Passing Drills

Pass and Cut
Two lines: post players on the block and guards on the same side wing. Have post players take turns posting each other up.
The guard will make a post entry past once the designated player is open and calls for the ball. (This is a good time to emphasize the fundamentals of a proper post entry pass if you have not already done so.) The guard will follow the pass to position himself for the weak side rebound while the post player practices his drop step move.
  • Option #2: Instead of the drop step score, have the post player pass it back to the guard on the give and go, and then roll to the hoop so he seals off the defender. The guard can either shoot the short jumper or give it back to the post for the lay in.
  • Option #3: Have post players and guards trade lines and have post players work off the give and go.
  • Option #4: Add Defense on the wing so players must jab step or V-cut to get open As simple as this drill may sound, it really helps develop the two man game, getting in position for rebounding and there are many options (drop step dunk)
Hot Hands
This is a fun and easy way to teach children what traveling is and how to avoid doing it. You cannot dribble the ball in this game! The player who receives a pass can take two steps and then has to pass the ball to someone else. As soon as the player receives a pass, he/she is requires to count out loud the steps he/she takes. If the player exceeds the two steps, the coach stops the game and this player is replaced by someone on the bench (if there are any).

This exercise is sometimes difficult to 'get going'. Try and start it at a slow pace so that younger players can understand fully the point of this drill.

PCPP (stands for pass, catch, pivot and pass)
Three players are lined up in a straight line approx. 30ft. apart. A player on either end starts with the ball. This players slap on the ball starts the drill and is a signal for the player in the middle to cut towards him to receive a pass from him. The middle player cuts towards the passer, receives the pass that is thrown to him and completes a legal stop(jump stop or one two stop). After making the catch and stop, this player makes a legal pivot and passes to the player on the other end. After this pass is caught by the ender the middle player cuts towards the ender and receives a return pass from him where upon the middle player again completes a legal stop, pivot and passes to the player on the other end.

For youth players I would switch the middle man after he has made anywhere from 5 to 10 passes or you could do the drill for 30 to 45 sec. and then rotate players so that everybody in the drill gets a shot in the middle especially. This drill will help your player develop the habit of meeting a pass that is thrown to them. It will help develop their hands and pivoting footwork.

Sideline Lay-Ups
The O's pass to the outlet line. The line to their left if they are going to shoot left handed lay ups and vice versa. The O then runs the floor to receive a bounce pass at the other end. X throws a baseball pass down the sideline. Then pass to the foul line, the x at the foul line gives a bounce pass to O for the lay-up. X's always follow their pass to the next line. X at the foul line get the rebound of O and are the next shooters.

Star passing drill
This is a drill that requires concentration, team work and peripheral vision. Not to mention passing and catching the basketball. You must have 5 players and 3-6 basketballs.

Have players in a circle about ten feet from one side to the other. Start with one ball and have everyone pass the ball two people to the right. Have one player always do a bounce pass and one player always do a lob pass. Each player always passes to the same player and each player always receives pass from same person. Start with 1 ball and slowly work your way up.

UCLA Drill
Hard working, fast paced, takes coordination. This drill is setup on a full-court. Have 6 lines line up: 1 line at each free throw-line extended point facing the basket (that is 4 lines), and 2 at half-court facing the outside. Have 1 player underneath both of the baskets to initiate the drill. They begin by passing it to the first person in the free-throw line extended line on their right. The receiving player will pass it back to him, then passing it to the half-court line, which will pass it back to him, then passing it to the other free-throw line extend line on their right side, which will give it back to him for the lay-up.

After the first person in each line passes it back to the starting player (in this case), they will go to the next line following the passing order;
  • free-throw line extended line to half court line
  • half-court line to other free-throw line extended line
  • and free-throw line extended line follows the lay-up, gets the rebound and starts it on the other side without stopping.