Drills play
Drill: 3v2 Sprint Back (Tear Butt)
- Court
- Full court
- Length
- 6 steps
About this play
Disadvantaged reps teach transition priorities under pressure that 5v5 never isolates, which is why this is my first transition defense drill every season. Setup: full court, three offense across the baseline, two defenders at the free throw line facing them, lines at each end. The defender passes to the point to start and both defenders turn and sprint; in the Tear Butt version the defender in front of the pass has to touch the baseline first. The rule is basket first, then ball: the first man back guards the rim, the second stops the ball at the nail. On the pass to a wing the rim defender closes out, no baseline because there is no help there, and the ball stopper drops to the rim; on the reversal they trade again until a shot or a stop. Keep score end to end, losers run. Common mistakes: both defenders going to the ball, closing out to the corner with feet in the air, no talk. Progression: a third defender sprints in on the first pass to make it 3v3, then the new defense attacks the other way. Every level. I got it from Coach's Clipboard's 3-on-2 transition drill and Breakthrough Basketball's Tear Butt drill; McDermott's 5-on-3 clinic on Championship Productions takes you deeper on the talk.
