I hate having a good defensive possession, making an offense shoot a contested shot and then have a foul call on the shot giving the offense free throws. This drives me crazy. So, I was trying to figure out how can I teach players to be physical on inside shots but not foul. I wanted players to know how to close off the space an offensive player has but do it in a way where they can contest the shot but not foul the shooter.
This Wall Up Drill is quick and easy and every player can get a couple of reps in a very quick amount of time. This works on the defender closing the space, bodying the offensive player, and staying straight up without fouling. At the same time, it works for the offensive player in learning how to finish over somebody. I use this drill at the beginning of the season to get the players to wall up properly. Then I will use every so often to reinforce that physical inside play without fouling.
The drill is simple. One defender standing underneath the basket or right in front of the basket. Two offensive players on the block. One passer at the free throw line. Every other player is in line on the baseline. The passer throws the ball to one of the offensive players. The defender steps to the offensive player and uses their body to make contact while their hands and arms go straight up in the air. The offensive player absorbs the impact and makes the shot.
The key to the drill is the defender using their body and not their hands or arms to make the contact. The hands and arms need to also be straight up. Refs will call fouls if the arms are lowered at an angle to the shooter. The defender needs to be quick to close out the space but also do this without fouling. Any fouls negates everything else I am trying to teach here.
Once the defender closes out the space and the offensive player finishes through the body contact then the players rotate and the drill continues. Once the players learn the rotations, the drill can move very fast and get everybody through the line numerous times in a very short amount of time.
The defender replaces the offensive player they just went up against. The offensive player moves to the back of the line. A new defender steps up under the basket. The ball is given back to the passer and the drill repeats. A team of about 10 players can go through this drill 2 or 3 times within a matter of minutes. It does not take a lot of practice time.
The benefits of this drill are great. It will have less fouls being called on your time. It will reduce the amount of free throws the opponents will be shooting. It teaches how to be physical around the basket which can have opposing teams become frustrated because what they think should be fouls are not being called. I have seen many teams and players get very upset because contact is being made but not called a foul. This is because our team have worked on how to to do this without having fouls called on us. If teams are not ready for it, then it can really frustrate teams.
This is a great drill that should be used for every team. It is quick and easy so it is not going to take a lot of time but the rewards are many. This is one of the first drills I start with in teaching defense every year to my team. It teaches a lot of good things without taking up a lot of time. It makes practices very efficient. So, take this and use it and you will see the positive results throughout the season.
