Drills play
Drill: 1v1 Closeout
- Court
- Half court
- Length
- 5 steps
About this play
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, the first in each line with a ball, and a receiver for each line at the wing, the top, and the far wing. The defender passes to his receiver and sprints on the release, not the catch; he sprints the first two thirds, then chops the last third with his butt down and weight back, arrives yelling ball with the inside hand high and the outside hand low, baseline foot back. The receiver shot-fakes and the defender stays down. Live option: two dribbles, contain, contest, box out, one point per stop. Run it three to five minutes continuous. Common mistakes: flying at the shooter, straight legs, and closing out to the ball instead of the inside shoulder. Progression: two hands high for a shooter, then a closeout, slide, and backpedal course. Every level. I picked this up from Coach's Clipboard's closeout drills page and the one-hand-high closeout video; read them if you want the hand rules by scheme.
