2-Steps to Success

Example 1: Your player is a great finisher, but can't get past their defender to get to the rim!

Example 2: Your player is a great ball handler and athletic attacker, but can't finish when they get to the rim!

Most coaches know this, so I am not breaking any earth shattering news to you...

But what most coaches do - knowing this is an important combination - is never separate finishing from the use of a dribble approach!

Epiphany #2 - 2-Step finishing
In 2015 I started working with Integrity Hoops under Noah LaRoche, and first saw the impact of "2-step finishes" (Hint: Noah is also a 100% simplifier).

The concept is simple, based on a fundamental basketball rule:

You are allowed 2 steps after picking up your dribble

What Noah did, was simply provide players a chance to get hundreds more repetitions at the last 2 steps into each type of finish, without the complication of a dribble getting in the way. Brilliant!

This is an example of a more general concept I have come to call "Zooming in" - creating hyper-focus attempts on a small chunk of a skill to achieve mastery faster.

Once the final 2 steps are working, "connecting the dots" back to footwork and ball handling skills that lead into the same final 2-step patterns already established is much easier for the player.

The sequence we now use, is as follows:

1. 2-step finishes
2. 1 dribble, 3 step finishes
3. Spot up catch & drive finishes
4. Scissor step drive finishes
5. L-Step Crossover drive finishes

Once the final 2 steps are mastered, the focus on footwork and dribble timing is all that we need to create attack opportunities that lead to each of our 3 combinations we discussed in my last post!

The best part is, you only have 2 feet - so the final attack dribble is either going to be with same side hand and foot, or opposite hand and foot, and using the 2-step rule sets up a natural default finish footwork based on that dribble.

If your player needs more "Zoomed in" focused attention, sign up now for our Layup Maker 2.0 Launch coming October 1st!

See you on the court,

Coach BJ


P.S. In my next post I will explain Epiphany #3 and how an NBA player changed their thinking about bad shots around the rim...
Read on: Layup Maker Story #5: Making Lemonade