guards look to set up shooting opportunities on the weak side of the zone. Through using drive against a zone, Coach Neal will make the defense to make a decision between stopping drive and denying the open 3-pointer. For a 1-3-1, Coach Neal created scoring opportunities for the baseline runner. With most 1-3-1 zones having a guard running the baseline, he took advantage of his post players sealing hard against the guard and looks to score around the rim. He also Plays After Timeout and Special Situation Plays. Coach Neal illustrated six plays to use against a multiple zone fronts after a timeout or from an out of bounds situation. These strategies can create an advantage for a shooter on the perimeter or a baseline jumper for your post.  Coach Neal has shared his experience and knowledge to help you beat any zone defense. He showcased everything you want to know on breaking a 2-3, 1-3-1 and 3-2 zone.

Breakdown Drills for Teaching Half Court Man to Man Defense Craig Neal built the University of New Mexico men’s basketball program into one of the toughest in Mountain West Conference with a half-court man-to-man defense that doesn’t give up easy shots. Neal, who led the Lobos to the 2014 MWC tournament title and then spent time in the NBA as a scout and an assistant with Toronto, teaches his defensive philosophy and shares the drills that helped him build one of college basketball’s toughest defenses. Half Court Man to Man Defense Breakdown Drills Coach Neal shows you six drills that teach players individual on-ball defensive techniques. Using these half court man to man defense drills in practice will help your players: Learn how to talk on defense all over the floor Practice defensive closeout techniques from various angles Learn the Rodman Drill which will improve your team’s rebounding Improve transition defense using the 2-on-1 Build Up Drill Learn the Toughness Drill which was taken from Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers to teach many of these skills all in one drill Shell Drill Coach Neal uses the traditional shell drill to teach his defensive philosophy. You will see how Coach Neal uses towels in the drill to teach his players to play defense in the half-court with their feet, not their hands. You will see the proper way to defend the baseline drive and a middle drive and not give up a layup. Coach Neal also demonstrates the how he gets players to jump to the ball. Defending Pick & Rolls In today’s game, you have to have the ability to defend the pick and roll. Here, Coach Neal teaches strategies for defending screens like the hard hedge, flat hedge, Trap, Ice, and Hot. There are a number of ways to defend ball screen offenses and Coach Neal shows you how to select the right one that fits your team. He explains how to scout opponents, how to make in-game adjustments, and how to defend ball screens. Coach Neal shows you how you can effectively build an elite defense beginning with a sound philosophy all the way to advanced defensive techniques. His presentation is a great look at how a Division I coach creates a tough defense. Rent this half court man to man defense DVD today.