Defense

These notes and diagrams On Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 Zone defense are a follow up to an earlier post I made about the Syracuses zone.

Here is the link to the original post: Syracuse 2-3 zone

The source of these notes is Coach Mike Neighbors newsletter. Email me if you would like me to pass your email address along to Coach Neighbors to add to his newsletter.

Most teams don’t play zone, so it is harder to prepare for in a short time frame.

It is tough for teams to get off a good shot against a zone with 10 seconds left.

 

 

2-3 Screening Drill

More teams are setting screens against the zone.

Guards at one end of the floor for this drill.

3 offensive players on the perimeter, 1 in the high post.

Post screens for the guards

Defense fights over the screen if it is a shooter, under the screen if it is a non shooter.

2-3 Short Corner Trap

X5 steps out

X3 doubles with X5

X4 comes across to the block

X2 drops

 

2-3 Corner Trap

X4 and X5 trap corner

X1 takes away the wing

X5 takes away the block

X3 takes away the midpost

Teams only make high post shot 20% of the time and we are in good rebounding position.

Baseline Inbounds Plays

Forwards can’t let the ball go to the corner

Guards take away the high post

 

 

 

Syracuse stays in the zone even when they are down 8 to 10 points.

They will go full court press and try to trap more.

If they are down 15 or more they will look to go man to man

If a team hits a couple of threes against you early, stay with the zone. If a team did that against you and you were playing man to man, you would take timeout and tell them to play better man to man. You wouldn’t change your defense.

Zone’s impact on Syracuse offense:

Players are in better position for transition game

Guards don’t get caught underneath

These notes and diagrams On Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 Zone defense came from Mike Neighbors newsletter. Email me if you would like me to pass your email address along to Coach Neighbors to add to his newsletter.

Here is a link to the second part of this post with some trapping ideas

Syracuse 2-3 zone Part 2

If a team is shooting 42% from 3, what would your assistants tell you to play?

They will tell you to play man. The opponent is shooting 42% against man to man, so they figured out how to get good shots against man to man, not necessarily against a zone.

 

2-3 Initial Alignment

5 defenders should be moving guards try to keep the ball out of the high post

On the perimeter, play 3 players with 2 guards and help from forwards

The top 2 guys must be close enough to touch hands.

2-3 Rotation on Pass to the Wing

Take away the 3 point shot–pressure shooters, get them off their spots.

Designate who to stop and all 5 guys are responsible for stopping him. Match up with him, no matter where he is.

The forward rule is if a man is open in front of you, pick him up.

First forward must close out on outside lane.

Forward bumps back into passing lane once guard gets there.

Center rotates to ballside block.

Helpside forward goes ot helpside block.

Helpside guard drops to foul line.

2-3 Rotation on Pass to High Post

If the ball goes to the high post, the center is responsible for playing the ball.

X3 and X4 drop to blocks.

X5 hesitates while the forwards drop to the blocks,then picks up the ball.

 
X1 and X2 go to the wings to take away the shooters.

If the ball is up top, the guard is up top against a shooter, but gives space against a penetrator or passer.

2-3 Rebounding Responsibilities

Weak side forward is alone on the weak side

If a team plays 4 out, they will not be as strong rebounding

There is no block out on the weak side, the weak side forward gets position on the edge

If the offense crashes the boards hard, Syracuse looks to run.

X5 gets position in the middle of the lane,

Ball side forward gets to the ball side block

The guard in the high post gets to the middle.

Ball side guard gets to the lane line.

Start teaching the zone with:

5 guys on the perimeter

Offense passes the ball for 25 to 30 seconds (this is how
long most teams take to attack the zone)

Defense moves on every pass.

Then, add two offensive players in the post and
play 5 defense on 7 offense

Here is a link to the second part of this post with some trapping ideas Syracuse 2-3 zone Part 2

These drills for the run and jump press are from the University of Washington Women’s basketball coaching Newsletter. If you would like to subscribe, email me and I will forward your interest on to Coach Mike Neighbors,

Yesterday, I posted some notes on playing the defense. You can see those here: Run and Jump

The drills are from the Run and Jump Press that is run by Coach Eddie Antrist of the University of Wisconsin-Stout

 

 

 

 

 

Dig-Dig- Catch up- Dig Drill

 

Start with foot fire

Slide…sprint to recover…slide….repeat

You must have active hands, high and wide

 

 

 

 

Tip Drill

 

Tipping the ball from behind is important

Tip the ball with your left hand vs. a right hand dribble, reverse vs. left hand dribble.

 

 

 

 

 

2 on 2 Run Jump (frame 1)

 

When I jump I will call out my teammates name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 on 2 Run Jump (frame 2)

 

when you rotate up you must have high hands

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 on 1 Tip from Behind

2 on 2 Trap Sideline (Blue)

 

In the drill steer sideline, the inbound defender must quickly get below the level of the ball.

Once the ball starts to dribble you must get away from the offense, there is no reason to be close (you will foul).

Run drill at both ends the same time.

 

 

 

3 on 3 Positioning Dill (full court)

Offense advances the ball with the pass up the floor, while the defense sprints to the proper position.

Ball will go from one sideline to the next as the offense advances the ball up the floor.

3 on 3 Run and Jump Rotation Drill

Same set up as 3 on 3 positioning drill, allow the dribble by the offense

The defense will now attack with the run and jump

3 on 3 Live

Run the same drill live.

Make your rotations (only run and jump) on your own.

Put a coach back as a lone defender to prevent the long over the top pass,, as soon as the ball crosses half court he is out of the play

Diamond and Box Set Alignments- 4 on 4 Live Drill

5 on 5 live – Free Throw Drill

Color scheme for the defense
White Basic Run and Jump
Blue Sideline Trap
Red Immediate Trop in bounds
Black Denial on inbounds

You don’t need to necessarily call the colors your players need to learn when to RJ and when to trap.

Use “red” when they clear out

You can combine some of the colors.

When playing a great ball handler “black” and run “white” on the other guard
You can run black with two players, and double team the inbound pass the great player.

These notes and diagrams of the run and jump press are from the University of Wahington Women’s basketball coaching Newsletter.

If you would like to subscribe, email me and I will forward your interest on to Coach Mike Neighbors,

The drills for the press are at this link

The notes are from the Run and Jump Press that is run by Coach Eddie Antrist of the University of Wisconsin-Stout

When running the press you do not need to steal the ball

If you think steal you will reach and foul
You want the offense to make mistakes
Teams that press tend to be over anxious

When starting the press you want to Pressure the ball right away.

You don’t want the ball to be thrown in quickly
Better if one of your bigger players is on the ball.
Whoever scores is immediately on the ball.

 

X1 and X2 do not deny the inbounds

Stay behind the offense and allow them to catch the ball.
We want them to catch the ball in front of us.
If the ball is inbounded above the FT extended we are
automatically in the Run and Jump.
If they screen we will switch.

X4 and X5 are in a side position

We do not want the ball thrown over the top.
Not a total denial, nor behind

 

 

When the ball is thrown in (Frame 2) X1will put immediate pressure on the ball.

We are not worried about getting beat

Inbound defender must get below the line of the basketball into a gap position.

X2 and X3 must be on the ball side of the midline.

 

 

 

As you pressure the ball your objective is to get the ball into an uncontrolled dribble.

If they dribble to the middle we run and jump.

X1 will continue along that line and settle in the middle of the floor.

We do not want a reach and a foul.
Don’t let the offense be comfortable.
We are not thinking steal, they will throw it away.

Get high hands on every run and jump situation.

If 4 or 5 would flash to the middle, the defender must take away the flash

 

If the ball is dribbled sideline, You could run and jump with the second line defender.

The original ball defender would continue along the same line

We do not want the deep defender (X4) to jump; it makes to pass over the top too easy.

 

 

 

 

Sideline Trapping (Blue Look)

When the ball is dribbled up the sideline, we will is turn and sprint and cut the offensive player off at some point.

We will chase from behind at get a trap near ½ court.

Trap could happen all the way down the court

You don’t always know who is going to rotate. X2 could cut off the dribble while X1 traps from behind.

 

This article focuses on the Amoeba defense as it was played by UNLV under Jerry Tarkanian,

However, the Amoeba defense was created at the University of Pittsburgh when Buzz Ridl was the coach there. He had an assistant coach named Tim Grgurich, who was later on Tarkanian’s staff and showed it to Coach Tark. Coach Ridl’s assistant Coach, Fran Webster, actually devised it..

(Thanks to Randy Nesbit and Randy White for the background on the Amoeba Defense!)

By Steve Mergelsberg [email protected]

While living in Las Vegas and coaching at Bishop Gorman High School, I had the opportunity to sit down with Tarkanian and have him explain the amoeba defense. Termed “amoeba” for the way it flexed and stretched, it allowed a perimenter defender to put man pressure on the ball-handler while the remaining four players protected their set areas on the court.

The following is the basic alignment for setting up the amoeba defense

This is the setup that your defenders need to be in when the offensive team is bringing the ball up-court. XI is responsible for picking up the ball handler as soon as he or she crosses half court. Xl’s main job is to harass the ball handler, making it tough to dribble up the floor and pass to a teammate. X2 patrols the free-throw-line area looking for flash cuts to the high-post area.

The tandem of XI and X2 should be the quickest players on your team. X3 and X4 are halfway between the free-throw line and the baseline, facing on an angle toward the sideline. X5 is the “hoop defender,” the last line of defense guarding the basket. X5 stands as far back as needed to see the whole floor and must never get beat from behind.

When the ball is passed from the point to the wing, X2 charges out to play the opponent with the ball.

XI retreats to guard the free-throw area. When the ball handler initiates a dribble, X3 sprints out to double team with X2. X5 moves over to the block area and X4 rotates to become the hoop defender.

If the ball is passed back from the wing, X2 goes back to his or her original spot at the foul line and XI pops out to the top, back to his or her original spot.

XI and X4 are responsible for covering the shaded area on any pass from the double-team. The ball is now double-teamed at the wing. XI can either deny the point player or encourage a reverse pass from the double-team for a possible steal.

Tarkanian believed that if X2 and X3 are doing a good job of double-teaming, any pass cross court will be high enough in the air to be picked off by either X4 or XI, depending on where the pass is thrown.

Defending wing-to-corner passes.

When the ball is passed from the wing to the corner, X5 comes flying out and closes out on the corner player with the ball.

When X3 sees that the ball is being passed from the wing to the corner, he or she pivots and sprints to the low-post area, in what Tarkanian called an “X-cut.” X3 fronts the low-post offensive player. The gamble here is when the corner offensive player gets the ball and X5 is sprinting toward him or her, the player with the ball will see the low-post player open, not knowing that X3 is on the way to that area.

Many times, in a panic, the corner player instantly passes to the seemingly open post player and X3 comes up with a steal. Tarkanian’s belief is that if X5 is closing out and tracing the ball, a good pass will be impossible to deliver and X3 will come up with a steal. XI and X4 are still responsible for the weak side of the floor. X2 denies the reverse pass back to the wing from the corner. Any attempt to pass to the point will be picked off by XI.

Defending Cross Court Skip passes

The rule on any skip pass to the other side of the floor is that the closest player covers the player with the ball.

The pass is complete from the corner. X4 would be the closest defender to the ball, so he or she would cover the receiver.

X3 goes from low post to low post and X5 would become the hoop defender. X2 retreats to the middle to provide any help that is needed and XI would deny the pass to the point.

This diagram shows the initial entry pass as seen in Diagram 2, but here you have an offensive player on the high post. In this case – just as in Diagram 2 – when the ball is passed to the wing, X2 sprints out to defend and XI drops down to play the offensive player in the high post.

This leaves the point guard alone, the theory being that he or she can’t harm you being hat far from the basket. If the offensive wing player with the ball takes a dribble, X3 comes out to defend and double-teams with X2. XI, who’s denying the high post, can anticipate a pass back to the point and go for the steal.

At this point, if the ball is passed from the wing to the corner, X5 sprints out and plays the corner player. X3 “X-cuts” and goes to defend the block area and X4 becomes the hoop defender. X4 and XI are responsible for stealing anything thrown cross court from the block area and higher. This may seem like a lot of area to cover, but Tarkanian believed that if your defenders are playing good, hard-nosed defense, the only pass that will be thrown is one high in the air that X4 and XI have a great chance for a steal.

Amoeba vs. Two-Guard Front

Some offenses try to beat the amoeba by utilizing a two-guard front.

If the offense plays a two-guard front, XI and X2 match-up with the guards. If the offensive team puts a player at the high post, X5 comes up and guards behind. This encourages the offense to make a pass into the high post, which is what you want to happen.

If the ball is passed into the high post, XI and X2 immediately double down and create a triple team at the high post. This may cause the high-post player with the ball to panic and either give up his dribble or throw an errant pass. X3 and X4 anticipate any passes into their areas and go for the easy steal.

Beating the Triple-Team

If the triple-team in the high-post area fails and the high-post player manages to get a pass to either the wing or the corner areas, your defenders react accordingly.

When the ball is passed to the wing from the post, XI retreats to the high-post area and denies the post. X2 plays the wing player and X3 denies the pass to the corner or encourages a pass and gets a trap or steal in the corner. X2 may sprint down and double-team the corner player, depending on the game situation. X4 becomes the hoop defender and X5 guards the low post.

XI, who’s playing the post, must anticipate passes to the point from the corner, the wing and cross court. This is one of the reasons why it’s critical that XI and X2 be your quickest players. XI and X2 must always be alert and have the ability to anticipate defensively. If the ball is passed to the corner from the post or wing, X3 sprints out to play the corner player, X5 drops to the low-post area and X4 becomes the hoop defender.

XI denies the post and X2 denies the pass back to the wing from the corner or encourages the pass and looks to make a steal. A pass from the corner to the point weak-side guard can be picked off by XI and taken the other way for an easy layup.

These are some notes from Shaka Smart, on their pressure defense.

5 Core Values:

Appreciation
Enthusiasm
Competitiveness
Unselfishness
Accountability

Havoc style of play
Want to force turnovers through pressure – want live ball turnovers
Do your players know what you want out of defense? Team stops not individual stops, force quick bad shots is what we want
Create easy offensive opportunities
Force the opposing team to play different than they practice every day

Take players out of their comfort zone
Be in better shape than opposition to fatigue them
Who wins the battle when you’re tired?
“Fatigue makes a coward of us all”
Pressure D has become their Brand – their Identity

Energy: must have 5 guys flying around at all times
Fouling: have to be careful, play smart not stupid
Communication: talking makes your reaction quicker
Transition: have to transition quickly from offense into your press
Deflections: must measure

Trapping Fundamentals – 3 things that make a good trap
o Ball handlers level of control – better trap = less control
o Element of surprise
o Where you are on the floor – corners, sideline

Who do we trap?
o Do not trap good defensive matchups
o Trap the smaller guards
o Never trap the 5 man

How do we trap?
o Closeout to the trap – short choppy steps, high hands
o Be elastic –as the offensive player moves, defense moves
o Force an obvious pass by making them pivot
o Foul with lower body, never with hands

Other 3 players have to think like a trapper
Back player has to be deep as the deepest

If your trappers force the obvious pass by making them pivot:
o Interceptors must read the obvious pass
o If the ball is passed ahead of you tip from behind

Against 2 on 1 stunt the ball handler
Learn how to play when they are outnumbered
Ability to defend multiple positions
Must be close enough to touch

The video below is a segment of Coach Smart teaching a portion of his pressure defense. You can see more information about the DVD that the sample video came from by clicking this link: Shaka Smart: Havoc Pressure Defense