The Mikan 2.0 Drill

When you watch the best post finishers, they all make it look easy, catching the ball and going up quick for the easy two. But like most things that look easy – it isn’t, and being able to consistently and efficiently score down on the block is an incredibly valuable skill.  

Players who can grab a strong pass, quickly diagnose the defense and make the correct move are few and far between. This drill does a great job of getting the post player used to making tough catches and quick decisions, all while keeping the ball high and staying strong with the basketball.

To start off, two players will stand outside the lane with basketballs, one underneath the hoop, and a coach up at the top of the key. In the middle of the paint, on the dotted line, will be the player participating in the drill.

The drill will begin with the coach throwing a pass to the player at the dotted line. It doesn’t need to be accurate – to the left, to the right, lobbed up, rolled on the ground, whipped off the backboard – the idea is to keep the post player on his toes, forcing him to react, and make a strong catch. Then he will spin to whatever side of the court he has received the pass on, and finish.

The player underneath the hoop will act as the rebounder, collecting the layups and giving them to one of the two passers on the lane lines. After each entry pass, one of the players with a ball will pass his to the coach, ensuring that he always has a ball ready to go, and that there is never a break for the man in the middle.

Time your players as they go through – say 1 minute at a time – forcing them to keep the tempo up and improve on their own personal bests. Remember, while this is a skill development drill, by keeping the pace up you double down, making it a conditioning drill as well.

One of the ways to keep the energy up through this tiring drill is to have the players not participating converge on the baseline, cheering, pushing each other to go harder.

Developing the Drop Step

When paired with an effective counter – like the hook shot for example, the drop step can help form the foundation for an absolutely devastating post game. With a strong move going over both shoulders, the next step becomes just about feeling the defense and using fakes and counters to keep them off –balance.

But before we get to fakes and counters, we should perfect the drop step.

The drop step is a power move, designed to help the post player gain leverage and gather himself before attempting the layup, so that he can power through any contact that may occur on the way up.

The player will start with their back to the basket and the ball held up strong underneath the chin, with both elbows up. Next, he will take a step with his low pivot foot towards the hoop all while performing a power dribble on the ground with two hands. This will allow the offensive player to pick up his pivot foot, come to a jumpstop, and immediately power up to finish the layup.

So how do we work on the drop step in a competitive, fun environment for the players? I find the drop step handoff drill is the best way to go about it.

To setup for this drill, you will have two players stand just above the block, each holding a basketball. The other will stand in the middle of the paint – this is the player actually doing the drill.

On your go, the player will sprint over to one player and grab the ball out of his hands, drop step, lay the ball up, come back through the middle and grab the ball from the next player. The player in the middle isn’t responsible for rebounding – each of the players on the block is responsible for rebounding their own ball and getting back in position before the player running through the drill gets back to them.

This is another drill that works best when timed, as it allows the players to set goals and see where they match up with the rest of the team – generally 60 seconds is a good length.

If you’d like more help with your half-court offense, make sure you check out our selection of downloadable Basketball Playbooks.

Or if you need help with skill development, check out our Basketball Drillbooks – packed with fun and effective practice ideas your players will love!