Basketball Pick and Roll Drills

By Dr. James Gels, From the Coach’s Clipboard Basketball Playbook
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This page presents several pick and roll drills used by coach Jamie Dixon at TCU. These drills work on the various options that your screeners have, after the screen.

Pick and Roll Drill

The first drill is the standard pick and roll with the screener rolling to the hoop for the pass and lay-up (diagram 1). Notice that all of the following drills use post players on both blocks and guards at both wings.

The post player on the left block passes to the opposite wing, follows the pass, sets the ball-screen and they run the pick and roll. The roller should roll on a straight line to the hoop. When completed, the opposite post player on the right block passes out to the left wing (diagram 2), and sets the ball-screen and runs the pick and roll.

All of the these drills will have both sides alternate. The rotation is for guards to stay outside but switch sides, and post players stay inside while also switching sides.

Pick and Roll Drill - with Short Roll and Step-Through Move

This drill (diagram 3) is the same as above, but this time the screener gets the bounce-pass on a short roll at about the free-throw line. He/she makes a jump-stop and a shot-fake followed by a step-through move to the hoop.

Pick and Roll Drill - with Short Roll and Jump-Shot

This drill (diagram 4) again is the same as above, and the screener gets the bounce-pass on a short roll at about the free-throw line. This time, he/she makes a jump-stop and shoots the pull-up jump-shot.

Fake (Slip) Pick and Roll Drill

This drill (diagram 5) again is the same, but this time the screener fakes the screen, and sharply cuts back to the hoop for the pass from the guard and the lay-up or dunk. The screener really needs to sell this in order to fake the defender.

Pick and Pop with 3-Point Shot Drill

This time the screener, instead of rolling inside after the screen, pops out to the arc (diagram 6). The guard makes a couple dribbles over the screen and passes back to our post player spotting up for the 3-point shot.

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