Basketball Drills

This basketball shooting drill came from Dallas Wings Assistant Mike Neighbors.

Use this drill with individual shooters. Break down your offense in this drill. At each spot, the shooter must make a game-speed move for a lay-up/midrange jumper and also make a 3-point shot. If they make both shots, they are a +1. If they miss one shot, they are 0. If they miss both shots, they are –1. Keep a running total. The shooter stays on until they get to +5 or end the drill when they get to –5. So the goal is to STAY POSITIVE. (good visual image drill)

As a coach, you must be the judge of the individuals’ GAME SHOTS, GAME SPOTS, and GAME SPEED. If it
doesn’t meet that player’s standard, count that particular shot as a “MISS”…

Once the player gets to +5 for that section, they make 5 FT’s. Change the cuts, screens, shots, and go again.
The goal is always to STAY POSITIVE.

Will give you a few examples here… keep in mind these are from OUR actions. You MUST adapt them to
YOUR actions. This is just an idea of how to score and keep a drill competitive more than trying to copy the
drill action for action. We have about 25 different ones for variety.

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Stay Positive Shooting Drill

Coach passes to the shooter. Shooter attacks the basket off the rip to score. This can be a lay-up, a floater, or mid-range jumper. After completing that shot, the shooter simulates cutting to corner off a baseline block screen for a 3-pointer.

+5 or –5, then make 5 FTS.

Player starts with ball on wing. Simulates using a ball screen and drives it to score. After the shot, shooter cuts to the wing for a 3 point shot.

+5 or –5, then make 5 FTS.

Shooter starts at the nail. Cuts to the arc simulating a flare screen for a 3 point shot. From the spot where shot is taken, shooter receives another pass from coach. Shooter rips it through a drives it to finish. ** Be careful when you do the shorter shot 2nd in the sequence that you don’t allow them to take a NON-game type shot in effort to not be –1 if they have missed the 3 pointer.

These three shooting drill came from Coach Mike Neighbors.

Even if you can’t use these drills now, I think it is nice to have a large file to provide some variety to keep things fresh as the season progresses, or for summer practices/workouts.

4 Quarter Shooting

Great conditioning/shooting drill to challenge every level of shooter on your roster.

It’s also a great drill that requires no rebounder or passer.

Scoring: shots inside the paint = 1 point
shots outside paint but inside arc= 2 points
shots outside the arc= 3 points

First Quarter: Shooter has 1 minute to score 20 points
(if shooter successfully does this she advances to 2nd quarter)

Second Quarter: Shooter has 2 minutes to score 40 points

Third Quarter: Shooter has 3 minutes to score 60 points

Fourth Quarter: Shooter has 4 minutes to score 80 points

You will see there is simply not enough time to make all 1 pointers to achieve the scores, so a player must understand time/score and play to their strengths.

Drill can be done with a rebounder/passer just adjust time or score accordingly.

Sweep Shooting

Shooter starts at spot 1. We will use cones, a basketball on the floor, or a chair to simulate a defender as available.

On the catch, the shooter sweeps the ball and goes one dribble left into a pull up 15 footer. Shooter returns to spot. Catch, sweep, attack right one dribble.

Shooter then moves to spot 2 and repeats pattern. All five spots are completed giving the shooter 10 attempts.

They get 1:00 rest. Repeat. We do 5 cycles to get to 50 attempts.

Your best mid range shooters should score in high 30s with an occasional 40 thrown in there.

This is a GAME SHOT/GAME SPOT/GAME SPEED drill.

2 Ball Shooting Drill

Two shooters, one ball. We set score at 20 or 30 or 50 or…

The shooters alternate shots getting their own rebounds and passing to
teammate.

We say that each catch must be beyond the arc. The shooter can shoot the 3, drive 1 dribble for 15-17 foot for 2 points, or drive to basket for a 1 point lay-up.

Winning team gets to stay together until someone knocks them off. If a team loses, they split up into new teams.

For a variaton you can add a third shooter and a second basketball.

You can play to different scores.

Or, you can play for a certain amount of time.

These defensive drills are from a collection put together by Nate Hill, Assistant Boys Coach at Colonel Crawford High School in North Robinson Ohio. He has coached for 18 years from 7th grade through Varsity Head Coach.

He has also started a basketball coaching newsletter.

You can see his first edition as well as subscribe to the Newsletter at this link: Next Level 419 Coaching Newsletter

In case you have any questions or comments for Coach Hill, here is his email address: [email protected]it

I hope that these drills give you some ideas for adding variety and simulating game situations in the defensive segment of your practice. Or, they get you thinking about ways to adapt these ideas to your program.

Shell Drill “Drive”

Call is used to make the offensive player drive and defense rotate. The defensive player must touch the sideline or volleyball line to give offense the advantage. Everyone must rotate and stop the ball.

“Drive” is yelled by coach, and 3’s defender must touch sideline. 3 drives and all rotate and help stop ball. Defense must talk. This can be called at any time

Stop Penetration Drill

#1 – 1x starts behind 1. 4x or 5x must stop penetration. x2 or x3 must help the helper

#2: x2 starts behind 2 who drives. x4 must stop penetration. x5, x3, and x1 all must help the helper. Switch sides and alignments

Shell Drill “Trap”

They use the “Trap” call in shell. defender whose man passes ball, goes and traps ball. Usually used in games when players cut weakside and isolate in corners

“Trap” is called. x3 and x4 go trap ball in corner. Players keep feet, trap with legs, and arms high. Other teammates look for tip,or deflection. Looking for weak pass with arms.