Defensive Basketball Drills and Advice
Everyone has heard the “Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships,” but is it true? Of course it is true, because to win you need to play defense. You do not know from night to night if your shot is going to go in, but you defense will always be there. That just takes hard work and practice.
Then why is it that people never practice there defense? You always see them practicing their shooting, dribbling, or passing, but never defense. Some people say it is because they are too flashy to practice defense, but I say it is because individual defensive basketball drills are out there. That is what you will now find below to make you into the player your coach will always put in to shut down the opposing team’s best player.
Drills that will help with your quickness:
Lines- Jump back and forth, and side to side over lines with both feet and one foot at a time. You want quick little jumps.
5 dots- Make five dots in an x shape. One in the middle and four around it. Do every combo and pattern imaginable jumping from dot to dot.
Bounding- This teaches you to bound on defense like all great defenders. In this go on one foot and jump for horizontal distances as far as you can and land on one foot, and then from that foot jump again as far as you can horizontally. And do it in random directions for short periods at a time. This is to train muscles, not exhaust them. So go very hard for a very short period of time.
Game Situations
Shuffle- Use the push slide step technique. The push slid step technique is push with one leg; slide the other one next to it, and the step. In this technique do not overlap your feet. Go from one end of the lane to the other. While doing this, you must have one almost touching the ground and one high. The one hand high is to be in the players face in game ready to block/distract shot while the low hand is the pesky hand preventing the crossover. This hand is then dictating to the ball handler which direction he can go.
Closing Out- Start out of bounds and put a cone at the free throw line. Imagine the cone as an imaginary person. Run at it and then chop step when you get close with your but down and hands up being ready for the shot and drive. Practice like it is a real game, or you will get burned in a real game.
Ball Drill- Shuffle along the wall while passing it off the wall at the same time back to yourself. Remember in all these drills the most important thing is to stay in your defensive stance at all times and that it is about technique, not how fast you go.
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