Gary Close (4)

Building a Man-to-Man Defensive System Gary Close spent nearly three decades as a top assistant for some of the best coaches in NCAA Division basketball history. Working closely with coaches like Bo Ryan and Tom Davis, Close has in-depth knowledge of each coach’s defensive strategies. In this video, Close teaches and demonstrates Ryan’s half-court defensive system and then breaks down two of Davis’ full-court pressures. You will see how your defense can control tempo, disrupt offenses, and force opponents into bad shots. Defensive Basics Close starts with defensive philosophy and then discusses the rules of the half-court defense. A philosophy that holds players accountable allows a team to play at a high level. Close also talks about communication and teaching points when watching film with players. The on-court demonstration begins with the stance and footwork. Close places emphasis on cutting off the offensive player’s path to the basket. The rule is players do not expose their numbers to the sideline camera for this opens up a path to the rim. Additionally, Coach Close talks about help defense and recovery. Breakdown Drills You will see 12 different drills that you can use daily with your players. It all starts with the one drill that is the basis of the entire defense – 1-on-1 from the Top. The drill teaches the importance of pressuring the ball after a closeout. Other drills help build the techniques needed to play the defense. Once players have the basics down, drills progress into live action. Defending Screens In defending screens, Close emphasizes pressure on the ball. The player being screened and the screener’s defender work together to make it difficult for the offense. Close details the roles of each player involved in the screen. Coach Close also goes over how to defend all types of screens including down, slip, fade, stagger, and ball screens. Each screen is defended in multiple scenarios and you will see the 4-on-4 Ball Screen Defense drill, which gives players game-like situations where they learn to defend screens. 55 Pressure Defense In an on-court demonstration, Coach Close shows you his full- and ¾-court pressure defense. He’ll take you through defending multiple press breaks and shows you his 55 Pass Reaction drill which teaches players to set up pressure defense quickly in an effort to force a turnover. Using Coach Close’s defense, you can become a winner. Close gives you three defenses that can help your program start winning now!

Building the Natural Shot: Easy to Learn Concepts and Techniques Shooting is one of the most fundamental skills in basketball. Coach Gary Close spent 29 years as a Division I college basketball assistant developing the shooting form of several premier players like B.J. Armstrong and post players like Frank Kaminsky. Close spent 13 years at Wisconsin, including the back-to-back trips to the Final Four in 2014 and ’15, and helped Kaminsky earn national player of the year honors. In this video, Coach Close dives into the fundamentals of developing an accurate shot. He breaks down proper shooting form and explains how to teach it to your players using 11 different drills for players of all levels. Close explains breaks down everything from a player’s release to understanding how to measure distance on long and short shots. He includes a number of shooting drills all designed to develop proper shooting technique. Basics of a Good Shot Coach Close starts from the ground up teaching you the essentials to developing a good shot. First comes the stance and then ball position. Close gives you five teaching points to enhance a player’s shot release and rotation on the ball. The basics such as footwork, arm position, and angle of delivery in the release are all broken down. Coach Close also takes these principles and shows you how to use them to correct a player’s “broken” shot. He gives you nine strategies for improving shots that are not getting enough spin on the ball, shots that are going long, and shots that are falling short. All of the shot basics then progress into form shooting where players build upon the proper stance and hand placement. Shooting Drills Coach Close teaches a number of drills that emphasize different elements of shooting. These drills include: Bounce Drill: emphasizes getting rotation on the ball with strong wrist flicks Quick Release Drill: works on speeding up a player’s release and removing any downward motion in their shot Close presents multiple drills that focus on finesse-type shots that help to narrow a player’s aim on the rim. You will also see drills presented in a more competitive environment. These drills allow you to work with individual players or with small groups. The focus in these drills shifts from technique to developing consistency and scoring. Coach Close gives you everything you need to transform any player’s shooting form. You will be able to diagnose and correct any problems with shooting technique.

 THE D1 PLAYER WORKOUT: A COMPLETE SKILL PACKAGE GARY CLOSE ABOUT THE COACH He is the former assistant coach of the University of Wisconsin. He served in this position for about 13 years. He was able to reach the semi-finals consecutively. This eventually led to gaining a place in the championships. He is 3 times champions of the Big Ten. ABOUT THE VIDEO The coach who makes this video has spent years training with players in college in all sizes. In this video, Close uses this experience to create the perfect workout. This workout is deemed to be the perfect solution to make every single player which engages in the workout a better player. There are different skills which can be learnt from the workout. These include attacking movies, shooting skills and so much more. This video and workout program is the perfect way to get your players ready for the test ahead and to help them improve themselves. Things that would be in focus include; HANDLING: it is said that the team is only as strong as the weakest link. Therefore, one thing which most coaches do is to try to strengthen their weakest links when it comes to handling. This is why the importance of handling cannot be overemphasized. In this program, five drills have been prepared to ensure that the players get to improve their handling effectively. For example, attack and repeat drill is designed in such a way that it would allow the players to be able to break down any form of defence in just about four dribbles. For these dribbles to be effective, good ball handling is needed at all times. ATTACKING MOVES: do you want to improve your players when it comes to attacking moves when they are one on one with a defender? Then this chair drill in this program would be perfect for them. The goal of the chair is to allow a player to make multiple moves which would create the necessary space or gap to successfully dribble a defender. Other, this drill can give your players the opportunity to learn some separation drills which focus would be to give your players the needed space in order to take shots successfully. POST MOVES: if you want your players to be able to make post moves which would leave them with a good scoring chance, then this drill would be perfect for you. This drill makes it possible by using a chair to help the students to learn how to create the needed space in the post to create a good scoring opportunity. SHOOTING DRILLS: this drill would see your students learn about five drills which would help improve the shooting quality of your team players and students. These drills would serve the purpose of being a motivator for your players. This will eventually make them start to score more on a regular basis. Drills like the Quick Pick Up would help to improve their shooting mechanics and so much more. This video ensures that your team is ready for any skill development which is deemed necessary.

The Swing Offense: Breakdown and Shooting Drills With nearly 30 years of college coaching experience, former Wisconsin assistant Gary Close shares with you the Swing Offense, which was the brainchild of Bo Ryan. The Swing was designed to get teams looks inside and wide open shots on the perimeter. In this video, you will see on-court demonstrations that show you everything you need to know to run the offense. That includes quick-hitters, special situations, and how to attack certain defenses. Basics of the Swing Offense First, Coach Close discusses the positives related to the Swing Offense. From there, on-court demonstrations break down the basics of the offense: Continuity – Each move is simple and easily achieved. Screen after screen attacks the defense as sharp, purposeful cuts slice through it. Proper positioning and spacing – Pairs work together. Wings position themselves at the free throw line extended. Running the Swing Offense Against Different Defenses Coach Close gives you the tools with which to dissect an opposing defense. He gives you teaching tips, rules, and other options for attacking various defenses including: Aggressive Man-to-Man – Screen away to get open to catch the first pass, dribble and look for backdoor cuts, or dribble attack open space Soft, Sagging Man Defense – Enter the low post from the wing and curl off the weak side Switching Man Defense – Three up screen options are presented to take advantage of the mismatch by feeding the post, using a back screen, and the fade screen where the screener slips the screen and cuts to the basket Quick Hitters Close includes a variety of quick hitters from a number of sets that can be used out of the Swing Offense. Many of the plays get the ball to a team’s best player by making him the primary cutter. Each number or call includes an option for each position. Breakdown Drills Close presents a series of drills that cover all the screening actions and help players practice the shots they will most likely take in games. Close believes it is extremely important for his players to work on game-like shooting. He includes six drills to work both screening actions and shooting. The Swing Offense might be the best for teams that are not as athletic. Teams that do have athletic talent can still benefit as the offense helps get players great looks at the basket on a consistent basis. If that is something you are searching for, Coach Close’s video is for you.