When you think about post play, you probably picture back-to-the-basket bigs like Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic battling for position on the block.

But the truth is, virtually every elite NBA scorer, regardless of size, posts up on a regular basis.

• Lebron James

• Kevin Durant

• Jalen Brunson

• Luka Doncic

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

The list goes on. So what’s the point? Posting up isn’t just for bigs. In fact, if you want a team of well-rounded scorers, you need to be teaching every player how to play in the post.

For many players, playing in the post won’t start with posting up. It will start with a drive that gets cut off. The ability to turn that into a post up is commonly referred to as a Barkley. This is a reference to Charles Barkley, who used that technique effectively throughout his Hall of Fame career.

While I hear a lot of coaches talk about the Barkley, I see very few teach it effectively.

One coach who does is Cam Schuknecht, who coaches at Midland University and is the creator of No-Nonsense Scoring In The Paint For Guards & Posts.

Here’s how he does it. . .

Turn Drives into Points: The Barkley Move Explained

Players don’t start a drive looking to Barkley. The Barkley is a counter when the initial drive is a counter when a drive is cut off. Here’s how Coach Schuknecht drills this technique:

• Start on the wing with the ball.

• Make some sort of foot fake.

• Attack towards the baseline.

• When you get down towards the corner, execute the Barkley. To do so, flip your hips and change dribbling hands. This will put you into a post up position.

• Attack the middle with a post move and finish

Barkley 1v1 - The Next Step In Owning The Post

After practicing the technique, you need to practice this in a 1v1 situation. One challenge of this is that the Barkley is a counter. If your drill is designed to create a Barkley, players don’t have to read when to Barkley and when not to.

This Barkley 1v1 game incorporates that critical decision.

• The offensive player (1) starts facing the opposite corner. The defender (x1) does the same.

• 1 puts the ball on x1’s back. Because of the angle, x1 is slightly closer to the rim than 1.

• 1 pulls the ball off x1’s back and attacks to the outside. If 1 can get to the rim on a straight line drive, they should. That’s always the first option.

• Because x1 is slightly closer, they will often be able to cut 1 off. If that happens, 1 should flip their hips and change dribbling hands and get into a Barkley.

• 1 attempts to score while x1 tries to stop them from scoring. Be sure to work on both sides.

Add Post Play To Make Your Offense Premier

At the youth and high school level, post play seems to be a lost art. That’s great news for you, whether you’re a player or coach. It means there’s an opportunity for you or your team to become elite at something most are neglecting.

The Barkley is a must have tool to do this. It allows you to get into the post in almost any situation. From there, you can use the finishing moves you’ve worked on to create at the rim scoring opportunities.

To learn more of those finishing moves, be sure to check out No Nonsense Scoring In The Paint!

Comments Most Likes First   Oldest First   Newest First Coach Walker says: 8/10/2025 at 4:28:47 PM I always thought of the 'Barkley' as a defensive move which led to your opponent getting off balance - effectively forcing a turnover. Barkley would be banging back & forth down low with an offensive big and once the big received the ball you knew another offensive bang was coming so Charles would step back slightly or to the side and when the offensive player went to bang once more to start his move, nobody was there resulting in a travel or some sort of other turnover. I pulled this move on many people during my time - it was a smart defensive move that made the offensive player look bad, he'd get mad and then the fun really started! Glad to see 'Barkley' is also an offensive move as well! Like     login   register Julio Ortiz says: 8/8/2025 at 11:17:50 AM The Barkley drill is great to teach kids because it help them to learn how to score off the live dribble working there footwork off the pivot foot and head fake Like     login   register

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