Passing drills are essential for basketball. There are several types out of which a few have been described below:
Box-Out the Shooter Drill
Make two lines – the shooting line on the wing, and the defense, box-out line at the free-throw line.
The wing player has the ball. The first player in the defense line defends the wing player. The wing shoots (defense should allow the shot). As soon as the shot is released, the defender turns and checks the shooter and gets the rebound (even if the shot is made). The shooter tries to get the rebound (but no second shots are allowed as this is mainly a box-out drill).
2-on-2 Rebounding Drill
This rebounding drill stresses the basics of boxing out, being aggressive, making the outlet pass, and “finishing” on the offensive glass.
Setup: two rows, one on each side of the free throw lane. The first player in each line becomes a defender and moves down by the blocks and will box-out the next player in line. The next player in each line are offensive players. Have a player at each wing for the outlet pass. The coach, or manager, shoots the ball from the free-throw line.
The coach shoots. The defenders box-out, rebound, make the outlet pass and the next group takes over. The two defenders rotate to the outlet positions, and the outlet players go to the back of the offensive lines. Offensive players should be aggressive, try to get the offensive rebound, and power it back up to the hoop. Play until either the defense rebounds and outlet passes, or the offense rebounds and scores (limit offensive possessions to 6 seconds to keep the drill moving). Then rotate to the next group. Offensive players now are defenders.
Make sure all players hustle, are aggressive and are using good rebounding technique – with proper boxing out, attacking the ball, and making a good outlet pass. If the defense fails to secure the rebound, both players run a lap. Offensive players should be aggressive and power the ball back up to the hoop, scoring quickly (within 6 seconds). If the offense scores, they have “immunity” for when they go on defense. When they are on defense, if they successfully get the rebound, they keep their “immunity” for the next time. If they fail to get the rebound, they lose the immunity, but don’t have to run that lap. An offensive rebound with failure to score is nothing, no immunity.
Basketball Drill – Rebounding “War” Drill
This is a 5-on-5 drill, so divide the team into two squads. One team starts out on defense with all five players in the paint area – two at the blocks, two at the elbows and one at the free-throw line.
The offensive team starts with all five players on the perimeter arc, or you can put them in a 1-3-1 set with three perimeter players, one at the high post and one in the short corner. Optionally, you can vary the offensive setup according to what you expect your next opponent will play.
The coach, an assistant or a manager shoots the ball up from somewhere at the 12-17 foot range. The defenders must each find a man to box out. The defender “finds” his/her man and makes contact (“hits”) before going for the ball.
The offensive players (except the point guard) all crash the boards for the rebound and immediately look to score if they get the rebound. If the offense seems to be taking too long to shoot, start over with the coach taking another shot.
If the defense gets the rebound, they immediately look for the outlet pass and run your fast break. Once they get the ball up the floor, they too can go for any offensive rebound off a missed shot. Once the defense gets the rebound, the drill is over. Reset and the coach takes another shot to restart the drill.