POST MAN'S FAB FIVE

We got the following from a couple of coaches who love to share, Shane Dreiling and Creighton Burns. They sent me a nice mini-post workout from Coach Terry Battenberg. He has a web site -- www.coachbattenberg.com. Here is his post workout.

Like any other position in basketball, the post position requires an athlete be in peak condition to be successful. In this section, I will share some of the drills and training techniques that I have found to be successful with my post men over the years.

The Post Man's Fab Five
A great off-season and pre-season workout is what I call “The Post Man's Daily Four”. I Encourage my big men to do these drills as a warm up before attempting to work on any other parts of their game. If only a short amount of workout time is available, then these four drills are what should be done.

1. Rope Jumping:
A great warm up activity that helps with jumping, quickness, and coordination when done correctly is rope jumping. Start out at a slow pace and do around 50 jumps, then switch to 5 jumps on one leg at a time (right then left or vice-versa) for another 20 (4 X sets of 5). Next, move on to alternating jumps (right-left) for another set of 50, increasing the speed as you go along. Pattern jumping is a nice change of pace at this point. Jump in a box pattern and reverse it, or try an X pattern. This adds thinking to the timing involved in the work out. Finish with speed jumping, 100 as fast as possible. Avoid concrete surfaces and blacktop when possible. These surfaces are hard on joints (especially the knees), may cause shin splints and/or stress fractures in the lower legs and feet. Pick a more forgiving surface like the gym floor, a short, grassy area, or better yet, a rubberized surface that provides cushion.

2. Basic Four Post Moves:
Players can work on their moves by themselves or with a partner. Starting with the ball at the low post position, the player spins the ball out in front of him and pulls it under his chin area while looking to the baseline. From here, the post man will work on his four basic moves: 1) the drop step power lay-up, 2) the turn bank shot, 3) the jump hook over the top, or 4) a face-up favorite move. If a defender (partner) is used, he should not defend aggressively. He merely provides resistance by putting up his hands as a distraction and maybe bumps the shooter a little. Work both sides of the key area so as not to favor one over the other. Make 10 shots off each move before moving to the next.

3. Superman Drill:
This is a great conditioner and a fine way to improve scoring around the basket. The player starts on one side of the basket and goes up with the ball, scoring off the glass. He immediately crosses under the basket as he takes the ball out of the net and scores from the other side of the hoop. This is continued for 10 straight shots and the player challenges himself to make all 10 without a miss. At the completion of the sequence, he moves to the free throw line and shoots two free throws. If all 10 inside shots are made as well as both free throws, the player counts it as “one success point”. He then repeats the drill and tries for another “success point”. The goal is to get three points and a victory. This drill requires strict concentration and great effort or a miss is bound to happen. The post man must convert all 10 shots without a miss and then shoot two “pressure” free throws, or lose the point. This is a great motivator for all big men to become super inside scorers and super free throw shooters; thus the name- Superman Drill.

4. Mikan Drill
Regular and Reverse -- Go for a minute at a time. Then shoot 5 or 10 free throws to recover. Do this five times. Goal is 40 or more in a minute.

5. Free Throws:
Nothing finishes a good workout like a string of made free throws. If the Superman Drill has been a tough challenge for the post man, it is generally due to him missing free throws. Thus, more practice on this skill is required. Even if the player makes all of his free throws, six is not enough to keep him sharp. “Streakers” is the game I suggest for ending the workout. The big man shoots free throws, attempting to make a predetermined number in a row (a streak of successes). I suggest starting with 10 in a row as a beginning challenge and increasing the number by two after this goal becomes easy. Twenty to twenty-five is not an unusual number to set as a goal for an outstanding shooter. If the player runs out of time and does not reach his pre-determined goal, he would start with his highest score for that day, plus one, as his goal for the next day. Thus, if his best is nine today, he would aim for 10 in a row tomorrow. Never end a
“streak” while it is still going. See how many can be made in a row and keep track of a
personal best “streak”.

This is a great workout for all players -- perimeter and post alike.

MOVING IN THE LOW POST WITHOUT THE BALL

We cannot begin to say enough about the importance of moving without the basketball — but only if it is correct movement. As John Wooden once said, “Don’t mistake activity for achievement.” What “effective movement” without the basketball does is eliminate the move needed to create the shot once you receive the basketball. Don Nelson says that “Less is more,” in the paint. Also, if you move constantly and correctly, you force the defense to play behind you.

Most people think of moving without the basketball as something done by perimeter players but it is equally as important for post players. Movement without the basketball in the low post includes the following:

1. TRANSITION
We want our post players to be down the floor and to post up in less than four seconds. Beat the opposition down the floor for a basket or out hustle her and gain control of the box.

2. POST FLASH
We teach the use of the v-cut with a one-step set up to get from one side of the lane to the other. If the defender is high, we set up high and cut low; if the defender is low, we set up low and cut high.

3. PENETRATION READ
On dribble penetration, we want our post player to step away from the drive. If it is a baseline drive, we want to buttonhook (slide post up the lane and open to the ball for a possible pass); on a direct drive down the lane, extend to the short corner.

4. DRIVE AND SEAL
This is used when the low post is opposite the basketball. On ball reversal such as a swing pass or skip pass, we want to turn and face our defender and drive her into the paint for a seal-in.

4 PHASES TO MASTER IN POST PLAY

We wish we could take the credit for the following list but they are a direct result of us attending the Don Meyer Coaching Academy for over a decade. Coach Meyer has turned out some of the best post players in collegiate basketball.

Each day we try to work in some capacity with our post players to master the four following phases of offensive post play:

1. GET OPEN IN YOUR SCORING AREA

It does no good to get open in an area where you are not effective. Know your range and your most effective shots and get open in an area where you can score.

2. SEAL—MAKE AND KEEP CONTACT

Effective sealing means that you are open in the post from some vantage point on the court. It also means that you are controlling your defender instead of her controlling you. Sealing also means that you always know where your defender is (through contact), and that is extremely important.

3. CATCH THE BASKETBALL

This sounds very simple, but there are a lot of post players on all levels of play that have everything necessary to be an effective post player but they simply can’t catch the ball. There are a lot of drills to work on hands. Don’t accept bad hands. All players can improve their hands and their ability to catch the basketball.

4. SCORE SIMPLY

Too many players take an easy shot and turn it into a difficult shot. Some players don’t understand the concept of getting a simple shot and don’t work accordingly. The best move is to not to have to use a move...to work so effectively that all you have to do is catch and score.