As the new season (and the new player tryout) approaches, I have been giving some thought to my Player Evaluation Drills Checklist. Every coach is probably looking for something different so it is likely that my evaluation protocol will be substantially different from other coaches. Plus, there are different skills needed for each team, the coach’s style of play or at every level of play.
Below are the basic qualities that I am looking for as part of a player evaluation. These fit with my style of play and the fundamental components that are needed.
- Speed – full court
- Passing skills
- Moves – Drive to the basket
- Layups (at speed)
- Shooting form
- Shooting- Perimeter, Game Conditions
- Inside shooting / moves
- Ball handling
- Strength
- Defense
- Rebounding
- Hustle
Aside from “Hustle”, most of these attributes are focused on quantifiable performance and don’t really address the intangibles and attitude of a player. Since this article is primarily about a list of drills to test players during a tryout, we will leave a discussion on how to evaluate the intangibles to another article.
10 Drills to evaluate players…
- Mikan Drill. How many layups can a player make in 30 Seconds? Middle school players should focus on alternating hands and getting their footwork down. High school players can rotate through various forms of layups on both sides (overhand, across shoulder, reverse facing baseline, reverse with back to baseline).
. - Perfections. This is our cornerstone drill and it involves full court layups (rt/lft), 2person passing across lane, 3 lines (rt/lft), 3man weave (wide/narrow). If an individual misses, they go again. Multi-person drills are to 10 in a row (or until the coach is tired of waiting for them to finish).
. - One Dribble Drive with defense from the 3 point line. Track number of defensive stops / scores.
. - Foul shots. # out of 20.
. - Shot progression. 5 at each spot, 3 spots at blocks/center, 3 spots 1/2 way to foul line (middle/wing/wing). Track # of makes out of 30 shots. Max time limit…? One rebounder to assist.
. - Sprint. Down and Back. Target = 10 seconds max. Depending on the setup of the court, we may finish at the blocks or foul line instead of the baseline so players don’t run into the wall or stage.
. - Dribble sequence. Around cones spaced around court (up/back), various moves (crossover, pull-back, between legs, behind back, spin move). Track # of circuits completed in 30 sec.
. - Jump Height. Track highest point, (NOT a player’s “net” jump. In a game, the ball does not care about your “net jump”).
. - Shuffle Drill. Around the lane. Track total time.
. - Beat the Pro. 30 seconds. Pro scores on any miss. Shoot game locations. Move “around the world”. First shot is foul shot (1 point).
What’s on your Player Evaluation checklist?
What drills should be added to this Player Evaluation checklist? Or should I replace one of the listed drills? For example, I had “Palming the Basketball” as one test but changed it out for another. I figured that there would be few players at the high school level who could do it (even though it can be accomplished even with relatively small hands by simply working on grip strength).
Bonus Download:
Check out Coach Wheeler’s Player Evaluation Clipboard Sheets on The Building A Winning Mindset Resource Page!