SKLZ DMBK-000-02 D-Man A Trainer Defensive Mannequin, Orange, One Size

I bought this for my little brother for Christmas. It came on time and was pretty easy to set up. It comes exactly as advertised and he’s been enjoying it so far. Good buy!

This is an essential basketball training tool, especially for training shooting. First time using it, players will be really affected by the Dummy Defender and will tend to step back and shoot further away. After some practice, they learn to ignore the Dummy Defender and are able to shoot with the Dummy Defender set up closer and closer to them. This transfers fantastically into real game play as players learn to ignore a defender charging at them and focus only on the rim. This translates to much higher game shot percentage as well as more shooting opportunities (players willing to shoot and shoot confidently where before training with the Dummy Defender, they would have concluded the (real / human) defender is too close for them to get a shot off).

Good

A little flimsy but it’s ok

This is a great practice tool. I actually use six of these in my normal practice. We use them for shooting drills, because I like the kids to be shooting over an obstacle and it is rarely practical (nor even wise) to use coaches and/or parents as bodies for all of these drills.I do think a live defender is important as well, by the way.But these D-men (football's equivalent is the blocking dummy) allow your coaches to step out of the drill and really focus on details like shooting form, that are harder to lock your attention on when you are part of the drill yourself.The adjustable size makes them appropriate for all ages.I use water in the base rather than sand. Haven't had any problem with that.The six that I own, I have been using now, two nights a week practice, for over a year. No problems or breakdowns to date.

Very easy to set up but not sure why they made the pole so flimsy??? It is great for shooters of any age and height, just have to be careful not to hit it hard.

I coach girls' middle school basketball, and so many of the drills I find in books or online suggest using chairs, garbage cans, or cones with something sticking up as an obstacle on the court. I just couldn't see putting something either so bulky, dirty, or possibly dangerous in the way of my athletes. I signed my son up for a basketball skils lesson by a former college/NBA player, and he used these for several shooting and dribbling drills and I just KNEW I had to get these for my team. They do stand up without additional weight added to the base, however one bump by an athlete and it will topple over, so it does need weights on the bottom to keep it up during use. I personally didn't want the hassle of adding sand to the bases, so I used a 10lb weight (with xtra-large or olympic-sized holes) on top of the plastic base.

So far we really enjoy our D Man! We order two and have them on both ends of court during shooting drills. Good for kids to shoot over as well as dribble around. We will probably order some more.