Passing Drills To Do By Yourself
Here is a great drill to improve your passing and ball control skills.
And you can even practice it by yourself without a partner!
Breakthrough Basketball Camps Instructor Jim Huber takes you through the drill.
As you can see in the video, you simply stand in front of the wall and execute any combination of passes and dribble moves.
Perform any combination...
- No Dribble Pass
- No Dribble Pass - Alternating Hands
- One Dribble - Pass
- Two Dribbles - Pass
- One Dribble - Crossover - Pass
- Double Crossover - Pass
- Between the Legs - Pass
- Crossover - Between the Legs - Crossover - Pass
- Behind the Back Pass
- Dribble - Behind the Back Pass
Passing off the Move
If you can develop the ability to quickly transition from dribbling on the move into a pass, it gives you the ability to create more scoring opportunities for your team.
That way, if a teammate is open for a split-second, now you can deliver the pass on time before the defender is in a good position. It can be when your teammate is cutting to the basket, coming off a screen on the perimeter, flashing in the post, or any number of situations.
Here are a number of things that you can practice.
Moving laterally
Like shown in the video, you can laterally shuffle back and forth while dribbling and passing.
Moving down the court with dribble moves
If you have 15 to 20 feet of space, you can practice dribbling up to a spot then immediately passing off the wall.
You can practice passing out of dribble moves while running down the court.
This includes the speed dribble, crossover, hesitation, inside-out, behind-the-back, between-the-legs, or any combination of moves.
When you come to a stop, it's also important to practice different scenarios.
After passing, you might immediately slide to the side to avoid a defender and an offensive foul.
You might immediately quick-stop to get balanced and in control.
You might use stride stops to or any other stop that you find yourself commonly using in the game.
Being a Great Passer Opens Up Scoring Lanes For You!
Now if you become an expert passer, what does the defense have to do?
They have to close out more aggressively and with more speed on your teammates... and the defense has to stay closer to the person they are guarding.
This will create more driving lanes for you to attack. It'll make it harder for the defender guarding you because they can't rely on the help defense as much.
So you're having a tremendous impact on the game by having a great passing skill set.
Even though some of these effects don't show up in the stats column, coaches notice these things and will play you and recruit you for this sole reason...
Because you're having an impact on the most important stat which is wins and losses!
What If Your Coach Doesn't Want You Passing Like That?
Now don't me wrong, this takes a lot of practice before you can start using this in games and still be effective. Otherwise, you could just be a turnover machine! That's the opposite of what you want.
So I would definitely practice these skills alone and in pick-up games with friends before trying to do them in live scrimmages or games, unless otherwise instructed by your coach.
Some coaches will also implement small-sided games to improve one-hand passing during practice.
During a scrimmage, they might implement a rule where all passes have to be one-handed off the dribble. That way, players get better at applying the skills to game-like situations.
So you could take the same idea and do this when playing pick up ball.
Some coaches also have certain rules to prevent turnovers. Some don't allow one-hand passing. Some say to always come to a stop before passing.
If your coach doesn't want you to use these one-hand passing skills during a game, you should do what's best for your team and listen to your coach!
However, if your coach has this rule, it's super easy to adapt. You just bring your other hand up to the side of the ball and execute the same pass. You treat your other hand like a guide hand / balance when you shoot the ball. It's just on the side of the ball, so you don't lose control.
That way, your advanced skill set will stay pay off.
And when the time comes where you can utilize one-hand passing, you already have the skill set.
Resources for Better Passing and Dribbling
Workout Program - Ball Handling, Passing, and Footwork
What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...
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