The USC Man Drill, Test of Concentration and Endurance

I was just reading the latest Xavier Newsletter that the great staff of Sean Miller produces every other week. I've run similar passing/defense combined drills before, but this one looks awesome especially if you run any kind of 5-out or 4-out motion offense. Here is the lowdown:

USC - MAN DRILL

"Can you do conditioning with a ball in your hand instead of just running?" This drill evolved from this question.

Drill involves 10 players - 5 on offense vs. 5 on defense. It is executed for :45-:60 seconds in the NBA and :90 seconds in college.

Rules: No dribbling, no screening, no shooting. Emphasize passing! As one player has the ball the other four offensive players make 10-15 ft. cuts - no 3 ft. cuts are allowed. The drill is initiated by a coach or manager who is out of bounds. This initial pass does not count.

From this pass forward every time a pass is completed the receiver yells the # on the catch. A coach always encourages offensive movement. Anytime that you make a pass as a player you then cut. On any deflected pass or turnover pass a manager or coach who is out of bounds quickly passes the ball to an offensive player to keep the pace of the drill moving. This pass is not counted.

As a defender, your responsibility is to NOT allow your man to receive a pass. Deny everywhere. At the end of the allotted time you count the number of catches by the offense as a unit, or the number of catches by individual players. The drill flip flops with the offense going to defense and the defense going to offense. Use two rotations.

Great conditioner, very competitive, high accountability. Beware of "brother and law" deals happening. Make players guard different offensive players.

Learn to improve your offensive skills, the Sean Miller way. Sean Miller's DVD on Offensive Improvement has some great info on 1v1 play. How to use your feet, explosion series, very relevant video in the modern dribble drive era. As always, please check out the X's and O's Basketball forum to talk hoops and exchange notes and ideas.