(Rental)-Offense & Skill Development

Open Practice: Offense & Skill Development

In six seasons as the head coach at North Dakota State University, Dave Richman has led the Bison to three NCAA tournament bids, three Summit League conference tournament titles, and a pair of regular season championships. In this video, Coach Richman shares how he applies an attention to detail and an emphasis on fundamentals to his practices.

Warm Up & Fundamental Drills

5-4-3 Passing is a drill where players get up and down the floor, starting slow, and then learning to catch the ball with two hands away from the body. It’s a drill that teaches a fundamental skill and warms up the body.

Coach Richman gets players to slow down in order to focus on fundamentals. Too many athletes want to go too fast right from the start. Post Feeds is a drill where players move slowly to over-emphasize pass fakes and get the ball inside. Passing and Catching is another where players learn to change speeds within their cuts and catch with two hands. Players learn to play fast and secure the ball reducing the number of turnovers.

The 4-on-5 Passing drill puts everything together in the half-court. The defense applies pressure with one player acting as a free safety. The offense must complete 10 passes using all of the concepts taught in the earlier drills. It’s a great way to teach making strong cuts, moving with and without the ball, and being strong with the ball.

Offensive Skill Development: Breakdown & Shooting Workout

Players are taught to attack the rim using a variety of methods. Coach Richman emphasizes “go up on two, finish on two” so that players protect the ball against contact. Players work on attacking the baseline, middle, or on a post entry and finishing at the rim against contact.

Any great offense must have great shooters. Building the shooter starts with building great form closer to the basket. In the middle of practice, Coach Richman slows his players down and they focus on catching, finding the rim, and holding their follow-through to create good, consistent shooting habits.

Richman also shows a number of shooting drills like 3s in 5 Minutes where players focus on footwork and shooting off of the pass in an effort to improve their range. Star Shooting forces players to mentally focus on where they will move to next.

Coach Richman has built a solid program at NDSU and has done so by paying attention to the details. His players play with great fundamentals and minimize the number of mistakes they make. This video examines how he does it. Rent this offense skill development DVD today.