Basketball Drills - Coach Sar's "50-Point" Full-Court Drills

From the Coach’s Clipboard Basketball Playbook
"Helping coaches coach better..."

Submitted a while back by late coach and friend Ken Sartini (aka "Coach Sar"), Arlington Hts, IL. Ken had a great impact on many young coaches and players, and sadly has passed on. His wisdom and wit are greatly missed by all who knew him.

Drill #1

Purpose

The goal of this drill is to teach your players how to control the tempo, make good passes, read the defense, make good cuts, finish your shots and REBOUND - along with playing good fundamental defense. It is simple to teach and it's very competitive which almost all kids like.

The Drill

Two teams play full-court 5-on-5 using your offense (you can work either your man-to-man or zone offenses). An assistant keeps score, and the first team to 50 wins. Losers run or do push-ups.

Points/scoring system

Offensive Points:
1 point for every pass
1 point for a lay up and short shots
2 points for an offensive rebound
2 points for a 3 pointer

Defensive Points:
1 point for a deflection
2 points for a steal
2 points for a defensive rebound

You can adjust the drill to whatever your focus needs to be. For example, if you are having problems with turnovers, make a turnover minus 1 point.

---

Drill #2

Purpose

This full-court drill is designed to work on the open post offensive system under competitive conditions. This also a good conditioning drill. First read the Open Post Double-Up Offense.

Objective

The first team to reach the predetermined point total wins the drill. The drill is competitive because there is always a consequence for the losers. Before beginning the drill, allow the teams who are running the drill to determine the consequence for losing.

The Drill

Two teams play full-court 5-on-5 using only the open post system described in Open-Post Double-Up as their half-court offense. For this drill, we can have the offense run the open post high motion screening series or cutting series.

Both teams play a full-court game up to the predetermined point total (50 works well). The players call out their points as they get them and one of the coaches tallies the points. The drill is flexible in that you can adjust the points awarded and what the points are awarded for, and you can award points when only a certain player scores off a certain option, etc.

Sample point system

Offensive Points:
Completed pass = 1 point
Score = 2 points
3-pt score = 3 points
Ball reversal = 5 points
Backdoor lay-in = 10 points
Offensive rebound = 2 points

Defensive Points:

Steal = 1 point
Defensive rebound = 1 point
Charge taken = 5 points

Teams can also lose points for:

Slow inbounds = -2 points
Turnover = -2 points
Offensive Foul = -2 points
Standing still = -2 points

Defensive losses:

Missed box-out = -2 points

---