LON KRUGER: CORNERSTONES OF TEAM CULTURE & PRACTICE DRILLS

with Lon Kruger,
University of Oklahoma Head Coach;
2016 Final Four; 2014 Big 12 Coach of the Year;
former University of Nevada-Las Vegas Head Coach;
back-to-back Mountain West Conference Tournament champions; 2008 MVC Coach of the Year;
former Atlanta Hawks (NBA) Head Coach; over 600 victories;
s the only Division I coach, ever, to win an NCAA tournament game with five different schools

Lon Kruger has established winning programs throughout the many stops in his storied career. In this video, Kruger explains his cornerstones to success. You'll learn how to build a culture in your program that inspires players to give their all to the team. You will also see 13 different practice drills that establish the fundamental skills your team needs to perform their best in competition.

Program Culture

Motivating your players to achieving greatness isn't easy. Players must be willing to work beyond their comfort level for the greater good of the team to accomplish such a task.

Kruger discusses the principles to his program culture that will help you develop an atmosphere that empowers players to grow towards the high expectations you set. You'll learn how to set goals, create a high-energy practice, establish a focus on team unity, identify player roles, show players you're invested in them, and more. Coach Kruger is the only college coach to ever have won with five different teams in the NCAA Tournament. These concepts for building team culture are a blueprint that has been repeatedly vetted to build winners.

Transition Drills

Kruger demonstrates three transition drills that illustrate the point that it's not so much what you do, but how you do it. You'll learn details in each drill that clean up the performance of your players' most basic skills in passing, catching, running the floor, and finishing at the rim. You'll also learn what Oklahoma's standards are for these drills so you can challenge your players to compete against the time and score.

Shooting Drills

It's hard to have a great offense without great shooters. Kruger gives you nine different shooting drills that will help your players put the ball through the net. These drills develop your players' shooting from all spots on the court, from the "Follow the Leader" drill that demands your players to have perfect execution in their fundamentals as they drive to the rim, to the "Around the Horn" drill that has your players shooting nothing but 3-point attempts.

These drills are all constructed in a way that will get your players to compete against a time, score, or opponent. Your athletes will refine their shooting technique while taking game-like shots in game-like situations.

3-on-3 Drills

Help your players apply their skills to the game with 3-on-3 competition. These drill variations will teach your players to read the defense and take advantage of their skill set and the situation to make plays. Kruger shows how you can add elements such as a shot clock and scoring system to increase the pressure on your players. You'll learn how you can tailor different game situations into your 3-on-3 scrimmages such as ball screens, post play, and the flex action. This practice format is the perfect way to maximize your players' repetitions with the ball while teaching them how to use a specific action in your offense.

Coach Kruger has developed a way to create a positive culture where his players can enjoy working on the game of basketball while remembering that it's a fun game to play. This video will help improve your program's success with refinements to your team culture and ideas for teaching offensive fundamentals.

Produced at the Spring 2017

75 minutes. 2017.