Passing and Decision Making Drill - No Dribble 3 on 2 (Continuous)

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This is one of my favorite passing drills because it improves decision making and greatly cuts down on "bad passes".

Unlike many passing drills, this drill is very game-like. The distance, angle, and situation for each pass is constantly changing (just like a real game). The drill requires players to make better decisions and SEE the defense before they pass. And it's competitive (just like a real game).

By having an extra offensive player (3 vs 2), the pace is quicker and players pass the ball more frequently (they get more reps).

The drill will improve passing skills, passing accuracy, footwork, jump stops, and decision making.


Instructions

To start the drill you need 3 teams with different color jerseys (ex: red, white, gold). We use our reversible practice jerseys and also bring pinnies.

Players 1, 2, and 3 (the red team) have the ball and they are on offense. X4 and X5 (white) are on defense. X6 is on the sideline out of the game for the moment. 7, 8, and 9 (gold) are out and waiting for their team to play defense.

Players 1, 2, and 3 (red team) will try to score within 15 seconds. They are NOT allowed to dribble. So they must pass the ball up the court and try to score.

X4 and X5 are on defense trying to get steals, deflections, and slow down the offense.

 

When the red team shoots or turns the ball over, the white team (X4, X5, and X6) switch to offense and now try to score at the opposite basket. They are not allowed to dribble.

In the meantime, the gold team (7 and 8) should have been set up on defense

We do not allow rebounds but you could choose to allow rebounds and only change possession on makes, rebounds, and turnovers.

 

The white team is now moving the ball up the court while the 2 gold players are on defense.

While this is happening, the red team (1, 2, and 3) should be preparing to play defense with two players.

Once white shoots or looses the ball, gold would then be on offense attacking the other basket.

It's a continual game of 3 on 2 and should be very fast paced change of offense to defense.

Make sure defensive players are getting their hands up and extending the defense past half court.

If you have extra players, they can rotate in on each possession.

The Scoring System

The key to this drill is the scoring system...

1 point for a made basket
-3 points for a turnover

Teams must keep track of their score. Play for 10-15 minutes.

1st place team gets a drink.
2nd place team does 10 burpees.
3rd place team does 20 burpees.

The drill becomes very competitive and players must learn very quickly to play UNDER CONTROL and make GOOD accurate passes.


Key Teaching Points

You might have to stop the drill a few times to teach after they make multiple turnovers. The following key teaching points become very obvious if you want to win the game. . .

  • Look before you pass and pass away from the defense
  • Jump stop and face the basket on each catch
  • Meet your pass
  • Use pass fakes
  • Move without the ball and maintain good spacing
  • Wait for good passing angles (don't pass through traffic)
  • Make accurate passes

Variations

This drill also works extremely well with 4 players on each team and playing continuous 4 on 3.

You can also allow players to dribble and then it turns into a continuous fast break drill.


More drills: 21 Basketball Passing Drills - For Coaches


Related Resources

The Youth Coaching System with Jim Huber - 64 Practice Plans, Offense, Defense, Skill Development, Coaching Philosophy, and More!


Leave your comments and questions below...




Comments

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Brian says:
2/8/2014 at 1:44:52 PM

One variation of this that I use that doesn't require setting up teams and gives every player a chance to play with every teammate is called 11-man Fast break - it's still always 3 on 2 fast break but it does require 11 players minimum to run it.

Set up:
"North" end of court: 3 players in paint, two lines with 2 players each at foul line extended on the sideline for a total of 7 players on "North" end. "South" end of court: 2 players on defense with 1 player each at foul line extended on the sideline.

Coach begins drill with a shot at the "North" end where 3 players are. Rebounder passes to outlet who brings the ball to the middle. Rebounder fills that lane on fast break and opposite outlet fills own lane to go down court 3-on-2. The two that did NOT get the initial rebound stay on for defense. After one shot or turnover on the south end, outlet players step into court to receive pass and take the ball to the middle. The person that made the outlet pass fills that lane and opposite outlet fills own lane. 2 of the 4 remaining players on that end stay on for defense and the other 2 go to separate outlet lines.

When we do this, we allow dribbling up to half-court and then pass only (no dribble) once they cross half-court. This drill keeps all players moving very quickly and the "breaks" when they are waiting to be one of the 5 in play are only 10-15 seconds.

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Ralph Rossetti says:
1/23/2014 at 8:57:07 AM

I like the drill very much because it incorporates conditioning, defensive reaction
pivoting, moving without the ball and creating
proper spacing to get good looks on offense.
I coach Varsity basketball at Seaford H.S.
and my guys loved the drill.
I also ran it as a 4 on 3 continuous drill.

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Cathy says:
1/22/2014 at 10:18:14 PM

Hey VMl04! I love the multipurpose drill. If u go to their site search, you can pull it up by typing in "multipurpose drill, ball handling, passing, cutting" I think. It's there, tho. I just looked for you.

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Harvey2U says:
1/22/2014 at 3:30:43 PM

Hi Jeff,

What do you mean by: "We do not allow rebounds...."?
Does this mean offense only gets one shot?

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  1 reply  

Jeff Haefner says:
1/23/2014 at 9:17:42 AM

Harvey - After 1 shot attempt the possession is over and the next possession starts. This makes for a quicker pace and more transition opportunities.

However, lately we have been allowing offensive rebounds to maintain aggressive rebounding. It works both ways.

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Bill says:
1/22/2014 at 9:37:53 AM

VMI04,
We run a similar drill for our lacrosse team. For rotations we have the player that shoots the ball rotate out, the other two (or three) are on defense. Keeps it simple and they don't have to remember who's turn it is, especially when trying to keep it fast paced.

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Paul Lyons says:
1/22/2014 at 8:57:40 AM

What is a "Burpee?"

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  1 reply  

Jeff Haefner says:
1/22/2014 at 9:08:19 AM

I let players figure out their own rotation. I try to give them responsibilities and opportunities to learn how to be leaders. This is one of many times they need to figure things out on their own. I do want the playing time to be even and so far our kids have worked that out on their own. But you could give them a fixed rotation if you want.

For the multi-purpose drills, we haven't started on that yet. Still on the to do list though!

Here are some variations of a "burpee":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burpee_(exercise)

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VMI04 says:
1/22/2014 at 8:14:03 AM

Also, any movement on the multipurpose drill DVD for those of us that only have 3 hours max/week with our players?

You posted a video with a multi purpose drill about a year (or more) ago. I remember that the first phase of the drill was using the back up dribble to avoid traps (set up as a couple of chairs).

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VMI04 says:
1/22/2014 at 8:06:15 AM

Hello Jeff,

As a firm believer in having a fast transitioning team, I love drills like this! The challenge I run into at times is figuring out the rotations. For instance, for one of the variations, you mention 4 on 3 action. How do you typically decide who sits and waits to go on offense the next time down?

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