Basketball Drills for Moving Without the Ball

"But in a little while it may strike you as a small miracle that you have someone in your life whose taste you admire (after all this person loves you and your work), who will tell you the truth and help you stay on the straight and narrow, or find your way back to it if you are lost." - Anne Lamott, in Bird by Bird

Coaching demands truth-telling. Basketball opportunity is surreal for many players. Don't waste it. 

Melting Watch (1954), by Salvador Dali 

Dali called his paintings, "hand-painted dream photographs." As the founder of surrealism, releasing "the creative potential of the unconscious mind," Dali explored new artistic dimensions. Do we blend established truth and subconscious thoughts? 

"Movement kills defenses." Playing without the ball informs your success. Basketball is a game of cutting and passing...a line the players get tired of hearing. Players help their teammates with coordinated movement of themselves and the ball. I won't include drills specifically designed for transition. 

Shivek Drill (pass and cut, everyone shoots)...Israeli National Team coach Arik Shivek gets movement with passing and cutting in this versatile drill. Players have to score off the give-and-go, shoot off the catch, and attack the closeout. 

Four-on-four half court, no dribbling...(self-explanatory). 

Run into the pass...teaches multiple types of footwork and decision-making. 1 can set up the give-and-go with a step away or 'run' into the pass by 'crossing over' with the inside foot, using momentum to get the front cut over x1. 

Zig-zag into one-on-one...zig-zag to half court, then pass and cut into give-and-go into one-on-one basket attack. 

Two-on-two side and top (one side of split, one dribble maximum)...offensive and defensive drill...

Hot potato...2 second rule (use it or lose it)...can play 3-on-3 or(better) 4-on-4 half court. Only requirement is 2 seconds to pass, shoot, or drive...priority on player and ball movement. After two seconds, whistle blows, player must drop ball and convert offense to defense