1 on 2 Pressure Ballhandling Drill

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Home > Coaching > Drills > Dribbling > Gears - Change of Speed Dribbling

Categories: Ballhandling / Dribbling Offensive Moves Press Breaker
Ages: All Ages Youth Middle School High School+

Purpose of the Drill:

This drill forces the ball handler to beat two defenders. It improves ball handling and the ability to escape and beat the double-team.

Instructions

1 Starts on the baseline with the ball. The two defenders try to trap and/or stop the ball.
1 tries to beat the defense and score at the opposite hoop.

You can also start this drill by having one defender force the defender to the baseline and bringing the 2nd defender to trap.

You can also start at half-court, 3/4 court.

Points of Emphasis:

To increase difficulty you can:
Split the court in half.
Restrict dribbles.
Add a 3rd defender.

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Comments

Most Likes First Oldest First Newest First

Ysraelya Dolinger says:
1/2/2023 at 1:10:34 PM

Hi we do a version of this in practice but use coaches as the defensive players. Would love to add the players on defense but Wondering about the rotations. Often I like your drills but there is no explanation of how you rotate the players through it so it flows well.

Matt Murphy says:
11/14/2014 at 12:02:09 PM

The point of the drill isn''t to practice against 2 players. Its to simulate 1 really great defender. What you hope is the 2 defenders will improve your guard against a really good defender.

Luke Lorente says:
1/27/2014 at 6:00:25 PM

How could you progress this drill to be more game like situations? I am developing a high school practice and would like to progress this drill to game like.?

Thanks Luke.

Joe Haefner says:
3/1/2013 at 8:39:46 AM

Todd, I like that. Great idea!

Todd says:
3/1/2013 at 7:00:13 AM

I added another component. We do this drill full court, however, across the half court line I have another offensive player. That player has a white flag. They can hold it up randomly for 1 second intervals once we start. The ball handler cannot throw them the ball unless the flag is up. It forces them to dribble with their head up and see the court. Once they recognize the flag is up and throw the ball to their teammate it becomes a 2 on 2 with the defense having to recover and match-up.

3 people liked this.

Jake says:
11/21/2012 at 3:40:46 PM

Hi-

Im a 14 year old who loves to do nothing more than play basketball. I especially love to play point but Im often moved to shooting guard or dont start at point because while I have solid but not flashy handles and am a good passer, i have trouble handling the press or just very tight defense. This seems like a great drill, but do you have any other tips for me? -Thanks

1 reply

Jessica Hawk says:
12/20/2021 at 12:09:45 PM

Jake! Keep up that love for the game. And keep working on ball handling...add some ball manipulation drills so you can move your opponent how you need them to. There are resources out there for how to create room with your body while manipulating the ball so you can have more room. Good luck! Keep working, keep your head up, and keep playing!

Ken says:
11/5/2012 at 8:09:44 AM

Paulo -

If you look on the internet you can find a lot of ball handling drills there...You tube has a lot of them.

You can look at the "Browse our Products" section of this site also.

paulo says:
11/4/2012 at 9:40:07 PM

i know your all of this are good but can you give or send me some videos for me to follow and to be able to see it on how my players should do it. specially my players are all new. if you can also include new plays that is easy for youths to follow. thank you for your news letter,i will like to see videos of ball handling

Brett says:
4/10/2010 at 2:20:47 PM

Very good drill we use approx. once per week. To prevent looking down while trying to beat two defenders, we will put a coach (or other player) at the opposite baseline. When that coach flashes his hands, the offensive player must get him the ball. At the grade school level, kids have a tendency to leave their head down, especially when pressure is coming.

Rob L says:
4/8/2010 at 9:47:50 PM

This is a great drill not only for point guards but for the 2,3 which is usally your fastest players. it helps speed dribbling, ball control, decision making, and stamina. I use this drill but modified it using a 3 on 5 with the 5 defensive players using the 2-2-1 press and other full court press formats.

Paul K says:
4/8/2010 at 4:32:09 PM

I also add two more offensive players on the baseline, each with a ball. When the first offensive player gets trapped I blow the whistle for the next offensive player to go. This teaches the defensive players to sprint off the first trap and get into position for the second and eventually the third. I tell the offensive players that if they can dribble all the way down to the end line and dribble back against the same two defenders without being trapped then I will buy them a gatorade. I rotate two new defenders after the third offensive player has gone. This drill also helps identify which defenders are better trappers and which are better interceptors.

Ben M. says:
4/8/2010 at 12:15:43 PM

I try to prevent my players from dribbling to much especially in trouble. If there are two players guarding the ball it means theres somebody open.

Dennis L says:
4/8/2010 at 11:35:07 AM

We use this drill about twice a month. In addition to improving a player''s ability to dribble under pressure, we find that the biggest gain for the player is in their confidence with the rock. Our players figure if they can handle a two on one situation (we run this full court) in practice, then if they encounter a double in a game, they can handle it. We tell the player to try and determine who is the weakest defender, attack them, and blast by to the cup. As soon as they beat the single defender, the other defender has a long distance (and usually their own man acts as a screen) to go to catch up with the ball handler.

kolade says:
4/8/2010 at 4:53:41 AM

thank for your news letters i will to see videos of ball handling.

kolade says:
4/8/2010 at 4:49:25 AM

thank you for your news letter,i will like to see videos of ball handling.

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