One-on-one this [tag]defense basketball[/tag] drill forces players to develop both their ball handling skills and their individual defensive skills. It’s great for teams who like to pressure in the ball and push the ball in transition.
This [tag]basketball drill[/tag] starts with two players on the baseline, with one ball. The player with the [tag]basketball[/tag] (player 1) dribbles out to the top of the key, pivots and makes a sharp pass back to the second player (player 2) waiting on the baseline. Once player 1 makes the pass, she sprints to the half-court line as player 2 begins to advance the court up court at full speed. After touching the half-court line, player 1 turns and closes the gap toward the advancing ball handler (being sure the close to her strong hand in a solid defensive position of course.)
The goal of the defender is to make the ball handler either turn or stop with the basketball or otherwise force her to make some type of dribble move thus slowing her momentum. From that point on, it’s a one-on-one battle between the two players, which ends when either player 1 forces a turnover or player 2 scores at the other end of the court.
Where the drill really comes to life, however, is when it is applied to the team transition game. We like to build up from 1-on-1 to 2-on-2 then 3-on-3 and finally 4-on-4. (We use different drills to develop our 5-on-5 transition game.)