Point Per Pass

I use this drill to improve  3 on 3 games in youth clinics as well as in season as a practice drill out of 4 on 4 and 5 on 5.

The drill has several objectives:

1. Keep 3 on 3 games at lower levels from being a dribbler and 2 watchers.
2. It emphasizes the give and go.
3. Requires players to get open to receive a pass
4. De-emphasize dribbling
5. Encourages team play on offense
6. Makes the defense play harder to stop the points for passes and guard the basket cutter.
7. It can be used to practice a delay game offense and defending against a delay game if you don’t set a limit for the number of passes.

Rules:

1. Regular scoring for two and three point baskets.
2. Every completed pass followed by a basket cut is worth one point for the offense.    It is important that only a pass followed by a basket cut counts as a point to promote cutting in our motion offense.  Pass and stand is not a point.  If we use it with our high school teams, then a pass and screen is also worth a point.
3. (Optional) You can set a limit of no more than 7 points from passes if there is lack of attempting to get a shot.

I teach passing to the outside hand away from the defense, meeting the pass, and other areas I want and that are appropriate for the age of the player that I am working with while running the drill.

Circle Drill

Coach Ron Sen presents the circle trap defense (and offense) drill which can help young players practice both their offensive and defensive skills:

Young players need to learn to apply and to cope with pressure. As general rules, we teach defenders not to allow players to dribble out of trap defenses, to deny ‘gut passes’ through traps, to deny passes to the high post from traps, and to force players to throw over their outside shoulder.

Offensive players must learn to protect the ball, to see ‘through’ trap defenses, move the ball quickly, use ball fakes, look off defenders, and use pivoting effectively.

Every player is a potential offensive or defensive player. The coach inbounds the ball randomly to a player. There is no dribbling allowed. The two adjacent players become TRAPPERS (T) who aggressively trap. INTERCEPTORS (I) must react to defend the other offensive players (O) who cannot move off their spots. When the ball is passed successfully, the adjacent players become the new trappers and new interceptors come into play.

Ron Sen, MD, FCCP @rsen01 on Twitter
Ron Sen is an assistant coach in a middle school girls basketball program and a primary and specialty care physician