Drills To Do

Ball Handling — Stationary

Daily warm-up battery. Stay in an athletic stance, eyes up, ball pounded with intent. Complete the full circuit before moving on.

• Pound dribble (right) — 2 x 30s. Cue: 'rip the floor.'
• Pound dribble (left) — 2 x 30s. Same standard as strong hand.
• Two-ball pound, same height — 2 x 30s. Cue: 'eyes up, fingertips.'
• Two-ball pound, alternating — 2 x 30s. Piston rhythm.
• Two-ball pound, high/low — 2 x 30s. Switch heights every 5 seconds.
• Crossovers low — 2 x 30s, knee height or lower.
• Between-the-legs (front to back) — 2 x 30s each direction.
• Behind-the-back stationary — 2 x 30s each hand.
• Wrap-arounds (around waist) — 2 x 30s each direction. Cue: 'tight to the body.'
• Figure-8 between legs (no dribble, then with dribble) — 2 x 30s each.
• Spider dribble — 2 x 30s. Front-front, back-back rhythm.
• One-ball stationary combo (cross / between / behind) — 3 x 45s. No repeats in a row.
• Two-ball tennis ball toss with crossover — 2 x 45s. Cue: 'react, don't anticipate.'
• Wall taps with off hand while pounding — 2 x 30s. Builds weak-hand strength.

Ball Handling — Full Court

Push the ball with purpose. Every trip is game speed — head up, change of pace, finish at the rim or with a pull-up. 4 trips per drill unless noted.

1. 01Speed dribble right hand — sprint, finish layup. 4 trips.
2. 02Speed dribble left hand — sprint, finish layup. 4 trips.
3. 03Change of pace (slow-to-fast every elbow) — pull-up at the far elbow. 4 trips.
4. 04Crossover at every free-throw line extended — finish opposite hand. 4 trips.
5. 05Between-the-legs at half court — pull-up jumper. 4 trips each side.
6. 06Behind-the-back at half court — finish layup. 4 trips each side.
7. 07Figure-8 between legs full court — 4 trips. Cue: 'low and tight.'
8. 08Two-ball same-hand push — 2 trips each hand. Builds control.
9. 09Two-ball alternating full court — 4 trips. Eyes up the whole way.
10. 10Hesitation / in-and-out at the 3-point line — finish layup or floater. 4 trips each side.
11. 11Snake dribble (zigzag through cones) — 4 trips. One change-of-direction move per cone.
12. 12Combo trip — cross at half, between at FT line extended, behind-back at the elbow, finish. 4 trips.
13. 13Stride stops — push the ball, 1-2 stop into triple threat at each free-throw line. 4 trips.
14. 14Outlet & go — coach outlets, sprint full court, finish on the move. 6 reps.

Finishing — At the Rim

Finish through contact, finish with either hand, and finish under duress. Every drill starts from a realistic entry angle and ends with a make.

Layup Progression

1. 01Mikan drill — 1 minute, count makes. Standard: 25+ for guards, 20+ for bigs.
2. 02Reverse Mikan — 1 minute. Standard: 20+.
3. 03Power finish (two-foot jump stop) — 10 makes each side. Cue: 'jump stop, chin the ball.'
4. 04Same-foot, same-hand finish — 10 makes each side. Cue: 'shield the ball with your body.'
5. 05Reverse layup from the wing — 10 makes each side. Cue: 'pivot into the glass.'
6. 06Contested layups with pad — coach meets you at the rim with a pad. 10 makes each side.

Euro Step & Pro Hop

1. 01Euro-step off two dribbles from the wing — 10 makes each side. Cue: 'long, then short.'
2. 02Euro-step from slot vs closeout — 10 makes each side. Cue: 'read the closeout angle.'
3. 03Pro hop into floater — 10 makes each side. Cue: 'sell the drive, hop into space.'
4. 04Pro hop into power finish — 10 makes each side. Finish off two feet after the hop.
5. 05Euro + reverse finish — 10 makes each side. Cue: 'last step away from the defender.'

Floaters & Runners

1. 01One-foot floater from the elbow — 10 makes each side. Cue: 'soft hands, no backspin.'
2. 02Two-foot floater (jump stop) — 10 makes each side. Cue: 'absorb the contact, release high.'
3. 03Runner across the lane — start left wing, drive right, runner in the lane. 10 makes.
4. 04Floater series — 1-dribble floater, 2-dribble floater, change-of-pace floater. 8 makes each.
5. 05Floater off the glass — 10 makes each side. Cue: 'find the window above the big.'

Contact Finishing

1. 01And-1 finishes — coach fouls you on the way up, finish through it. 10 makes each side.
2. 02Bump-and-finish — drive into a pad, absorb contact, finish with either hand. 10 makes each side.
3. 03Chair drill — dribble around a chair at the elbow, finish at the rim with a defender trailing. 10 makes each side.
4. 042-on-1 finishing — offensive player attacks a helper, must score with one dribble or less. 8 makes.
5. 05Back-down into drop step — post entry, one dribble, drop step, finish. 10 makes each side.
6. 06Pin-down into finish — curl off a pin-down, catch and finish in one dribble. 10 makes each side.

Competitive Finishing Games

1. 0121 Finishing — players race to 21 makes from various angles; miss, go to the back of the line.
2. 023-in-a-row — must make 3 consecutive finishes from the same spot before moving to the next spot.
3. 03Beat the clock — 3 minutes, as many makes as possible from 5 spots around the rim. Track daily.
4. 04Defender calls the finish — live 1-on-1, defender yells 'euro,' 'floater,' or 'reverse' on the catch; offensive player must execute. 8 makes each call.

Shooting

• Form shooting under the rim — 25 makes, no miss in a row of 5.
• 5-spot catch and shoot — 10 makes at each spot.
• Off-the-dribble pull-up — 8 makes from elbow extended, both sides.
• Beat the pro — make 1, +1; miss, -2. Game to 7.

Defense

• Zigzag full court — feet, hands, hips. Cue: 'nose on the ball.'
• Close-out and contain — 10 reps each side, no straight-line drives.
• Shell drill 4-on-4 — help, recover, rotate. 6 minutes continuous.