Transition Shooting

A decade or two ago, pulling up for the 3 pointer on the fast break was a quick way to get a seat on the bench next to your coach. But as the game has changed, so has the coach’s attitude to the pull up three.
With the abundance of high percentage three point shooters on the court these days, the pull up three pointer on the fast break can actually be a very high percentage shot. But it is a very different shot from the normal set shot or catch and shoot opportunities players are used to seeing, and requires practice.

That’s where a basketball shooting drills like this one can make a big difference. To start this drill, have a coach line up underneath the hoop, with another at the top of the arc. Place a cone on each wing at about the 45 degree spot. The players will line up at halfcourt over by the sideline.

On the coach’s signal, the player will explode forward, taking a couple steps forward before planting and heading to the cone. They will then catch the ball on a jumpstop and go right into their shooting motion, before turning around and heading to the back of the line.

The coach underneath the hoop will rebound the ball, and pass it to the coach at the top of the arc, in charge of passing the ball to the shooters. The players don’t need to go the full length of the court – the goal here isn’t to tire them out, but to get them used to getting into rhythm for a jumpshot from a running start.

You can also adjust this drill just slightly to work on a different skill – dribbling into a rhythm jumpshot. Simply give the players in line a ball each, and have them explode forward with two to three dribbles before pulling up at the line. It’s important that they get used to pulling up after dribbling with either hand, so have them start by working on their right hand for a set of 10, before switching over to left, alternating to ensure an even workload.

It can also be a good idea to force players to end on consecutive makes – it’s a great way to both build confidence and focus in players – they will feel the same type of pressure that they would in a game situation.

Off Footwork Drill

It’s also important that players get used to shooting from all over the arc – far too often when you move a player off their favorite spot around the arc, and down over to the baseline, their percentages will crater – simply because they aren’t used to shooting from that angle.

To prevent this, and to get players comfortable with both the shooting and footwork necessary to get a fundamentally sound shot off from any angle, we like to use this drill – the off footwork drill.
We’ll get the players to get 10 shots up, putting down cones at 5 different spots, both corners, the top of the arc, as well as both 45s.

The player will begin in one corner, with a coach underneath the hoop to act as rebounder, and another coach on one of the wings to act as passer. The player will start by sprinting and slapping the ground with a hand underneath the basket, planting, and sprinting back out to the three point line to receive the pass.

The player should sprint out at full game speed, as if he’s coming off a down screen or executing a V-Cut, stepping with his inside foot as he squares his shoulders to catch the pass. He should have his hand outs and ready as soon as the pass made, not waiting until the last second to pull them out.

Immediately after taking the shot, the shooter will sprint back underneath the hoop to touch the floor again, heading out to the next cone this time. He will do this a total of 10 times – 5 going each way – to finish out the drill.

Once again, it’s important to keep track of team highs and personal bests, as competition, whether a player is having it with himself, or his teammate, is always a great motivator.

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!