Jerry Mac Fund

Level: Junior High, High School, College, Pro
Shot Location: The Branson School, Marin County, California
Instructor: Alex Pribble
Notes: Defensive slides are obviously an incredibly important part of the game of basketball and if you cannot properly slide to cut off a ball handler then you cannot play basketball at the high school level.  This drill assumes however that you already understand the proper technique of the slide, and also assumes that you understand what a close out is.

If you understand and are competent in these two areas then this drill will help you get better defensively at the speed of a normal game.  Imagine you are in a help side defense of some kind, and the player you are responsible for receives the ball.  It is important that you are able to properly run to the player to stop the jump shot, but when you get there be under control and ready to slide and cut off the ball handler.  This drill is a repetitive one that creates muscle memory.  If you are great at this drill you will be great in a game setting.

Coaches, you can add in players and make this a timed drill to create stamina.  You can also increase the speed of the drill and send players more often.  By having multiple players in the key at the same time, all of them working hard, you create scenarios in which they have to deal with getting by each other, talking out loud, and acting as a defensive unit.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 24th, 2008 at 2:16 am and is filed under CYO Level Drill, College Level Drill, Conditioning, Defense, Guard Play, High School Drill, Junior High Drill, Post Play, Technique. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.