Basketball Full Court Drills – 321 Drill

One of the basketball full court drills that I find useful is what we call the 321 drill. It’s a full court drill that starts with 2 defenders at the far end of the court and 3 offensive players on the near court.

The drill starts with a basketball coach shooting from the free throw line. The 3 offensive players rebound the basketball and start a 3 on 2 fastbreak. The 2 defenders must communicate who will “take ball” and then work to defend against numbers.

Whichever offensive player shoots the ball, he/she must then sprint/retreat back down to the near court and they now become a defensive player. The original 2 defenders have to rebound/gain control of the ball once the offense shoots and then those 2 defenders become offensive players and start and 2 on 1 fast break. The remaining 2 original offensive players stay down on the far court and will become defenders for the next group.

During the 2 on 1 break, once someone shoots, the next 3 players in line grab the rebound from this shot and take off down court, starting a new 3 on 2 break. This drill continues on like this until the coach decides its time to move on.

What’s nice about this basketball drill is it involves fast, continuous motion and requires the players to communicate with each other. It also helps in conditioning the players since they’re running the length of the court.