Basketball Trap Drills

Deny, Trap and Corner

• Place a coach a few feet away from the foul line. Place one defender near the foul line, and another defender lower in the box. Instruct the player near the foul line to slide toward the coach with the basketball and be vocal about their defense. (Calling out "ball" or "deny.") The player should then slide back to their starting line and repeat this movement. On the second, third or fourth slide toward the coach, he should dribble and drive toward the corner, where the other defensive player waiting in the box seals off the baseline together with the first defender. Both defensive players should have their feet almost touching with their hands up. Once the coach has been successfully trapped, two more defensive players complete the drill. If you have enough personnel, you can run this drill on both sides of the court.

Half-Court Trap

• This trap is enacted when your team is in man-to-man defense. As the offensive player dribbles over half-court, his defender immediately encroaches, forcing the defender to dribble toward one sideline. The defender who is on the nearest offensive player then slides up to the ball handler and forms a "V" shape to trap him. The nearest defender in the key then slides to the open offensive player to cover a pass in that direction. The remaining two defensive players seal off passes through the middle of the key by floating until the basketball changes court direction. Practice with different players dribbling and defending this trap.

Full Court Trap

• This is also performed when playing man-to-man defense. The offensive team in-bounds the ball under its own basket with five players on each side. Rather than placing a defender on the offensive player in-bounding the ball, he hangs back several feet. As soon as the ball is thrown in, the loose defender automatically forms a trap with the man who is assigned to defend him. If the player dribbles, the defender should force him to the sideline and make a "V" shape, with his arms raised obstructing the view of the offensive player with the basketball. The remaining defenders move up to the closest players who might receive a pass and play man-on-man defense. However, once the trap is broken, the players must return to their man-to-man coverage as there will be one offensive player not covered.

Steal and Trap Drill

• This drill involves three players --- one offensive player and two defensive players. When the whistle is blown, an offensive player dribbles quickly toward half court. Both defensive players work together trying to poke or steal the basketball away until he reaches half court. Once the player reaches half court he must turn around and dribble back. However, the defensive players will now try and trap the player as he dribbles. The goal of the defense is to trap the player. The goal of the offensive player is to make it back to the start still dribbling.