All plays
266 animated plays, organized by what you want to teach. Step through any play, then save it to your playbook.
Horns · 12
The same entry as the base pick-and-roll with the assignments flipped: the screener pops and the opposite big dives. Run it when the big who sets the screen is…
A re-screen: 1 uses the first elbow screen, turns back, and takes a second screen from the other big going the opposite direction. Punishes defenses that load…
Screen-the-screener for a three: 1 uses 4's screen as a decoy, then 5 flare-screens 4 to the weak wing for a skip pass. Needs a 4 who can shoot. The Spurs…
A back screen for a lob. The ball goes to one elbow, the opposite corner lifts as if he is coming off a pindown, then rips the elbow big's defender and the big…
An elbow entry that works the weak side while every defender watches the catch: the opposite big pins down the corner shooter, who curls into the lane. The…
The modern Horns entry: ball to the elbow, the passer chases it for a dribble handoff, and the opposite big dives as the handoff happens. Boston runs this look…
Michigan State's Horns Chin: both corners lift, the ball swings wing to slot, and an elbow big back-screens (chins) the wing for a rim cut. The counter is the…
A flex cut and a screen-the-screener out of the elbow entry. The weak corner cuts along the baseline to the ball-side block, then the passer who screened for…
The continuity entry: a zipper cut off a downscreen, then a pindown, a reversal, a flare, and a post-up, all from the same five spots. It turns a Horns set into…
The simplest Horns answer to a switching defense: one big pops to the top to take the entry, the other seals his man and dives to the block the moment the ball…
The base Horns set: 1 picks a side, the screener rolls and the opposite big pops. Teach this first and run it until the reads are automatic. Personnel: the…
Spain pick-and-roll out of Horns: as the screener rolls, a guard back-screens the roller's defender and pops to the top. Beats drop coverage because the back…
Flex · 12
The whole offense in one cycle, run twice. Every guard-to-guard pass triggers a baseline flex cut off a flat screen, then a downscreen for the screener, who…
Start in Horns and arrive in Flex spots with the first action already run. The elbow entry hides the flex cut: defenders watch the ball go to the elbow while 1…
A box set that unfolds into Flex: the elbows step out to the slots, the point guard enters and fills a corner, and the weak-side downscreen puts a second guard…
The pressure release when the guard-to-guard pass is denied. Instead of forcing the reversal, 1 dribbles at the corner, the corner player loops up to the…
The first counter off the downscreen. When the screener's defender trails him tightly over the downscreen, the screener curls into the lane for a layup or short…
The opposite read off the downscreen: when the screener's defender cheats under the screen or sits in the lane waiting for the pop, the screener fades toward…
The answer to a defense that switches the downscreen. When the downscreener's defender jumps out to take the screener, the downscreener never sets the screen…
Maryland's roll-back: when the defense switches the flex screen, the screener does not go looking for the downscreen. He pivots, seals the smaller defender who…
A quick hitter for the moment the defense has learned to jump out and take away the screener's pop. The downscreen is set as usual, the screener fakes the pop…
The reversal to the other guard is taken away, so the ball drops to the corner and the two guards turn into a double screen on the lane line; the far corner…
The other answer to a denied reversal: the overplayed guard back-cuts to the rim and the weak corner lifts to replace him. Teach it on day one, because a…
Flex is a man offense; zone defenders tag cutters instead of chasing them. The adaptation: keep the two guards up, let only the three low players rotate, aim…
Dribble Drive · 12
The base possession of the offense: the point guard attacks the lane line on his side, away from the post, and reads who helps. Why 4-out 1-in: the two shooters…
What happens when the point guard can't get past the drop line: he stops in the drop zone on purpose and plays a two-man game with the corner. Why: a jump stop…
The post's job in the dribble drive, drawn as a whole possession. Why the post never posts up: he stays on the block opposite the ball, out of touching distance…
The trailer's play. Why the second guard trails six to eight feet behind a middle drive, in line with the rim and the ball: when the driver is stopped at the…
The corner shooter's play. Why the corner stays put once the ball is below the free throw line: his defender has to choose between helping on the drive and…
The S in attack-attack-skip-attack-attack. Why the opposite corner lifts to the window the moment the driver breaks the drop zone: the help side sinks to stop…
Attack, attack, skip, attack, attack drawn in full: the first drive is stopped, the pitch goes back to the trailer, the trailer attacks and is stopped, the ball…
The ball screen inside the dribble drive. Walberg did not screen at first, because screens clog the gaps; now both he and Calipari use the sprint ball screen as…
The entry for a point guard who can't beat his man in the breakdown zone. Why: a sideways dribble at a teammate is not an attack dribble, it is a signal; the…
A quick hitter from Calipari's Memphis playbook, the write-up titled Dribble Drive Motion 5. Why it works: after a few possessions the defense keys on the drive…
The baseline drive from the 2 side and the post rule that makes it safe. Why only 2 drives baseline: on his side the post is opposite, so when 2 drives baseline…
The dribble drive against a 2-3 zone, from Coach's Clipboard's Dribble-Drive Zone Offense and Walberg's zone rules. Why the wings are up instead of in the…
5-Out · 13
Five out is a basic motion offense that works on any level of basketball, but it's especially popular for younger teams to learn space and pace.
The first rule of the offense and the one everything else sits on: pass, cut hard to the rim, and fill the open spot above you. Why it works: five players…
The read that keeps every defense honest: a player one pass away who is being denied, and whose passer is looking at him, back cuts immediately and never…
The dribble-at, the one trigger in 5-out that needs no defensive mistake. Why: when the pass to the wing is pressured, the ball handler speed dribbles at the…
The get: the ball handler passes to the trailing five at the top and sprints right back to take the handoff, so the five's body becomes a ball screen without…
What the other four do when the ball is driven, the Read and React foundation that fixes 5-out's single gaps. Why: in five-out a defender one pass away can…
The reactions to a drive from the top. Why they matter: a middle drive in 5-out is driven into a single gap, so the drive-side wing shakes up to the slot to…
The second layer most programs add once cutting is clean: pass and screen away instead of cutting. Why: the pin-down for the far wing gives a shooter a running…
The flare on the weak side after a pass. Why: when the ball goes to one wing the far side of the floor is where the help lives, so a flare screen set on the…
Delay: the five takes the ball at the top in 5-out and the guards in the slots read him. Why it came down from the NBA: a big with the ball at the top is a…
How a post plays inside 5-out without breaking it. Why the post is a cutter, not a station: a player who finishes his basket cut with a mismatch may seal on the…
The same five spots against a 2-3 zone, an attack I learned from Coach's Clipboard's 5-out zone offense. Why it works without a post: a 2-3 is built to guard a…
The drag screen is the first thing I teach once a team can run the floor, because it turns a slow break into a ball screen before the defense is set: the five…
Princeton · 12
The pressure release the whole offense rests on, and the first thing to install: when a guard is denied the reversal, the wing dribbles straight at his defender…
The base continuity and the first set most coaches install, run from the two-guard front whenever the post is already high. The ball goes guard to guard and…
The other half of the drift read, run from the same Chin sequence. Why it exists: once a defense has been burned by the fade to the top, the guard's defender…
What the offense runs when the first pass from the two-guard front goes to the same-side wing instead of guard to guard. Why it is its own phase: with no…
How the ball gets to the elbow when the defense denies the reversal, which is the Point phase's front door. Why the wave: a guard who cannot catch guard to…
The most common Point action: the top player enters the post at the elbow and screens away at the opposite elbow for the weak-side wing. Why the screen is often…
The second Point route: the passer cuts over the top of the post and sets a wide pin-down for the strong-side corner, who comes off it and takes a dribble…
The third Point route: the passer cuts under the post looking for a handoff, and when there is none he continues to the rim for the return pass, then clears…
The Low phase: the ball goes to the wing and into the post on the block, and the passer has three choices the moment it arrives: slide to the corner, Laker cut…
The play Carril called in the timeout with seven seconds left against UCLA in the 1996 NCAA tournament, 41-41, his last win: center-forward back door. Steve…
Carril's own high-post offense from the 2-3 high set, the version he ran without a dominant post: guards in the slots, forwards at the free-throw line extended…
The 1-2-2 the offense lands in when the post has stepped out to the top, usually after a teammate curled the drift screen, and the bridge from Carril's offense…
Zone Offense · 17
The base alignment for attacking a 2-3 and the first thing to install: a 1-3-1 with the point above the arc, two wings set wide so the top guards are not in the…
Kermit Davis's way of using the short corner against the 2-3, from Coach's Clipboard: the point dribbles to the wing to engage the top guard, the wing drops to…
The high post is the 2-3's soft spot and the hi-lo is how to use it, from a 3-out 2-in set: on the wing pass, the ball-side post flashes from the block to the…
Screening the back of the zone, Coach's Clipboard's "Carolina": the wing pass shifts the zone to the ball, the weak-side post slides out to the weak corner, and…
Two ways to screen the top of a 2-3, from Coach's Clipboard. First "91": both posts move up to the top, the point passes to one of them, the other back-screens…
Ryan Schultz's "Shallow", with the ball screen that Breakthrough and Teach Hoops both put at the center of a modern zone attack: the point drives at his own…
The rhythm every zone offense needs before any set: pass to one side, reverse, and skip over the top before the weak-side forward can recover. From the 1-3-1…
Dribble penetration into a seam, from Coach's Clipboard's "Corners 52" and Schultz's "X Counter". Why drive a zone at all: a drive into a seam draws two…
The runner: the best shooter lives on the baseline and runs corner to corner behind the zone, so the forwards have to pass him off across three defenders. From…
Coach's Clipboard's "23 Stack" baseline out-of-bounds play against the 2-3, with its counter "Splitter". The stack sits on the ball-side lane line: the shooter…
Coach's Clipboard's "Box-2" sideline out-of-bounds play against the 2-3, with the counter for a team that has seen it on film. The box: 2 and 1 on the ball-side…
Attack an odd front with an even one: a 2-1-2 with two guards in the slots so the chaser cannot guard either, 5 at the free-throw line in the middle's area, and…
Coach's Clipboard's "Runner" against the 1-3-1: the best shooter lives in a corner, the ball goes to him, and the warrior has to sprint to him; on every…
The short corner against the 1-3-1, from Coach's Clipboard and HoopTactics. Why the short corner against this zone: it is covered by the baseline runner alone…
Attacking the 3-2 (and its 1-2-2 cousin) where it is weakest: the middle. From Coach's Clipboard's 3-2 and 1-2-2 zone offenses and HoopTactics: two guards up…
Lindsay Gottlieb's "West" from Coach's Clipboard, a quick hitter against the 2-3 that gives the best shooter an open three or the post a layup, and reads the…
Bryce Drew's stack plays against the 2-3, from Coach's Clipboard, run as a pair: Stack-2, the lob, and Stack-3, the counter for when the zone overplays the…
Zoom and Handoffs · 10
The base action of the family and the one to install first: a pin-down straight into a dribble handoff, from five-out with the post as the hub. The post takes a…
What the zoom does when the defense takes the handoff away, and the reason I trust it against a team that has scouted it: three counters from one picture, each…
Chicago action from Horns, the version Michigan ran in 2025–26: the point enters to the elbow big, who dribbles toward the wing; the point cuts to set a…
Miami action, a dribble handoff followed immediately by a ball screen. Once you know the name you will spot it in nearly every NBA and college game, and in…
Spain pick and roll, the stack ball screen: the post screens for the point at the top, and as the post rolls, a shooter stacked behind him back-screens the…
The step-up ball screen, set from below the ball with the screener's back to the baseline so the handler attacks up the sideline toward the middle, and what it…
The ghost screen, a ball screen that never gets set: the screener jogs toward the handler as if to set a ball screen, turns his shoulders to sell it, and before…
The transition ball screen, drawn from half court: the point pushes the ball up a side, the wings sprint to the deep corners, the first big fills the far slot…
Delay, the five-out offense with the big at the top as the hub, and its simplest trigger: the get, where a guard passes to the big and immediately chases the…
The zoom as a transition entry, for the possession where the break produces nothing and the ball is still alive, drawn from half court: the trailing big gets…
Pick and Roll Coverages · 4
Drop coverage on a middle ball screen, from the defense's side: the screener's defender stays below the screen, at or just above the nail, between the roller…
Hedge and recover, the coverage you will see most often at the high school level: the screener's defender jumps out above the screen, high and wide, hips square…
Switching the ball screen, the coverage that has spread fastest over the last five years: the screener's defender steps up to the level of the screen, and on…
Ice, also called blue or down, on a side ball screen: the on-ball defender jumps to the high side above the screen and turns parallel to it, forcing the handler…
Youth Man-to-Man · 16
The first thing a young defender learns, shown inside a whole possession: the stance (feet wider than the shoulders, butt down, back straight, hands active…
The on-ball defender does not just stay in front; he decides where the dribbler goes. This play runs the no-middle rule through a whole possession: on the wing…
One pass away in a pressure defense: the defender is up the line between his man and the ball, a hand in the passing lane, his back to the basket, seeing ball…
The other way to play one pass away, and the one most youth coaches should start with: the gap, or pack line. Off the ball every defender sags a step toward the…
Two passes away, the defender is not next to his man; he is in the lane with one foot in the paint, in the pistols position, one hand pointing at the ball and…
When a player passes, his defender's first move is a jump toward the ball, not toward his man, so that the cut his man is about to make goes behind him and not…
A gap defense and a help-side defense both concede the catch, so the closeout is where they pay for it: sprint two thirds of the way, chop the feet for the last…
Help is a loan, not a gift: the helper stops the ball and gets back to his man on the kick-out, and if he does not recover, the defense has traded a drive for…
When the help defender leaves his man to stop a drive, somebody has to cover the man he left, and that second rotation is what separates a team defense from…
The help defender's two legal weapons at the rim: verticality, where he gets to the spot first and goes straight up with both hands, giving up his space to…
Guarding a player on the block through a whole possession: where the post defender stands depends on where the ball is, and he moves on every pass. Ball above…
The simplest way to guard a ball screen, and the one most youth teams should use: call it early, and switch. The screener's defender yells the screen as it is…
The deny concedes one thing, and this play shows the offense trying to take it twice: when the defender is up the line denying the pass, his man cuts behind him…
Most youth points come in transition, before the defense is built, so this play starts with five defenders scattered and the offense running, and shows the…
A defensive possession is not over until the defense has the ball, and this play runs a whole one to the end: the ball swings both ways, the offense gets the…
The shell drill is every rule in this series run at once, four-on-four, and this play runs it the way it is coached: the ball swings around the perimeter and…
Youth Zone Defense · 12
For ages 12 and up, after the man-to-man series. The base 2-3 and the deal it makes. Five defenders pack the paint, the guards sit at the elbows, and the zone…
For ages 12 and up, after the man-to-man series. A full swing, wing to corner, back out, across the top, to the other wing and corner, with the zone answering…
For ages 12 and up, after the man-to-man series. The skip pass is how a good offense attacks a zone that shifts well, and this play shows the answer twice, in…
For ages 12 and up, after the man-to-man series. The corner is where the 2-3 has a choice, and this play shows both. First the standard coverage: the forward…
For ages 12 and up, after the man-to-man series. The high post is the one catch a 2-3 cannot concede, because a player there faces the basket with both blocks…
For ages 12 and up, after the man-to-man series. The overload: the offense puts four players on one side (slot, wing, corner, short corner) with a fifth at the…
For ages 12 and up, after the man-to-man series. Dribble penetration is the zone's other weakness, and good offenses drive the gaps to make the zone collapse…
For ages 12 and up, after the man-to-man series. The zone's deal only pays off if it rebounds the shot it chose to give up, and this play shows a whole…
For ages 12 and up, after the man-to-man series. The 1-3-1 as a second zone, run through a whole possession: a chaser at the top who forces the ball to a side…
For ages 12 and up, after the man-to-man series. The 3-2 as a third option, run through a whole possession: a rover at the free-throw line who denies the high…
For ages 12 and up, after the man-to-man series. Offenses do not only pass against a zone; they dribble the ball from spot to spot to drag defenders out of…
For ages 12 and up, after the man-to-man series. The possession most youth zones lose is the one where the offense pushes the ball before the zone is built…
Press Defenses · 6
The 2-2-1 three-quarter press, drawn as a whole possession. Why it works: it concedes the inbound to a corner and waits for the dribble, then traps on the…
The 2-2-1 adjustment for the team that inbounds with its point guard and immediately throws it back to him. Why: the point guard is the player who beats a…
The 1-2-1-1 diamond full-court press, drawn as a whole possession. Why it works: it pressures the inbounder and traps the first catch in the corner, where the…
The diamond's 'two fist' call: the alignment does not change, but the trap holds until the receiver puts the ball on the floor. Why: a live dribble is the one…
The run and jump, a full-court man-to-man press with rules that encourage jump switching and sideline trapping, drawn as a whole possession. Why it works: every…
The 1-3-1 three-quarter press ('23'), drawn as a whole possession. Why it works: the chaser (X1, long and athletic) turns his shoulders to the side the ball is…
Press Break · 6
The four-across break against the 2-2-1 three-quarter press. Why four across: the 2-2-1 doesn't pressure the inbounder, so 5 takes the ball out of the net, runs…
The '60' break's answer when the 2-2-1 turns into a deny press ('61') with two defenders on the point guard. Why it works: a denial has to put bodies below the…
The 1-2-2 attack against the diamond press. Why the 1-2-2: once the diamond commits two players to the corner, the floor it cannot cover is the sideline near…
The four-across answer when the diamond denies the inbound ('81'). Why four across: the point defender can't both pressure the inbounder and shade the middle…
The man-press break against the run and jump: clear out, keep the ball in the middle, and split the jump with a pass. Why it works: when a second defender runs…
The 2-1-2 break against the 1-3-1 three-quarter press. Why two guards up: the 1-3-1 has one chaser, and one chaser can only take one side, so the ball is swung…
Baseline Out of Bounds · 11
This play is effective if you have a three pointer specialist on the floor, simply because they are used as a distraction. The goal here is to get an easy look…
The first play from the box and the one every other baseline look is disguised as: Coach's Clipboard's "Box-1". On the handoff, not the slap, the ball-side post…
The three-point look from the same box, Coach's Clipboard's "Gator" and Teach Hoops' elevator with its counter. On the handoff the ball-side elbow back-screens…
The lob from the box, Coach's Clipboard's "Box-54" with its switch counter built in. The two elbows pop first, the shooter to the ball-side corner and the point…
The same box against a 2-3 zone, from Basketball For Coaches' box zone plays and Coach's Clipboard's Box-2 zone version. The box shifts a step toward the ball…
The box with under three seconds on the clock, when there is no time for a dribble or a second pass: Coach's Clipboard's five-second baseline play and Mike…
The sixth look from the box and the one you call after the defense has started showing on the cross screen: Breakthrough's "Fake Diagonal" and Coach's…
The full-court play when the game needs a three with three or four seconds left, drawn from half court: Coach's Clipboard's "Maryland" and the Valparaiso…
The full-court play when the game needs two points with two or three seconds left, drawn from half court: Coach's Clipboard's "Duke", the Laettner play, with…
The baseline play for three tenths to seven tenths of a second, when the rule itself decides the shot: with 0.3 or less a player cannot catch and shoot, so only…
A baseline play that a dozen European teams picked up in the fall of 2026, and it keeps scoring even though there is nothing fancy about it. It revolves around…
Sideline and After Timeout · 10
This play is great if you have a speedy guard who can handle skip passes. The point is to get an open look for a layup during a sideline out of bounds play.
The sideline play every team needs first: get the ball in to the best handler and into a ball screen, from Coach's Clipboard's "Celtics" and the Coaching…
The need-a-three sideline play from the same box, from Beilein's last-second sideline play and the elevator second option Doug Brotherton added to a Princeton…
The need-a-two sideline play from the same box, the Coaching Toolbox's Portland and Florida back-screen lobs with Coach's Clipboard's "Kansas" curl counter. The…
The hammer from the sideline box, the Spurs' weak-side action that the Coaching Toolbox and Hoop Coach both carry as a sideline finish: the entry goes to the…
The sideline play for the last two seconds, when the time decides the target: Coach's Clipboard's "Pistons" from Dwane Casey and Joao Costa's one-second…
The after-timeout play for the best player, Horns with a re-screen: the point dribbles off one elbow's screen while the screener drifts to the wing as…
The after-timeout three from Horns, Coach's Clipboard's "Gate-3" and the Pistons' elevator: the point dribbles to one side, the shooter cuts along the baseline…
The after-timeout play for a guard who scores off movement: Chicago action, a pin-down into a dribble handoff, run from Horns. One elbow pops to catch the…
The sideline play when the game needs a post score with eight to twelve seconds: Hoop Coach's post isolation from the box and Coach's Clipboard's half-court…
Screen Guide · 37
A corner ball screen is set near the short corner or deep sideline to help a trapped handler escape or attack baseline space.
After setting the ball screen, the big veers away from the roll to screen the defender of a nearby perimeter player.
An angle or slot ball screen is set diagonally in the slot to direct the handler toward the middle.
Traditional flex action pairs a baseline cross screen with a down screen for the player who set the first screen.
A step-up screen arrives from below the ball on the side, with the screener's back roughly parallel to the baseline so the handler can attack baseline.
A brush cut uses a stationary teammate's natural position to momentarily obstruct the defender without that teammate setting a conventional screen.
A wide screen is a high cross screen that frees a weak-side cutter toward the ball side.
Two screeners open a lane for the shooter and close the doors only after the shooter has cleared.
An off-ball ram screen frees a teammate to arrive immediately into an on-ball screen.
A flare screen sends a perimeter player away from the ball toward the sideline or corner.
A flat screen is set with the screener's back toward the basket, giving the handler a choice of either direction.
A shot screen is any screen designed specifically to deliver an immediate catch-and-shoot opportunity.
The same screener screens the same cutter twice: first a flare screen away from the ball, then a cross or wide screen back toward the ball.
A down screen, often called a pin-down, frees a player moving from the baseline toward the perimeter.
After passing, 1 screens away for 3. The cutter reads the defender and comes toward the ball.
A wedge is an angled back screen by a guard that sends a big from the top toward the low block. In wedge roll, the big continues into an immediate side ball…
A ghost screen is a fake ball screen where the screener leaves before making contact.
A back screen is set behind a defender so the cutter can attack the rim. It is also called a rip screen.
A cross screen sends a player across the lane, usually from one block to the other.
A baseline drive is paired with a weak-side back screen that frees the opposite corner for a skip pass.
In Ricky action, the same screener screens the same cutter twice: traditionally a back screen followed by a down screen in the opposite direction.
Double drag uses two consecutive transition ball screens, often with one screener popping and the other rolling.
Spain pick-and-roll combines a high ball screen with a back screen on the rolling screener's defender; the back screener then pops.
A drag screen is an early ball screen set in transition before the defense is organized.
A double screen places two screeners beside one another so a cutter must be chased around a wider obstacle.
A side ball screen is set on the wing with spacing that forces the defense to choose between middle, baseline, switch, or trap.
A touch screen is brief contact that immediately flows into a slip or roll.
A hostage dribble keeps the on-ball defender behind the handler. The rolling big adds a Gortat screen by sealing the drop defender in front.
The first screener immediately becomes the cutter and receives a second screen from a different teammate.
A stagger uses two screens at different depths so a cutter changes direction and the defender must navigate both.
A smaller guard sets the ball screen for a larger ball handler, reversing the usual personnel roles.
A high ball screen is set near the top of the floor, giving the ball handler room to attack either side.
A UCLA screen, also called an up screen, frees a guard to cut from the wing or slot to the rim.
A slip screen sends the screener to the rim before the screen is fully set, usually when the defense jumps out early.
A player screens the defender responsible for the area that player just vacated, helping a teammate replace into the space.
A blade (or Maggette) cut is a curved weak-side perimeter cut to the rim, commonly used while a side pick-and-roll occupies the help.
A twirl begins as a stagger: the cutter curls the first screen, then that first screener turns and cuts off the second screen.
Drills · 76
One-hand form shooting from two or three feet, the first thing I do at every workout and the first drill I teach a young player. Why it works: there is no…
A shooting game against an imaginary pro: a make is one point for the shooter and a miss is two for the pro, first to twenty-one. Why it works: the consequence…
Archie Miller's Celtic Drill, also called the Bird drill: five spots across the arc, a two-minute clock, and the shooter has to make two in a row at a spot…
Nine spots sweeping the arc from the right corner to the left corner, two shots at each: a three for three points, then a shot fake, one dribble, and a…
Elbow to elbow shooting, in the three-player two-ball Knight version with a one-minute clock: the shooter runs from elbow to elbow, a passer in the free throw…
Three players, one ball, two wings: shoot, chase your shot, pass to the next shooter, and sprint out to close out on him. Why it works: every rep is a two-way…
Three players, two balls, one minute: a shooter runs wing to wing, a passer at the free throw line feeds him every time he arrives, and a rebounder keeps the…
Two chairs stand in for down screens at each elbow extended, and a line at the top of the key takes turns cutting off them: curl, pop, flare, or backdoor on the…
Five spots in a star: right corner, left wing, right wing, left corner, top, and the shooter sprints the long diagonals between them, catching and shooting at…
Coach's Clipboard's team free throw competition: at the end of practice, when everyone is tired, the team splits between two baskets with the score set tied…
The two-minute handle warmup: pound dribbles, kills, the figure 8, the spider, and the crossover, each for thirty to sixty seconds with a ball in every hand on…
Two-ball handling on the move: a line of chairs down each lane of the full court, the first player dribbles two balls up the floor and makes the called move at…
Change of direction at pace: a player dribbles two hard dribbles at a forty-five degree angle, plants the outside foot, crosses over low, and goes two dribbles…
The game sequence rehearsed: approach the defender at speed, make the move at his reach, accelerate past him, and finish. Why: cone courses teach moves but not…
George Mikan's drill: layup right-handed off the left foot, catch the ball out of the net before it drops, land on the other side of the rim, layup left-handed…
The layup lines every team runs, done right: a shooting line beyond the arc at the right wing, a rebounding line beyond the arc at the left wing, two balls. The…
Five cones just outside the three-point line, right corner, right wing, top, left wing, left corner, and a player who starts under the rim with the ball…
Two minutes, twenty-two made layups, left hand only: half the team at each baseline to the right of the lane, the first two players at each end with a ball, and…
Five lines at the points of a star, top, two wings, two baseline spots, one ball, and a pass that goes across the star every time: top to left wing, left wing…
Four lines in a square around the key, two at the baseline corners and two at the sideline extended from the top of the arc, a ball at the front of each. All…
The weave from half court, three passes to a layup: the middle player passes to a wing and sprints behind him, that wing passes across to the other wing and…
The first two seconds of transition: a coach shoots from the free throw line, the two rebounders on the blocks call shot and box out the offensive rebounders…
The shell is where I teach the three relationships every man defense lives on: on the ball, one pass away in deny, two passes away on the help line. Why it…
The closeout is the most repeated defensive action in a game, which is why I drill it until it is a reflex. Setup: three lines of defenders under the basket…
Five cones around the arc and one defender who closes out to each one in turn, which is why I use it as a warm-up: it is five full closeouts and five box-outs…
Shell exposes the help-to-closeout sprint but rarely isolates it, which is why I run this 2v2 version on its own. Setup: two offense on opposite wings, two…
Pure footwork for staying in front of the ball, which is why Jim Boone's pack-line course lists it as a core drill. Setup: five cones in a zig-zag up one third…
Every scheme depends on one defender containing one dribbler, which is why I run this full court and why it tells me who my best on-ball defender is. Setup…
This installs the deny stance and the jump-to-the-ball habit the shell drill assumes, which is why I teach it before shell. Setup: three stationary offense at…
The difference between stopping the ball and leaving your man, which is why every pack-line program has a version of this. Setup: 3v3, one ball, the point at…
Players will not take a charge in a game until the fear of the fall is gone, which is why this drill exists. Setup: a line of offense on the right wing with a…
A team needs at least two ball screen coverages so the offense cannot predict the read, and drop is the one I install first, which is why it is the one drawn…
The box-out pivot and the hold, isolated from everything else. Why it works: there is no shot to watch and no rebound to chase, so the only thing a defender can…
The toughness drill: a coach shoots, the defense hits and rebounds, the offense crashes, and whoever gets it plays live until the defense owns the ball. Why it…
One player, one ball, and the pursuit footwork rebounding demands. Why it works: throwing the ball high off the glass at an angle makes the player chase it…
The simplest game-realistic rebounding rep: closeout, shot, contact, pursue, outlet. Why it works: the shot is live and the shooter wants his miss back, so the…
The box-out linked to the first pass of the break, the step most rebounding drills skip. Why it works: a rebounder who has to find an outlet before he lands…
The classic numbers-advantage read, with transition defense and conditioning built in. Why it works: the ball handler has to make a defender commit before he…
The staple conditioner that keeps a whole roster moving through constant 3-on-2 reads and outlet passes. Why it works: nobody stands in a line; every rebound…
Lane discipline and the secondary-break spots, installed before a single defender gets added. Why it works: five players with no defense have no excuse for a…
Transition defense when the numbers are wrong, which is when it actually gets tested. Why it works: two defenders have to touch the end line before they…
Tempo, pass-ahead habits, and conditioning in one timed, countable block. Why it works: the clock and the target make the pace honest, and the only way to hit…
The post breakdown I run first every season, because it gives a post player a baseline move, a middle counter, and a step-through counter from the same two-foot…
Post scoring is decided before the catch, and this isolates the position battle, which is why I use it more than any finishing drill. Two posts, two coaches as…
Jack Sikma's inside pivot gives a face-up to bigs who cannot shoot over their shoulder, and it is the footwork every face-up series is built on, which is why I…
Youth and high school teams lose post possessions because the passer freezes after the entry, and this makes pass and move a habit, which is why it is in my…
The most common two-man action in the game, which is why I break it in two: the 2v0 teaches the footwork and the 2v2 teaches the two reads that decide…
Every motion and floppy offense depends on the cutter reading the man chasing him, and the chair isolates that read, which is why I run it before any screening…
The flare is the hardest off-ball screen to guard and the easiest to run badly, and the chair fixes the shooter's angle and timing, which is why I use it before…
The counter that punishes a hedge or a switch, and it teaches screeners to read their own defender, which is why it is mixed into every ball-screen breakdown I…
Traveling calls and freezing on the catch are the two biggest youth problems, and this drill fixes both in five minutes a practice, which is why it opens every…
The game that forces vision and change of pace under chase pressure without the coach ever saying head up, which is why it beats any stationary dribbling drill…
The first offensive concept a youth team should own, which is why it is the first thing I teach after footwork: pass, then cut to the basket, and expect the…
Four lines at one basket, one at each elbow and one at each wing, a ball at the front of every line, and on go the first player in each line shoots. Make it and…
Four groups, four lines just outside the arc, two per side, and every turn is three shots in a row: a three, a mid-range jumper from outside the key, and a shot…
Knockout, also called Lightning or Elimination: one line at the free throw line, two balls with the first two players. The first player shoots a free throw; the…
Rick Pitino's partner shooting race: pairs with one ball, five spots across the arc, and at every spot each partner takes three shots in a row, a drive and…
The three passes every player needs, thrown in pairs before practice: the chest pass, the bounce pass, and the two-hand overhead, ten each, then the one-hand…
A full-court long-pass and finishing drill: lines in opposite baseline corners, a player at each high post, three balls. The first player dribbles out of the…
Reaction and lateral footwork before there is a ball to worry about, which is why Jr. NBA uses the mirror as a first defensive drill and why I warm up with it…
Pack-line programs treat the post entry as the pass that decides the possession, which is why I teach post defense as denying the catch rather than guarding it…
Disadvantaged reps teach transition priorities under pressure that 5v5 never isolates, which is why this is my first transition defense drill every season…
This is the pack line's shell, which is why it teaches two things at once: gap position inside the line and the closeout sprint out of the pack that defines…
Every turnover leaves the defense outnumbered for a few seconds, which is why I rehearse rotating and recovering down a man instead of hoping it sorts itself…
Loose balls are extra possessions and a toughness identity, which is why I run this one with the score kept and the losers running. Setup: two teams of five…
Jump timing and the second jump, the two things a tip-in or a tap-out rebound actually needs. Why it works: the ball never gets caught, so the only way to keep…
Game-speed conversion both ways, with a winner. Why it works: every change of possession is live, the rebounder has to find the sideline outlet instead of…
The transition defense rules under a real deficit: stop the ball, protect the rim, talk, and sprint back to even numbers. Why it works: with one defender…
Conditioning with a ball that also fixes weak-hand finishing. Why it works: the clock and the make count turn fatigue into a game condition, and the rule that…
The full-court weave with five passes to a layup and a clock on it. Why it works: five passes over ninety-four feet means every pass is thrown ahead of a…
The elbow catch is where high-low, pinch-post, and Horns offenses begin, and the pivot and face-up have to be automatic there, which is why I run this before…
The second screen is what makes flex, Horns, and every screen-the-screener set work, and the timing of it is the hard part, which is why I break it out of the…
Ball protection and awareness in traffic, in a game where nobody sits out, which is why it beats cone dribbling for kids: the eliminated players keep dribbling…
Heads-up dribbling under pursuit, in the game kids ask to play again, which is why it is in every youth practice I run. The whole team, every minnow with a ball…
Decision speed on the catch with a dribble limit, and a competitive closeout in the same rep, which is why this is my 1v1 drill for players who hold the ball…
Down screens are the base action of every motion offense, which is why my defenders need a rehearsed rule for them instead of a guess. Setup: 3v3, the point at…
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