NABC On the Court Open Practice with Tom Palombo: Small Group Skill Development, Offense & Defense

with Tom Palombo,
Guilford College Head Coach;
4x Bob Johnson ODAC Men's Basketball Coach of the Year;
4x ODAC Tournament Champions;
2007 NABC South Region Coach of the Year;
11x NCAA Tournament appearances;
over 570 career wins

Tom Palombo is no stranger to success on the court. Over the course of his tenure at Guilford College, his teams have won 311 games and had 11 Division III NCAA Tournament appearances, including back-to-back Final Fours in 2009 and 2010. In this video, you'll get a look at how Coach Palombo put together skill development sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic that restricted his players to small groups, and in some cases, no contact.

Offensive Skill Development

Being limited to seven players on the court together can be tough. Coach Palombo puts together an offensive practice session that includes training with the ball, agility, and conditioning drills. Opening up, you will see the stations that Palombo has set up to push his players' mental toughness. Using tight cones, players weave in and out, working on their ball handling to become quicker and more efficient with the ball. Players work on finishing moves around the basket as they attack the rim against traffic. Rounding out stations, players work on footwork using a speed ladder to develop quicker feet and help build explosiveness.

In one of his favorite skill development drills, alternating shooting, a traditional shooting drill can be used to emphasize a lot of habits and principles within a program. You'll see the little things that add up and can make players fundamentally sound on the court, including following your shot, getting a rebound with two hands, finishing your shot, and changing speeds to create space. All of these qualities help build fundamentally sound players.

Offensive Actions

Using small groups is a great way to break down your offense and teach actions so players get lots of reps. This helps them build habits and learn how to make good decisions on the floor as they will be trained in reading their defender. Coach Palombo uses several pin down screens to teach curls and catch & shoot options. Using a flare screen or a Freddy Cut, players learn how to read a flare and then use a re-screen to attack the basket. All of these actions will allow athletes to play freely within a modified blocker-mover offense.

These actions lead right into 5v0 full court offense. Using small groups to get reps up and down the floor is perfect for conditioning your players and building offensive habits/tendencies so athletes can freely move without hesitation in a motion offense.

Defensive Skill Development

With small numbers, working on individual defense is a great way to make your players fundamentally sound. Beginning with closeouts, players closeout to each other and work on their push steps to be able to guard their yard. This is a key principle in playing the pack line defense that has helped Coach Palombo build a successful program.

In 3v3 positioning, players work on creating a tight pack line defense to limit paint touches and force their opponents to shoot contested shots. This is another great conditioning drill for your small group of players to work on pushing through fatigue. As Palombo points out, you don't know which players will respond until they are fatigued. Rounding out the defensive segment is a 4v4 shell drill to better develop positioning and using repetition to work on building habits.

When it comes to having small numbers, maximizing reps and time is critical to developing your players. Having combination drills that focus on skill development and conditioning is a must for your players to get the most out of a workout. In this video, Coach Palombo makes the most out of a tough situation - playing and practicing during the pandemic. This is an excellent video if you're dealing with small numbers and want to work on skill development.

65 minutes. 2021.