“Who Let the Dogs Out?”

As far as what I see in high school and college basketball practices, rebounding drills can be divided into two categories: Drills that focus on the basic fundamentals of rebounding, and Competitive Drills. Fundamental drills break down the basic movements necessary for rebounding while competitive drills allow players to put those fundamentals into game-like action. 

However, there is a third category almost no one knows about. This category is sandwiched between the other two and is rarely seen in any basketball practice. We will call it the “Rebound Transition” Category for lack of a better term. The purpose of teaching in this stage is, it is here, and only here, a player transitions from performing the rebounding basics (i.e. footwork, pivoting, blocking out, jumping, landing, obtaining possession) to putting those fundamentals into practice (improved rebounding in competition). But we rarely see any coach teaching in this category. This may be a reason many players don’t make the transition.

Here is good news. In the Rebounding Transition category lies one of the best rebounding drills in existence. It certainly is one of the best I’ve ever seen and it was always my favorite. I made more progress, while being involved in this drill, than in any other. There is no doubt in my mind, without this drill, I would not have been able to take the basics and make them work during games. This drill does not have a name but it is high time we gave it one. We will call it, “Who Let the Dogs Out?”

This will be the shortest blog posting I’ve ever done. There is no need to insert basketball diagrams to show you how this works. It’s easy. Every coach practices the offense without defense. When coaches do this with all five players, we call it “5-on-0 (five offensive players against no defensive players).” When we break it into pieces, we call it “2-on-0,” “3-on-0,” and “4-on-0.” It is while running any of these drills that a coach should “Let the Dogs Out.” Here’s how it works.

Whenever a shot goes up, the three players responsible for rebounding instantly forget they are on the same team. Like hound dogs that see a rabbit and are released from their cages, they crash the board and it is each man for himself. Whoever gets the ball tries to score while the others try to stop him. While at UCLA, Walton and I literally beat each other up doing this. While with the Lakers, Kareem and I…… well, Kareem didn’t like that drill very much. Rather, Kurt Rambis and I almost killed each other. Normally, the drill ends when one player scores but a coach can tailor it as he or she likes. 

Any further explanation would simply be wasting your time. You get the idea. One more thing:
Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! 

Swen