Quick Pin: Set for a Secondary Shooter

When looking at set plays, there are two powerful ideas: mis-direction and combo actions. The play below encompasses both of these. It's a 2-3 high set where your shooter is actually the five man. We use the five man to screen and then get him open when the defense is preoccupied with defending the first action. The set includes some interesting counters you can use to play with the defense.

Note: I wouldn't run this with your best player at the five, but I would run it with a secondary shooter at the five that the defense isn't going to key on right away.


Quick Pin
The set is a 23 high with the post on the ball side at the first hash mark, just below the FT line. On the guard to guard pass the post (5) sets a curl screen for the backside wing (4) who cuts over the top of the screen. If they really cheat it, the wing (4) can reject the screen and backcut in a Princeton or Dana Altman 2-3 High fashion. That look because very effective against an aggressive team.

As the wing (4) comes off the screen the guard who passed the ball (2) sets a quick downscreen for the screening player (5) in a flex like action. The inside man (5) pops up for the shot. Again, this screening action makes it look as if we are looking for the curl. The defense is going to help on the curl and become an easier target for the downscreen.

 Backscreen Counter
An easy counter to this set is having the shooter/post (5) backscreen the passing guard (2) after setting the curl screen for the wing (4). After setting the screen backscreen the shooter (5) pops back for the shot.

Back and Screen Counter

This counter is similar to the counter above, except the guard (1) swing it to the wing (3) on his side and then screens the screener for the shooter (5) who is setting the backscreen. 

Flair Counter
Another simple counter is to have your guard pass the ball, V cut and get it back. As that happens the wing (4) pins the shooter (5) who pops to the wing for a shot.

As usual, nothing new or revolutionary here, but  this set is an interesting way to get a secondary shooter some looks without drawing immediate attention to them. This would be a helpful set if you ran Princeton, a 2-3 High, or even a 4 Out Motion offense as it starts that way and you can run it right into the offense. Either way, I like the idea of using the shooter as a screener first, then getting them open for a shot. It puts their defender in a tough spot - help on the first action or stay with the shooter.

Stretching and Fixing Relationships

Photo courtesy of UWGB Website

Got the chance to watch Getting Players to Play Hard: Revised Edition by Coach Divilbiss and loved it. The most outstanding point of the entire video was when Coach Divilbiss talked about the idea of constantly "stretching and fixing" your relationships with players. "Stretching and fixing" is the process by which you stretch your players comfort level on discipline and playing hard and then build the relationship back up after the stretching is over. You push them farther than they want to go, they get mad at you, you build the relationship back up within that stretched comfort zone, and then you proceed to stretch it even farther. It's a great concept and one that I think all master teacher's use. They maintain the delicate balance between pushing players forward and building them up.

 I've never heard it put this way, but it's a great way to explain how to coach! It's why I constantly remind our players that I'm doing this (pushing them) because I care about them and want to make them better, not because I am trying to be a jerk. This process is something that I want to improve upon this year as I think it's the one single key to getting players to play hard out of motivation not fear.

Power Flex Continuity

Photo from Dalethoughts.com

Introduction

This is a continuity that I discovered while writing more sets for my first HoopsU Insider post. It started out as a set play, but ended up being able to be run as kind of a slick continuity. Some of the ideas come from watching a lot of Princeton Offense lately as well as watching some of the concepts that were employed by high school coaches this winter. This isn't something that you would use as your primary offense, but is something you could definitely use as a secondary offense. **I have never used the offense but it does look like it could be successful in theory.**

The offense is designed to be run if you have a stud post player and at least one shooter. There is a constant stream of cross screens for your big to try and get him open, the best part is that your smaller players are doing the screening, so that makes it tough for switching defenses. It also gives you down screens for your shooter(s). Lastly there are many back cut options for your perimeter players which makes it hard for players to pressure your team. Lastly it gives you an option to isolate a second post player (or good driver) in the high post if you pass the ball into the high post.

Entry: Getting Into the Offense

The offense starts out in a 1-4 high look. The point guard (1) dribbles at a wing (2) and away from the stud post (5). The wing (2) backcuts to the rim and then sets a back/cross screen for the stud post (5) on the backside elbow. The back/cross screen is one of the best looks that you have to get a post the ball in an offense, so we want to take advantage of that in the entry. We always look for a post up right off the bat. If they are fronting the post we go right to the high post and look high-low or run our high-low action (shown farther below).

The backside wing (3) sets a flair screen for the player who set the back/cross screen for the post (2). The cutter (2) fills the wing and the flair screener (3) pops to the top of the key and gets the ball. If the player coming off the flair (2) is a shooter we can skip to him (2). If a skip happens the post (5) and high post (4) just come across and we are still in the offense. If we don't skip the ball, we pass to the separating screener (3) at the top of the key.

The Continuity 

When the ball is swung to the top the player at the top, that player (3) catches the ball and dribbles to the wing opposite the pass (2). The player at that wing (2) backcuts and we look for the backdoor pass. If it's not there, the cutter (2) continues across the lane and sets a cross screen for the stud post (5) on the backside. The stud post (5) comes across the lane and looks for the post up. If he doesn't get the ball right away (there needs to be an emphasis on entering the ball early), the high post (4) sets a down screen in a screen the screener action.

 The cutter (2) comes off the down screen in the screen the screener action and the screener (4) pops back to the elbow. We can again look to enter it to him and look for a high low again if the post is fronted. If we don't get the ball into either post we swing to the top and we continue with the continuity.

 The player at the top of the key (2) again receives the pass and again dribbles at the opposite wing (1) player. The wing player (1) backcuts, looks for the ball, and then continues across the lane and sets the cross screen for the post (4) who comes to the ball.

 The high post (4) sets the down screen. The player who set the cross screen (1) comes up to the top of the key. The player setting the downscreen (4) pops back to the high post and we swing the ball to the top to start the continuity again.

Other Options

High Post Entry

The ball can be entered to the high post (4). If that happens we have two immediate quick looks. These should take 1-2 seconds at the max. The first look is for the high post player (4) to dump the ball into the low post (5). Then high post (4) can look to take his defender one on one to the basket away from the stud post's (5) side.

If none of those looks are there, we go into our high post action. The wing player who passed the ball in (2) gets a backscreen from the post (5) and cuts to the basket. The stud post (5) stays on the wing and pretends like he's watching the play.  If the back cut isn't there, the backside wing player (3) sets a flair screen for the player at the point (1) who flairs to the backside wing. The screener (3) pops to the point. We look to get the ball to the player coming off the flair (1) by either skipping the ball or swinging it through the top. Either way the ball needs to end up on the opposite wing.

 After the pass is made the high post (4) sets a curl screen for the post who cuts to the rim and block. The player who came off the backscreen (2) fills the backside wing.

 The high post (4) fills across and we look for another high-low or we swing the ball to the top and get back into the offense. The player with the ball at the wing (1) passes up to the point (3), point dribbles at the opposite wing (2), who backcuts, etc. If they are denying the wing/point pass, the point (3) can screen away for the backside wing (2).

Low Post Entry

The whole idea of the offense is that we want to get the ball into the low post, right?! Well what do we do when it's there??

As the ball is passed to the low post, the high post (4), sets a curl screen for the entering wing (1). The entering wing (1) cuts off the elbow screen, to the backside block, and out to the opposite corner. If his man doubles we give him the ball and he gets a layup on the cut.

If the post doesn't score, and we don't get anything off the elbow screen, the player at the point (3), starts to cut to the rim and cuts to the wing off a flair screen. The other two perimeter players (1,2) fill to the ball.

Cheating the Dribble Over

Some teams will try to cheat the dribble over and by sagging off. If this happens we can run a Euro Screen to attack the defense. You can also do this action if the player at the wing is a stud that you want to drive. You could have a rule that you run the euro screen action anytime player X is dribbled at.

In this call/look, the player that has the ball at the point (3) dribbles at the player on the wing (1) as we normally do in our continuity. Instead of backcutting however, the player on the wing (1) cuts at the dribble and we perform a dribble handoff. The wing coming off the dribble handoff (1) gets a ball screen from the high post (4). The driver (1) can attack the rim and then dumps to the post (5) or kicks out. if the drive is not there, the driver (1) can dribble across, at the opposite wing (2) and we are into our offense again. A nice addition would be your stud post (5) backscreening the ballscreening post (4) but is not shown.

Conclusion

As I said in the beginning this is not something I have ever used, and am not sure how well it will work. I am more of a motion coach anyway, but it appears that it could be useful, especially if you have a stud post you want to get the ball to. Hopefully if you are a continuity coach you will give it a try and have some success with it!

Great 1-4 High Set

I am starting a new project as a writer for the website HoopsU. I am very excited to have the opportunity to participate, a big THANK YOU goes out to Coach Alfonso for giving me this opportunity, hopefully I can live up to his high standards!

In trying to figure out what to write for the first time, I've been spending time looking at sets to get your stud player the ball. In all honesty sets are not a strong suit, so I am using this opportunity to really improve and do some in depth research in this area! One of the sets I really like is the one that is shared below.

This set is a 1-4 high look that is geared toward getting looks for your stud point guard. For many coaches, especially at small shools, your point guard is usually your best driver, best shooter, best passer, and maybe even best post up player. So you need sets that revolve around the point guard and let him have opportunities to score and distribute. This is what the set does.


The set starts with the point guard (1) dribbling at the wing (3) - this should be the second best shooter between the two wings. The wing back cuts to the rim and if back cut isn't open, the backside wing (2) comes down and sets a pin screen to get the cutting wing (3) to the corner. As this is happening the backside post (4) starts to work his way down.

This clears out the ballside and gives your pg a chance to isolate. If the point guard (1) can turn the corner and go he should. As the backcutting wing (3) comes off the pin screen and fills to the corner, the backside post (4) sets a down screen for the screener (2) who cuts up the laneline to the slot. We can throw him the ball for a three if he is open. The

The downscreening post (4) shapes to the ball and we can enter it for a post up if it's open. This is especially great if they switch the screen. If the post up is not there the ballside post (5) comes across and sets the side ballscreen. The post who is on the ballside block now (4) comes up and backscreens the screener (5) and then shapes to the elbow. The point guard (1) comes off the screen and can throw to a shooter on the backside (2, 3) or hit the roller (5) coming off the back screen, or hit the screener (4) shaping to the elbow.

This is a great play for a number of reasons. First, the ball stays in the point guard's hands the entire play. It is a great look if you don't trust your other players to handle the ball. Second it gives your point guard a few opportunities to score and distribute, while still giving the other players on your team opportunities.

This set is geared toward a point guard who likes to drive the ball. If it's not an athletic point guard who's good at getting to the rim and creating, it's not a great set.

Lastly, I would not run this against a team that really pressures man to man. The action on the side is going to take a few seconds to develop and if your point guard can't back dribble on the wing to get the pressure off they run the risk of a five second call.

Teaching Shooting: Everything You Know is Wrong

Introduction

As a coach, I feel that shooting may be the most important skill in the game. If you are coaching a team with shooters you are going to be pretty darn good. With that said, I am always looking for new and better ways to teach this skill. I used to be a stickler for form. I thought that players had to have "great form" to be a great shooter - square feet, straight back, perfect. I would even go as far as to work on a player's form even though they were shooting a high percentage - which I now know is a waste of time.

After reading The Talent Code and Talent is Overrated I started to realize that perfect form isn't what's important - practice is what is important. I also started to look at great shooter's shots and they were all different. No one had a "text book" jump shot. The only similarity I saw was the balance, elbow under the ball, and follow through. So last year we spent more time on just shooting with proper balance, elbow, and follow through and we saw results.

After going through that revelation, I attended a shooting camp called Pro Shot by Paul Hoover, I was blown away by what he taught. It went against everything "traditional" shooting technique says. The Pro Shot shooting system is contrary to everything we've been taught about shooting. Techniques such as square feet, square shoulders, hand in the cookie jar, and the importance of bending your knees all go out the window. At first I was skeptical, obviously, but after watching the results, and trying it myself, I was sold. The system works and it makes sense when you take an honest look at what he is saying. Below is a rundown of the Pro Shot System.

The Pro Shot System

Each of the following are teaching points that Coach Hoover uses to build the jump shot. These are things I have used with our players and we have seen great success already with. 

The Basics
This video covers many of the basics of the Pro Shot System which will be discussed in more detail below. 

The Finger
For me, this was the biggest secret of the entire clinic. On the follow through, as you snap your wrist, you pinch your pointer finger and thumb together as you keep your other three fingers straight (3 up 1 down). This FORCES the ball to go straight because, as Coach Hoover points out, your pointer finger is the only finger that truly points straight ahead on your hand when your hand is extended straight out. Using this method has really aided players who miss a lot left and right. 

As you can see in the video, Bryant is clearly pinching his thumb and pointer finger together in the clip as he follows through. 

The Feet
This was a huge contradiction to EVERYTHING I had ever been taught. I have never heard a coach tell a player to unsquare his feet, but here was this guy doing just that! At first I was very hesitant because it just seemed wrong. But what sold me on it was the demonstration he did with the alignment of the shoulder in this video.

As you can see it's about squaring the shoulder and the hip, NOT the feet. As he says in his clinic, look at every sport where you aim - darts, baseball, shooting guns, no one square their feet to aim in those sports so why are we squaring our feet to aim in basketball? After that I was sold and will not tell another players to square their feet again. We will work on squaring our hip and shoulder to the basket instead of our feet.

The Sway

When great shooters shoot, they jump forward a little bit and keep their shoulders slightly back in a swaying motion. Below is a video that illustrates this movement. 

Reasons for Missing

Another amazing piece of the puzzle is why players miss - and it's not why you think. Most coaches would say that players who miss short don't use enough leg, but that's not true either. Both the video below, and this article by Brian McCormick explain that it's not the legs, it's balance, shoulder tension, and how high you release the ball.

In Closing

In closing I would like to say that while it may be easy to write this off, I would encourage you to take a hard, critical look at the ideas:

• Is the pointer finger the only finger that points straight when you extend your arm straight out with palm down? 
• Yes, it is. So that means it's the finger you want pushing the ball the most if the ball is going to go straight ahead. 
• Does your arm, when held straight out, line up with the front of the rim when your feet are squared up?
• No. So you need to turn your feet and hips to line your hip and shoulder up with the basket.

• Do your legs really give you a lot more power?
• No. Try it sometime, they don't really help in the shooting process as much as we think they do. It's more about balance and relaxation.

Last year a player I have worked with took 1800 shots in the offseason as was still a poor in season shooter. Does this sound familiar? Does it seem like some players are just "born" good shooters? Well the truth is it's a coaching issue. If a player is a good shooter we usually leave him alone right? We don't correct the feet or whatever we see as the flaw, correct? So a good shooter is shooting this way and we are letting him because shots go in. We take a poor shooter and try to "correct" him by squaring his feet, etc and he still doesn't make shots. We assume it's because he hasn't shot it enough, or he is a poor shooter, but the truth is it's because he's not shooting the ball in a natural way.

This player that I mentioned above was missing a lot of shots to the right (right handed). He had great feet that were squared to the rim every time, as were his shoulders. I would venture he missed right because his shooting arm was not lined up with the rim. Since he has started turning his hips and pinching on his shot, his shooing has improved greatly. 

I would like to extend a sincere thanks to coach Doug Linton of New Life Academy for inviting me to the clinic! He is having one at his place this week and I am trying to get as many of our guys as I can to show up!

****Note: Just to clarify, I am getting nothing from Pro Shot for this blog post. I just believe that the system works and want to share it with everyone. I would recommend that you bring in Coach Hoover and have him work with your players. It would be well worth the investment!

Stack and Loop DDM Look

One of my many basketball related projects this summer is to watch and take notes on all of the videos I've borrowed from "The Czar". My hope is to post a few highlights of each on here as I go along.

Yesterday I watched "Must Have Dribble Drive Motion Adjustments" by Herb Welling. There was some pretty basic stuff in there, but this stack and loop DDM continuity really stuck out for me. Coach Welling used this continuity to spread the floor differently against sagging man to man teams. Below are some notes on the continuity.

Basics:
The continuity starts with a stack on the left block, shooters in the low corners and the point guard on the top. In the diagram 5 is the other guard and the 4 is the post. This is typical Coach Walberg terminology for players as the 1 and 5 are the guards, the 2 and 3 are wings, and the 4 is the post.

The point guard (1) drives hard to the rim going right. (You could flip the stack and have him drive left if he's a lefty). As he drives, the post screens down for the other guard (5) who comes to the top of the key.

The point guard's (1) first look is a layup, then a dump to the post (4) or a kick to the shooters (2,3).



If no scoring options are availble the point guard (1) kicks back to the other guard (5) at the top of the key. The other guard (5) catches and drives as 1 goes under the screen by the post (4) and pops back to the top of the key. Repeat the action over and over until you get the look you want.

My Adjustment Ideas:
With anything I watch, I try to think about what other teams would do against it and how I can change that. Below are a couple ways the defense might counter this look and some adjustments you could make.

Sagging off the Top Fill
If the defense doesn't honor one (or both) of the slashing guards as a shooter, they might station that player's defender in the lane to always help on the drive.

An easy adjustment for me would be to have the guard they are sagging off of come to the elbow instead of the top of the key. That way he would be in a position (hopefully) to take a shot that he would be able to hit which would force the defense to come out and defend him.

Another adjustment would be to switch the far corner shooter with your other guard so the shooter is shaping to the top. Again you could duck your other guard into the high post for a kick back shot if they continued to sag off of him.

Overplaying the Top Fill
Some teams may try to take away the top fill. My favorite adjustment for that is to send the post (4) up to set a backscreen for the player being denied (5).

Jump-Switching the Driver and Post
This is a risky move, but some coaches might have their post jump out to stop the drive and the player on the ball sprint to take away the pass to the post. If this happens, the post can relocate to the high post for a kick out.

Sagging the Backside Corner Man and Sprinting Out on the Pick Up
If a defense is good, they might have the corner sag and then as soon as the ball gets picked up they sprint out to the corner. The adjustment for me would be to have the post turn and pin the defender. That way it makes the defender's recovery hard.

Closing Thoughts:
Coach Welling said that he got this continuity from Jud Heathcote during the days of Michigan State with Magic and Kessler. It would have been fun to watch Magic slashing into the lane out of this set up. It's an interesting continuity because you don't see it often, it distorts the defense because it's a drive down the lane, and you are going to really force the defense to chose whether to help and give up the three or stay on the shooters and give up a layup. The wing drive, or drive on a side is easier to defend because you can PACK it in and have 4 guys in help on one side. Being in the middle of the floor forces the corners to help a little bit more.

I will be the first to say it doesn't work well without at least one corner shooter (ball side preferred). If you have shooters though, it could be deadly.

This is a great fit for a coach who doesn't want to go completely DDM, runs a continuity like the flex or swing, and wants to get some DDM action in their offense. It's also great if you have two guards who can really drive but can't shoot and two wings who can really shoot but can't handle. It allows the players to do what they are good at. Either way it's an interesting concept.

Defensive Pressure: It's All In Your Head

Lately I've been reading bits and pieces of "Stuff Good Players Should Know" by Dick Devenzio. It's a great book and I would encourage you all to get it. This is especially true if you are a coach who really strives to be a teacher of the game. As a preview, you can read some of the notes from an old blog post by Eric Musselman.

One of the things that Coach Devenzio talks about in his book is the idea that defensive pressure in basketball is only an illusion. Think about what a novel concept that really is! How many times have you seen players (and even coaches) panic when a team presses, traps, or just plays hard pressure man? It happens all the time and costs teams victories on a regular basis.

So what is pressure in basketball? It's not like football where pressure can mean bodily injury. It's more of a mindset that leads the team being pressured to panic. If you don't panic however, now what? You will find that good teams relax when they are pressured. When you relax you are able to see more clearly and actually put the team that is pressuring at a disadvantage by playing smart, principled basketball.

It's easy enough to preach to our players that they need to handle pressure, but we know talking a good game means nothing. How do you teach it then!? I was blessed this spring to work with a great group of athletes out at St. Croix Prep High School in Stillwater (MN). Our main focus for the development sessions focused on basketball IQ and understanding the game. They play in a conference and a section with teams that love to trap and pressure so we decided that we would spend some time teaching them how to handle that pressure. The following is what worked for us as we increased their ability to handle pressure.

• Sold the Idea that Pressure is a Myth
• This may have been the biggest, and hardest piece. They need to understand that pressure doesn't matter. We even went as simple as having a defender pressure them while they just stood there. This made them realize that the defender wasn't going to do anything to them - they were just waving their hands, not swords. Once they got used to the idea that being pressured wasn't going to result in loss of limb or life, the rest was much easier. They started to relax and see the action much better.
• The more comfortable they are with pressure (the less scared) the less pressure affects their ability to make decisions. 
• In order to be comfortable they need to experience pressure over and over again for this to happen. It's like riding a roller coaster, the first time might be scary but by the second or third ride it isn't nearly as bad. So we had them ride the roller coaster quite often during our session and experience hta tpressure.

•  Taught Them How to Handle Pressure
• As always, it's important to teach the game. 
• What we did was showed them basic concepts to use when being pressured:
• Backcut when denied
• Cut at two speeds in two directions to get open
• Don't make the same cut to get open each time
• GO-GO: get open or get out
• Take your space on the catch - DO NOT go backwards
• When you catch against pressure, take a tep forward, rip through hard, and take your space. 
• Makes it easier to pivot and pass as well as see the floor
• This might be the most important one.
• Eyes up
• Pivot hard and rip hard with big elbows\
• Don't hold the ball above your head
• Stay low and strong
• Rip to the hip
• Rip below the knees and above the head, not across the belly button
• Take a deep breath and slow down
• Take a five second call over a live ball turnover - just be patient

• Drills should be a progression where you learn the technique first and then do it under pressure.  
• For example, you work on catching and ripping
•  After learning technique drills should simulate game situations
• After technique, drills should incorporate more pressure than you see in games with pieces such as extra defenders. 

• Drilled Them on Technique
• Used a number of simple drills to teach the mechanics of how to handle pressure. 
• Staying low, ripping and pivoting, taking space, etc. 

• Let Them Learn in Small Sided Games
• If you have not read Brian McCormick yet, do so now. He is huge on small sided teaching games and he is onto something, they work!
• Small sided games are games of 1 on 1, 2 on 2, 3 on 3, or 4 on 4 that emphasize the skill you are working on while still playing.
• So in the game you would emphasize being strong with the ball in this case. 
• Small sided games are great teaching tools because they put players in game like situations and allows players to teach themselves through experience.
• You can create rules to overload the small sided game to make it harder than a real game. 
• Example - 2 on 2 no dribble allows the defense to pressure and deny harder than in a game, also no dribbling forces players to be strong with the ball. 

• 1 on 1, 2 on 2, 3 on 3, or even 4 on 4 allows players more touches than a typical 5 on 5 game. 
• Small sided games allow players to apply the skill in a game situation and work on truly learning the skill in a trial and error environment. 

 Drills and Progressions

The following is an example of a drill progression that we use to teach toughness with the ball. I believe in progressions because in my experience (although limited) progressions yield a better understanding of the skill. Players learn to apply it faster as opposed to just drilling it. For me a progression starts with a skeleton drill (no defense) to work on the technical aspects of the skill, then we add defense to a drill, then we make the drill game like, and then we play a small sided game. Sometimes the last two steps are blended into 1. Also, as the year goes on we spend less time with the drill and more time on small sided games.

As always, it's not what drill you do it's how you do it and what you  teach and emphasize within the drill.

Rip Throughs (Skeleton drill)This may be the most boring drill, but I always tell the players that if they go hard that we will do the drill for 2-3 minutes tops. If they don't go hard we will do it all day.

Players move out around the floor, spin the ball out, catch it with two hands and two feet. Right as they catch they rip forward to take their space. Then they rip 3-4 more times hard with big elbows. They should rip to the hip. As they rip the ball should go below their knees or above their head. Once they are done they spin out and repeat.

Boss Drill (With defense)
Now we add some defense to the situation. In this drill you partner up with one ball. The defense starts with the ball about 2 feet from the offense. The defense throws the ball to the offense and comes up and really gets into them - hacking at the ball, pressuring them body to body,  and slapping their arms to try and force them to lose the ball. The offense can't dribble and rips through hard with big elbows and tries to keep the defender off for 5 rip and pivots. Make sure we are emphasizing proper footwork in this drill. Players don't try to hurt each other, but the drill should be overly aggressive with no fouls - making it harder than the game. If you can keep the ball against this type of pressure, whatever you get in a game. Unless, of course, it's on the road and the coaches brother is the official! Even then you have prepared for the situation with this drill.

2 on 2 10 Pass Drill (With defense and closer to a game)
In this drill we now introduce something else to worry about outside of being strong with the ball. In this drill we add passing and moving to the equation. The drills has one ball with groups of four - 2 defense and 2 offense.


The offense has an entire 1/2 court (or 1/4 if you want to make it harder) to move around and they have to successfully complete 10 passes in a row. The offense cannot dribble or shoot. This means the defense pressures really close on the ball and denies the players off the ball hard. If they dribble or turn it over they have 10 pushups. If they successfully complete 10 passes the defense has 10 pushups. Defense and offense switch each time. This drill is great because again it puts your playres in a situation that is harder than a game, the offense now has to work harder to get open, make better passes, and still be strong with the ball on the catch while being mauled.

3 on 3 (or 4 on 4) No Dribble
Now we add in the small sided game. Players play 3 on 3 and try to score but cannot dribble the ball. Again, this creates a situation that is harder than the game.  Also another rule for the game is that if they are not strong with the ball it's an automatic turnover. It is an automatic turnover if a player catches and doesn't rip forward to take space take space, if they don't rip and pivot, if they hold the ball over their head, or if they don't rip to the hip. On a turnover the offense goes out and a the defense goes to offense.

Play the game to a set number of points or for a set time. You can also play it cutthroat style with 3-4 teams on one court. There is a dribble allowance if the player catches the ball cutting to the hoop and has to take a dribble to finish the layup (either that or you get some crazy - no game like shots).

As you can see, this is where the learning takes place. It's easy for players to remember to use the skill in a drill where that's all they have to focus on, but now they have to handle defensive pressure, other players cutting and moving, trying to score, trying to make passes, etc. If they can remember to be strong with the ball here they are going to have a better chance of doing it in a game. There is a much higher probability of carry over because in small sided games they are building habits.

Pressure Resources

Most of my drills I have gotten from other coaches but below are a couple of resources that I have found very helpful for teaching how to handle pressure.

•  Developing Basketball Intelligence by Brian McCormick (e-book)
• Eliminating Turnovers in Your Half Court Offense by Mike Heideman (DVD)
• No longer on Syskos, but a good one if you can find it

• Team Tougheners by Lance Randall (DVD)

 In Closing

 Handling pressure is much more mental than physical. I've seen 5-5, spindly, weak players handle pressure better than 6-6 wings who weigh 230. It's more about training their minds to do the little things (take space, big elbows, rip and pivot) than it is training their bodies. Hopefully the ideas above, although a little jumbled, will help you work with your players on better handling pressure. The more you can do drills and games that make it harder than the real game, the better your players will be. Lastly, teaching in a progression such as the one above is the very best way for players to learn how to be tough with the ball.