QUESTION: What are some of your favorite shooting drills?

ANSWER:

We actually have a number of them that we use. I am a big believer in eliminating boredom when it comes to workouts. In my mind two things can potentially kill your workouts: 1) fatigue (you take care of that by keeping the players in good condition year round) and 2) boredom (you can eliminate boredom by coming up with a variety of drills that work on the same fundamental.

I will give you four of my favorite shooting drills and hopefully stimulate your thinking in such a way that you come up with some new ones of your own:

IN A ROWS: We do this drill from inside the 3 and outside the 3; we shoot from 7 spots on the perimeter. Usually we do this drill with 2-3 players to make it even more competitive: player A shoots first and continues to shoot from the same spot until he misses a shot; at that point player B quickly takes his place and shoots until he misses. Then player A comes back on as each player gets 2 sets from each of the 7 spots. We shoot from 7 spots inside the 3 and then shoot from 7 spots outside the 3. Our best was 53 in a row from the left wing spot (that was from the NBA 3!)

CELTIC 40: We can do this drill inside the 3 and/or outside the 3. We shoot from four spots: left corner, left wing, right wing, right corner. Player shoots until he makes 10 shots from the left corner; coach keeps track of how many shots it takes to make the 10 baskets (example: it took player A 15 shots to make his 10). Execute the same from each of the four spots. Let’s say it took the player 15 shot attempts to make his 10 baskets; you add up the total number of shots attempted to make 10 in each spot and that gives the player a score. In this example, it took him 15 shots at each spot so the score is 60; in other words it took him 60 shots to make his 40 mandatory shots. Our best from inside the 3 is 47; from the NBA 3 it is 56.

3 and DONE: The drill stops when a player misses 3 in a row. Player starts in one of the corners. Coach passes him the ball and player shoots After shot he gradually keeps moving around the arc and shooting until he misses 3 in a row; coach keeps track of the makes. Our best is 93 NBA 3’s made before that player missed 3 in a row. Keep in mind that a player can miss 2 in a row and hit the next – he keeps going. Player keeps moving around the arc until 3 shots in a row are missed.

35 in 3: Player starts anywhere along the 3 point line with 3 minutes on the clock. Clock starts on the first made shot. There are 2 coaches rebounding and 2 balls. Player is only allowed 2 shots in a row from the same spot. He continues to move around the arc shooting the 3. Count total number of made 3’s in 3 minutes. Our best is 39 from the NBA 3. This drill can be done from any distance on the court.