Instagram drills are the creative, marketable drills within a private training session, but presumably only constitute a small part of the training. Trainers who post these drills as their marketing bear some responsibility for the criticism they receive and the conclusions that are drawn, even when the social media content shows seconds of an hour workout, on average. Assuming these drills are used in a reasonable proportion and with a purpose, the IG mentality, not the drills, is the much greater problem.
Several years ago, I took over a team with two point guards. The younger (one year apart) was quicker, longer, with a better handle, a better finisher, and a more creative passer. Others in the club tempered my enthusiasm. The older point guard was physically stronger and sturdier, a marginally better shooter, more experienced, and played better defense. The younger player would have scored higher on an isolated skill ranking.
He played with an IG mentality. He used every opportunity to isolate on defenders and attempt every move he practiced with his trainer. His goal appeared to be beating his own player as much as winning the game. Maybe developing this confidence and the accompanying skills should be the goal of an U18 team. Maybe trying moves from practice should be more of the goal in youth basketball. The problem, of course, occurs when every player wants to try his moves and nobody passes. The game becomes your turn, my turn, like a bad pickup game. There has to be a balance. Winning does not have to be the only goal, but learning to play winning basketball is part of player development too.
Individual training begets individual players, especially when drills require players to look at the ground to pick up or avoid cones. Coaches criticize players, AAU, and their AAU coaches every summer because of over-dribbling and lack of passing, but individual training often includes solely dribbling, individual moves, shot creation, and shooting with little to no off-ball play and passing. Many trainers specialize in moves, and especially dribbling moves, as did the younger point guard’s trainer. Move after move broken down into progression after progression that were, in isolation, well-conceived, but in totality missed the purpose. This training begets an IG mentality. No points are awarded for dribbles completed. The dribble is not the end, but used to create a better pass or shot.
Moves are individual style. There is no single way to execute a crossover dribble. Not every player should cross over in the same way and players should not cross over the same way every time. “There is no singular, ideal technique. Technique is the pattern of the movement, which is integral to the skill, but is not the whole skill. Skill involves reading the situation and making the correct decision in addition to performing the necessary movements,” (Knapp, 1963). More specifically, technique is any coordination pattern or the manner in which the neuromuscular system organizes movement (Bennett & Fransen, 2024). Skill adapts the coordination pattern to produce functional and beneficial outcomes in the specific context (Bennett & Fransen, 2024). A crossover move at a cone is a technique, a movement pattern; a crossover in a game is a skill, as the player adapts to the defense to find a functional and beneficial outcome.
Focusing solely on the technique, there are two general ways to improve dribbling: First, you improve your general dribbling, and second you can improve your specific moves. General dribbling improvements enhance specific moves, but improving specific moves does not necessarily improve general dribbling skill.
For example, many players develop a good hesitation move as a compensation for a lack of ball control. They make their crossover and instead of controlling the ball in their finger pads and calluses, the ball rides into their palm and wrists. The hesitation gives them time to regain control to make the next move, whether attacking straight ahead, shooting, or making another move. The hesitation works as a move, and they continue to improve their deception, which often improves the move during a game, but does nothing to improve their ball control. Improving their ball control — the ability to receive a dribble in the pads and calluses with control to enhance optionality — enhances a hesitation move, and also makes a reliance on the hesitation unnecessary.
Many of my isolated ball-handling drills focus on ball control and the reception of the dribble after a move. When trainers post themselves or their players doing drills, my eyes focus on the reception of the dribble, which is my measure of ball control. Many expert ball-handlers have average ball control, but extreme quickness and speed. Their explosive first step and deception hides a weakness, and often the weakness is never addressed because of their success. Many drills are designed to accommodate this crutch with players making a one-two move then hesitating or raising up in between repetitions. They shift the focus right as the drill gets hard or challenges their weakness. They focus on the move, not the underlying elements to improve their overall technique.
Ball control is not the only element of general dribbling technique. Players can improve general speed with the ball, which often is among the first goals of coaches once players have competent control of bouncing the ball. Players move from stationary to walking to running to running faster, generally within the first practice or two. Players also can improve their quickness, both their general hand quickness with the ball, but also their footwork and posture to accentuate this quickness. Players who improve their ball control, speed with the ball, hand quickness, and footwork will improve their individual moves, regardless of their preference or style. These general improvements essentially raise the floor of their moves, and also give players more confidence with the ball. Improving one specific move improves the one move and may create a go-to move to give players confidence, but the improvements are limited.
The IG mentality focuses only on the moves and acquiring newer and better moves without a focus on the general dribbling or the end of the move. I use drills similar to those posted online, such as the triple-move drill. The problem is not the drills, but the emphasis, the goals, and the purpose. I specifically instruct players not to think of the drill as a game move. The drill is not about deception, but quickness with the ball.
These drills serve a purpose. They solve a problem. They are the beginning, not the end. Ultimately, there are no individual skills in basketball; everything is an interaction. We remove the defense to isolate a specific part of the skill, what the influencers refer to as a micro skill. That is just the beginning, the warmup. The real practice is the application of the improved ball control and quickness to moves against defenders, whether through one-vs-one full-court or in open-court drills such as Foster’s one-vs-one. Winning basketball does not preclude isolating one-vs-one and working on moves, but players must learn how to use the dribble efficiently and effectively to create the end product, not just to make moves for style points.
Below is an article I wrote, which was published in Winning Hoops in September 2002. I edited only slightly to shorten, and included videos to replace some of the original drill descriptions.
The Next Dribble
In our basketball culture, ball-handling has taken on a life of its own, as evidenced by the And 1 tapes, which put a premium on “handles and hops” and “look for players to embarrass each other.” However, in the new lexicon of ball handling terms, moves and teaching points, the next dribble has been ignored. This dribble allows a player to use his tight handle to blow past a defender, even more than the actual move. The next dribble often prevents players from possessing a tight handle because they disregard the importance of this dribble.
I yelled at ball-handlers to keep the crossover below their knees when I started coaching, as do many coaches. When I thought about it, the instruction made no sense. Of course the crossover is below my knees: it bounces on the ground. As I thought about word usage and teaching points, I developed the next dribble, which explains the below-the-knees crossover.
The next dribble is exactly as it sounds: The dribble following the move, whether a crossover, through-the-legs, or behind-the-back.The dribble should take the player past the defender. If you watch most players on any type of move, the ball comes up on their palms and wrists before they fully gain control. Also, study their bodies. Most naturally lower their stances for one dribble — the move — but return to a more upright stance as soon as the ball is transferred from hand to hand. Between straightening up and the lack of ball control, the player is slowed and unable to explode past the defender.
By emphasizing the next dribble, players develop better ball control and can attack a defender more quickly. First, maintain the lower stance through the next dribble after the move. By staying low, the next dribble is quicker, and the player can take a longer first step past the defender, cutting off the recovery angle. Second, gain better ball control so the ball remains in the fingertips and calluses. By gaining this control, the player is able to immediately push forward with the dribble, eliminating the natural hesitation caused by the ball rolling up the palm and wrist.
The main drills I use to concentrate on this aspect of ball handling are double moves, such as the scissors dribble, and the one-dribble crossover. To put two moves back-to-back, the ball-handler must gain control quickly after the first move. The ball rolling up the wrist slows the ball-handler and hampers his ability to execute the double move. The goal is to keep the ball in the calluses and fingertips, while moving forward.
SCISSORS DRIBBLE
Dribble through the legs on every dribble. No extra dribbles. Dribble in a straight line and work on quickness. Push the ball forward as soon as the ball contacts his hand, eliminating the slight hesitation.
BETWEEN THE LEGS-AROUND THE BACK
No extra dribbles. No stutter steps. Dribble with the right hand through his legs, then immediately dribble around the back with the left hand. Continue for the length of the court. Dribble in a fairly straight line and increase speed with proficiency. The shoulder should not rise up as they dribble around the back, which is an easy sign of lack of control. Repeat with left hand through the legs and right hand around the back.
ONE DRIBBLE CROSSOVERS
This drill should be done at full speed. Reduce the hesitation between dribbles. Dribble in a slight zigzag. Each dribble goes somewhere. Take one dribble in between each crossover. Stay in a stance throughout: No up and down motion with the head. Start with a right hand dribble followed by a hard crossover to the left hand. Continue forward with no hesitation for one dribble with the left hand, then crossover. Plant and cut on each direction change; no squiggly lines. Minimize the hesitation with the plant and cut.
References
Bennett, K.J., & Fransen, J. (2024). Distinguishing skill from technique in football. Science and Medicine in Football, 8(4), 397-400.
Knapp, B. (2024). Skill in sport: The attainment of proficiency. Routledge.