(Rental)-Transition Drills And Early Offense

Johnny Jones: Transition Drills and Early Offense

Fast-paced basketball has become extremely popular not only for fans to watch, but for players as well. In order to play fast, teams must practice fast. In this video, Texas Southern head coach Johnny Jones shares with you a package of drills designed to get players to play fast. The drills develop the individual skills, conditioning, and the mindset needed to play an up-tempo style of basketball. It’s a style of play that helped Jones to five straight 20-win seasons and two Sun Belt championships while he was at North Texas from 2007-2011.

Teaching Players to Get the Ball Up the Court

Coach Jones uses two drills – 80 Layups in Two Minutes and the 3-Man Weave Wide – to teach players to push the ball up the floor for easy scoring opportunities. Players learn how to space the floor properly in a fast break situation and how to stay alert and reactive while playing fast.

Offensive and Defensive Breakdown Drills

Playing fast means doing so at both ends of the court. Coach Jones uses on-court demonstration to show you five drills that will increase your players conditioning levels as well as teach an attacking, fast-paced style of play. Drills include:

• Zig-Zag Drill: Players work on creating pressure on the basketball while working on ball handling against pressure.
• Triangle Trap Drill: Players learn to pass while under pressure to get easy scoring opportunities. Defensive players learn to trap, read a trap, and create a turnover.
• 3-on-2, 2-on-1 Drill: Teaches players to learn to score in an advantage situation. Defenders learn to get back in transition and stop easy scores.

The Primary and Secondary Break

Coach Jones’ Touch and Go Drill teaches players how to run the five lanes in the fast break. Watch as he teaches players to look for the ball in transition. Jones then shows you how to run an effective secondary break when the primary break is no longer an option. You will see his pressure release offense which is designed to score quickly before a defense can get set up.

Coach Jones demonstrates the secondary break in a 5-on-0 setting first and then transitions to 5-on-5. He shows you various options of the secondary break against a live defense. These options include:

• A weak-side stagger screen
• A weak-side pin down screen
• A high post flash
• Post X-cuts ending with a side pick and roll

Everything you need to effectively install an up-tempo style of play is offered in this outstanding video by Coach Jones.