Basketball Daily World

Here is the same story as reported by CBS News.

The Mikan Drill is a basketball drill commonly credited to George Mikan and Ray Meyer. It is designed to help basketball centers and forwards develop rhythm, timing for rebounding, and scoring in the paint. It is also used for outside players to better their layup skills and increase stamina.

The drill is practiced as follows: From under the basket, make a layup with the right hand, rebound the ball under the net with the left hand and make a layup with the left hand. Rebound with the right hand and layup with the right hand. Continue to repeat this, alternating hands. Eventually the player should learn how to quickly grab the ball and take a shot while taking their two steps.

Virtually every great forward and center since Mikan has practiced this drill. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar describes how he taught it to some kids he coached in his book "A Season on the Reservation". Shaquille O’Neal, who admired Mikan so much that he paid for his funeral expenses, learned the drill from his coach Dale Brown, when Shaq played college basketball at LSU. The drill is more or less a standard practice procedure for all basketball "big men".

Source: This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia.

Here is a very extensive footwork exercise. The whole exercise should be completed at least once a week, maybe twice. It could be combined with the loose ball fight exercises.

Run a full court layup on right side. After the lay-up, don’t let the ball fall to the ground. Grab it and hand it over to your helper. Run as fast as possible to mid-court, look towards the helper player for the pass. Go strong for the ball, assess the situation on the court quickly, charge towards the hoop. Then, come to the two-foot stop, pump fake, step to either side, jump strong, make the basket from down low. Repeat the exercise on the left side, then through the middle slightly towards the right, then through the middle slightly towards the left. Alternate the players after completing the cycle (left & right)

• 1 year or more of plyometrics training
• Once every 4-7 days
• One minute rest between sets

1. Double legged reactive jumps (off of 24" or 30" box)
   • 4 sets
   • 10-12 reps
2. Single legged reactive jumps (off of 16" or 24" box)
   • 4 sets (each leg)
   • 8 reps
3. Altitude jumps (off of extra high box, approximately 40")
   • 3 sets
   • 6 reps
   • Note: Cycling 3 weeks on, then 8-12 weeks off
4. Change of direction jumps ( (off of 24" box)
   • 4 sets (each direction)
   • 8 reps
5. Explosive jump running (bounding)
   • 4 sets
   • 40 yards
6. 360 jumps (off of 24" box)
   • 4 sets
   • 8 reps
7. Medicine ball tosses
   • 4 sets
   • 8 reps

• This is where the most dramatic progress is made
• Once every 4-7 days

1. Double legged reactive jumps (off of 24″ box)
   • 4 sets
   • 10-12 reps
2. Single legged reactive jumps (off of 16″ box)
   • 3 sets (each leg)
   • 8 reps
3. Change of direction jumps (off of 24″ box)
   • 3 sets (each direction)
   • 8 reps
4. Explosive jump running (bounding)
   • 4 sets
   • 40 yards
5. 360 jumps (off of 24″ box)
   • 3 sets
   • 8 reps
6. Medicine ball tosses
   • 4 sets
   • 8 reps

• Weeks 7 through 24 (months 2 - 6)
• Once every 4-7 days
• One minute rest between sets

1. Double legged reactive jumps (off of 24″ box)
   • 4 sets
   • 10-12 reps
2. Single legged reactive jumps (off of 16″ box)
   • 3 sets (each leg)
   • 6 reps
3. Change of direction jumps (off of 16″ box)
   • 3 sets (each direction)
   • 6 reps
4. Explosive jump running (bounding)
   • 3 sets
   • 40 yards
5. Medicine ball tosses
   • 4 sets
   • 8 reps

• Weeks 3 through 6
• Once every 4-7 days
• One minute rest between sets

1. Depth jumps (off of 24″ box)
   • 1 set
   • 10-12 reps
2. Double legged reactive jumps (off of 24″ box)
   • 3 sets
   • 8 reps
3. Single legged reactive jumps (off of 16″ box)
   • 2 sets (each leg)
   • 6-8 reps
4. Medicine ball tosses
   • 3 sets
   • 8 reps