Shot-Fake-And-Close-Out Drill Works Both Offensive & Defensive Fundamentals

By Tom Oswald, Former Head Coach, Texas Lutheran University, Seguin, Texas

THIS IS A VERSATILE and effective drill that we use for both offensive and defensive purposes.

Defensively, the drill is especially helpful in two primary areas — close outs and defensive help.

• Close Outs. This drill helps players learn how to stay down on close outs and to contain penetration within two defensive slides.
• Defensive Help. This drill is a great teaching tool to help players learn how to stop the ball while remaining in a defensive stance and ready to close out to the next pass.

Offensively, this drill aids in the development of three critical — and often overlooked — offensive skills.
• Shot Fakes. Good technique on shot fakes enables better penetration.
• Penetration. This drill helps players learn how to stay under control if defensive help arrives and how to read teammates for kick outs.
• Moving Without The Ball. The repetitions in this drill help players learn how to stay moving during any penetration and to keep the feet and hands at the ready to receive a pass and make a good shot attempt.

Begin the drill with three offensive players positioned on the perimeter behind the 3-point line. There should be one defender set up under the basket and one coach or team manager who has a basketball and floats behind the 3-point line.
The is a single-file line of players waiting to enter the drill under the basket on the baseline.

DIAGRAM 1: Shot Fake And Close-Out Drill (A). The coach begins the drill with a pass to any of the offensive players. The defender executes a close out within the context if the team’s defensive philosophy (such as either forcing to the middle or to the baseline) and defends the player with the ball for two defensive slides.

DIAGRAM 2: Shot Fake And Close-Out Drill (B). The next person in line on the baseline steps in and must be ready to provide defensive help on penetration.

Offensively, the player with the ball will execute a shot fake, sweep and penetrate either to the middle or baseline with the intention of getting all the way to the basket. If help is there, he or she must pull up and be prepared to pass to a teammate.

Teammates must slide to spots along the 3-point line with feet and hands ready for a kick out and shot.

DIAGRAM 3: Shot Fake And Close-Out Drill (C). The rotation for this drill is as follows: The initial defender becomes the offensive player, the help defender becomes the close-out defender, the penetrator goes to the end of the line and the player receiving the kick-out pass becomes the shot-fake-and-penetrating player.

To enhance readiness, the coach may have another ball and can call “shot” at any time. On the next kick-out pass, the offensive player shoots while the defender closes out on him or her. The defender rotates to offense, the shooter retrieves the rebound and passes it back to the coach and the help defender continues the drill by closing out on the remaining player to receive the pass (with the extra ball) from the coach.