Steve Dagostino

Recipe for success every time you walk in the gym.. 1. Compete 2. Be Engaged 3. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes

KEEPING ADVANTAGES Being able to keep the advantage as the ball handler and non ball handler is one of the things that most players struggle with. An extra dribble, bad pass, or movement in the wrong direction can kill your advantage. Mastering this will make the game easier…

TURN POST UPS IN TO DRIVES The traditional imagery for post ups include bigs and backdowns. Truth is, post ups can be advantageous for any player with an advantage. Instead of always backing down and fighting for space… turn that post up in to a drive by facing and running to…

CREATING ADVANTAGES IN NEUTRAL Everyone wants to play fast. Decisions in .5 seconds. That is great. But offense is like music it has rhythm and flow. Players need to be able to recognize when they don’t have an advantage (neutral) and take a breath and use an action or…

STOP DRIBBLING IN ONE SPOT Playing off the catch is simple. On the catch it’s Shot, DRIVE, or pass. If you see space and choose to drive- that drive is downhill towards the rim. If you can’t shoot it or drive, then move the ball and keep the offense moving.

Summer Work 🏀

MAKE MORE FREE THROWS A players dip and lift at the free throw line doesn’t have to be long. It creates more variable in the mechanics and sequencing of the shot. If a player has good form, but misses at the FT Line, try shortening the shot for more consistency.

MAKE SHOTS WHEN YOU’RE NOT PREPARED Players are not always in a stance fully prepared for a pass and then catch and shoot. If that is the case, we need to work on them not being in a prepared position and then being able to drop in to their stance on the catch and make shots.…

STRONG BASE ON YOUR SHOT The stronger your base is in your shot, the better opportunity the ball has to go in. Use this drill above for players to real feel what a strong stance is and then be able to rise up and shoot it.

HAND UNDER BALL ON SHOT In order to shoot the ball in the air with optimal arc, you need to get your hand under the ball. The later you get that hand under the ball, the harder it will be to be consistent with your shot. If you struggle with shooting the ball flat, focus on…

SIMPLE WAY TO TEACH SPACING 7 Spots on the floor Corners, Wings/Slots, Top of Key, 2 Dunker Spots Space inside 3 pt line and above dunkers is GTHO Get The Hell Out You are only in there to cut or drive and then you are relocating out to one of the other 7 spots. Work on it…

SMILE TO PERFORM Working hard, playing hard, doing hard things all require resilience and competitiveness. Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that we choose our mindset. Are we going in to it with a positive mindset, negative mindset, a clear mindset. Using fun warmups can…

KEEP ADVANTAGE ON DRIVES Nothing drives me crazier than a player that gets their defender on their hip while driving and then pulls back their dribble 😡 Learn to embrace the contact, take an advantageous angle, and score around or over the secondary defender.

SHOOTING OFF IMPERFECT PASSES What do you think the percentage of strikes throw to shooters on their catch and shoot shots. I’d say 50% would be high. If that’s the case, we need to practice shooting off imperfect passes Mich more than we do. It may result in lower…

OFF BALL READS Every player should take 1 hour and study how to move off the ball. Then Consciously work on it during training, pick up, games. The concepts are easy to learn, takes some discipline to master, but will make the game exponentially simpler for the player!!

PnR SCORING 1st level reads Set Up: Give yourself 2 options Trail: Downhill or Lateral Space Under: Shot behind or Rescreen 2nd Level Reads Drop: Shot or Downhill Attack Rim Protector: Float

TWO BALL DRILLS I did so many two ball drills growing up and when I first started training. I do less now, but still think they have value as a challenging and fun warmup for your body and brain. Thoughts?

QUICK RELEASE Having a quick release isn’t just catching and getting the ball out of your hands as fast as possible. The ability to find space, sprint to space and then quickly getting your feet set is just as important. Taking it one step further… the primary read of shot,…

PAINT TOUCHES An easy way to chart how much pressure a PG puts on the defense is count their paint touches. Paint Touches shrink the defense, make 2 guard 1 or create 1 v1 scoring opportunities close to the rim. The best PG’s constantly put pressure on the defense and create…

STAMPEDE THE CATCH A lot of players play with pace when handling the basketball, but you can also play with pace on the catch. Instead of catching and holding… Stampeding the catch (running through the ball) allows you to quickly get in to your drive and force the close out…

REINVEST IN TO DEVELOPMENT A players basketball career has a limited number of years on it. Players that overachieve and outwork their talent understand they are a business and reinvest in to their development. I was having this conversation with one of my nba clients last…