Purpose: To develop and improve dribbling skills while under extreme pressure. Drill: Divide players into groups of three (preferably by position and ability). You can use both ends of the court. O1 will start with a basketball at the baseline and under the basket. His objective is to dribble past the halfcourt line. X1 and X2 start at the free throw line from a sitting position. Neither defender may get up until O1 starts dribbling. The two defenders will attempt to prevent O1 from getting … [Read more...]
Under the Basket Competitive Shooting Drill
Purpose: To practice shooting and scoring from under the basket in a competitive drill situation. Drill: At least 4 players and 1 basketball at a basket. Players form two lines, one on each side of the rim. O1 starts with the basketball, shoots the short jump shot and runs to the end of the opposite line. O2 jumps up, grabs the rebound (make or miss), shoots it back up and runs to the end of the opposite line. This continues with O3, O4, etc. Perform drill for one minute. To make drill … [Read more...]
Double High Box Set Play
'Double High' box set play creates great scoring opportunities with an initial double ballscreen at the top. This ballscreen, along with a few other screens and cuts, gives the point guard options with which to attack the defense. To initiate the 'Double High' play, the point guard (O1) dribbles to the left. O4 and O5 step out to set a high on-ball screen. O1 uses the screens and dribbles back to the right. If O4 is not open and O1 cannot create or penetrate, he continues with the ball to … [Read more...]
Power Up Rebounding Drill
Purpose: To work on rebounding in traffic and taking the basketball up strong against pressure. The offensive player will have to use fundamental moves to score and the defensive player works on giving intense inside pressure. Drill: Two players and one basketball per basket. O1 has the ball and stands near the low block on either side of the rim. X2 stands out of bounds on the same side as the offensive player (in this diagram, both players are on the right side). O1 starts by tossing the … [Read more...]
1-on-1 Press Drill
Purpose: To teach fullcourt defensive tactics and improve conditioning. Also useful for the offensive player to work on dribbling in the full court. Drill: Two players of approximately speed start on the free throw line. The coach begins the drill by tossing the basketball off the backboard. Both players go after the ball once it leaves the coaches hand. The player who gains possession becomes the offensive dribbler and the other player becomes the defender. The dribbler will attempt to go … [Read more...]
Zone Delay Spread Offense
The Zone Delay Spread Offense is an offensive set you can utilize at or near the end of game situations when you are trying to use clock and the defense is in a zone. It is not entirely a continuity offense because there isn't a set pattern to follow but it is effective against a defense that is pressuring you with a halfcourt zone. I think more often than not, most teams that are behind in this situation will play man-to-man but I have seen some teams stay in their zone. This is a simple … [Read more...]
Baseline Clear
This inbounds play can be run against either a man-to-man or zone defense, however, it will probably be most effective against a man-to-man because of the initial cut clearing out the space near the basket. When the official hands the ball to O1, O5 clears out the layup slot on the ballside by cutting hard to the corner. As O5 makes his cut, O2 cuts off of O3 and into the open area. If open, O1 makes the pass to O2. If the pass isn't available, O2 will slide toward the short corner or … [Read more...]
Baseline Corner Give-and-Go Play
The 'Corner Give-and-Go' is an effective baseline inbounds play to have in your basketball playbook for those times you have to take the ball out of bounds from deep in the corner. The players set up as shown. When the official hands the ball to O1, O5 flashes across the middle of the lane looking for the pass. O2 and O4 fake in as if to receive the throw-in but instead screen for O3 and O1, respectively. O3 curls around the screen and cuts to the opposite wing area. O1 throws the ball in, … [Read more...]
Box Triple Screen
This out of bounds play starts in the box set formation and will often give your team an open layup. One player gets a triple screen to create the open layup opportunity. If a defender helps on the cut, another player rolling to the basket should be open for a shot attempt. When the official hands the ball to O2, players O1, O4, and O5 move to screen for O3. O3 sets his defender up by taking a hard step toward the baseline and then breaks hard around the triple screen for a pass from … [Read more...]
Gray 1-4 Play
The 'Gray' 1-4 Play utilizes several screen actions to create an open shot possibility for multiple players. With the screens being set, this play also creates chances for 3-point shot attempts, which is great if that is what you need or want at the time this is called. The players begin in a 1-4 set as shown in the diagram. 2 cuts backdoor as 1 passes to 3 on the wing. After passing, 1 curls around 5 to the opposite wing. 5 pops out to the top of the key area. 3 returns the ball to the top … [Read more...]