Basketball Drills

Basketball Drills 3 Cones 3 Moves

By Brian Williams on July 31, 2013

These basketball drills were posted by FastModel’s plays and drills library. You can check it out here: Fast Model Plays and Drills Library

The drills were posted in the library by Kyle Gilreath. This is what he had to say about the drill:

This is a great series of moves for players to work on to attack the rim from halfcourt while making multiple moves around defenders. It is important that you go as fast and stay as low as possible to keep the ball low. Adding a coach with a pad at the rim forces them to finish strong through contact.

Each move (Frame) should be completed with a right hand and left hand finishes before moving to the next set.

**Players starts on the other side of half-court. Partner has a pad to create contact at the rim.

Ball starts in right hand and player does an inside-out dribble at the 1st cone followed by a quick crossover at the 2nd cone and then another inside-out (now with left hand) at the 3rd cone.

Player should get to rim in 1 dribble and finish with the strong hand (Left on left side and Right on right side). Make 4 on each side.

*Players starts on the other side of half-court. Partner has a pad to create contact at the rim.

Ball starts in right hand and player does an inside-out dribble at the 1st cone followed by a quick between the legs at the 2nd cone and then another inside-out (now with left hand) at the 3rd cone.

Player should get to rim in 1 dribble and finish with a floater. Mix up 1 and 2 foot takeoffs and alternate right and left hand floaters.

Basketball Workouts

**Players starts on the other side of half-court. Coach has a pad to create contact at the rim.

Ball starts in right hand and player does an inside-out dribble at the 1st cone followed by a quick crossover at the 2nd cone and then another inside-out (now with left hand) at the 3rd cone.

Player should get to rim in 1 dribble and finish with the strong hand (Left on left side and Right on right side). Make 4 on each side.

Basketball Workouts

**Players starts on the other side of half-court. Partner has a pad to create contact at the rim.

Ball starts in right hand and player goes between his legs and then behind his back at the 1st cone followed by a quick crossover at the 2nd cone and then another inside-out (now with left hand) at the 3rd cone.

Player should get to rim in 1 dribble and finish with the off hand (Right on left side and Left on right side). Make 4 on each side.

Basketball Drills Finishing in the Lane

By Brian Williams on July 24, 2013

One problem many young players face and something the pro’s have perfected, is the ability to create space by setting up your defender for a move.

In this drill I taught our players to jab at the rim to get the defender off and then jab in another direction to get the defense to recover to a side.

These basketball drills were posted by FastModel’s plays and drills library.

The library has hundreds of plays and drills from coaches all over the world and from various levels of coaching. You can check it out here: Fast Model Plays and Drills Library

The drills were posted in the library by Kyle Gilreath

Once you get the defense to a side you can then make a move and attack.

Utilizing coaches/managers with pads in areas where the player will experience contact enhances this drill to the fullest.

The coach/manager on the ball try to slap at the arms/ball to teach your players to be strong with the ball when jabbing and ripping through for a move.

Creating Space Rim Finishes

Start the players on the wing and place a coach/manager in front of him with a pad/arm pads. Player 1st jabs at the rim to get the defender to back up, the jabs baseline to get the defender on the bottom side. Player then takes 1-2 hard dribbles and attacks the rim (between two cones).

Finishes (Make 3 with each finish):

-Finish right hand on opposite side of rim using backboard

-Finish left hand (reverse) on opposite side of rim using backboard

Same drill but finishing on the left side of the rim.

Finishing (Make 3 with each finish):

-Left hand on left side of rim using backboard

-Right hand on left side of rim using backboard

Start the players on the wing and place a coach/manager in front of him with a pad/arm pads. Player 1st jabs at the rim to get the defender to back up, the jabs towards the top to get the defender on the top side. Player then takes 1-2 hard dribbles and attacks the rim (between two cones).

Finishes (Make 3 with each finish):

-Left hand lay-up
-Left hand floater
-Left hand reverse lay-up on opposite side of rim
-Right hand reverse lay-up on opposite side of rim

Basketball Drills Celtic Shooting

By Brian Williams on July 23, 2013

This drill allows you to work on shooting technique while making the drill competitive. The drill also forces the shooter to battle some fatigue towards the end.

I have posted some links to some other skill development drills below the video. Some of the drills are team drills and others are individual workout drills.

This is a youtube video, so please make sure that you are on a server that allows youtube access. This drill came from basketballhq.com

Press the play arrow to see the video.

I hope this stimulates your thinking on how you can tweak this drill to fit the needs of your program and the skill level of your players.

Basketball Plays Demon

By Brian Williams on July 22, 2013

This play is a last second sideline inbounds play sent to me several years ago by Coach Ken Sartini who unfortunately passed away in January 2015. This is what he had to say about the play:

I designed this play at the end of one game… and we had a guard that was a soccer player so he could make that long over the head skip pass with some power to it. The first time we ran it we got the point guard #1 off the double staggered screen for a three.. he was fouled in the act and hit 3 free throws for the W!

This play is run with limited time on the clock when the pass receiver must catch and immediately shoot with no time for a dribble or pass.

If you are looking for a 3 point shot, 3 and 1 are the players that you are looking for. If all you need is a 2 point shot, then 5 and 4 are also good options.

3 must read the defender.

If 3’s defender (X3) is playing down in the paint, 4 screens X3 and 3 cuts to the paint and then step back for the skip pass from 2 for an immediate shot.

If X3 is playing out on 3 then 3 cuts baseline off double staggered screens by 4 and 1, to the ball-side corner.

After screening for 3, 4 moves to the high-post.

4 then drops down and sets a screen for 1, while 5 moves to the high post and also screens for 1 and makes it another double staggered screen. 1 cuts around the double staggered screen to the point, looking for the pass from 2 and a shot.

After the staggered double screen, 5 slides to the ball-side elbow and 4 moves to the opposite-side low block. The pass from 2 could go to 3, 5, 1, or 4.

If 2’s defender is sagging way off, 2 could get the return pass and shoot if there is enough time on the clock.

Basketball Drills Ray Allen 2 Minute Shooting

By Brian Williams on July 16, 2013

This drill was posted in FastModel’s library.

The library has hundreds of plays and drills from coaches all over the world and from various levels of coaching. You can check it out here:

Fast Model Plays and Drills Library

Drill #1, Ray Allen 2 minute shooting drill, was posted by Jim Ponchak who said: “Here is a great shooting drill that I picked up from PGC Basketball.

Check them out on the web at pgcbasketball.com

Drill #2 was posted by Kyle Gilreath and is a great shooting drill that ends with a set of free-throws “under pressure”.

Drill #1 Ray Allen 2 Minute Shooting

There are 5 ladders on the floor – right baseline, right wing, middle, left wing, and left baseline

Players begin shooting at 1 on each ladder

If a player misses a shot while moving up the ladder, they must start over at 1

The goal is to complete all 5 ladders in 2 minutes or less

Drill #2 200 point shooting

Use each of the 7 shooting areas.

Each player takes 3 shots from each area – 3pt shot (behind arc), 2pt shot (10-15 feet), and a drive for a layup (1pt). Total of 6 possible pts at each spot.

Shoot at all 7 spots (42 possible points), then each player shoots 8 free throws, leaving 50 possible points for that quarter (each round is 1 quarter).

Keep score for 4 quarters (200 possible points) and determine a winner.

Can also play 2 halves for 100 points

Basketball Drills 3-2-1 Shooting

By Brian Williams on July 12, 2013

This drill is from the Arizona Basketball Coaching newsletter.

If you would like to be added to their mailing list, please email me you

1) Name
2) School or team
3) Coaching Position

I will pass the information along to the Arizona coaching staff. Their monthly newsletter includes plays, basketball drills, and information about their basketball program.

You don’t have to run the drill in this exact format and can modify it to meet the needs and skills of the players you coach and your objectives.

3 IN A ROW:

Diagram created with FastDraw

Player/Group starts on Spot X1. They must make 3 consecutive shots before moving to Spot X2.

On Spot X2, the player/group must make 3 consecutive shots to advance to Spot X3. They have two opportunities to make 3 consecutive shots before they return to the previous Spot X1.

Each spot begins on a make. (i.e. The player/group completes Spot X1 advancing to Spot X2.

At Spot X2 the player/group misses their first two shots but makes two consecutive shots. On the opportunity to make the third shot at Spot X2, the shooter misses, counting as one chance.

The player/group misses again followed by making two consecutive shots. If the player/group makes their third consecutive shot they advance to Spot X3. If the player/group misses the third shot they return to Spot X1.)

2 IN A ROW :

Upon completing 3 IN A ROW at Spot X5, the player/group remains at Spot X5 continuing the pattern back to the initial starting position, Spot X1. The player/group must make two consecutive shots before moving to the next spot.

They now have one opportunity to make two consecutive shots before they return to the previous spot X1. Each spot begins on a make. If the player/group does not complete 2 IN A ROW on the first Spot X5, they must remain on Spot X5 but return to the first portion of the drill completing 3 IN A ROW.

1 IN A ROW :

The player/group does not start on a make. (i.e. On Spot X3,)

On the first attempt the player/group makes their shot, the player/group advance to Spot X4. If on the first attempt at Spot X4 the player/group misses, they return to Spot X3.

If on the first attempt at Spot X4 the player/group makes their shot, they advance to Spot X5.) If the player/group does not complete 1 IN A ROW on the first Spot X1, they must remain on Spot X1 but return to the first portion of the drill completing 2 IN A ROW.

Upon completing 2 IN A ROW at Spot X1, the player/group remains at Spot X1 continuing the pattern back to Spot X5. The player/group must make 1 IN A ROW before moving to the next spot. They now have zero opportunities to make 1 IN A ROW before they advance to the next spot.

The first player to complete the sequence wins. The drill should be timed and charted for accuracy.