Positioning Key to Long Offensive Rebounds

I watched a couple of games but since it's New Year's Eve and I have to celebrate too I'll only post once tonight, but I'll be back tomorrow with some more posts. I caught the first half of the Baylor game against Florida A&M, and both teams were missing shots, but what allowed Baylor to get the early lead was extra possessions off of offensive rebounding.

Specifically, on long 3-point misses, the Baylor forwards would position themselves on the other side of the rim from where the shot came from. If you didn't already know, 75% of rebounds (especially long ones) from the wing end up on the other side of the rim. Along with hustle and determination, your players must play smart and be in the right position to grab rebounds. Watch the video and then you can read my thoughts below.



Full Court Taps Drill:

If you're having problems getting the attention of your players, this drill is a great way to set them back on track. Not only does it work on rebounding, it is a terrific conditioning drill. It's an old-school drill and I ran it when I was in school.

You need 1 full court, 2 balls, and 2 lines. The first player in each line starts around just slightly ahead of the foul line with the ball and tosses it off the backboard for their teammate who is directly behind them. After each player is done their tap, they haul their butt to the end of the line at the opposite basket and repeat. They continuously loop over and over until you say so.

It's basically the same taps drill that everyone has probably ran before, except it's full court so players have to run and rebound at the same time. For added punishment, you can say that every time the ball touches the ground or they have to reset, they will run a set of stairs.

If you want to change things up, you can combine group Superman full court style.

So basically the same idea except the players throw it off the backboard from an angle and the opposite line rebounds and the players exchange lines.

For more great rebounding drill ideas, take a look at the late Skip Prosser's DVD on competitive rebounding drills. Coach Prosser was the head coach for Wake Forest before he passed away earlier this year. Head over the X's and O's of Basketball Forum to talk about your favorite rebounding drills.

This will be my last post for 2007, I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and we'll see you all tomorrow, a brand new year.