Designated Inbounder

Published: Thu, 05/28/09

Your Resource for Basketball Success!

May 28, 2009

I talked to one of the players that I coached a few years ago and he said that when LeBron hit the shot to win game two of their series, he knew that even though it was an incredible shot, I would have been praising the inbounds passer. He knows me well because had it not been a perfect pass, there would have been no shot.

I believe it is important to have a designated inbound passer. It may be a different player for side out, under out, full court out, and last second plays. Depending on your team, it could be the same player or different players for different spots and situations.

One of the benefits of having the same full court inbounder is that he or she should be ready for and never surprised by a full court press.

As with all of the positions on the team, this one is open for competition and must have backups ready to fulfill the roles due to foul trouble or injury.

It is important to practice those roles in the situations parts of practice and to groom those players by explaining the importance of each inbounds scenario. It is extremely important that your inbounders develop pride in performing that role so that they are ready in the crucial situations.