Playing 1 on 1 on Purpose

Basketball at its baseline level is about 1 on 1 confrontations. How well you defend in one on one situations are essential to your team's defensive efficiency. Being able to score, in the majority of offensive situations, requires the player to be able to score against a single defender.

When we ended practice, I tried to keep a mental count of how many players headed for the showers and how many went to the ball rack and stayed on the floor. Some stayed to work on their shooting. Some found a partner to challenge and spent a few minutes playing one on one. Sometimes the 1 on 1 action was not only fun for the participants but also developed their skills. Unfortunately, players often seem to be very limited in terms of their imagination when playing 1 on 1. Let me suggest some purposeful tweaks to playing 1 on 1 whether it is executed during a practice

session or after.

First, I think you need to "create" 1 on 1 situations in your practices. If you have players who can arch dribblers on the perimeter you are going to be tough on the defensive end of the floor. The typical 1 on 1 after practice

duals are often fun but not very productive and I am not against players

have some fun after practice. A game of "horse" or a game of 1 on 1 can

help bond players together in a less intense atmosphere than is often the

case in a formal practice.

"And then the coach wonders why you screw up the play!"

Let me make some suggestions on how to make 1 on 1 play more productive:

1) LIMIT THE SPACE YOU PLAY IN. For example, Start play from the top of the key or from the free throw line. The sidelines are the lane lines of the three second lane. You also can set up temporary boundaries to shrink

the space by starting in the corners or wings. Also consider playing from high post or low post with restricted space.

2) LIMIT THE NUMBER OF DRIBBLES. Whenever players play 1 on 1, it often becomes an extended period of time the dribble controls the ball before attempting a shot. Not exactly game like. Limit the number of dribbles

the offensive player can take. I suggest 2-3 dribbles. This forces the offensive player to use their dribble for a purpose.

3) LIMIT THE TIME. You may not be playing your games with a shot clock but that doesn't mean you couldn't play 1 on 1 with a shot clock. My suggestion would be to play with a 15-20 second clock.

4) REWARD POINTS ON THE BASIS OF SHOT SELECTION. Open shots (uncontested) are worth 3 points if made. Contested shots are worth 1 point if they go in.

5) YOU ONLY SCORE ON DEFENSE. Only time points are awarded is when the defense gets a one and done stop. You also could deduct points if an offensive rebound is given up.

6) SUDDEN DEATH. 1st person to score wins that game. You also can tweak this by adding the restriction of if you score you must then make a free throw in order to win that game.

7) WEAK HAND GAME. Can only score with your non dominant hand.

8) 3-2-1. First player to make a 3 a 2 and a free throw first wins that game. 3 and 2 can be made in any order. After making the 3 & the 2, a free throw must be made. If free throw is missed, both the 3 and 2 previously made

are erased.

Most of you are far more creative than I am and you can come up with many

other "tweaks" you could use to make 1 on 1 more purposeful.