A euro step is a finish around a defender who steps into the lane. The player gathers the ball, takes a long first step one way, toward the defender, then a second long step across and around him, and finishes with the hand away from him. The defender commits to the first step and is left beside the second.
Why coaches use it
Because the help defender who steps in to stop a drive usually commits to a spot. A player who only knows the straight-line layup either charges into him or picks the ball up and is stuck. The euro step turns that commitment into the opening.
It is an advanced finish. In our library the euro step finish is tagged from U14, after the basic layup, the power layup and the reverse layup are automatic.
How it is done
- Sell the first step. It goes hard at the defender, shoulders included.
- Go long and lateral on the second. It has to clear his body, not just his hand.
- Carry the ball away from him. High and with both hands between the steps.
- Two steps after the gather. Then up, balanced, and finish off the glass.
Whether a particular euro step is legal is a question of the travelling rule your league uses, so the drill keeps it to the gather and two steps.
Drills
Start without a ball: the footwork only, slowly, then with a ball, then at speed. Our drill uses a chair in the lane as the help defender, with a line on each wing so both hands are worked. A coach who steps one way, so the player has to read and go the other, is the step before a live defender. Our guide to layup drills puts it in order with the other finishes.