Us the key as your work area. Instruct your player that he or she needs to come right at you and cannot leave the painted area. The defender should stand in the middle of the key towards the top with a blocking pad. Attack the defender from a straight line. Using an in-out dribble, between the leg dribble, behind the back dribble, or a cross-over dribble the ball handler should get you to lean one direction and attack you in the opposite direction attacking your hip. Ideally if he or she can also take you out of the play momentarily by getting as close to your outside foot and stepping over that foot it is preferred. This will eliminate the slide defensive move and force him or her to drop step. The object is to stay low with the ball and blow by the defender. The ball handler should use the blocking pad to absorb whatever contact that is created when attacking the hip. To start out the defender should not try and take a charge but rather move the pad to the attack side. The ball handler should initiate contact with the pad using his guide arm to protect his body and his dribble. Mastering this will help you drive the key and get to the free throw line. The emphasis on this drill is the set up, whether it is out of triple threat or off of the dribble. Most decent players can defensive slide in a short area so the set up is important to gain those much needed few inches it will take to get by the defense or draw a blocking foul.
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