Developing Post Play for the Inexperienced

For the fourth consecutive off-season I sat down with BST Trainer Steve Boudreau (Boudah). The other day I wrote about the value of networking with coaches face to face. The inspiration for that post came from the many important nuggets that Boudah has shared with me including post play. He originally introduced me to Mike Neighbors newsletter. The Neighbors influence is partially what led me to blog about all things basketball and grow as a reader. I asked him in this meeting about ways that he is currently growing and about introducing a post-game to players.

New Ideas

The first thing that Boudah mentioned to me is that he is an avid follower of Jon Demarco’s #GBetBBChat. He said he rarely looks at the Tweets live, but he will search out the questions and answers afterward. Earlier this spring I talked to Coach DeMarco. The wealth of knowledge that he has and access to knowledge that he is providing coaches with is making his chats a must read on Twitter. You can follow him on Twitter @Coach_DeMarco.

Additionally, Boudah made reference to an increasing open-mindedness to closeout technique. He still will teach players to have short and choppy steps with two high hands. That said, he understands why some coaches are teaching players to leave their feet and try to get vertical. He also mentioned the hockey stop technique, which he explained to me eliminates the time risk associated with short and choppy steps. Given the evolution of the game today, it makes sense that there could be coaches out there who make priority number one get players off the three-point line at any cost.

Post Play 101

The first thing that Boudah advocated was that often times players with post play skills would bypass opportunities to post after making a cut through the lane. Instead of sitting down in the block, they would let their momentum carry them into a less advantageous position. This is something he tries to confront after players make the mistake. In terms of breakdown drills, his goal is to teach three things. The drop step, a jump hook, and always advocate that players use one dribble maximum. As players become more comfortable, Boudah believes that reposting is more effective than when players originally catch the ball in the post.

He also showed me a really important and simple drill to develop post passing. Something that we often take for granted as coaches is that players can throw a post entry pass. Post play will not happen until teammates make it happen. In this era of basketball, post play is increasingly becoming a lost art and players are less capable of post passing as a result.

In this particular diagram, the five does not have a player defending. This can be modified as you see fit. Alternatively it could benefit you to simplify it and start out with a coach under the hoop and no defender on the ball. Depending on what players are taught, you could also simulate the action after the post entry. Rick Torbett teaches the passer to cut on either side of the post (Laker cut). Other coaches teach the strong-side baseline to always cut and everyone else to fill. Regardless, it is imperative to keep players out of the habit of watching.

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