17-seconds drill

This is a great drill to develop trapping abilities and defensive footwork within your team. It also works on transition play and encourages passing the ball while under heavy defensive pressure.

DIAGRAM 1: Position players as shown with a coach inbounding the ball on the baseline. Place two defenders on the baseline and have them try to disrupt the inbounding of the ball by the coach. The coach inbounds the ball to 1, and X1 and X2 immediately sprint at 1 to form a double-team trap. 1 must hold the ball until the double-team arrives.

DIAGRAM 2: 1 passes out of the double-team to 2, and the defenders sprint to quickly form a double-team trap on 2. 2 must wait for the double-team to arrive before he or she can pass to 3.

2 passes to 3 and the two defenders sprint toward 3 to form another double-team trap. 3 must wait for the double-team to arrive before passing to either 4 or 5.

DIAGRAM 3: 3 passes out of the double-team to either 4 or 5. Once 4 or 5 has the ball, they begin a 2-on-0 fast break transition going to other way, passing the ball back and forth until a layup is made. The players’ goal is to do the entire drill in less than 17 seconds. Coaches can come up with a reward system for deflections, turnovers or steals by the defensive players, giving them incentive to really attack with the double-team.

After the drill is completed, the defensive players become 4 and 5. 4 and 5 go on defense, while 1 and 2 move to the 2 and 3 spots.