Basketball - The Wall Drill

Dick Moss

The Wall Drill

The Wall Drill was used by Pete Carril, when he coached at Princeton, as a way to make his athletes play as a team on defense. It also developed the ability of his ballhandlers to break a defensive press with the dribble.

Many of coach Carril's former players have said that this was the most effective defensive drill they performed while at Princeton.

How to Perform
It's basically a five-on-one drill. One player brings the ball up the court. Five defensive players are on the opposite end of the court.

The defensive players swarm player with the ball while the ballhandler dribbles up the court. It's the job of the defensive players to make a steal. It's the job of the ballhandler to dribble up the court without committing a turnover.

No shots are taken and there are not backcourt or foul calls. Once the ball is advanced up to the hoop, or a steal is made, rotate positions.

This drill forces your players to work together on defense. And it teaches ballhandlers to break a press using the dribble.

Options
Make passing a factor in the drill by adding one additional offensive player and allowing the offensive pair only to pass or dribble.

References

1. Pete Carril, The Wall Drill, 5-Star Hoops Website, 2007. http://www.5starhoops.com

2. Alexandru Radu, Basketball Coaching: Putting Theory Into Practice, Kindle Edition, Bloomsbury Sport, 2015.

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