An All-Purpose 12-Player Practice and Pre-Game Drill.

EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE A basketball coach will design a drill that will not only captivate his players, but catch the appreciative eye of the spectators.

The Sprayberry shooting drill falls into this category. It is a great drill that incorporates a lot of fundamentals, including passing, screening, rebounding, a patterned movement, and, of course, shooting.

A drill that involves 12 players, four balls, and a lot of movement, it was designed as a competitive shooting drill (the players compete against the clock to score a prescribed number of shots) and has now become a very popular pre-game warm-up drill.

As you can see in Diag. 1, players 1-6 set up in a straight line about 25 feet out from the basket in the middle of the floor. Players 7 and 8 set up at the elbows, 9 and 10 in opposite corners outside the three-point arc, and 11 and 12 at the sidelines near midcourt. Players 1-4 each have a basketball.

The drill is initiated by #7 setting a screen for #9, who cuts off it for a pass from #1. The latter follows his pass, then replaces #7 at the elbow, while #7 replaces #9 in the corner.

Diag. 2: #9 shoots the ball or drives to the goal, as #8 screens for #10, who cuts off the screen for a pass from #2. #9 recovers his own rebound and dribbles behind the baseline to the opposite corner, as shown in Diag. 3.

As #10 shoots the ball, #1 screens for #7, #9 throws a skip pass to #11, who chest-passes the ball to the next player in line without a ball (#5). Both #9 and #11 follow their pass to the next spot.

Diag. 4: The pattern continues with #7 shooting the ball, #10 rebounding his shot and dribbling opposite to throw a skip pass to #12. #8 comes off #2's screen for a pass from #4, and #12 throws a chest pass to #6 and follows to the back of the line behind #11.

Some of the coaching points we emphasize:

Communication. The player setting the downscreen calls out the name of the player for whom he is screening, while the player coming off the screen calls for the ball.

Setting and using screens. The screener executes a wide base jumpstop and the cutter sets up his man with a jab step before coming "shoulder to shoulder" off the screen. (We add the "curl" and "fade" moves as well.)

Throwing crisp passes. We emphasize hard, accurate passes:

1. Pass to shooter delivered to the shooter's target hand.

2. Overhead skip pass down the sideline.

3. Hard chest-pass from sideline to the middle lane.

Catching the ball in the triple-threat position. Player coming off screen is taught to keep his hips down and be low and quick. Immediately upon catching, he is expected to square to the basket in the triple-threat position. We stress proper footwork in catching the ball and sharp shot fakes.

When used as a warmup, the drill has the players go through the following progression of shots:

1. Shot fake/drive baseline.

2. Shot fake/drive middle.

3. Shot fake/one dribble pullup toward the baseline.

4. Shot fake/one dribble pullup toward the middle.

5. Catch and shoot off the screen.

6. Catch and shoot the three off the screen.

Whether used in practice or as a game warmup, the drill has become a favorite of both players and fans. For coaches, it provides a lot of work on fundamentals and offers good opportunities for teaching.