1v1 to 3v3 Full Court

Diagrams

Diagram 1 - Purpose

Purpose

• Being able to defend the ball in a one on one situation is vital. However, you need to have the capability to transition into help defense in a team setting!
• This drill is about building great 1 on 1 full court defense habits and transitioning into a half court setting. Then you work on all other aspects of your defense. Defending cuts, screens, getting into help position, stopping dribble penetration, etc. 3v3 defensive drills are also great because it’s tougher to defend the entire court with three players than with five players like during a game.
• Additionally, the offense learns how to handle the ball under pressure and improve passing.

(Diagram 1)

Setup

• You have the ball handler start on the baseline. You have the defender guarding them.
• Two offensive players and two defensive players are set up on the opposite end of the floor.

Instructions

• The defense’s goal is to get a stop. Their goal is to only allow one shot each possession. The offense’s goal is to score.
• The ball handler (2) advances the ball and tries to beat the defender (X2).
• Once the ball is dribbled past half court, it is a “live” 3 on 3 situation.
• After each possession, the defense turns to offense. Then they check the ball on the baseline and start over.

Points of Emphasis

• Contain Ball – Your goal as a defender now is contain the ball. You do not allow straight line drives. You want to stay between your player and the basket!
• Wing Defenders Deny Pass – Defenders X3 and X4 are going to deny the pass on the wing and make it difficult to catch.
• Help And Recover – The defenders have to be ready to help and recover should the ball handler get past the initial defender.
• Help Across Not Up – If the ball handler beats the initial defender, the other defender, X3, is going to have to find a way to help slow the ball to give the recovering teammate time to get back. They should help “across” from their own player and keep the ball and their player in their line of sight. Try to stop the ball on the same level as your own player if possible. Helping “up” the court from your player in this situation will lead to the easy bucket on the lob ahead.
• Force Contested Jump Shots / No Lay Ups – Your Goal? Do not let the other team score! You do that by keeping the ball as far away from the basket as possible. Lay ups are NOT allowed! You want a contested jump shot as far from the basket as possible, with as much pressure and difficulty as possible.

Variations

• Force Turns Prior To Half Court – If you want to make the drill really challenging for the full court defender, you can reward them for the number of times that they force the ball handler to stop and change directions. Each change of direction is worth one point. Once they reach half court, it goes back to playing defense straight up.
• Also, this can be a similar strategy to use against teams that lack effective ball handlers or if you have some superb 1 on 1 full court defenders.
• Defense Stops – One effective tactic to get players to focus on the defensive end is to only allow them to transition to offense by getting a defensive stop. If they don’t get a stop, a new group of defenders comes in to stop the ball. If you score on offense, you stay on the court.
• Winner Stays – You can set up teams of three and play to a determined amount of points. The winners stay on the court.

Made by Breakthrough Basketball