The Post Man's Daily Four

A great off-season and pre-season workout is what I call “The Post Man's Daily Four”.
I encourage my big men to do these drills as a warm up before attempting to work on
any other parts of their game. If only a short amount of workout time is available, then
these four drills are what should be done.

1. Rope Jumping:

A great warm up activity that helps with jumping, quickness, and coordination when
done correctly is rope jumping. Start out at a slow pace and do around 50 jumps, then
switch to 5 jumps on one leg at a time (right then left or vice-versa) for another 20
(4 X sets of 5). Next, move on to alternating jumps (right-left) for another set of 50,
increasing the speed as you go along. Pattern jumping is a nice change of pace at this
point. Jump in a box pattern and reverse it, or try an X pattern. This adds thinking to the
timing involved in the work out. Finish with speed jumping, 100 as fast as possible.
Avoid concrete surfaces and blacktop when possible. These surfaces are hard on
joints (especially the knees), may cause shin splints and/or stress fractures in the
lower legs and feet. Pick a more forgiving surface like the gym floor, a short, grassy
area, or better yet, a rubberized surface that provides cushion.

2. Basic Four Post Moves:

For a complete explanation of the Basic Four Post Moves, check out one of my Post Man books:
The Complete Book of Basketball Post Play or my new book (coming in 2007), Power Post Play .

Players can work on their moves by themselves or with a partner. Starting with the ball at the
low post position, the player spins the ball out in front of him and pulls it under his chin area
while looking to the baseline. From here, the post man will work on his four basic moves:
1) the drop step power lay-up, 2) the turn bank shot, 3) the jump hook over the top, or 4) a face-up
favorite move. If a defender (partner) is used, he should not defend aggressively. He merely
provides resistance by putting up his hands as a distraction and maybe bumps the shooter a little.
Work both sides of the key area so as not to favor one over the other.

3. Superman Drill:

This is a great conditioner and a fine way to improve scoring around the basket. The player starts
on one side of the basket and goes up with the ball, scoring off the glass. He immediately crosses
under the basket as he takes the ball out of the net and scores from the other side of the hoop.
This is continued for 10 straight shots and the player challenges himself to make all 10 without
a miss. At the completion of the sequence, he moves to the free throw line and shoots two free
throws. If all 10 inside shots are made as well as both free throws, the player counts it as “one
success point”. He then repeats the drill and tries for another “success point”. The goal is to get
three points and a victory. This drill requires strict concentration and great effort or a miss is
bound to happen. The post man must convert all 10 shots without a miss and then shoot two
“pressure” free throws, or lose the point. This is a great motivator for all big men to become
super inside scorers and super free throw shooters; thus the name- Superman Drill.

4. Free Throws:

Nothing finishes a good workout like a string of made free throws. If the Superman Drill has been a tough challenge for the post man, it is generally due to him missing free throws. Thus, more practice on this skill is required. Even if the player makes all of his free throws, six is not enough to keep him sharp. “Streakers” is the game I suggest for ending the workout. The big man shoots free throws, attempting to make a pre-determined number in a row (a streak of successes). I suggest starting with 10 in a row as a beginning challenge and increasing the number by two after this goal becomes easy. Twenty to twenty-five is not an unusual number to set as a goal for an outstanding shooter. If the player runs out of time and does not reach his pre-determined goal, he would start with his highest score for that day, plus one, as his goal for the next day. Thus, if his best is nine today, he would aim for 10 in a row tomorrow. Never end a
“streak” while it is still going. See how many can be made in a row and keep track of a personal
best “streak”.

Links

How to Make the High School Team 

Goal Setting

Vertical Question

Player Development

Conditioning

Weight Training

The Daily Four

Off Season Improvement

Fall Conditioning