Pack Line Defense & Rebounding Drills

It's an established principle in basketball that defense wins championships. Statistics have also shown that the team who wins the rebounding battle usually wins the game. Get an inside look at a Drake Bulldog practice as Ray Giacoletti emphasizes these two critical aspects of the game with his players.

In this two-hour practice, you will learn 10 defensive and rebounding drills that can be used in a half court and full court setting to turn your players into lock down defenders. You will learn how Drake defends screening actions, transition defense, and pack line principles

Breakdown Drills for Defense

Every good defense is built around solid individual defense. Coach Giacoletti starts with the defensive stance. Body position, position of the feet when the player slides, where the player's weight should be, and most importantly the mentality the defender must have are demonstrated.

Drills shown that can be used to build both individual and team defense include:

• Several versions of the 1v1 full court Zig Zag Drill that teach your players the technique needed to slow down the ball, contain the dribbler to a side, and contest the shot.
• The 3-on-3 Full Court drill, in which players learn stunting from help position to contain the dribbler.
• Teach your players the necessary technique for safely drawing an offensive foul with the Take the Charge Drill.
• Throw and Go is a transition defense drill for dealing with a trailing post player. Learn how to force the ball to the baseline on side ball screens with the "Blue" strategy.
• The Center Field Drill reveals how the Bulldogs use the post to mirror the dribbler on middle ball screens.
• The Five Man Shell drill shows you the player rotations needed for doubling the post, gapping and closing out.

Rebounding Drills

Develop the technique and physical mindset needed for dominating the boards with three drills. In 3-on-0 Rebounding, players go through multiple repetitions to work on refining their technique for both offensive and defensive rebounding. The 3-on-3 Rebounding drill applies these skills into competitive play, while also incorporating defensive concepts such as closeouts, help positioning, and cutting off baseline penetration.

The drill complexity progresses to the Five Man Box Out controlled scrimmage. This rebounding drill emphasizes transition concepts such as getting back on defense and trying to score through advantage fast breaks.

Coach Giacoletti challenges his team to put all of the defensive and rebounding concepts together to get multiple stops in the highly competitive Turkey Game. This game is a great way to get your players to make a habit of thinking about the importance of every possession, and the need to get a stop to get a "Turkey."

This video gives you 10 incredible drills for improving your defense and rebounding, along with a variety of new defensive strategies to implement with your team.

112 minutes. 2015.