---
title: "Smarter Summer Workouts: Combining High-Volume Reps with Basketball IQ"
description: Coach Mason and Coach Tony Miller discuss whether players should focus on the hoop or flight of the ball when shooting.
---

[Dr. Dish Basketball Blog ](https://blog.drdishbasketball.com)

# [Smarter Summer Workouts: Combining High-Volume Reps with Basketball IQ](https://blog.drdishbasketball.com/smarter-summer-workouts-combining-high-volume-reps-with-basketball-iq)

 Written by [Tony Miller](https://blog.drdishbasketball.com/author/tony-miller) | May 28, 2026

Times are changing in player development during the summer months. Coaches are beginning to move away from the traditional 10,000-make goals and focus more on game-like repetitions and decision-making.

But how do you balance the need for high-volume skill work with the limited time thanks to summer leagues, team camps and vacations?

Working with Dr. Dish [Basketball Shooting Machines](https://www.drdishbasketball.com/) has allowed me to rethink how we structure our summer workouts to maximize both efficiency and basketball IQ.

Here are three summer workout ideas I like to use to help with these areas.

**1. Simple Decision-Making Shooting Series**

One of the biggest critiques of shooting machines is that they can turn players into stand-still, catch-and-shoot robots. To help with this, I like to incorporate a “read” into our shooting sessions with the Dr. Dish.

- Select any spot on the perimeter.
- The coach stands next to the Dish.
- As the ball is in the air, if my arms stay down, the player shoots on the catch. If I put my arms up, the player must catch on the split and attack with a one-dribble pull-up.
- You get high-volume reps, but the player’s brain must engage before the shot.

**2. Small-Sided Games (SSGs) with a Constant Passer**

I’ve talked a lot about the power of Small-Sided Games for developing basketball IQ. You can actually use the Dr. Dish as the "extra player" in your SSGs.

- Set up the Dish on the baseline (in the short corner or corner) or on the sideline.
- Select a common spot on the floor (e.g., the corner or the post) for the Dish to pass to.
- Play 1v1 (e.g., [Block Finishing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b24ppC79gl4&t=1s), [Chase Finishing](https://blog.drdishbasketball.com/basketball-drills-1v1-chase-drill-with-coach-tony-miller)) or 2v2 with the Dish as a passer that initiates the rep.

**3. Team Shooting Drills for Your Half-Court Offense**

A great way to get a head start on teaching players actions within your halfcourt offense is by incorporating those actions into breakdown shooting drills.

- Pick an action to rep (e.g., escape action within Dribble Drive Motion offense).
- Set players (as few as 2 players) in action spots.
- Use the Dish as a passer to initiate the action (e.g., [Escape Shooting for Dribble Drive Offenses with Coach Tony Miller](https://blog.drdishbasketball.com/escape-shooting-for-dribble-drive-offenses-with-coach-tony-miller)).

Don't wait until fall to get to serious training of BOTH players’ skills and IQs!

Coach Tony Miller has numerous conversations with basketball coaches from around the country to help #GrowTheGame through his podcast [A Quick Timeout.](https://aquicktimeout.com/) Be sure to also follow his Twitter ([@tonywmiller](https://twitter.com/tonywmiller)) and Instagram ([@coach.miller](https://www.instagram.com/coach.miller/)) profiles.

[View full post](https://blog.drdishbasketball.com/smarter-summer-workouts-combining-high-volume-reps-with-basketball-iq)

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