How to Develop Great Guard Play & Drills in Basketball
Guard play is often the determining factor when it comes to winning and losing at the high school level. In order to get more out of your guards, you have to challenge them in practice to think two or three steps ahead of the game and teach them how to set up the defense for a successful play. You can do this with a number of drills in practice to get your guards to improve their skills.
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Instructions
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Demand top ball-handling from your point guard. Give your point guard two basketballs to work on his dribbling. Have him dribble from the baseline under his own basket to the the top of the three-point line. Once at the three-point line, put one of the balls to the side and then continue to the free-throw line and throw a bounce pass to a forward waiting in either corner. Do this five times, take a 30-second break and then repeat the drill five more times.
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Do the chair drill to improve ball handling. Set up five chairs every three feet in the back court. Go to the right of the first chair, the left of the second chair and follow in that pattern until you reach half-court. At that point, keep going to the right elbow of the free-throw line and then whip a pass to the left wing to an awaiting teammates. After finishing that drill, do the same thing to the left side.
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Drive to the free-throw line, take two more dribbles and shoot. It's not enough for top-level guards to handle the ball and pass to open teammates. Sometimes the guard has to create and take his own shots. Set up a chair at the top of the key and drive to it at top speed. Spin and take two dribbles to the right and elevate to take a jump shot. A point guard who can shoot and score will open things up for his teammates.
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Work the quick pass drill to improve your distribution. It's one thing to find the open man and give him a pass, but it's quite another thing to do it on the run and pass quickly. In order to improve your passing ability, work with two teammates and two defenders. Start in the back court and make it a point to pass to the open man as soon as you see him open. That means the instant a player starts to break away from the defender you must feed him. This drill requires quick decision making because waiting until you are "sure" your teammate is open is waiting too long. You have to get him the ball quickly in order to become an outstanding guard.
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Tips & Warnings
Have fun when you are playing. Basketball requires vision and quick decision-making. If you are worried about it, you will lose your "feel" for the game.
