Incorporate the core elements of the Dribble Drive Motion into your practices.
In designing a Dribble Drive Motion practice you must make sure to place an emphasis on the core elements of the offense. This is an offense that is looking to create double and triple gaps with its passing and cutting, and then attack those gaps with the dribble. So, from a player development perspective, we have to design our practice to reflect the types of skills needed to succeed with this style of play.
DDM Core Elements:
1. Dribble Attacks - Simple attacks techniques like hesitation, in & out & crossovers.
2. Dribble Stops - Techniques to stop on failed drives; stride stops, jump stops, &
bounce out dribbles.
3. Second Cutting - Reads & Rules for players when the ball has been stopped.
4. Help Defense Reads - Teach offensive players to read & react to help defense.
5. Drive & Space Reactions - Teach players to maximize their spacing when players
are driving to the rim.
6. Finishing - Give players options to use while finishing at the rim.
Many of these core elements can be combined into the drills and concepts we use in practice - but in order for us to succeed in this offense we must master these skills. As a Dribble Drive Motion team you must address these skills to some extent every day.
Breaking Down the Elements
Dribble Attacks
The Dribble Attack moves that we choose to teach are simple, subtle, and keep our players on a straight line to the basket. We do not want to give up any offensive advantage that our passing & cutting has given the offensive player by dribbling east and west. In theory all three of these dribble attacks are ways to create a small advantage vs a neutral defender.
1. Hesitation - Use a change of pace to allow the defender to relax, then re-attack.
2. In & Out - Get a defender to reaction to a potential crossover, then continue on
your direct path to the rim.
3. Crossover - Use to punish a defender who has over committed to your drive.
Dribble Stops
Teaching players Dribble Stop Techniques is a crucial element to avoid turnovers and allow for extra opportunities within the offense. Not all of our drives will successfully get to the rim, so teaching players to stop cleanly becomes a must within this system. Being able to stop cleanly also unlocks the next level of the Dribble Drive Offense, second cutting opportunities.
(Second Cutting is a concept we will address is a future blog post.)
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Stride Stops - This would be our preferred stopping method in the drop zone. We are landing back foot, front foot. Ready to deliver a pass or pivot.
Jump Stops - This a our main stopping method when we are in the rack zone & when finishing. We land with two feet at the same time.
Bounce Out Dribble - Players keep their dribble alive by turning their back to the defense and 'bouncing out' their dribble towards half court. This is mainly a Drop Zone technique.
The Drop Pass & Quick Pitch Reads
Another critical element to Dribble Drive Offenses is teaching your players to make the two most basic passes against help defenses. The Drop Pass versus center help and The Quick Pitch versus corner help are critical in providing non-drivers with scoring opportunities. Finding ways to drill these concepts into our daily practice plans is a must to get the most out of the offense.
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The Quick Pitch:
The Quick Pitch, or kick out pass, will be made when a driver recognizes a player helping off of the corner.
Offensively, we want to maintain any advantage that we have until we have a scoring opportunity. So recognizing a help defender that would neutralize an advantage requires us to make the next pass.
The Drop Pass:
The Drop Pass will be made when the center (or any player in the paint) slides over to stop the ball.
Wanting to maintain our advantage with the basketball, we need to recognize the help and create an easy score for our 5 man. At the college level this is probably a lob or dunk, but at the high school level this is more likely to be a bounce pass of some kind.
Concluding Thoughts
No matter offensive system you employ, recognizing the core elements needed to succeed is an area of importance. As coaches, we then take those core elements and constantly replicate those concepts in practice. Taking these pieces of the game and making them more recognizable for our players will only make our system more efficient.
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