BASKETBALL 360º

Okay, before choosing a specific defensive formation, you have to

keep these 4 points in mind:

1) Make sure the offensive team never advances without strong

defensive pressure.

2) Never limit yourself to one single defensive strategy...be more

diverse.

3) Choose whatever defensive style works against the opponent's

offensive style.

4) Fully understand the defensive formation you choose and make

sure that you can clearly teach it to your players.

And, the defense you choose should be:

- Fundamental, at an individual and team level

- Flexible enough to counter many offensive styles

- Simple for your players to learn

- Complicated for the opponent to figure out

One of the advantages of having multiple defenses is that gives

your opponent's difficulty in scouting your team. Good coaches know

the competiton...they scout them...they watch them. If you have

different defensive styles in the course of a game, the opposing

coach will have to prepare for your many styles in their own

practice, and they won't have a clear strategy against you.

All teams should be able to press, especially at the end of

quarters and in the late stages of the game. Pressure and

aggressiveness forces the other team to make mistakes, and it takes

them out of their comfort zone.

War is deception, and a competitive basketball game is very similar

to a war. You want to trick the opposing coach, surprise them and

confuse them. By switching to defensive variations in the second

half that weren't used in the 1st half, you'll throw off the

opposing team.

Being able to move quickly from offense to defense is a quality

trait of all winning teams. The game of basketball is played at a

rapid pace. A simple rebound and outlet can start a quick

fast-break, and your players need to be very alert and responsive.

When on offense, your team should have the following roles:

- 3 offensive rebounders to crash the boards and create 2nd shot opportunities

- 1 "mid-fielder" who decides to either rebound or step-back for defense

- 1 defensive safety who never crashes for offensive rebounds

The "mid-fielder" and the defensive safety are ready to quickly

move from offense to defense, and stop the opponent's from scoring

easy baskets. The other players should also be prepared to move

from offense to defense at a rather quick pace.

------ Preparing for Defense ------

When you start preparing your team for defense, its important to

stress the fundamentals and develop general guidelines that all

defenses should follow, which are:

- Practice double-teaming opponents, from both man-to-man, zone, &

press formations

- Teach proper off-the-ball defense, mainly preventing backdoor

plays and cuts

- Teach your players not to allow easy passing. Stay in the passing

lanes, keep hands out, try to intercept passes.

- Emphasive attention to detail from each and every player.

- Correct mistakes immediately, and insist on perfect execution.

- Spread defensive drills out throughout the practice and maintain

variety

- Reward good defensive play

----- Choosing the Right Defensive Formation -----

In general, your team will fall into one of the following groups,

and the best type of defense to choose is as follows:

1) Five Taller than Average Players - For a man-to-man defense, it

should be generally loose, defending the basket and the paint and

not pressuring too much. For a zone, it should be passive as well.

If you need to pressure, a half-court press will work better than a

full-court press. You want your opponent to take more outside shots

while shutting down their interior opportunities.

2) Four Taller Players & One Small, Quick Player - Similar to the

above lineup, this group should focus more on a loose and passive

man-to-man and zone defense. A 1-2-2 zone can work well, in which

the smaller player is given freedom to move freely, apply pressure,

and intercept passes. The main goal with this lineup is to protect

the paint. In a press situation, stick with a half-court press.

3) Three Tall Players & 2 Small Players - A fairly balanced lineup,

in which a typical man-to-man defense works best. For a zone, the

2-3 will work very well, and for pressing, a 2-2-1 full court press

is suitable.

4) Two Tall Players & 3 Smaller Players - You can use a variety of

man-to-man defenses, infact, a man-to-man defense is best with this

lineup. A 3-2 zone can be employed or a 1-2-2 zone. For pressure,

this team can use full, half, or a 3/4 press. Very versatile lineup.

5) One Tall Player & 4 Smaller Players - Leave the tall player near

the basket at all times, while the 4 small players play a switching

man-to-man defense, in which the players switch off screens, and

they switch on any lateral movements of the offensive player from

one side of the court to the other.

6) Five Smaller Players - Pressure, press, pressure! Playing loose

is not an option. A tight man-to-man half court defense works best.

For zones, the only real options are a zone press and a match-up

zone. All 5 players must crash the defensive boards hard. For

pressing, an aggressive full-court press should be utilized with

active hands.

>> Now, the only thing left for you to do is pick 2 or 3 specific

defensive formations based on the strengths and weaknesses of your

team...and then choose a nice set of plays and drills to run in

practice...