Chris Oliver

@BBallImmersion • 62,313 subscribers

NBA Youth Development Consultant. Help 🏀 coaches get more out of their practices and players through game based coaching. Courses | Videos | Community

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Chris Oliver

Shorts

Guess why the mat is on the floor? So grateful for my daughter for allowing me to “try” some things with her that help all coaches who follow me. Literally some “development” ideas have been discovered and shaped in our sessions.

Need a quick hitter for a layup? 💥 A dribble at, post entry triggers a weak side back screen.

Get a layup! Great opening play from Fred Hoiberg. Learn more about his philosophy on his Basketball Podcast appearance

This inbound play is so unbelievable that it works this easily that we had to call it "I Can't Believe It Works." See more examples to prove it works out of different alignments

Tired of aggressive defenses blowing up your ball screens? The Short Action is the ultimate counter. By hitting the cutter early, you punish the hedge and release the screener for easy looks. See it in action here:👇

"Why would we say that we can't?" NCAA D2 national champion Easton Bazzoli joins The Basketball Podcast to discuss the power of belief in building champions:

Use a Ricky screen and rescreen action to set up a backdoor.

Start your shell drill from half-court. Houston Christian University head coach Craig Doty and I discussed this concept on the Basketball Podcast.

Horns clear is an effective isolation play to create an advantage for a ball handler, especially when it is masked with an Iverson action. Check our more horns clear possibilities here

Love pistols? Here is one of my favorite complimentary actions to get a layup.

#1 Most Liked Play of September 👀 play vs. zone from EYBL. I used to run a similar action for a shooter because it could be run vs. man or zone.

Ole Miss executes a free throw break. Do you have an organized fast break on a made free throw? 🙏 Share your best practices.

Who's peel switching this year? Peel Switching isn’t just a tactic—it’s a mindset. Defense isn’t passive. It’s proactive.

This zone movement is a thing of beauty to create advantages in space.

Love this Vanderbilt action that creates space for the Spain action by emptying a side.

On my fall practice tours so far I have been seeing a lot of coaches at all levels run 1-4 flat baseline inbound. Here is a great option as a coverage solution vs. switches from Creighton.

One of the best parts of running Spain Pick and Roll is to emphasize the drive to score possibility for the handler. Three defenders are potentially occupied by defending the action, and two double gaps are created on each side of the stack alignment.

Attack a 1-3-1 or zone defense using an inside cut and timed interior screen to create an advantage at the rim as in this example.

Diamond entry that sets up a 5 out ball screen with a misdirection dribble.

Videos

Watch Anya Live

This is bad ass... High ball screen back screen pick the picker out of short action

Brilliant play design 😍 Flare and back screen pick the picker after a handoff.

3-man weave has no value. Add a defender to your on-air drills and see what happens.

I once sat in on a film session where OKC’s Mark Daigneault clipped every rim roll that didn’t get the ball… but the team scored anyway. That’s advantage creation. I asked him about this in this clip 🤩

Unpopular Youth Coaching Takeaway: "The decision is more important than the technique." If learn when to shoot, pass, or drive, execution will improve with time. If they never learn the decision, “perfect form” won’t transfer. What made you rethink technique-first coaching?

Shoot when you're open. Pass when someone else is open. Drive when nobody's open. This mantra simplifies decision-making. It teaches players to read the game, not just run plays. No overthinking—just clear, actionable choices.

"Only switch out of necessity, not out of convenience." Explore conceptual defense with NBA Champion coach Charles Klask on The Basketball Podcast:

Most players never play uncoached basketball anymore. That changes how they learn. In an interview with Pistons HC J.B. Bickerstaff at All‑Star, we talked about designing practices where coaches step back so players learn to think, communicate, and adapt.

Have a player who can run in a circle and then dunk it off a back screen? This is your play.

Never a better time than now to revisit Ben McCollum's appearance on The Basketball Podcast He shared the insights behind his success. Here are 7 key takeaways for coaches looking to elevate their team.

No 3-man weave...here's why ⤵️ Research shows that perception and decision-making are what transfer most from practice to a game, not just technique repetition. Avoid drills without defenders where players never have to perceive, decide and execute. A thread 🧵

#1 Most Watched Membership Video of November 5-on-5 Build Up Create randomized situations that force defenders to adapt in real time—while challenging the offense to recognize and exploit emerging advantages.

#2 Most Liked Play of January Stagger get. 😍

Do you agree? Coaches and parents giving too much instruction telling a player to shoot, pass or drive takes away that players opportunity to learn.

Looking for a great activity for introducing players to the spacing, timing and affordances that come with Pick &amp; Rolls, Gets, and Dribble Hand-Off actions? Check out Pick-and-Roll Sandwich Starts in our latest member video:

Stagger get. 😍

Final Four coach Kelvin Sampson shared insights into his success on #thebasketballpodcast and raw authentic practice video that demonstrates how he gets his teams to compete so hard. Practice video Podcast

What is something that is fluff that you have removed from your practices?

🔎Our U11 practices start with free play...here's how &amp; why. 👉Problem: Our players are inexperienced and don’t free play on their own. 💡Coaches Role: Create an environment in which players grow. A thread.

Basketball is about solving problems in real-time. I don't control the game, so I won't over-control practice. Build problem-solvers, not move memorizers.

Looking for a great activity for introducing players to the spacing, timing and affordances that come with Pick & Rolls, Gets, and Dribble Hand-Off actions? Check out Pick-and-Roll Sandwich Starts in our latest member video:

🔎Our U11 practices start with free play...here's how & why. 👉Problem: Our players are inexperienced and don’t free play on their own. 💡Coaches Role: Create an environment in which players grow. A thread.