In August I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with Adam Haluska, the Big Ten's leading scorer from last season. Drafted in the second round by the New Orleans Hornets, Adam shared with me some insight into what the pre draft workouts were like.

In hearing him describe the drills and focus of each workout, I reflected on the fundamentals of the game that 6, 8, and 10 years olds are missing out on. If it's good enough for the NBA and the best players in the world, it surely needs to be a staple in youth basketball in every gym in America.

Adam worked out in for clubs such as New Orleans, Phoenix, and Dallas.

The drills revolved around offense and included:

1. One-on-one competition. All positions and sizes competed together, playing from the wings and the top of the key.

2. Moves off the dribble. Moves such as the crossover, hesitation, double crossover, and the step back move were used.

3. 2-on-2. Can you imagine 2 highly prized draft picks joining together for a game of 2-on-2. This is what I would like to see in every school yard across the country. 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 are great ways to play and learn the game correctly. There must be something to it if NBA General Managers and coaches stand around and watch four guys play two-on-two for a half hour, huh?

4. Shooting. Tons of shooting drills were part of each workout. Shooting open three's, shooting off the dribble, pull up jumpers, shooting off screens, and shooting with the aid of a dribble move such as the crossover or step back. These drills are competitive, so the pressure is on the player to make shots. One big focus for all clubs is to draft guys that can make shots, and make them consistently.

When asked if any of the drills or techniques taught were new or complicated to him, he said no. In fact each drill was very fundamental in nature. When he played in the Los Angeles NBA summer league, the Hornets staff put them through some rigorous drills and conditioning. The drill and teaching segments of practice during this two month period were very simple and fundamentally based.

It was refreshing to know that the basics of the game are being taught to the great players and draft picks in NBA camps. Somehow over the years we got it backwards! Youth basketball, especially those that coach youth basketball need to pay attention to the message in this post and re-examine their philosophy and emphasis or lack of emphasis on the key elements of the game that are still highly treasured at the game's highest level, the NBA.