Learn the up-and-under in basketball: fake the shot, let the defender jump, finish by stepping through. With contact rules, mistakes and milestones.
The up-and-under is a combination of pump fake and step-through: you fake a shot, the defender jumps, and you step through to the side under him to finish. It only works if the defender believes you are shooting.
The honest answer to “Does it work against everyone?”: no. Against defenders who stay calm and do not jump, the fake does nothing for you. The good news: according to the authors of one study, even NBA players fall for a pump fake about 73 % of the time and start a false blocking movement [1]. A study also shows that fakes you have seen make the next one easier to recognise, which is why the authors recommend not producing several fakes in a short time [2].
But the up-and-under is also the move with the most delicate rule topic: when the defender is in the air, the space under him is not yours.
In the up-and-under you do not beat the defender with force but with timing: he goes up, you go through.
Whoever catches the ball while standing lifts one foot, the other becomes the pivot foot. The pivot foot may not be lifted before the ball leaves the hand to start a dribble. To pass or shoot you may jump off the pivot foot, but neither foot may return to the floor before release [3]. With the free foot you may step as often as you like [3]. Milestone: You can explain which foot is your pivot foot.
Lift ball and shoulders as if you were shooting. The defender stretches or jumps. The fake must be credible for long enough: once the opponent's movement is under way he can hardly abort it. In the study the point at which half of the participants could no longer stop the block was 462 milliseconds before release, just under half a second [1]. Milestone: Your partner as defender jumps on seven out of ten fakes.
While the defender is up, you step with the free foot sideways past him, the ball stays close to the body. You move to the side, not under him. Milestone: Ten step-throughs without a ball in slow motion, the pivot foot stays on the floor.
After the step-through you jump toward the basket. You may jump off the pivot foot without a foot returning to the floor before release [3]. Milestone: Ten finishes with a fake against a cone defender, seven go in.
Play with a partner who jumps. Make sure you do not block his landing spot: a player who has jumped has the right to land at the same place [3]. The defender may not be penalised for jumping as long as he stays within his own cylinder [3]. Milestone: Five attempts without contact in the landing zone.
The most important rule of this move: never move under a jumping opponent. Whoever moves under a jumping player and causes contact usually commits a flagrant foul, in exceptional cases even a disqualifying foul [3]. It is also an injury risk: landing on an opponent's foot was the leading cause (55 %) in 445 analysed videos of ankle injuries in indoor sports [4]. Landings from a jump were also the most common situation in 31 NBA cruciate ligament tears, and in 28 of 31 cases an opponent stood within about 60 centimetres [5]. Practise slowly, start without a defender and progress step by step. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training or a coach.
Wait for the defender's take-off, not for your gut feeling. You step through when his feet have left the floor, not already when he stretches. This is coaching experience and the difference between a clean move and a foul.
The pump fake is the fake itself. The up-and-under is the continuation: you use the moment the defender jumps to step past or under him and finish.
Not if the pivot foot stays on the floor until you jump to shoot and you step with the free foot [3]. To shoot you may jump off the pivot foot as long as no foot returns before release [3].
No, you may not move into the path of or under a jumping player if contact results [3]. You must go past on the side and leave his landing spot free.
There is no fixed number, but repeated fakes lose their effect [2]. Use it selectively, not on every possession.
Set up a chair or two cones as the defender. Fake the shot, step past the marker to the side and finish. Count your pivot foot aloud and keep the landing spot next to the obstacle free. This is practical experience. Practise with a partner only once the movement sits.
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