Purpose: To help your basketball team become more adept at both offensive and defensive rebounding. This is a very tough and competitive drill that will wonderfully improve your overall team rebounding. Drill: Divide the squad into four teams of three players. (If you have more than twelve players, just add them equally to the four teams so they can rotate after each shot attempt.) Coaches or managers can be perimeter shooters, passing the ball back and forth several times before shooting … [Read more...]
Celtic Drill
Purpose: The Celtic Drill incorporates the outlet pass, layup, baseball pass, and the ability to catch the basketball on a dead run and put it on the floor for a layup without traveling. Also an excellent drill for building up speed and stamina. Drill: The drill begins with player 1 standing on the low block and player 2 standing in the outlet area. Player 1 outlets the basketball to player 2. Player 2 drives wide the full length of the court for a layup. Player 1, after making the outlet … [Read more...]
Return Series
Purpose: To teach players the options from the pass-and-go-behind maneuver. Drill: This drill uses 2 players. Player 2 makes a V-cut to the basket, as shown. Player 1 passes the ball to Player 2 and then goes behind to get the handoff. Player 1 now works on the following three plays: Get handoff and drive directly to the basket for a layup. Get handoff and hit jump shot either immediately or after taking one dribble to the side. Get handoff, dribble toward baseline, and look to hit … [Read more...]
Screen the Screener Play
1) This 'screen the screener' play is a nice play to run as a secondary option to the fast break. The point guard, O1, brings the basketball to right wing as the others arrange themselves in the box set. This play is essentially designed for O2, probably the best scoring threat. As O1 dribbles over to the wing, O2 sets a cross screen for O3. If O3 is open, feed him the basketball in the low post. 2) After setting the screen, O2 moves up the weakside of the lane, utilizing a … [Read more...]
Bucketball
'Bucketball' is a game I developed as something that could be played with a group or team to work on speed and conditioning without always having to run sprints, line, cone drills, etc. The term derived from some of the kids calling it 'bucketball' because I used a couple of buckets for the goals. Bucketball is really a combination of every sport because it demands the athletic skills most sports require. There really are aspects involved in this game from sports such as basketball, football, … [Read more...]
Shell Situations Drill
Purpose: To work on various situations that occur in a basketball game and how to properly defend them. To improve and develop communication skills. Also works on offensive movements and fundamentals that will improve team play. Drill: The 'Shell Situations Drill' is a more advanced version of the basic shell drill; this drill is intended to help defend against all the various offensive movements. If numbers allow, divide into three groups of four players. Two of the teams set up 4 vs. 4 … [Read more...]
Break Advantage Drill
Purpose: To work on both transition offense and transition defense. In this drill, the offense will always work with a man advantage and the defense has to work with a man disadvantage. This drill also requires a great deal of communication. Drill: The drill starts with 5 offensive players running your transition offense/secondary break. The 5 offensive players will be attacking 4 defensive players. Depending upon what you want your offensive players to attack, the defense can play … [Read more...]
Sidecourt Front Court Wall
This sidecourt inbounds play is used when inbounding in the front court .. it is especially useful in getting that last-second basket. 1) As the play begins, O2 cuts to the backcourt, and the low player, O3, breaks up toward the ball. It is hoped that O3's defender will trail. When this happens, O3 loops around the wall and receives a lob pass from O1. To clear their defenders, O4 and O5 cut to the ball as soon as 3 loops around them. 2) If O3's defender does not trail with, … [Read more...]
Sidecourt Pressure Stack
This sidecourt out of bounds play takes advantage of a basic stack play, but under conditions where the defense is really denying the inbounds pass. Players O4 and O5 line up in a stack free throw line high on the ball side. The defenders guarding O4 and O5 are denying as O4 steps out of the stack to the ball side. O1 quickly gets the ball to O4 on the sideline, and the defender guarding O5 should be taken out of position to cover O5, who rolls for the basket and takes a lob pass from O4 … [Read more...]
Box Breaker
This Box and One special play can be used when the defense goes to a box-and-one to shut down one particular offensive player. The 'Box Breaker' can be run after a dead ball or whenever the defense is able to get into the box-and-one. As you can see from the diagram, the offense sets up with a point guard (1), a short corner player behind the box defense (3), and two players at the elbows (5 and 4). (2) is the offense player who is being defended by a single defender. The 'Box Breaker' … [Read more...]