What is Your Team Known for? You Can’t Be Great at all Things.

By: Andy Bronkema - Ferris State Univ.

Originally Published in: Time Out Magazine

Provided by: National Association of Basketball Coaches

One thing we choose to spend our time on at Ferris State is rebounding. We take practice time each day and devote it to rebounding which includes multiple drills.

Our philosophy is to send four to the offensive glass and five to the defensive glass. The point guard always has defensive balance. If your point guard is a good rebounder then assign the balance to someone else, but I recommend keeping it simple and having the same person do it all the time. The times that the point guard takes the ball to the rim we are willing to live with a lack of defensive balance in exchange for someone else not having an excuse on why they didn't go to the glass. "I was covering for the point guard" has no validity in our system.

One drill we do often is Rotate Rebounding. Five offensive players spaced on the three-point line; corner, wing, top, wing and corner. You can use other spacing that might fit the opponent you play. Five defenders in a stance and around the lane lines. Coach yells rotate, and the players rotate clockwise talking and pointing to the people they will be boxing out if and when the shot goes up. As they rotate they communicate the new person they will be boxing out.

Coach or manager shoots the ball. I like to shoot the ball when certain players mathup or when I can see that the defense is in between rotations or have two guys miscommunicating and pointing to one. If the offense gets the rebound, they have that possession to score then offense and defense switch and the next rep takes place. If the defense gets the rebound, teams transition down and back. After each sequence, switch offense and defense and repeat. Play to eleven points. You can play to fewer points or with a time limit. Many times, we do not play with an out of bounds, encouraging people to pursue the ball.

We use the terms Hit, Find and Fetch to teach the defensive box out. Get a hit on the opponent, if going to your left by stepping your opposite leg across and getting contact, locate the ball and grab it with two hands at the highest point possible. If a player's man is standing on the perimeter and not crashing, we would rather the defender stay in a rebounding area instead of going all the way out for the hit.

For offensive rebounds, we say find a gap, not a back. Offensive players need to quick swim or jab and go opposite and find open space. All rebounders should know that the ball misses on the opposite side it is shot from most often. Also, when battling for position under the rim, at times it is better to wall your man under the hoop to carve out advantage for all the long rebounds rather than working to get in front only for the small area and chance of the ball going there.

Having just completed his fifth season as head coach at Ferris State University, Andy Bronkema guided the Bulldogs to their first NCAA Division II championship in 2017-18 with a 38-1 won-lost record. The Bulldogs tipped Northern State 71-69 in the NCAA Division II championship game in Sioux Falls, S.D. In each of the last four seasons, Bronkema's team has earned Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles and berths in the NCAA Division II tournament.