"Offense Wins" Drill Teaches Players To Move Without The Ball, Make Good Passes

By Garrick Phillips, Head Boys Coach, Mount Si High School, Snoqualmie, Wash.

This is a great 5-on-5 half-court drill for teaching your players how to move without the ball and pass while under defensive pressure without wasting their dribble. Our team started using this drill during the middle of the season last year and it led to a tremendous improvement in our players’ ability to take better care of the basketball — especially during end-of-game situations.

DRILL RULES:
1. The offensive group is the only team that can score. The first team to 7 points wins.
2. The offense is not allowed to dribble.
3. You get to play offense only by getting a steal or rebounding a missed shot.
4. A turnover, as well as a dribble by any offensive player, results in a change of possession.

TWO WAYS TO SCORE:

Make a basket.

Make 7 consecutive passes without having the ball be touched by a defender.

If the defense deflects the ball out of bounds, the count to 7 passes starts over. This encourages players to get into passing lanes as much as possible.
When you first start using this drill, allow the team to use the entire space anywhere within the half-court region. As the players become accustomed to the drill, shrink the allotted movement space from the half-court line to the space between the top of the key and the half-court line (often the volleyball line on many gym floors). This “shrunken court” places a greater challenge on the offensive players to cut-and-move without the ball.

Share this page: