The up-and-under is a counter move in the post. The player catches near the block, pivots to face the rim, and sells a shot fake: ball up, eyes on the rim. When the defender jumps or rises to block it, the player steps through past him with his free foot, under the defender’s arms, and finishes on the other side.
Why coaches use it
Because it punishes the defender who has learned to stop the first move. A post player who keeps scoring with the drop step or the shot teaches his defender to contest early. The up-and-under turns that contest into a layup. A CoachTube post-scoring lesson describes it as the answer when the defense takes away the power move.
How it is done
- Face up on the pivot. Turn all the way so the shot fake looks real.
- Sell the fake. Ball and eyes up, legs still bent. A fake from straight legs fools nobody.
- Step through. The free foot crosses past the defender’s body. The pivot foot may leave the floor as you go up, but it must not come back down before the ball is released.
- Seal and finish. Hips into the defender, then up off the glass.
Coach’s Clipboard runs it on both blocks for a minute or two at a time, first without a defender, then against a defender with a pad, then live. CoachUp suggests ten in a row from one side at full speed with a partner.
Our up-and-under drill uses a dummy as the defender who bites on the fake and a coach feeding from the wing, and it is tagged from U14. The footwork depends on the pivot foot rule, so drill it slowly before adding speed.