Up-and-Under: Basketball technique, drills and fixes

The up-and-under is a post move: you shot-fake to get the defender to jump or straighten up (the 'up'), then keep your pivot foot down and step through past them on a straight line to the rim (the 'under'). It works because a defender who is in the air or standing tall is easier to beat, and it's a natural counter once you've been scoring with the jump hook. Traveling is the main way it goes wrong, so this lesson spends real time on the pivot foot. The shot fake and step-through from a balanced base are what the analyzer reads.

Set up

Meet the pass with a two-foot jump stop near the block. Landing on both feet together lets you use either foot as your pivot.

Both feet land at once.

Get strong: feet wide apart, butt out, back straight, ball up at forehead level with your elbows out to protect it.

Wide, low, ball high.

Know your pivot foot before you fake. If you landed one foot then the other, the first foot down is your pivot. If you landed on both, the moment you lift one foot the other becomes the pivot.

Get into one of two set-ups. Face-up: pivot to face your defender. Hook counter: take one or two dribbles toward the middle, jump stop, chest facing the sideline and inside shoulder pointing at the hoop, the same spot you'd shoot a jump hook from.

Looks like your normal shot spot.

Pick the moment: the up-and-under is the answer when your defender closes hard on you or has been jumping at your hook shots.

Fake

Sell the shot: bring the ball up toward your forehead and put your eyes on the basket, the way your real shot starts.

Ball to forehead, eyes on the rim.

Rise only slightly. Don't straighten up; if you stand tall on the fake you lose the burst you need to step through.

Up a little, legs still loaded.

Fake with your upper body only. Both feet stay planted, and if you turn on your pivot foot, turn on its ball without letting it slide.

Shoulders sell it, feet stay glued.

Step through

Read the defender. The moment they leave their feet or straighten up, go. If they don't react, don't hold the ball: pass or go to another move.

Keep your pivot foot down and step through with your other foot, the one farther from the rim, past the defender's shoulder on a straight line to the hoop.

Duck under, straight line.

Example from the left block after dribbling middle: left foot is the pivot, step through with the right, finish with a left-hand layup.

Pivot left, step right, left hand.

Finish quickly, while the defender is still in the air. A defender caught in the air is the one likely to foul you, so stay strong through contact.

Stay legal

Shooting off the step-through: you may lift your pivot foot or jump off it, but no foot may touch the floor again until the ball has left your hand(s) (FIBA Art. 25.2.1; NBA Rule 10: once the pivot lifts you must shoot or pass before it returns).

Dribbling off the step-through: the ball must be out of your hand before your pivot foot lifts (NBA, FIBA and the high-school rule all say this). Push the ball out first, then let the pivot come up.

The classic travel: stepping through and then putting your pivot foot back down beside it to jump off two feet. Your pivot has returned before the release. If you want a two-foot power finish, start a dribble first (ball out before the pivot lifts), then gather.

Land softly on both feet if you can, knees and hips bent, knees over your toes, not caving in.

Soft, quiet landing.

Feel it

A good up-and-under feels split in two: your shoulders, ball and eyes say 'shot' while your legs stay bent and your pivot foot stays pinned to the floor. When the defender rises, you don't jump, you step: one long step under them on a straight line, and the ball is gone before that pivot foot ever comes back down.

Fix-its

The defender doesn't bite Make the fake look like your real shot: ball toward your forehead, eyes on the rim, no quick jerk. If they still don't move, pass or change moves instead of holding the ball.
You straighten up on the fake Rise only slightly and keep your knees bent so you can still explode into the step-through.
Your pivot foot shuffles or slides during the fake (travel) Fake with your upper body only and keep both feet planted. Turn on the ball of the pivot foot without sliding it.
Your pivot foot comes back down before the shot (travel) Once the pivot lifts, the ball has to be released before any foot lands. Step through, go up off the stepping foot, and finish. Need two feet? Dribble first, ball out before the pivot lifts.
You step wide around the defender Attack their shoulder on a straight line to the hoop. It's the shortest, quickest path.

Drill

Post moves drill, no defense: cut to a spot one step above the low block, a partner passes, jump-stop catch, up-and-under. Work both blocks.
Three-person up-and-under drill: start under the basket, sprint out, jump stop and pick up the ball on the block, make the move. Two partners rebound and set the ball back on the blocks. 1–2 minutes, then rotate.
Hook-and-counter: shoot a few jump hooks from the middle, then from the same jump stop fake the hook and step through.
Add a defender who contests the shot and bumps you lightly with a pad so you learn to finish through contact.
Go live: the offensive player may use any post move, and the up-and-under only when the defender bites.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-30.