This is one of my favorite drills to run to get players playing hard and getting a good competitive competition going in practice. It is also a great drill to use in practice because 15 players will be involved in the drill at all times. This is putting a lot of players on the floor practicing. In a practice with a JV and Varsity team, this drill will get almost every player playing a competitive drill with very few players standing and watching. This 5 on 5 on 5 drill really maximizes practice time.
5 on 5 on 5 Drill has 3 teams of 5 players all playing at the same time. The players will stay with their team for the duration of the drill. I will make it competitive by setting a winning score of ten points. Every basket is worth 1 point no matter if it is a 3-point shot or 2-point shot made.
I will also give points to teams to make up the difference in skill level. For instance if the teams are the Varsity starters against the Varsity backups versus the JV team, then I will have the varsity starters start at 0 points, the varsity backups start with 3-5 points and the JV team start with 7-8. As the drill is played, I will change the starting points to try and make it as competitive as possible.
My goal is to have all teams with 8-9 points before the winning basket is scored. When the drill is coming down to a single basket, then all 3 teams are going to be playing hard to either score to win the drill or get a stop to continue the drill. It is easy to see what players rise to the competitive challenge and which players struggle with pressure. This drill creates a game similar pressure in practice for the players.
The drill starts with all 3 teams on the floor at the same time. Team A has the ball to start all lined up across half-court. Teams B and C are on either end waiting to play defense. Team A moves into the half-court where Team B is waiting. Teams A and B plays a possession with Team A on offense and Team B on defense. The possession continues until either Team A scores a basket or Team gets a turnover or defensive rebound.
During the possession, if the defensive team is able to get a turnover or a defensive rebound, then they will take off now playing offense to the other end of the court where Team C are waiting. Team A will stay in this half-court while Teams B and C are playing out a possession.
In the picture above player B1 is able to get a steal. As soon as the possession changes, all members of Team B will take off to the other end to play offense. Team C will start guarding Team B as they make they way down the court in transition.
If the possession ends with a turnover or defensive rebound, then the defensive team getting the ball will have to learn how to transition against a defense waiting for them. This eliminates transition basketball, but it makes the new offensive team learn how to play and move when they are transitioning out of offensive shape. Players have to communicate to get the floor spaced correctly to run the offense.
What happens if the two offensive wings are on the same side? How do they figure out how to get one to the other side? Is there a rim runner? What happens if both post players are in front of the ball? These transition questions all have to be answered by the team and coach. 5 on 5 on 5 will give these different looks in practice to work on so the players can execute in games when things are not set up correctly.
If the offense is able to score in the possession, then they will keep the ball and stay on offense. In the picture above, Team B scored against Team C, so B4 is taking the ball out of bounds while the other three Team B members have already ran down to the other end of the court waiting for the ball to be brought down. Team C stays on defense on the same end waiting for Teams A and B to finish the next possession.
As I said earlier, I keep the scores of each team. The only way for a team to score a point is by making a basket. A defensive stop gets a team the chance to go on offense. A team is only able to score on offense. So, a team has to get a defensive stop to earn the right to go on offense to score.
The 5 on 5 on 5 drill is able to be adjusted to fit the team’s needs. As the coach, I will sometimes make every team play a certain defense. If we are learning a new defense or getting ready to play a team that runs a certain defense, then we will run 5 on 5 on 5 and make everybody play that defense. This gets every player reps going against a man defense or 2-3 zone defense or any defense that we need to work on.
I will also give each team the freedom to run any offense or play that they want. This puts the players in charge of running the offense. They have to make choices and decisions on what they think will be the most successful. This helps me as a coach to see which plays the players like more and what plays they like when they need to get a basket.
Overall, this 5 on 5 on 5 drill is a great half-court offense versus defense drill that gets all players involved in practice at the same time. It gets really competitive amongst the players. From my experience, this is a drill that the players love. They get to compete in practice so practice does not feel like practice. While this may not be an everyday practice drill, this is a drill that I keep coming back too because my teams have always gotten a lot of benefit out of this drill.
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