Lay ups and euro step

Any particular drills you guys think of is good for lay ups and euro step? I have been playing a few years recreationally (uni teams in the past) etc. I have a good post game (Up and under, hook shots, turn around jumper) and I am a good dribbler but think I really have some difficulty with fundamentals like when to pick the ball up when attacking the basket, whether to push the basketball ahead, when to do a hard dribble for a high pick up etc.
Any advice from some of you pros would be well accepted thanks :cheers: :cheers:

How tall are you. I don't know a lot of regular people with good post moves.


[URL="https://www.youtube.com/user/HoopHonor/videos"]https://www.youtube.com/user/HoopHonor/videos[/URL]

[URL="https://www.youtube.com/user/ILoveBasketballTV"]https://www.youtube.com/user/ILoveBasketballTV[/URL]

These guys have great tutorials.

Lay ups are so boring to practice but it must be done. I followed a jumpshot, floater, and lay up drill (alternate hands). Simply just make a jumpshot, make a floater, and then make a layup..repeat. Dont do the same layup twice try to add variety

[QUOTE=FreezingTsmoove]Lay ups are so boring to practice but it must be done. I followed a jumpshot, floater, and lay up drill (alternate hands). Simply just make a jumpshot, make a floater, and then make a layup..repeat. Dont do the same layup twice try to add variety[/QUOTE]


I see what you are saying but I have to disagree to a certain extent. If you find something that you like or you can use rep it out until you get really good at it. I've worked with players who just kind of try something different every time and they really don't seem to get better at any of them

I used to practice them after pick up games with a friend. He wasn't a quick dude but a deadeye shooter. Once he developed a pretty decent eurostep, it opened more of his teammates. He often passed mid eurostep for a better shot/3 point shot. He played on a sick recreational team and had a ton of athletic shooters on his team so he often had 10+ assists every game.

[QUOTE=01amberfirewv]I see what you are saying but I have to disagree to a certain extent. If you find something that you like or you can use rep it out until you get really good at it. I've worked with players who just kind of try something different every time and they really don't seem to get better at any of them[/QUOTE]

Yeah but if you are strong and can finish in a huge variety of ways you will never lose a game

[QUOTE=FreezingTsmoove]Yeah but if you are strong and can finish in a huge variety of ways you will never lose a game[/QUOTE]I think both of you guys are right to certain degrees. Variety is the spice of live when it comes to finishing in the paint. [i]However[/i], establishing that variety and creating a sense of reliability most often takes significant practice and repetition. Most of my random finishes in the paint in games stem from a high volume of practice with each type of maneuver (say, left-to-right spin pivot to double-pump reverse layup).

If I just try new finishes as one-offs and never come back to them, my chance of mastery significantly diminishes.

Layups you just practice by doing enough of them from top of the key a bit outside and then do one dribble, gather, 1-2 layup. Do them from both sides to make sure you can finish off hand. This is actually very important in games,to be able to finish with right and left hand. I also think learning to properly finger roll is a huge benefit, will cut down on embarassing missed layups if going full speed right at the basket. You don't roll and lay it right in and it might bounce off if hit hard.

dunno if anyone mentioned the mikan drill but its simple enough. stand under the bucket closer to the baseline than not, facing the rest of the court, and throw up layups back and forth one hand after the other. u can also turn and face the baseline which will force u to adjust ur english

i dunno how to practise a euro step but in the last few years since its gotten so much play in the nba i've somehow incorporated it into my fast break game

if u get some speed from halfcourt and drive down the middle, imo u try to accelerate at about the ft line... u make that move leaning left or right. take one more dribble, pick up the ball as you plant ur inside foot, then slow ur momentum, bring ur outside foot across ur body, and that changes ur direction

the trick is be able to finish with either hand like somebody said, but even more importantly off either foot. it can be hard to tell how the defender will react to a eurostep, which means u gotta be willing to adapt it mid-move and change ur finish to accommodate

[QUOTE=RidonKs]the trick is be able to finish with either hand like somebody said, [b]but even more importantly off either foot[/b]. it can be hard to tell how the defender will react to a eurostep, which means u gotta be willing to adapt it mid-move and change ur finish to accommodate[/QUOTE]I'm a little different on this front. Being able to jump off either foot is cool, but I'll find a way to jump off my strong foot 9 times out of 10. It's nice to have the weak-footed option but I don't consider it more important than the ability to use both hands.

I used to force a lot of weak-footed takeoffs (when I was on the left side of the court) and it just resulted in a lot of questionable finish attempts. After much experimentation, combined with studying a lot of film of guys like Grant Hill and Latrell Sprewell, I realized the best form of attack (for me) was with strength and maximum maneuverability. In my case, that meant using my strong foot (and likely strong hand) whenever possible, even in many occasions coming from the left side.

The order of importance when it comes to my attack styles:

1A. Strong foot takeoffs
1B. Two-footed takeoffs (using left or right hand)
3. Weak foot takeoffs

As for drills, retaxis, I'm a proponent of chairs or props. When I run my players through Euro-step drills, I'll place a chair a few feet away from the hoop then have them practice squaring the chair up as they approached with a live dribble, then stepping laterally to the right with their right foot before stepping back in the opposite direction with their left.

One of the most important parts to a Euro step is the rhythm of the move itself, so utilizing a prop defender can aide in developing that familiarity and flow.

yeah... if you know ur strengths and can convince the defender you want to go to your weakside every time, then you can do that. i just like the unpredictability of going either side. wait to see which way the defender leans, then explode the opposite way.... by the time he begins to recover, you've already double crossed and he's flying in the wrong direction.

i rarely euro in the halfcourt, which means when i do it im flying on the break so i'm almost always jumping off one foot. honestly im having some trouble imagining slowing myself down enough to go off two feet.

most it comes down to balance imo.. finding the space between yourself and the defender and then forcing ur body into that space by tricky footwork. that's why i think its important going off either foot. if u r constantly going the same way, defense may learn or just guess right.


there are variations too that are fun... like u plant your first foot hard to slow momentum, plant ur second foot soft, then spin back for a baby hook or turnaround. or just slow down so much that the defender sails past into the baseline... u see harden do this where by the time he's shooting the ball, he's vertically upright without any forward momentum



good call on the props tho that sounds about ideal. especially getting started. there is too much to think about re:footwork for a beginner to go against a live defender right away

yeah... if you know ur strengths and can convince the defender you want to go to your weakside every time, then you can do that. i just like the unpredictability of going either side. wait to see which way the defender leans, then explode the opposite way.... by the time he begins to recover, you've already double crossed and he's flying in the wrong direction.

i rarely euro in the halfcourt, which means when i do it im flying on the break so i'm almost always jumping off one foot. honestly im having some trouble imagining slowing myself down enough to go off two feet.

most it comes down to balance imo.. finding the space between yourself and the defender and then forcing ur body into that space by tricky footwork. that's why i think its important going off either foot. if u r constantly going the same way, defense may learn or just guess right.


there are variations too that are fun... like u plant your first foot hard to slow momentum, plant ur second foot soft, then spin back for a baby hook or turnaround. or just slow down so much that the defender sails past into the baseline... u see harden do this where by the time he's shooting the ball, he's vertically upright without any forward momentum



good call on the props tho that sounds about ideal. especially getting started. there is too much to think about re:footwork for a beginner to go against a live defender right away

Watch Manu Ginobili, or Wade.

i am a psychotic father but i set up two boards with nails in the paint which assures that my son doesn't take an extra step on his eurostep. he uses it pretty effectively in game

[QUOTE=RidonKs]yeah... if you know ur strengths and can convince the defender you want to go to your weakside every time, then you can do that. i just like the unpredictability of going either side. wait to see which way the defender leans, then explode the opposite way.... by the time he begins to recover, you've already double crossed and he's flying in the wrong direction.

i rarely euro in the halfcourt, which means when i do it im flying on the break so i'm almost always jumping off one foot. honestly im having some trouble imagining slowing myself down enough to go off two feet.

most it comes down to balance imo.. finding the space between yourself and the defender and then forcing ur body into that space by tricky footwork. that's why i think its important going off either foot. if u r constantly going the same way, defense may learn or just guess right.


there are variations too that are fun... like u plant your first foot hard to slow momentum, plant ur second foot soft, then spin back for a baby hook or turnaround. or just slow down so much that the defender sails past into the baseline... u see harden do this where by the time he's shooting the ball, he's vertically upright without any forward momentum

good call on the props tho that sounds about ideal. especially getting started. there is too much to think about re:footwork for a beginner to go against a live defender right away[/QUOTE]Ah, my mistake. I thought you were referring to finishing in general when you were actually just referring to the Euro-step by itself. No wonder I was confused, ha.

Even then, I'm still a single-footed Euro-stepper. It's always right-foot first, then plant-and-takeoff with the left. I've tried it the other way around and it's just a mess.

I haven't really had a need to develop a left-right combo because a Euro tends to be a Euro i.e. the success of the fake is in the move itself, not so much in whether the direction of the fake begins to the left or right. If I have my defender squared up correctly, he'll have to respond to my first step regardless of which direction it goes.

The reason a Euro remains successful, even if it's always right-foot first, is because the alternate to the Euro is a straight gather and takeoff. If the defender begins anticipating that Euro, their body language and positioning often frees up a clean take in response.

From what I've seen over the years, most players seem to have a go-to foot preference when it comes to Euro's, with rare exceptions for awkward/accidental situations. Dwyane Wade is a good example: [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmnBkzTIwts[/url]