3-on-0 Penetrate and Kick is a fundamental offensive drill that builds directly on earlier concepts such as 3-on-0 Cut and Fill and the 2-on-0 Drive-and-Shift drills. It is designed to teach aggressive paint penetration, perimeter spacing, and re-spacing after the ball moves. For us, this drill is an essential progression in teaching offensive flow: every penetration should force two feet into the paint, every pass should be made off two feet, and teammates must re-space to maintain at least 10 feet of separation. It can be run as a teaching drill early in the season or as a quick warm-up drill later once the concepts are understood.

Setup & Organization

Three lines start at half-court: the middle line has basketballs, and the two outside lines run the wings. The drill always starts with players sprinting into their positions from half-court to simulate transition spacing. The ball handler in the middle drives hard toward the top of the key, hesitates at the three-point line, then passes to a wing. After passing, he cuts through the paint, and the opposite wing fills up to the top of the key. The drill resets with each new catch, simulating continuous motion and ball reversals.

Step-by-Step Progression

On every catch, the ball carrier must aggressively penetrate the paint and get two feet in before passing. If the drive is baseline, the opposite wing must drift to the corner to create a clean passing window (baseline-drive, baseline-drift). If the drive is middle, the opposite wing stays in the corner to hold spacing, while the player closest to the ball (same-side perimeter) must lift behind the ball to provide the safety valve and next pass angle (middle-drive, middle-lift).

After penetration, the driver must come to a controlled two-foot stop and throw a two-hand pass on time and on target. The passer immediately re-spaces outside the three-point line, keeping at least 10 feet from teammates. The next receiver repeats the sequence: attack the paint first, then kick and re-space according to middle-lift or baseline-drift rules. Continue cycling through penetration, kick-outs, and re-spacing for the duration of the drill.

Scoring

The drill is run for four minutes. The team must complete eight consecutive trips of at least four passes each before taking a shot. Any technical mistake—poor footwork, failure to space, missed timing, or sloppy passing—results in a reset. Makes and misses do not matter for the drill’s success; the emphasis is on execution, spacing, and precision.

Coaching Points

Non-negotiables: two feet in the paint on every drive; two-foot jump-stop on every pass; two-hand, on-time deliveries. Enforce the spacing rules every rep—middle-drive, middle-lift; baseline-drive, baseline-drift. Players move “on airtime” and maintain at least 10 feet of separation outside the arc. Call names on every pass and keep the ball moving with purpose.

Variations

Add a mandatory “one-more” after any corner catch. Require diagonal kick-outs to the slot followed by a swing to the corner. Progress to 3-on-3 by adding defenders in gaps to force reads on penetration windows and kick timing.