January/February 2019 - 12

OWNING THE GLASS
'Rebounding triple play' forces players to attack the boards
By Joe May, contributing writer
Good rebounding drills go a long way toward helping
players improve on the offensive and defensive glass.
We call these drills the " rebounding triple play. " They
are drill workouts that we've used with our post players
two to three times per week. During one season, our
team had two players lead the conference in rebounding.
We play in a very competitive conference in California,
and we attribute our big players' rebounding success on
the work and repetitions that they get with the this series
of drills.
'Offensive rebounding gauntlet'
The first drill in the rebounding triple play is one we
call the " offensive rebounding gauntlet. " In this drill,
a coach stands in the middle of the lane holding a ball.
A player stands beside the coach acting as an offensive
rebounder and must be ready and poised to crash the
boards. A player, who is holding a blocking pad, is
positioned under the basket.
DIAGRAM 1: The coach tosses the ball off of the
side of the rim, and the player attacks the rim to get the
offensive board. When the offensive rebounder jumps to
grab the rebound, the player with the blocking pad bumps
the rebounder and tries to force them away from the ball.
When the offensive rebounder secures the ball, he or she
immediately goes back up to score, while the player with
the blocking pad bumps him or her again and tries to
prevent the put back.
Emphasize that the rebounders must aggressively attack
the rim when trying to score and not fall or fade away
from the rim while being bumped by the blocking pad.
DIAGRAM 2: If a player scores, he or she backpedals
around the coach and repeats the sequence.
DIAGRAM 3: If the offensive rebounder misses a
put-back attempt, he or she grabs the miss and repeats the
put back until the shot is made. The player with the pad
should bump the shooter on every put-back attempt.
If the player scores, he or she backpedals back around
the coach and repeats the sequence. Place a lot of
emphasis on the offensive rebounder to really explode
toward the rim as he or she comes out of the backpedal.
When a shot is made, the player with the blocking pad
grabs the ball as it's coming through the net and passes it
back to the coach. This is done as the offensive rebounder
is backpedaling.
The offensive rebounder continues through the drill
until six to 10 baskets are made, or as many as the coach
deems necessary. We like each of our big players to go
through the gauntlet at least two times.
Elbow denial, box-out drill
In this drill, a coach is holding a ball on a wing. A
defensive post player is in proper position in the middle
12 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
of the key (in ball-you-man defensive positioning), while
an offensive player is lined up on the low block opposite
from the coach.
DIAGRAM 4: On the coach's command, the offensive
player makes a hard cut to the ball-side elbow, while the
defensive player works hard to deny this positioning.
Upon achieving the position, the coach passes the ball
to the offensive player. The offensive player catches the
pass and turns to face the basket in a good triple-threat
position. They should be ready to go 1-on-1 with the
defensive player.
DIAGRAM 5: After catching the pass, the offensive
player passes the ball back to the coach.
DIAGRAM 6: The coach catches the pass from the
offensive player and then shoots, intentionally missing the
jumper. On the shot, the offensive player crashes hard to
the boards, trying to rebound the missed shot and score
on the put back. The defensive player aggressively boxes
out and tries to rebound the missed shot. If the offensive
player secures the rebound, play continues until he or she
scores or until the defensive player gets the rebound.
The drill is complete when the defender secures the
rebound and throws an outlet pass back out to the coach.
After each player completes three repetitions on both
offense and defense, you switch the drill to the other side
of the floor and do it again.
1-on-1 post-up, block-out drill
For this drill, the coach is in the corner holding a ball.
The offensive player is on the opposite elbow, prepared
to make a strong cut to the to the ball-side block. The
defensive player is in the middle of the lane and set up in
good defensive position.
DIAGRAM 7: On the coach's command, the offensive
player makes an aggressive cut to the ball-side block,
while the defender tries to deny this position.
DIAGRAM 8: When the offensive player successfully
establishes position on the ball-side block, the coach
makes an entry pass. The defender continues to play
aggressive defense.
DIAGRAM 9: Upon receiving the entry pass from the
coach, the offensive player is allowed two dribbles to try
and score. This is why it's critical that he or she establish
good post-up position while fighting for position versus
the defensive player when cutting from the weak side.
If the offensive player can get a shot off after the two
dribbles, he or she should take the shot and try to score.
If the offensive player misses the shot, the offensive and
defensive players battle for the loose rebound. If the
offensive player can't get a shot off within the allotted two
dribbles, he or she passes the ball back out to the coach.
DIAGRAM 10: When the coach receives the kick-out
pass from the player, he or she immediately shoots a jumper
January/February 2019

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