“Defending the Dribble for 8 Seconds” Drill
In this defensive drill, the offensive player’s goal is to take the ball as hard as he can to the basket. We don’t give any fool’s gold. Fool’s gold means if we’re working at the defensive end and the offense just goes half speed making the defense look good, that’s fool’s gold. So we don’t want to get a false sense of security of doing something right if our teammates aren’t pushing as hard.
When you do this defensive drill, you’ll see the offense win some of these battles, but what we’re trying to do is defend the dribble for eight seconds. If the offensive player gets through, instead of shooting it he takes it back out again and comes back and attacks him again. So for about a period of eight seconds, we’re playing pretty tenacious at the defensive end.
Key Points of the Defensive Drill:
Any fake, make sure you’re moving straight back.
Stay in front of him, trying not to use your hands – focusing on using your feet.
Don’t give up ground too easy. Attack him hard, and stay down, nose in the chest.
You can see from this drill that one of the things that we put an emphasis on is defense. If we play defense, then we’re going to be in every game. But defense has to be played by all five that are on the court – five or six or eight more, depending on your team’s size – ready to come in and pick up the same effort.
Our goals again: stop penetration, challenge the shot, and screen out so that we give up no second shots. That’s our three components at the defensive end.
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