Turn Out Shooting Drill

The Turn Out Shooting Drill is an activity focusing on the footwork and shooting competence of players from mid-range once they turn out and up of a screen or cutting situation. The Turn Out Shooting Drill provides a high number of repetitions in a short period of time for maximum player benefit. If your team is struggling for consistency when using the turn out technique then this drill can be a very useful way of improving this situation quickly.

The Turn Out Shooting Drill starts with two lines of players on the edge of the middle lane.

The second player in each line starts with a basketball ready to make the pass.

The first player in the line dives to the basket and loops around a cone set-up at the double or low block depending on the situation trying to be recreated from a team’s own playbook.

As the cutter lifts and begins to turn back towards the keyway the pass must be made in perfect timing for a game realistic scenario to unfold.

Passers must utilise the triple threat stance when passing. If you find the passers are becoming restless then add another layer of complexity by asking them to pass off making a dribble towards the point position and then crossing over before attempting the pass. The more movement involved the harder the timing becomes.

Once the shot is taken, an option worth exploring is having the shooter move towards the front of the basket over the top of the cone. This is a useful extension of the Turn Out Shooting Drill and mirrors the positioning of a commonly used rebounding triangle in defensive transition.

Points of Emphasis

• The initial cut must be made at game pace; regularly players will take this situation slow because they feel within a 1 v 0 situation they do not have to work as hard
• As the cutter comes within one to two steps of the cone they need to utilise small stutter steps so they can slow quickly while still maintaining balance and control of their body
• Once the cutter is in line with the cone the closest foot to the cone must be stepped out to directly under the position of the cone; this foot will now become the pivot on which the turnout is executed. The position of the foot should see it in between the cone and the baseline.
• This positioning of the pivot foot is also very important to game situations as this is what makes the turn out so effective by creating no space between the screen and the cutter for a defender to move through.
• From this position the player will start to flare to the double block extended position for a mid-range shot
• Again planting the same foot as earlier and pivoting to face up to the basket
• The passer needs to time the pass so as the pivot foot makes contact with the floor the ball is released for the pass so it can be caught and momentum from the turn out used to create a quick release shot

Trouble Shooting

Common problems experienced when using the Turn Out Shooting Drill are:

• Players not practicing at game speed
• Players not taking the opportunity in a 1 v 0 situation to refine their footwork and become quicker in performing the turn out technique
• Players not utilising their momentum to help with elevation and speed of the jump shot
• During the shot fading away from the basket because they did not use early preparation and get low enough into the pivot for the shot and so have lost balance

To add some further challenge to the Turn Out Shooting Drill replace the cone with a defensive player so now the drill provides a one on one finishing situation.

To ensure the Turn Out Shooting Drill still fulfills its purpose the defender cannot move until the offensive player is outside of the keyway (both feet). This will provide enough time for the offensive player to gain some separation between themselves and the defender.

In the situation the offensive player will need to ensure their lift is more up the keyway and at pace or the ball will be intercepted.

An advantage of this situation will be players will develop secondary moves outside of the primary option of just using a jump shot.

The Turn Out Shooting Drill is a good drill for a very specific individual offense technique. A commonly used skill that is often poorly implemented so players only associate it with a jump shot. If using the Turn Out Shooting Drill and implementing the defender scenario players will be more competent at being able to play to what is happening around them then just simply catching and shooting in autopilot all the time.

Related articles

• Chaser Turn Out Screen Drill
• Three Target Passing Drill
• Curl and Passing Drill
• The Beat the Player Dribbling Drill
• 2 Player Circle Shooting Drill