Fall Workout Drills on Offense for Guards and Forwards

A coaching friend of mine was looking for some new ideas for drills as the season nears. So I went through some notes of mine and found some real good stuff in a newsletter run by Arizona head coach Sean Miller when he was at Xavier. They called it "Xavier Fall Workouts - Warrior Series", broken down by guards and forwards. Enjoy...


Below is a breakdown of one of our most productive series of workouts this fall. Drills A-F are predominantly used with our guards, and G-K are mainly used with our posts.

GUARDS
A. Sidelines Touches "Baby J's"
B. Half court Touch
C. Touch and Shoot
D. Layup, Elbow, Corner
E. Backpedal Shooting
F. 7-5-3-1 ½ Ct.

POSTS
G. Tap, Pitch, Post
H. Tap, Pitch, Touch, Post
I. Pepper
J. Ricochet
K. Rim Running Ladder

A. Sideline Touches "Baby J's"
1. Coach rebounds and passes.
2. Player starts on L sideline and runs to the 12 ft.
mark in front of the rim to receive pass from under
the basket.
3. Player runs to R sideline, touches, then runs back
to same mark to catch and shoot.
4. A total of 12 shots are taken, 6 coming from each
side and then another 6 shots after shot faking,
taking no dribbles and shooting again.
- Emphasizing the "one, two step", and "change
pace" going to the sideline and returning back for a
shot.

B. Half Court Touch
1. Player starts in the corner along the baseline and
jogs to halfcourt.
2. He touches halfcourt with his foot, turns and
sprints to the basket on 45? angle.
3. He receives a pass from the coach who is
standing on the elbow.
4. Player starts new line in opposite corner.
5. Player shoots (6) shots on each side - a one
dribble power layup, a one dribble single leg layup, a
one dribble stride stop step thru, a bank shot with no
dribble, catching at 28 ft. and dribbling across lane
for a baby hook, catching at the 20 ft. mark and
passing back then receiving a pass for no dribble
layup.
6. A total of 12 shots are taken.

C. Touch and Shoot
1. Player moves to a spot then sprints to an
opposite spot, catches and shoots using the 1-2
step footwork.
2. Coach rebounds the ball and passes to the
player who returns to the original spot, touches and
moves quickly to shooting spot, ready to catch and
shoot.
3. Shoot 5 shots from 5 different spots.
-25 total shots are taken.

D. Layup, Elbow, Corner
1. A coach passes for a power layup and also
rebounds the ball for shot #1. The player starts at
the 28 ft. marker.
2. A player curl cuts to the elbow, receives a pass,
and shoots shot #2.
3. The player moves to the corner, "long strides",
establishes proper footwork and shoots shot #3.
4. The player then jogs to the opposite 28 ft. marker
and begins the same 3 shot cycle.
5. A total of 15 shots are taken -- 3 shots x5 sets.
- The shooter must work hard to change speeds
while cutting. For example, going from a jog to an
all out sprint must be in place when touching the
28ft marker and then cutting to the basket for a
layup.

E. Back Pedal Shooting
1. The player backpedals from the baseline until the
coach slams the ball to the ground.
2. He then sprints to shot #1 and catches and shoots.
3. The player back pedals from shot #1 until the
coach slams the ball again. ON the slam of the ball
the player sprints into shot #2 at a different spot.
4. A total of 15 shots are taken, 5 sets of 3 shots.

F. 7-5-3-1 ½ Ct.
1. Player cuts for a shot, coach is at the top of the key
as the passer. Player rebounds his own ball and
passes back to the coach. He shoots 7 shots. The
player throws sharp passes.
2. Player then cuts for a shot on the other side and
executes the same. This time he shoots 5 shots.
3. The player repeats this for 3 shots on the original
side and then 1 shot on the opposite side again.
4. The player has shot 7-5-3-1 shots alternating sides
for each number of shots.
-16 total shots are taken.
-Any number of cuts can be made. However, the cut
must be the same throughout the segment -
alternating sides.

G. Tap, Pitch, Post
1. The player taps the ball off of the backboard 5
times.
2. "Snatches" the rebound and outlets to a coach.
3. The player posts up for five shots.
4. He then sprints the floor to halfcourt, touches, and
then returns to tap second ball off the other side of
the backboard five times.
5. "Snatches" the rebound and outlets the ball to a
coach, sprints to halfcourt, touches, and then runs
and catches an "over the top" pass for a transition
dunk.
6. The player then alternates sides of the backboard
for 5 post up shots on the opposite side and an over
the top pass from the opposite side from the start.
-10 post shots and 2 finishes are taken for 12 total
shots.

H. Tap, Pitch, Touch, Post
1. The player taps the ball off of the backboard 3
times and "snatches" the rebound and outlets the
ball to a coach.
2. The player follows the pass and touches the ball in
coaches hands.
3. He then dives to the opposite low post where he
receives a pass for a low post score.
4. He then repeats (above 1.) on the other side of the
backboard.
5. The player repeats 5 times for 2 sets.
-The players takes 10 total post shots.

I. Pepper
1. The player starts under the basket and passes to
a coach on the wing.
2. He then posts and receives a return pass from the
coach.
3. The coach moves to a 2nd spot as the player
executes a low post score and his own rebound.
4. The player passes again to the coach, posts at a
different spot, receives a return pass and scores.
5. This is repeated for 5 low post scores.
-Please note if a player receives a pass with both
feet in the lane, there is no dribble. On any pass out
the post player gets "deeper" when he reposts. Also,
emphasize no travel with no dribble.
-10 total shots are taken - 5x 2 sets.

J. Ricochet
1. A player passes to a coach. He runs to touch the
ball in the coaches hands. A second coach ricochets
the ball off of the backboard.
2. The player pursues the rebound.
3. The player snatches the rebound and passes the
ball to the second coach and posts up to receive a
return pass for a low post score.
4. This is repeated 5 times for 2 sets for a total of 10
shots.

K. Rim Running Ladder
1. Player starts by rebounding a missed shot and dunking the ball.
2. After dunking the ball, he sprints to halfcourt, touches, turns and receives an over the top pass for a
score.
3. He then repeats (above 1.) 6 times with the over the top pass coming from different angles.
4. The player takes a break with 2 free throws and then executes the drill for 5 times, 2 free throws, 4, 3, 2,
1 until he makes both free throws following his last time.
5. 22 total shots are taken including the missed shot dunk.

For more offensive development ideas, check out Sean Miller's DVD on Offensive Improvement. I am very much looking forward to a new era in AZ Wildcat basketball with Sean Miller at the helm.