with Nathan Davis,
Bucknell University Head Coach;
2x Patriot League Coach of the Year ('16, '17);
4x Patriot League regular season champs ('16-'19);
2x Patriot League Tournament champs ('17, '18);
former Randolph-Macon College Head Coach;
2x ODAC Coach of the Year ('14, '15);
3x ODAC regular season champs ('11, '14, '15);
3x ODAC Tournament champs ('11, '13, '15);
through 2019 season, Davis' .732 career winning percentage is 11th-best among all active Division I coaches
Creating a high-octane offense that also has the ability to milk the clock if easy baskets aren't possible isn't an easy task. However, Nathan Davis has accomplished this and demonstrates exactly how you can run the floor, flow into a 5-man motion offense with multiple actions to create scoring opportunities, and utilize a variety of ball screen actions.
Transition to Motion
On offense, Coach Davis believes in finding a way to get out and run on makes or misses and flow into motion offense if his team is unable to score right away. His offense is designed to score in either the first six seconds of the shot clock, or the last six seconds of the shot clock.
In running the floor, a number of options are presented looking for opportunities for dribble penetration, kick-outs, pitch-backs, and screening actions that are designed to create a free-flowing offense. Another point of emphasis is for the low post player to stay opposite of the ball to create space and to get catches with two feet in the paint.
5-Man Motion
In utilizing 5-man motion offense, Davis has his bigs work together, with one on the perimeter and one in the post. Meanwhile, guards fill the corners and the slot on the side opposite the ball. The only exception is when a guard is brought to the ball-side slot by a post player.
The first action that is presented is the big-to-big screen. When the post players look to exchange, the posted big will step out and set a back screen to initiate the exchange. One hidden benefit of this action is that the ball-side corner can have a driving opportunity develop with the opposite side occupied.
Another action that is used is the away screen with the post player setting a screen for a guard when the ball is passed. The guard looks to read the defense by either curling to the basket for a lay-up, back cutting off of the screen for a lay-up, or popping back for an open 3-point shot.
For shooters, a weak-side flare screen is another effective action that can be utilized. With the ball in the hands of a post player in the slot, the guard in the weak-side corner steps up and sets a flare screen for the guard in the weak-side slot to set up an opportunity to get a shooter an open look.
Ball Screens
On top of running a transition-heavy offense and 5-man motion offense, Coach Davis utilizes ball screen actions with the element of surprise. He teaches ball screeners to sprint into their screens to surprise the defense in a moment of confusion.
With the ball screen actions Triple and Jazz, Davis creates opportunities for three- and two-player actions. Techniques on how to set effective ball screens that allow for more dribble penetration opportunities and how to set up actions are presented. The ball screen action "Warrior" incorporates a back cut by one guard and a pass-and-follow ball screen. With the spacing that results, opportunities for 3-point shots and a duck-in opposite the action present themselves.
Coach Davis does an outstanding job of demonstrating a high-octane offense that can open up opportunities for quick-strike scores as well as open looks for shots while dictating pace.
52 minutes. 2019.
BD-05543B:
with Nathan Davis,
Bucknell University Head Coach;
2x Patriot League Coach of the Year ('16, '17);
4x Patriot League regular season champs ('16-'19);
2x Patriot League Tournament champs ('17, '18);
former Randolph-Macon College Head Coach;
2x ODAC Coach of the Year ('14, '15);
3x ODAC regular season champs ('11, '14, '15);
3x ODAC Tournament champs ('11, '13, '15);
through 2019 season, Davis' .732 career winning percentage is 11th-best among all active Division I coaches
Having learned from a wide variety of coaches through the years, Nathan Davis presents some of the best defensive drills he has inherited from his mentors. In this on-court presentation, Davis demonstrates drills that teach on-ball defense, ball screen defense, and defensive rotations.
On-Ball Defense
The first aspect of defensive basketball that Coach Davis covers is on-ball defense. He teaches his teams to force the ball to the baseline and bother the ball when in a defensive stance by mirroring the basketball with two hands. If the ball is in the middle of the floor, the ball is forced to the dribbler's weak hand.
In one of the drills that teaches on-ball defense, the defensive athlete works to get a deflection off a pass in order to get out of the drill. In addition to on-ball defense, Davis covers the science behind better closeouts. Different types of closeouts are taught to defend different types of offensive players. Using "Curry", "LeBron", and "Rondo" closeouts, Coach Davis discusses the different ways in which defenders close out on the ball. The variance for distance can be anywhere from two steps from the ball, to all the way into the body to prevent a 3-point shot.
Ball Screen Defense
Davis details his approach to defending ball screens since they are becoming more and more common in modern basketball. He prefers to "ice" ball screens only if the screener's defender is coming from below the screen. Otherwise, the defense will be taught to "mush" the screen if the screener's defender has to come from above the free throw line extended.
A drill that is used to teach defense against a ball screen is the "Combo Drill." This 3-on-3 defensive drill requires active hands and communication. Coach Davis places an emphasis on active hands by the on-ball defender as he "ices" the ball screen to prevent the pocket pass. The screener's defender must communicate the defense's action and direction to make this approach work.
Defensive Rotations
The hallmark of any great defense is its ability to rotate accordingly. Davis uses a four-out shell look to teach how the defense must correctly rotate against dribble penetration.
While a normal shell drill starts out with passing the ball to work on defensive positioning, Davis conducts his "Shell DeVoe" drill by pointing to a player who will then execute dribble penetration. With defenders in their gaps, the defense rotates to the driver to prevent lane penetration and take away easy passes to other players on the perimeter. If a ball does find a perimeter player, the defense recovers based on the rotation.
Coach Davis presents a great smorgasbord of defensive drills that can be applied to just about any program's defensive drill book!
42 minutes. 2019.