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A squad that’s proficient in the area of transition basketball will have a vital advantage over its opponent during the course of a game. The following team drills are ideal for working on typical transition game situations and promoting healthy competition during practice. Read through the details below and then watch the video clips to see how each drill should be carried out on the court.
Submitted by Richard Dardenne, Northeast Christian Academy, Kingwod, TX
Overview: This is a terrific drill to develop trapping abilities and defensive footwork among your defensive players. It also focuses on transition offense and getting players to pass the ball effectively under heavy defensive pressure.
The Set-Up: A coach will inbound the ball on the baseline. Two defensive players (X1 and X2) will start off in the lane near the baseline. Have them disrupt the inbounding of the ball by the coach. Offensively, player 1 is off on the wing to the right and near the sideline. Player two is on the nearside of the court, just over the midcourt line, but on the opposite side from 1. 3 is on the same side as 1, but just over the opposite midline. 4 is on the opposite low block and 5 is in the nearside corner on the same side as 3.
The Action: The coach inbounds the ball to 1. X1 and X2 immediately sprint to player 1 and form a double team trap. Player 1 must hold the ball until the trap arrives. Player 1 passes out of the double team to player 2 on the opposite side. The two defensive players sprint to trap player 2. 2 passes to 3 and the two defenders sprint toward 3 and form the double team trap. 3 must wait to throw to either 4 or 5 until the trap has arrived. Once 4 or 5 have the ball, they begin a quick 2-on-0 fast break transition going the other way down the court, passing the ball back and forth until they make the layup.
Recap: The goal is to do this entire drill under 17 seconds. Come up with a reward system for any steals, deflections, or forced turnovers that X1 and X2 get. Rotate the players after each drill simulation. X1 and X 2 become 4 and 5. 4 and 5 become the next two defenders on the baseline.
Submitted by Gary Williams, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
The Set-Up: The drill begins with five offensive players (“O”) lined up around the perimeter of the three-point circle. They are paired off against five defensive players (X) and are lined up against each offensive player but inside the three-point line. All players should be facing the basket. O1 and X1 must always be at the top of the key, but it doesn’t matter where the other player start. Three coaches are standing behind the players, each holding a ball.
The Action: To start the drill, one of the coaches shoots and misses a jumper. The offensive and defensive players must battle for the rebound. If an offensive player secures the board, they must try and put the ball back up and score. No tip-ins are allowed. Players must secure the rebound, land with both feet, and put up a strong power move to score. This puts the players in game-like situations when it comes to getting the board, drawing the foul, and looking for the three-point play.
If a defensive player gets a rebound, that player throws an outlet pass to a teammate on the wing and the X team runs a fast break down the other end of the court. The O team must hustle back on transition and try and stop the score. If the O’s stop the initial fast break, they must get back to defend the paint and set up into whatever man or zone defense you want them to apply. To improve team communication, have your point guard call out the defense during the transition. If the X’s don’t score on the fast break, they must run a secondary attack until they score or the defense gets completely set up.
Run the drill to a set number of scored points or have a set time limit as the goal. Whichever team has the most points at the end of that time is the winner.
The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “25 Aggressive Transition & Conditioning Drills” produced by Winning Hoops. To check out more drills in the Winning Hoops collection, visit our basketball library.
Submitted by Vinod Vachani, Head Basketball Coach, Welham Girls’ School, Dehra Dun, India
This zone offense is a structured motion, which is highly effective against odd front zone defenses. Through this offense, you can take full advantage of the 3-point shots and get the ball comfortably to the post players in scoring position. It is a simple offense and can be taught easily. Overall, there are lot of skip passes made which create gaps in the zone. Plus, defensive players have to make a lot of adjustments which gets your shooters open for three-pointers.
1 passes the ball to 2 and cuts to the ball side corner. 3 makes a V-cut and replaces 1′s spot on the floor. 5 sets a screen into the middle for 4 who is flashing to the ball side elbow and sets back to the low post area.
2 passes the ball to 1. 5 holds the low post for a few seconds and then clears away to the opposite low block. 4 now cuts hard to the basket looking for a pass from 1. 3 flares to the wing looking for a skip pass from 1.
2 passes the ball to 4 at the high post. 5 seals the middle. 1 flares to the corner looking for a quick three-point shot.
If 4 hits 1, 5 clears the lane and cuts to the other block. 4 will go for a strong cut to the basket expecting a pass from 1.
If 4 passes the ball to 3, then 4 has two options: A) Look for a lob pass from 3 off 5′s back screen OR B) 4 can cut directly to the ball side block.
5 comes to the ball side elbow. If open, 3 can go for the three pointer. Otherwise, he can dribble to the corner to attract the defensive player on him so he dish off to 4 with an easy pass.
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Ever wanted to see a top college basketball team go through a typical midweek practice session? In this week’s edition of All Access, we take you to Lexington, Kentucky for an exclusive look at a University of Kentucky men’s basketball practice. Watch as head coach John Calipari walks through several team defensive drills for you and dishes out overall strategies, general tips, and player guidance.
This behind-the-scenes glimpse comes from the first few days of practice during the 2010-2011 basketball season with the focus being squarely on defense. According to Coach Calipari, while many people may talk about the program’s effective dribble drive offensive approach, defense has really been the key for years. In this feature, you’ll see exactly how Kentucky teaches defense and hopefully this will give you some insight into what the Wildcats do, the intensity they play with, and the key pieces of defense the program works on in order to be successful.
This drill starts with an offensive set — “Money” — in the half court (and involves a ball screen first). As soon as the ball goes in the basket, the unit must sprint back on defense. Says Calipari, “If we are going to be good defensively, we gotta get back on defense.” As the team gets back, a pass up court is intercepted, and the squad finishes the play offensively on transition. The goal is to get from defense and back to offense as quickly as possible.
Many people will want to run back to the opposite paint, but the problem with this is that they throw the ball, suck your defense down, and all of a sudden you have problems. For Calipari’s teams, the key is trying to run back, cover both wings, cover the basket, and shadow the ball. For this drill, the one big man who rebounded is behind the ball.
It’s also crucial to get the players to communicate. According to Calipari, at that moment, the team doesn’t talk much and they won’t be good if they continue to not talk. When the squad hits the road, it’s very difficult to hear each other. Therefore, it’s imperative that the players communicate effectively. This drill works on building team communication extensively.
The team works on the following offensive sets while practicing its transition defense: Crunch, Motion, and X.
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Calipari’s teams will typically run this drill for the first three weeks of practice before incorporating it into more game-like situations. It’s not quite game-like enough, but it’s simple and very effective. If you’ve got 15 guys and want to work them, this is a perfect defensive drill.
One at a time, players will sprint from the middle baseline with both hands out/up and proceed to close out on a coach with the ball at the elbow. Players will then slide diagonally across the lane to the baseline and then will immediately close out again, this time towards another coach standing on the opposite elbow area. The player will finish by sliding to the far corner of the court and return back to the end of the line. Once the first player makes his first diagonal shuffle, a second player should commence.
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The Wildcats typically go through this drill early on in practices. The bottom line here is that you must closeout to the wing and be the weakside help. This is called the “Impossible Close.” It’s key that your team can do this well.
If the defender’s hands are not up, the offensive guy should be shooting. If his hands are up, the guy is driving. Players end with a rebound in this drill. With the closeout, you don’t have to stop the offensive player from going anywhere, you just have to make him go wide because your help will come if he’s wide. However, on a straight drive, there’s no help, so you better hope for a charge.
The drill can play out on both ends of the floor. It starts with the defender in the middle of the paint. Next, there’s a pass across to the wing and the defender must closeout on the wing player. Players finish the play (and always with a rebound) with a 1-on-1. Remember, the goal for the defender is to make it as hard as he can for the offensive guy to score.
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The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “All Access Kentucky Basketball Practice 2010-2011” with John Calipari. To check out more college teams in our All Access lineup, visit our basketball DVD library.
Current Texas head women’s basketball coach and former Duke coach Gail Goestenkors is a big proponent of the fast break offense. She prefers her teams to score via the fast break as much as possible and believes that an effective transition game can directly translate to success on the court.
This week, learn three versatile fast break plays that Goestenkors has implemented successfully with her teams over the years. Watch as the Texas coach explains each play and assists with player movements before they are fully simulated by a team on the basketball court.
In the first play, there’s a point guard at the top of the key with the ball. There’s a guard in the right corner, a low post player on the same side low block, a farside wing player at the free throw line extended, and another forward up top. Take note of this set-up. The spacing is similar in each of these three plays. In this case, this offense is up against a zone defense.
First, the ball is passed to the corner wing player. If the wing has an open lane to the basket, they should drive to the hoop. If he can’t, he should go to the baseline because we want the post defense to be low side. If the post defense is high side, look to work the ball to the inside.
From here, you can get into the “Carolina Break.” Once you get the defense low side, don’t just look to pass it back up through the point guard. Instead, look to skip to the high post because you have a seal and potential easy layup for the post player. Remember, “SKIP, SEAL, IN.” Keep the opposite side clear. The low-post player should remain on the strong side until the ball is reversed. If the defender denies the outside wing player, go backdoor.
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Once the ball is reversed to the opposite wing player, the low post player will now cut to the strong-side post. Next, the corner player sets a back screen for the high-post player, who cuts off the screen and has the option for a lob pass down low. If he’s not open, there’s a pass to the new high-post player (i.e. the former corner player). If that player doesn’t get a lob pass, there’s a seal and he will look to get a low pass in for a right-handed layup.
Key: These fast break plays allow you to transition into any offensive set.
Meanwhile, you can run two different breaks depending on who the trail post is. Goestenkors likes to run this break quite often for her three-point shooters. When they trail in, the defense must respect them. They will also come up to defend her. When the ball is reversed, there’s a great angle available for a back screen.
Notice when the ball is reversed to the wing player. Now instead of the back screen, we are setting a down screen with the high-post player. The corner player pops up top off this screen, receives the ball, and the two post players open up. The player with the ball up top looks immediately inside to his two options.
Depending on personnel, the point guard should know whether to call Basic or Down (usually depends on who the trail post is).
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If we have a shooter that’s really hot, we go into “Double.” It’s just like Down, but there’s a double screen. On the reverse, the PG and high-post player set a double screen (staggered) for the corner player, who receives the ball up top. The two low players now open up and look for the inside feeds. The corner player can also shoot the three-pointer up top if he’s open from the double screen.
The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “Gail Goestenkors: Transition Offense & Quick Hitters.” To check out more transition offense-related videos, visit our basketball library.
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