I have 8 weeks to coach a new group of players before their tournament.

90 minutes each session.

Obviously I'd like to cover defense, transition some basic offense like pick and roll etc.

What would you suggest doing in such a small amount of time?

Any help gratefully received.

Coach -

How old are these kids and how much experience do they have? How many days each week are you going to practice?

This will have a lot to do with how much you can cover.

Lay out exactly what you are going to do -
Defense - m2m / zone or both
Offense - what kind of offense do you want to run... - You can run an Open Post and still do some P & R
Sideline inbound play(s)
Inbound play(s) under your basket
A Press Offense
A Simple Press ?

Don't forget to leave some time for fundamentals, dribbling, passing and catching on the move, defensive footwork and some break down drills... ESPECIALLY SHELL DRILLS and don't forget SHOOTING.

Keep your drills short so you can accomplish your goals according to your game plan.
Look at your players and ask yourself - "What are their strengths" and develop your game plan accordingly.
Just some random thoughts.

thanks for your reply.

I have one session a week, 90 minutes each, and the kids are all U17. They will all have received different coaching apart from a couple that I've already coached myself.

Appreciate your response. I know I don't have much time to work with/them to get to know each other.

I hope I have answered your question.... make sure you make some good practice plans and stick to them. You don't have a lot of time to accomplish this. Make sure you use the KISS method. :-)