Bruce Weber: Rebounding Drills & Last-Second Plays

The war for the boards is one of the most critical components of winning in basketball. Giving yourself second chance opportunities to score while limiting your opponent's possessions can easily swing the momentum of a game in your favor.

In this video, you'll get a chance to learn the nine practice drills that Bruce Weber uses with his team at Kansas State to develop strong rebounders. Additionally, you will see practice drills for improving your passing, spacing, execution in crunch time, while also getting five last-second plays for the end of games.

Warm-Up Drills

Coach Weber demonstrates two drills that he uses to start his practices in a productive manner by teaching fundamentals. The Step-Off Passing drill teaches your players how to get open for the pass, pivot through pressure, and make on-target passes to teammates. The Rope Action drill develops your team's instinct to maximize space and play off dribble penetration from any type of action you might use in your offense.

Rebounding

Ranging from 1-on-1 to full 5-on-5 competition, these nine drills will give you a wide range of options for including rebounding in all of your practices. See how you can defeat a block out to grab offensive rebounds with the 1-on-1 Pad Rebounding drill. Add an additional challenge for your players by forcing them to find a new player to block out in the 3-on-3 Rotate drill or to secure the rebound while outnumbered in the Scramble Rebound drill. Weber explains his scoring method to turn each of these competitive practice drills into a battle.

The Rush Rebound drill will test the toughness of your players with its non-stop full court action. Weber also discusses how to hold off your opponent from stealing easy second chance points by blocking out in free throw situations.

Last-Second Situations

There are no 'magic plays' that will always deliver a victory when you need it in crunch time; rather, the real secret is that teams who consistently find a way to win when the game is close have developed that edge in practice with lots of practice under pressure. Coach Weber explains two practice drills he uses to prepare his players for excelling under pressure.

• The "Perfect Finish" drill puts players in a late game situation where a failure to execute results in a loss.
• The "30 Second Drill" challenges your defense to shut down their opponent for an entire possession.

In addition to these drills, Weber also demonstrates five sideline inbound plays that will help your players score through a variety of offensive actions. You'll get options for scoring off of flex screens, baseline staggers, flares, and more. These plays will help you score versus opponents who want to switch everything at the end or give you a solid option when you're unsure if your opponent is going to come out in a zone or man defense. All of these plays also give you a flurry of consecutive screens to present several chances to score from each set.

If you need drills to upgrade your rebounding or are seeking plays and ideas for improving your performance in late game situations, then this video from Coach Weber is for you!

Produced at the Spring 2017 Las Vegas (NV) clinic.

75 minutes. 2017.