In part 1 we talked about why and how to get players to circle move correctly and consistently. The answer to these questions is daily repetition and drilling. Now we are are going to talk about the three drills that involve all 5 players that trains the reaction habits.
The first drill we will talk about is the “Bounce-Off Drill. Besides training the 4 players without the ball to correctly and timely circle move, it also teaches the penetrator the correct move to make based on what the defense does. If the ball handler tries to dribble penetrate and gets quickly stopped or simply doesn’t like what he or she sees, they “Bounce-Off”. “Bounce-Off” allows the player to safely keep his or her dribble by switching to an escape dribble, which places the ball between them and the defender, keeping their eyes on the rim and backing out to the perimeter.
In the diagram, I show the drill beginning in the corner and out of a 5-Out formation. However, the drill can be changed to having players in the post as well. In addition, the drill can begin from any spot on the floor, on either side of the floor, for any number of “Bounce-Offs”. Players should only take a maximum of two dribbles in this drill to simulate penetration. We don’t want to take away the attacking mentality of getting close to the basket on a drive and then backing out. Just a note about starting in the corner, only allow drives to the middle of the floor.
- (1) Starts with the ball and dribble penetrates into the lane (driving right) . The other four players (2, 3, 4 and 5) circle move to the next spot on the floor in the direction of the drive (to their right). To help train the players without the ball, they should yell out the direction of the drive by the penetrator (“Right” or “Left”). This will remind the players and help them recognize what direction they must circle move in.
- After penetrating, (1) executes a “Bounce-Off” to the open spot created by player circling to the right (2) . Player (1) continues to drive and “Bounce-Off” until they get to the opposite corner or an assigned number of bounce-offs. At this point, the player can pass (and cut!) to another player to continue the drill.
Just a final note:
When introducing this drill, give the other players a chance to reach their next spot before the penetrator goes again.
You can find an entire bounce-off workout in the (VOD) Video On Demand library at BetterBasketball.com .
In Part 3, we will discuss and diagram the “Attack-Fade-Fill” drill.
[author ]Loren Tillman has been coaching for over 15 years at all levels of basketball. Coach Tillman started running the Read and React 8 years ago with a 4th grade boys AAU team. He has installed it with great success as a Girls High School Head Coach and for the last three years as a Boys High School Head Coach in the Seatlle, WA area. Coach Tillman is also involved with PGC Basketball, most recently as a basket instructor for their summer courses.
Loren Tillman 
@ltillman34 
@ltillman34
[/author]
