5 on 4 to 5 on 5 Transition Drill -

These 2 full court drills were located in the FastModel Sports Basketball Plays and Drills Library.

You can also find out more about FastModel Play Diagramming software by clicking this link: FastDraw

The first drill was contributed by Kyle Gilreath, Head Boy’s Basketball Coach at Astronaut High School, Titusville, FL. Kyle is also the author of the basketball coaching website, Words on the Bounce.

Here is what Coach Gilreath had to say about the drill:

This is another drill that I got from watching Bellarmine University practice. This is a great drill because it not only works on scramble situations having 4 players defend 5 in the half-court, but it also forces the offense (new defense) to sprint back after change of possession to prevent any easy lay-ups.

After making your one transition stop after a made shot or the defense secures the rebound and repeat the drill the other way. Make sure you switch the offense and defensive teams who must scramble each time and rotate the players that are back. Do this drill for time or until a team reaches a pre-set point total.

5 on 4 to 5 on 5 Transition

Team plays live 5 on 4 until a score or missed shot.

On score or missed shot, defense is pushing the ball down the floor as as quick as possible.

The 5 offensive players (now on Defense) must Sprint back to the pain as the 5th offensive player is already down the court.

Bob Hurley Sr. 3 on 3 Conversion

This drill was contributed by Dan Murphy, Assistant Coach at Ledyard High School in Ledyard, Connecticut.

Coach Murphy describes the drill in this way:

Drill stolen from Coach Bob Hurley of St. Anthony H.S. He in turn got it from Dick Harter. As a rule the player who defensive rebounds or takes the ball out of bounds after a score is on offense and the old offense always converts to defense. This is similar to 11 man break or other 3-3 drills where the defense comes in from the sideline, but in my opinion is a little more practical because the defense had to convert from offense and is in a more realistic game scenario.

Many successful coaches believe transition defense is one of the top 3 skills a team must have. As such, defensive transition should be drilled daily. A note about drills-make sure to teach the skills you want. Stopping the ball, protecting the basket, communicating, screening, passing, cutting etc. You can play this drill for a set amount of time ie. 8 minutes and keep score. Depending on what you as a coach want to emphasize, points can be given or taken for offensive rebounds, turnovers etc. Because it is 3-3 conversion, a short clock can be used to promote an aggressive offensive attack.