3-on-3 Full Court, The Truth Test

Staying on the theme of tryouts and pre-season practices, I thought I would share with you one of my favorite drills/scrimmages that will help you evaluate your players in their ability to play within a team environment. This is a drill I found from notes with Mike Dunlap. It's basically 3-on-3 full-court with no dribbling. This is how the basic rules work,

3-on-3 full court

A. The rules
1) no dribbles
2) games played to 2 points
3) defense calls fouls, 2 fouls = team loss
4) pick up 3/4 on defense
5) taking a charge = team win
6) the long outlet
7) no cherry picking, all players must cross half when ball crosses half

B. Structure
1) winner’s court/ loser’s court & rotation
2) running time
3) changing roles and emphasis

As coach Dunlap says, this is both a good conditioning drill as well as one that emphasizes movement without the ball. How to properly execute all the basic cuts, this drill forces the players to do it properly.

There is a really good Grassroots Basketball DVD with Ganon Baker on the Art of getting open. It goes through all the different techniques and drills to get your players to become better players without the ball. Again, these are fundamental skill especially if you are using any kind of a motion offense. I have the full notes to this drill so be sure to check them out at the X's and O's of Basketball Forum.