Give players a heads up of what you'll cover this practice. Emphasize focus areas and set expectations.

A stationary mid-range routine that challenges balance on every rep: one-leg landings, side and diagonal steps, spins, jabs, step-throughs. The kind of pre-practice routine the best point guards do every day.

The hesitation taught as a read: knee up and pull up, short-long, pull back and shoot, and the counter when the defender closes. You hesitate, you read.

Players practice shooting floaters over a defender or obstacle in the lane. This drill enhances touch and control when shooting over taller opponents.

Players practice finishing with reverse layups on both sides of the basket to enhance finishing skills from different angles.

Players pair up and stand 10 feet apart, practicing chest, bounce, and overhead passes. Focus on stepping into each pass and using proper form.

Two balls at once: pound, alternate, wide, side to side, switch on the clap, and backwards. Control built here is why the game needs so few dribbles.

Game shots with a coach passing: make seven from a sequence (elbow handoff, side ball screen reads), then five spots with heavy legs, because the percentage that matters is the tired one.

Every motion and floppy offense depends on the cutter reading the man chasing him. The chair isolates that read, which is why I run it before any screening is taught live. One shooter, a coach with the ball at the slot, a chair on the lane line about eight feet off the baseline standing in for the screener, a line of shooters in the corner. The shooter steps toward the baseline to set up the imagined defender, then sprints to the chair. The coach calls the read as he arrives: curl when the defender trails, wrapping tight around the chair to the elbow; pop when the defender goes under, running shoulder to chair straight out to the wing; fade when the defender cheats over the top, planting at the chair and drifting back to the corner. Catch, shoot, rebound, pass to the coach, end of the line; switch sides every round. Three in a row per read, Phil Martelli style, or eight makes per partner. Mistakes: going wide of the chair, curling before reaching it, catching off balance, the ball below the chest on the catch. Progression: a live screener who then shapes up for his own shot, then a live defender who chooses. High school and up. I borrowed the structure from Phil Martelli's curl and fade drill and Byron Scott's pin-down progression on Dr. Dish; give them a look for the off-the-dribble finishes.

Players practice shooting free throws under game-like conditions, often adding pressure situations like needing to hit a certain number in a row.

Coach gives players specific tasks or skills to work on before the next practice, encouraging continuous improvement.