Behind the Back Dribble

It amazes me how much useful (and free) stuff there is online for basketball coaches and players.  The "Shot Science" (click here to access the Shot Science youtube.com channel, and click here to access the website) video above gives a detailed tutorial for the effective use of the behind the back dribble.

Through various full court "zig zag" drills and half court one on one "chair" drills, our players have practiced this move quite a bit.  I agree with Shot Science when they say that it is key to plant and explosively change directions when making the move.  Like Shot Science, I also talk to my players about "throwing the ball" out on the behind the back dribble and going to get it.  I called that "going somewhere."  I'm not so sure what they mean about the "wrap around" because the demonstration looks a lot like the "flat back" move being taught.  But that is a small point.

I also like to emphasize the importance of being able to attack with the dribble using both hands.  A good ball handler that can attack explosively with either hand can use this behind the back dribble, a cross over, or a spin move to create opportunities against almost any defender.  I tell my players that if they get low and attack with whichever hand they are already dribbling the ball with, the best the defender can do is stop the initial burst.  But most defenders will not be able to change directions and stop the drive again if the dribbler plants and explodes in the opposite direction with a solid behind the back, crossover, or spin dribble.

One of our players, Matt Miller, does a good job of using this "flat back" behind the back dribble, although we have never called the move by that name.  We have to give all of the credit to Shot Science for that creative name!

Watch these clips of Matt executing the move that the Shot Science team does such a good job of explaining: