with Dan D'Antoni,
Marshall University Head Coach;
2018 Conference USA Tournament champions;
2019 CIT Champions;
led Marshall to the school's first NCAA Tournament (2018) since 1987;
former Assistant Coach (for brother Mike D'Antoni) with the Phoenix Suns, NY Knicks, and the Los Angeles Lakers;
played for the Thundering Herd (point guard);
was inducted into the Marshall University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990
"Organized chaos" is how Dan D'Antoni describes his philosophical approach to basketball. In this video, Coach D'Antoni presents an up-tempo style of play he helped develop with his brother, former NBA head coach Mike D'Antoni. This free-flowing, fast-paced style will have your team scoring like crazy all night.
Free Flowing Offense
In free-flowing basketball, the key is to have players react to what the defense does. The system is predicated more on what the players do and less on what the coaches do. Players are given the freedom to play within the concepts built into the offense. Secondly, the pivot area is left open in transition. This allows for greater spacing on the perimeter and the opportunity for dribble drives. With both corners and the weak-side wing filled, the trailer and the point guard are able to operate to create opportunities for lay-ups, aggressive penetration, or open 3-point shots.
The main action of the offense is the drag pick & roll. As the trailer sets the ball screen for the point guard and rolls to the basket, the ball-side wing will raise, creating several options in the three-man game. On the weak-side, the remaining two players spot up or look for opportunities to cut to the basket. All of this is designed to get the first good shot. By each player and possession, this will change as some will have more abilities than others. Practice is the proving ground for working on shooting the ball quickly and getting into the habit of shooting without hesitation.
Player Development
One of the keys to being successful in playing in a free-flowing offense is to develop the ball skills of players. Practice begins with drills designed to develop hand speed using the ball. Basic ball-handling is critical and is a major part of the warm-up at the start of practice. It later extends into other facets that include being able to finish at the rim or hit a step-back 3-point shot.
Post play is also a major component of free-flowing offense, despite the open pivot that Coach D'Antoni wants in transition. Post players work on being able to finish with explosion. Bigs are taught to explode from a down position in their individual work.
Finally, shooting is a critical component of developing free-flowing offense. To work on the pick & roll component of his free-flowing offense, Coach D'Antoni has his players work on shots off of the pick & roll. This incorporates shots for the bigs setting ball screens for guards, and both getting shots off the action. Extra balls are used in the drill to create situations where the play breaks down and quick shots are necessary.
Set Plays and Other Actions
Coach D'Antoni incorporates set plays to strike quickly when the fast break isn't available. The first of these plays is "4 Pop". After a pass to the trailer, the wing opposite the point guard cuts and sets a screen for the corner on the other side. While this happens, the other wing in the corner raises and catches to look for either a post-up or a screen-the-screener action with a stagger double finish.
Another action that is introduced is "Double Drag". This action has the two bigs at the top set a double ball screen for the point guard. The trailer rolls to the basket while the remaining big pops. Unlike the main action in free flow, the wing in the corner will not raise.
Coach D'Antoni's approach to offensive basketball generates one of the fastest and highest-scoring attacks the game has seen in quite some time. You won't regret adding this video to your collection.
92 minutes. 2021.
BD-05861B:
with Dan D'Antoni,
Marshall University Head Coach;
2018 Conference USA Tournament champions;
2019 CIT Champions;
led Marshall to the school's first NCAA Tournament (2018) since 1987;
former Assistant Coach (for brother Mike D'Antoni) with the Phoenix Suns, NY Knicks, and the Los Angeles Lakers;
played for the Thundering Herd (point guard);
was inducted into the Marshall University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990
Longtime coach Dan D'Antoni has guided Marshall to two postseason berths while maintaining an aggressive, up-tempo style of defense. By pressuring the ball and containing to one side of the floor, his teams have forced many turnovers and been in the top 10 in the nation in blocked shots. In this video, you'll get a look at how practice is structured and the beginnings of the organized chaos defense.
Philosophy
In a whiteboard diagram breakdown, Coach D'Antoni walks through his organized chaos defense, describing what the foundations of his defensive philosophy are and how they play into the pressure defense. By forcing the ball handler to one side of the floor, his teams have limited scoring opportunities and stopped the offense before it even starts.
D'Antoni draws up his alignment and placement of both off-ball and on-ball defenders, depending on where the offense sets up. This defense thrives on applying pressure and isolating the ball handler to one side of the floor. In order to do that, switching 1-4 or 1-5 is imperative to keeping the ball on one side of the floor. This is a defense your players will love to play, as it leads to easy transition buckets.
Fundamental Drills
Every defense begins with the basics. On the court, Coach D'Antoni demonstrates proper closeout technique along with how to funnel the ball handler towards the baseline after your closeout. 1v1 defense is a point of emphasis in this style of play. D'Antoni uses a 1v1 run and slide drill to teach players how to sprint and get ahead of the ball handler to cut them off.
After breaking into guard and post groups, Coach D'Antoni builds his team's 1v1 defense through live play. From each wing to the middle of the floor, players battle it out and focus on walling up to prevent an easy layup.
Team Defense Drills
D'Antoni puts his players in game-like situations right away in practice. In 3-on-4, players fly around and closeout to the open shooter. If your defenders don't get to the open man, the offense will be able to create an easy scoring opportunity and prevent your team from getting down the floor in transition.
In 5v5 shell drill, Coach D'Antoni teaches how to defend ball screens by switching and having off-ball defenders be in good help-side to be able to jump and switch to prevent an easy drive to the basket. Placing your post player in the paint will also help prevent rolls to the basket and easy buckets around the rim.
Rounding out this on-court video is a full court defense that is an extension of Marshall's half court approach. Pressuring and influencing the basketball to one side of the floor, 94 feet away from the basket, is how this defense starts and sets the tone for how the game will be played!
Coach D'Antoni delivers the basis of his organized chaos defensive system - shrinking the court in half and forcing to one side of the floor! Your players will love to pressure the ball and get easy buckets off of turnovers. This is a must-see if you are looking to add a pressure defensive system to your program.
60 minutes. 2021.