One of the key teaching points for Nate Steege’s Zoom Offense is a downhill mentality.

This is true of almost every offense. The ability of your players to get downhill (at the rim) is what determines how much pressure you put on the defense.

As they say, pressure busts pipes. When your players consistently get downhill, they consistently create great scoring opportunities. 

Those might be for themselves, getting all the way to the rim. Or they might be for a teammate when the defense helps. 

Either way, your offense wins!

Sounds easy, right? Not so fast. For many players, this is a struggle.

It needs to be coached and drilled daily. How? Read on to find out.

The Problem with East-West Drives & How to Fix It

As Coach Steege notes, it can be hard for players to get downhill. Many players want to go sideways after receiving a pitch or using a ball screen. This leads to a weave or circular motion, which generally is not effectiveoffense. 

When players drive laterally, they are no longer a threat to score. Just as bad, the 4 help defenders no longer feel compelled to help. They can see the ball handler is making a non-threatening drive.

As a result, the dribbler does not create an opportunity for themself or for a teammate. This causes the offense to stall out.

One cause of this is that their shoulders are facing away from the rim when they receive the ball. Thus, it’s critical to get their shoulders back towards the rim as quickly as possible.

Coach Steege tells his players that their goal is to attack the paint as soon as they come off an action. The goal is to get two feet in the paint every time they use a zoom action.

Of course, players will encounter resistance when trying to get to the paint. This is where players have to be good decision makers.

You don’t want them to give up at the first sign of resistance and start moving laterally. However, they also can’t try and force a downhill drive through multiple defenders.

To help players make those decisions, you need to have drills that work on a downhill mentality inevery practice.

5 Drills To Teach A Downhill Mentality

There are a number of ways to teach this mentality. One key point for players to know is that getting downhill generally means their shoulders are facing the rim. This allows them to self assess as they perform the drills and games.

Here’s some drills to build this North/South mentality!

Drill #1 - 1v1 Partner Push

• The offense and defense line up across from each other under the rim.
• The defender puts their hands on the offensive player’s shoulders.
• The offensive player starts dribbling down the floor. They must go in as straight of a line as possible.
• The defender pushes as hard as they can against the offensive player’s shoulders. The dribbler must get low and drive through the defender. This helps your players get used to driving through contact.
• The dribbler goes to the opposite baseline. Players switch roles on the way back.

To level up the drill, you can have the offensive player dribble 2 balls.

Drill #2 - Open The Gate

Too many players start their drives by going wide. Work on that by having them “open the gate.” This means driving through the defender’s hip. When that happens, the defender has to drop their foot, thus opening the gate.

• Players stand across from each other, roughly 10-12 feet apart. Player 1 passes to player 2.
• Player 1 follows their pass and closes out with good technique.

• After the closeout, player 2 rips and drives through player 1’s hip, thus opening the gate.
• Player 2 takes 1-2 dribbles and jump stops or stride stops.
• They then pivot and pass to player 1.
• Player 1 is now the driver and player 2 is the defender. 
• Players should alternate going right and left.

A key teaching point is that the offensive player’s shoulder should make contact with the defender’s hip.

Drill #3 - 1v1 Ball Push Finishing

Finishing through contact is hard for many players. They tend to shy away from contact. Use this drill to get them comfortable driving through contact and finishing strong.

• Have 2 lines on the same elbow. All players have a ball.
• Player 2 starts with their ball on player 1’s shoulder.
• Player 1 attacks the basket.
• As player 1 drives, player 2 pushes against player 1’s shoulder with their ball. They are trying to push player 1 into the corner.
• Player 1 must keep their shoulders towards the rim and get 2 feet in the paint to finish. When player 1 jumps, player 2 stops pushing.

One teaching point for this drill is that players should finish off 2 feet. Because they are facing contact, they will be better prepared to finish with strength and balance if they jump off two feet.

Drill #4 - Alley Drill

Once you’ve drilled getting downhill as shown above, add the element of 1v1. The alley drill is a great way to do that.

• Player 1 has a ball and is guarded by x1.
• Other players line up down the lane lines.
• Player 1 has to attack “in the alley” and try to score. If they go outside the boundaries (the other players) or lose the ball, their possession is over. This makes them get downhill.
• You can constrain the drill in various ways. For instance, if you want players to work on a pullback dribble when cut off, you could disallow spin dribbles.
• After each rep, the players move one spot. So the 2’s would go next. The 1’s would fill in at the blocks after finishing their rep.
• You could switch offense and defense every rep or play “make it take it.” 

You can also carry over a similar concept to your other drills and games. Make a rule that it’s a turnover anytime a player takes consecutive dribbles not at the rim.

Drill #5 - Downhill Zoom Drills

If you use the zoom offense, it’s important to drill getting downhill off the zoom action. Here's a 2v0 drill that Nate Steege uses to get players attacking the paint off every handoff.

• Players form 2 lines.
• After receiving a pass from the coach, 1 executes a handoff with 5.
• Player 5 will receive the handoff not facing the rim.
• 5 must immediately get their shoulders to the rim and their feet in the paint. They drive hard and hit 1 on the roll.
• Players switch lines and repeat.

Downhill Mentality: The Key to Scoring and Breaking Down Defenders

Just getting your players to embrace a downhill mentality will make your offense markedly better. If players are constantly looking to get into the paint, that will put more pressure on the defense.

To build this mentality, you have to stress it every single day! The drills above will help teach it. Then you have to follow through and harp on it in every game situation.

Over time, your players will start to attack downhill without even thinking about it.

And when they do that, your team will be on the upswing!

To learn more about how to create an offensive system that helps you live in the paint, check out The Zoom Offense With Nate Steege.

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