Dominate the Inside Game
Post player drills to improve your offensive game down low

Part of being a great inside player is being a great rebounder. Pounding the offensive boards can get you tons of playing time and increase your scoring average.

Here are 5 secrets for becoming a big-time offensive rebounder.

Post player drills to improve your offensive game down low

The Mikan drill
If you play inside, your coach probably has already had you work on the Mikan drill. No matter how much you've worked on this drill, use it more. It's a great drill to build coordination, timing, jumping ability, and will help you improve your jump hook.

I think this drill is so important, I start every post player workout with it. Start off using one basketball, then move onto using two basketballs for this drill, and it becomes even more effective.

Drop steps
Work on doing drop steps (both to the baseline and to the middle of the floor) again and again. Think you're already good at it? That's fine...but you need to be great at it. Basketball is a game of footwork and coordination, and this is especially true about playing the post.

Practice your footwork, and doing drop steps, everytime you take the court. It helps build muscle memory, making the moves second nature so that when you take the court in a game, you don't even have to think about making the move. It'll just come naturally to you.

Heavy ball drills
Heavy ball drills are a great way to help develop stregth, stamina, and power inside. Using a heavy ball to work on drop steps, jump hooks, and rebounds and put-backs will make these moves that much easier to make with a regular basketball.

Here are some great drills to work on.
- Rebounding: throw the beavy ball against the backboard, rebound the ball and take it back up strong.
- Drop steps: toss the heavy ball out to yourself, grab it, and make a strong drop step to one side or the other.
- Mikan drill: use a heavy ball to do the Mikan drill, shooting left and right-handed baby hook shots one right after the other.

Rim or backboard taps
Rim or backboard tap drills are great timing, stamina, an jumping ability developing drills. Here's how they work: stand under the basket, and keeping your hand above your shoulders, jump up and touch the rim (or backboard, depending on your height and jumping ability) with both hands. Immediately after landing from your jump, jump up again and touch the rim. Repeat this 10 times. Rest for 1 minute, then repeat the drill.

If you can't touch the rim (or backboard) with both hands on each jump, try it with one hand.

Rim or backboard basketball taps
This is the same drill as above, but instead of touching the rim or the backboard with your hands, you'll hold a basketball, and tap it against the backboard.

Stand under the backboard to one side. Keep the ball at chest level, and jump up and tap the ball against the backboard. Immediately after landing, jump back up and tap it against the backboard. Do this 9 times, and on the 10th time, lay the ball up and off the board and into the basket.

Tip-ins
Try this tip-in drill to develoi your rebounding and tip-in ability. Throw the ball off the rim softly. Time your jump so that you can tip the ball back into the basket. Often, it's easier to tip the ball back off the backboard and into the basket than directly back into the basket.

Try this 5 times with your right hand, and five time with your left.

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