Detroit Pistons Training Camp

The following notes are from the Detroit Pistons Training Camp, taken and shared by Steve Finamore.

Tuesday September 29, 2015
10:00 A.M. – 12:30 P.M.

Notes by Steve Finamore
Boys Head Varsity Basketball Coach
East Lansing High School

- Huge sign on the wall at the Pistons practice facility behind basket:

- “BE IMPACTFUL!”

- Championship and division banners hang from the rafters.

- Pistons team and coaching staff walk onto court together at 10AM.
(Many players were at practice facility at 8 A.M. getting in extra shooting with coaches)

                                                       

Coaching staff:
Stan Van Gundy, Brendan Malone, Bob Beyer, Malik Allen, Tim Hardaway, Charles Klask.

- Coach Van Gundy has said in the past that attending a clinic should not change your overall philosophy. Beyond clinics, SVG suggested to go out and watch people practice. I agree. In the past I have found attending practices has helped me so much as a coach.

- This morning there are a few college coaches observing practice. Pistons give out three handouts. One handout is a card asking for any feedback we would like to share about practice.  SVG values anything you can share with him regarding practice. One thing I came away with is that SVG cares about the game and its coaches.

- Pistons start with a walk-through on transition defense.

- “Getting back on defense” is emphasized the entire time.  Reaction time is key. Get back to middle of floor. Point and talk.  “Getting back” is something you can control states SVG.

- Coach Van Gundy is one of the best I have ever seen teach the game. He makes it so simple to understand. He’s teaching pro’s why it’s so important to get back on defense.

Detroit Pistons Defensive Musts:

1-Get Back
2-Protect the Paint
3-Close and contest
4-Pressure the ball
5-Defend without fouling
6-Block out and rebound

- Pistons work on running their offense. After they score, Van Gundy emphasizes getting back to half-court. He wants them getting back to the center circle. Assistant coaches on sidelines shouting to get back to all five players.

“GET BACK! GET BACK! GET BACK!”

What are your rules on getting back on defense?

-1 and 2 are back on the release of the shot. Dead sprint to the other end of the floor.

-4 and 5 go to the boards unless they are above the free throw line.

-3 makes a decision to crash or sprint back.

Match up when you get back. You don’t have a man in transition.

- Pistons worked on their four-man shell drill for :24 seconds.

“Twenty-four seconds of work!” –SVG

- Lots of energy. Lots of talking. Everyone was involved and engaged and encouraging each

“Be active off the ball. You can’t relax.” –SVG

- SVG with lots of emphasizes on the importance of having hands up on defense.

- Lots of work on technique.

“You got to want to get a stop!” –SVG

- Ersan Ilyasova draws two charges in scrimmage. Knocks down jump shots and plays hard.

- Assistant coach Brendan Malone stopped the action and shouted, “When you catch the ball, look at the rim.”

- SVG then said, “Catch the ball, look at the rim and look in the post.”

- Pistons coaching Andre Drummond up to run the floor hard and get to the rim.

Detroit Pistons Offensive Musts:

1-Take care of the ball

2-Push the pace

3-Attack from inside-out

4-Play unselfishly

5-Make quick decisions

6-Take good shots

- The “3” man takes it out on made free throws.

- Tons of teaching during scrimmage.

“Don’t be in such a hurry. Mistakes being made are because you go too fast.” -SVG

“Run hard, but don’t be in such a hurry.”

“Game tempo.” –SVG

- A joy to watch seven year vet Cartier Martin teaching and helping rookie Eric Griffin a few things on the defensive end of the floor.

- D-League coaches of the Grand Rapids Drive, Otis Smith and Dion Glover involved in practice learning Pistons philosophy.

Pistons Support Staff

Doug Ash, Tom Barasi, Robert Werdan, Al Walker, Jeff Nix, Art Luptowski.

- Pistons shooting coach Dave Hopla on sidelines throughout practice taking notes in a composition notebook. He stands by Andre Drummond during free throws.

- Interesting observation at end of practice. Three teams during scrimmage. Blue team wins, two other teams had to run sprints for losing. Marcus Morris, Reggie Jackson and Stanley Johnson, all on the winning team decide to run with the losers. (Extra work).

- SVG admitted to the team that they were putting a lot of stuff in:

“I know that was a lot...”