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You are here: Home / Archives for Basketball Playbook / Man-to-Man Defense / 2 and 3 Man Defense Drills

Backside Help and Recover Drill

By Wes Kosel

This is a nice 2-man defensive drill to work on helpside defense as well as recovering. The defenders work at cutting off flashes and passes, while being able to recover to their man. Coach starts with the ball. 2 flashes to the middle of the lane, and X2 must stop the flash. Once the flash is checked, 3 steps in bounds and Coach passes to 4. X1 must drop back to guard the basket, and X2 must step over to cut off 4 penetrating baseline. Once the penetration has been cut-off, X2 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2 and 3 Man Defense Drills Tagged With: Defense Helpside

3-on-3 Defensive Transition Reaction Drill

By Hoops U.

Purpose: To work on getting back on defense and recovering quickly to defend an offensive player. Also helps develop communication skills and conditioning. The offensive players get work on scoring in a fast break situation. Drill: The offensive players O1, O2, and O3 start along the baseline in position to run a 3-lane break. X1, X2, and X3 are the defenders. They will begin in the corner and X1 has the basketball. The drill begins with X1 handing the basketball to O3. Immediately, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2 and 3 Man Defense Drills, Transition Defense Drills

Anticipation and Help Drill

By Hoops U.

Purpose: To help defensive players improve their anticipation and rotation to help on penetration. Drill: 2 offensive players and 2 defenders. Also 2 'penetrators, one in each corner and 2 coaches or passers. One basketball. The two coaches/passers position themselves at the deep wing area. The two unguarded 'penetrators' are in the corners and the remaining four players go two-on-two against each other. The drill begins with the two offensive players going live against the two … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2 and 3 Man Defense Drills

2-on-2 Closeout and Help Drill

By Hoops U.

Purpose: To develop the ability to properly react on a pass to either closeout on the basketball or to move into help position. This drill also converts into a live, competitive 2-on-2 situation. A coach or manager starts with the basketball and stands near the basket. O1 and O2 start outside the three-point line. X1 and X2 start in the lane near the low block but in front of the coach so they can't see where he will pass the ball. The drill begins when the coach passes the basketball to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2 and 3 Man Defense Drills

2-on-2 Catch Up Drill

By Hoops U.

Purpose: To work on scoring and defending in a transition situation. The offensive players will attempt to score while the defensive players will need to sprint and then defend the offense from scoring. Drill: 4 players line up along a baseline as shown by players 1-4 in the diagram. A player on one end begins with a basketball (O1 in our diagram). The drill starts with O1 passing to O2, who passes to O3, who passes to O4. Players O1 and O3 will become defenders once they pass the ball so … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2 and 3 Man Defense Drills, Transition Defense Drills, Transition Offense

Trapping Drill

By Hoops U.

Hal Wissel

Purpose: To work on the fundamentals of trapping the ballhandler in the frontcourt and trapping/containing the dribbler in the backcourt. This is a nice defensive breakdown drill for teaching trapping fundamentals and is especially effective if you utilize a defensive trap within your system ... whether you trap from a zone defense or a man-to-man defense. Drill (Frontcourt Variation): One offensive player starts near the midcourt / sideline as shown. Two defenders are about 3-5 feet away. A … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2 and 3 Man Defense Drills, Zone Defense Tactics & Techniques

2-on-2 Help and Recover Drill

By Hoops U.

Purpose: To teach the basic help and recover responsibilities utilized within your man-to-man defensive system. Develops help-and-recover techniques and helps teammates learn to work together. Drill: This diagram demonstrates the help and recover from the guard position, as they are further away from the basket. The player not guarding the basketball should be in a position off his defender and toward the basketball. He is in this position to discourage penetration by the dribbler. In this … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2 and 3 Man Defense Drills, Youth Man-to-Man Defense

Diagonal Downscreen Drill

By Hoops U.

Purpose: To teach proper offensive downscreen techniques. Can also be drilled for defensive teaching purposes as it is useful in helping your players learn to defend and fight through the downscreen. Drill: Two offensive players, two defensive players, and one coach or passer needed for this drill. O1 starts near the top of the key with a basketball while the O2 starts on the opposite low block. A defender guards each offensive player. The coach is on the wing. Offensive Concepts: O1 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2 and 3 Man Defense Drills, Motion Offense Breakdown Drills, Youth Man-to-Man Defense, Youth Motion Offense Drills and Strategies, Youth Teaching Tips and Tactics

3-on-2 with Trailer Drill

By Hoops U.

Half Court Trap Attack Offense

Purpose: To prepare the defenders when transitioning back on defense in a disadvantage situation. The emphasis of this drill is for defense, but offensive players will get to work on the transition offense part of the game as well. Drill: Six players are needed for this drill, along with a coach or manager at the baseline. 3 defensive players are positioned along the free throw line extended with their backs to the coach at the baseline. 3 offensive players are positioned in front of the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2 and 3 Man Defense Drills, Transition Defense Drills, Transition Offense

Weakside Help and Recover Drill

By Hoops U.

Purpose: To stop ball penetration by teaching defenders to become proficient at helping and recovering. Drill: This drill has four offensive players and two defenders. The initial alignment is shown here in diagram 1. A coach has the basketball on the wing, three offensive players are on the perimeter, and the fourth offensive player (O3) is standing out of bounds. The defenders, X1 and X2, are in help position and see both their offensive player and the ball. The drill begins with O2 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2 and 3 Man Defense Drills

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