Ethan Khoza shows two drills that replicate game pressure. One adds a closing defender who forces a shot fake or dribble before you shoot. The other makes you catch the ball late with hands behind your back. Missing more in practice means the reps actually transfer to games.
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A lot of players struggle to make shots in games, and the reason for this is that a lot of times their training doesn't prepare them for it. If you aren't able to shoot the ball under pressure with a defender closing out to you, and if you aren't also adaptable and able to make shots when you don't catch the ball cleanly or when there's a bad pass thrown to you, you're going to struggle to make shots in games. When both of those things happen right here, we're going to go through two drills that target both of these areas. And once you start doing these drills, you're going to see a massive improvement. Your ability to make shots and run real games. Let's get into it.
You're gonna face me. You can go like probably a step into the paint. You're moving either direction, so it doesn't matter. As soon as you move, I'm gonna pass to you. When that pass goes, you can go, but you can go anywhere you want. So maybe you start low wing. Same thing, you can start corner, whatever. Everything's contested though. We're gonna go score, you stay. We're gonna go first to five makes here. Ideally, number one, you just shoot it fast and you don't have to worry about it. Or let's say she has a great job closing out to you. You can shake shot fake if you absolutely have to do it.
So for this drill is going to start along 3.9 wherever they want, and the defensive player is going to start with their back facing them about 4 to 5ft in front of them in the mid range. That offensive player is going to relocate either direction, and I'm going to make them a pass. As soon as I pass the ball, the defender in the mid range is closing up to contest the shot. The offensive player gets a shot fake and one dribble if they absolutely need it. What this drill does is that it introduces the demands of a real game. The offensive player has to be able to focus and still make a shot despite the fact that somebody's coming to contest their shot. Every shot is also coming off of movement, which is very similar to how it's going to be in a game as well. And while this also cause them to miss more shots in the actual drill, it's going to translate to them making more shots in games because these reps translate much better than reps without defense.
Hands behind your back and start it. I'm going to throw you the ball. You got to wait until you're about to hit with the ball before you actually catch as long as you can wait, like if I don't move my hands now, I'm going to get hit with men catch it and then. Yes, I want that though.
So right here, each offensive player is going to start along the three point line with their hands interlocked behind their back and they'll be sliding back and forth casually. So the place they catch the ball each time is going to be a little bit different. Rep to rep. At some point I'm going to pass on the ball. They're going to wait as long as they can before they actually get their hands out to catch it. So now we're simulating a late catch on top of that. Also, sometimes a little ball high, low to one side or the other. This drill targets another demand of in game shot making, which is the ability to be adaptable. So even if you have to catch the ball late or it's not a super clean catch or that pass is bad, you're able to adapt and still catch it and make the shot anyway. Committing to these drills, I hope you become a way better in game shot maker. So grab a friend or a teammate and go try it out. Make sure you drop a like and subscribe. If you're new and leave a comment, let me know what you think. I'll talk to you guys soon. Peace.
