Shooting Off the Dribble – Lee Rose

Originally Published in Winning Basketball Fundamentals - Human Kinetics

Off the Dribble

One of the skills that separates good players from great players is the ability to shoot the pull-up jumper while on the move. Players who can do this have a mid-range game—a rare quality in this day of the three-point field goal. Most players can hit the spot-up, long-range jump shot or a driving layup but have difficulty making the in-between 10- to 15-foot (3 to 4.5 m) shot. Players cannot hit shots in that gap for several reasons: lack of ballhandling skills, poor balance on the pull-up, and lack of body control after beginning the dribble move. Players often resist change, not wanting to move beyond their comfort zone. As a result, they don't work on certain aspects of their game and lack confidence in areas such as shooting off the dribble.

Another reason for the scarcity of the midrange game is that coaches don't emphasize it. The best way to approach these issues is to design shooting drills that require all players to dribble and pull up for jump shots, especially midrange shots. The following drills provide an excellent way to develop and improve shooting off the dribble.

Shooting Off the Dribble, Right Hand

Focus
Shooting technique with movement, right hand.

Procedure
Divide the team into two groups of six. Run this drill on both ends of the court simultaneously. Coaches (marked as Cs in the diagram) or chairs indicate where players take shots. Follow these steps:

1. On each side of the court, players form two groups of three and line up behind the hash line.
2. Players on the right side use a right-foot pivot, switching from a left-handed to right-handed dribble with a crossover step. They then dribble toward the wing position at the free-throw line extended. Players stay low as they drive middle, using two dribbles before shooting a pull-up jump shot.
3. Players on the left side execute the same right-foot pivot technique, switching from a left-handed to right-handed dribble, going middle, and shooting a pull-up jump shot (figure 4.5).
4. Each player retrieves his rebound and rotates to the back of the opposite line.

A second crossover dribble to the left hand on the pull-up shot adds more difficulty to the drill.

Shooting Off the Dribble, Left Hand

Focus
Shooting technique with movement, left hand.

Procedure
Divide the team into two groups of six. Run this drill on both ends of the court simultaneously. Coaches (marked as Cs in the diagram) or chairs indicate where players take shots. The drill is like the previous one, except that the left hand is the focus of the dribble action. Follow these steps:

1. On each side of the court, players divide into groups of three and line up behind the hash line.
2. Players on the left side use a left-foot pivot with a crossover dribble, switching from a right-handed to left-handed dribble and moving toward the wing position at the free-throw line extended. Players should stay low as they drive, taking two dribbles before shooting a pull-up jumper (figure 4.6).
3. Players on the right side execute the same pivot technique to the middle with a crossover, switching from a right-handed to left-handed dribble and shooting a pull-up jump shot.
4. Each player retrieves his rebound and rotates to the back of the opposite line.

Again, a second crossover dribble increases the degree of difficulty of this drill.

Full-Court Shooting

Focus
Shooting technique off the dribble, full court, right-handed dribble and left-handed dribble.

Procedure
This continuous full-court running and shooting drill will improve players' mobility, ballhandling, and ability to shoot off the dribble. The drill is six minutes in duration. Divide the squad by having six players at each end of the court, each with a ball. Then follow these steps:

1. Three chairs, marked as Cs on the diagram, are placed at the far end opposite the players. Each chair indicates a shooting spot. Players take the shots in order: first from the middle of the floor, then from the wing, and last from the baseline.
2. The first player in each line starts at the same time, dribbling forward with the right hand. The drill is then follow the leader; players keep a space of two or three dribbles between themselves. After shooting from behind the first chair, players retrieve their own shots and move to the line in the opposite corner from where they started (figure 4.7).
3. On the second trip, they shoot from behind the second chair and so on until they have completed the entire cycle.
4. Should players finish before three minutes are up, they start over at the first spot and continue the drill. After three minutes, they start over at the first spot, dribbling with the left hand.