Basketball Drills

Wide Pindown and Sprint Away Drill

By Brian Williams on March 28, 2023

In the clip below UConn assistant coach Kimani Young talks about proper development of in-game shot situations and introduces his Wide Pindown Sprint Away drill.

Coach Young does a great job of talking you through the different options in this drill.

It’s a great drill to get a lot of reps and teach key points.

You can teach the player receiving the wide pindown when to curl to the elbow and when to bump and fade.

As Coach Young points out many coaches have the defender on the passer jump to the ball on the pass to help defend the wide pindown.

To counter that action it is important to teach the passer to sprint away after the pass.

In this drill both the player coming off the wide pindown and the passer sprinting away get a shot.

This clip was taken from a full presentation by Coach Young. For more information about how to gain access to that presentation click the following link:

Drills To Maximize Game Shots

2 on 2 Toughness Tester

By Brian Williams on March 28, 2023

In the clip below UCONN Coach Dan Hurley demonstrates a 2 on 2 Toughness Tester Drill.

In this drill, a ball handler and defender starts in the center at halfcourt with a big and his defender in the dunker’s spot.

The defender guarding the ball handler slides to either side to touch a cone and the ball handler then uses the opening to drive to the basket and force the big to make a decision.

This is a great drill to teach the defender on the ball handler how to recover and get back in the play without fouling.

Coach Hurley stresses to “Chest to offensive player” and show your hands.

The big must decide whether to help and recover, stunt, or peel switch.

While Coach Hurley is using this as a defensive drill you can see that it also provides some great reps and teaching points for the offensive players

This clip was taken from Coach Hurley’s clinic presentation. To get access to the full presentation click the following link:

Dan Hurley – UCONN`s Defensive Principles

5 Minute Shooting Challenge

By Brian Williams on January 31, 2023

A short video from Dr. Dish Basketball.

The coach presenting in this video is Special Jennings, Head Girls Basketball Coach at Montverde Academy in in Montverde, Florida.

In this skill development drill, players shoot from 5 spots for one minute on each spot.

The goal is to make 10 shots from each spot in that minute time.

You should adjust that to what would challenge, but not overwhelm your players.

Click the play arrow to view this YouTube video.

One More Shooting Drill

By Brian Williams on December 15, 2022

A short video from Dr. Dish Basketball.

The coach presenting in this video is Special Jennings, Head Girls Basketball Coach at Montverde Academy in in Montverde, Florida.

The drill being demonstrated is called “One More” as it emphasizes making an extra pass. Making an extra pass should always lead to a better shot or end up with the ball in the hands of a better shooter. It should never be just to make an extra pass.

Take the movements in the video and create your own drill that simulates the actions that your offensive schemes produces in games.

Click the play arrow to view this YouTube video.

Nugget Shooting Drill

By Brian Williams on November 21, 2022

A short video from our friends at Dr. Dish Basketball.

The coach presenting in this video is Special Jennings, Head Girls Basketball Coach at Montverde Academy in in Montverde, Florida.

The drill is a great drill to work on developing the ability to make shots when your players are tired.

To win part one of the Nugget Drill, the players must make 3 shots in a row. If they miss 2 in a row, they run a down and back. They are sliding from the wing to the corner.

In part 2, players sprint into a shot from half court with the same rules for the drill–make 3 in a row, you win, miss two in a row, you run a down and back and start over.

Click the play arrow to view this YouTube video.

Flip the Screen and Streak Free Throw Shooting Drills

By Brian Williams on September 27, 2022

Two short video from our friends at Dr. Dish Basketball.

Both of the videos are good ideas for some shooting work that your players can do prior to the start of practice and can also be used in the skill development portion of your practices.

Please make sure your sound is on to see the videos.

These drills are hosted on YouTube, so you will need to be on a server that allows you to access YouTube to see them.

Click the play arrows to see the drills.

You can click the icon in the lower right corner of the videos to watch the video in full screen mode to be able to see it better.

Flip the Screen Shooting Drill

The video below is in the YouTube shorts format so it will look a little different than the YouTube videos that we have posted in the past. The format is narrower than a traditional video.

I like the idea of shooting fts in streaks. I believe it is a good way to put some pressure on the shooter. The thing to watch is to make sure that the shooters do not speed up their free throw routine. They need to use the exact routine in the drill that they do in a game or the drill will be worthless. As Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Knox said, “Practice without improvement is meaningless.”