Defense

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

After I sent out the video clip of an introduction to defending the side pick and roll on Friday, (Here is the 4 minute sample video link if you missed it. There is nothing to buy to see the video:

NBA defending side pick and roll

I was pleasantly surprised by one of the responses I received. It was from Del Harris, former head coach of the Lakers, Rockets, and Bucks.

He had more to add to what the video introduced and he gave me permission to post what he had written.

The remainder of this post are in Coach Harris’ words.

I think George Karl is one of the 3 great coaches in the NBA game today and thought his asst did a nice job for a 4 minute presentation. I just felt compelled to add what he did not have time to add in the event some younger coaches thought that this may be all there is to it.

This (the video link above) is a good intro into turning the wing pick and roll down and certainly no one can cover all the contingencies in 3-4 minutes. One of the basics that should be noted, though, is that the execution by the defender on the picker must be emphasized. It is not satisfactory for the defender to lay back well off of the ball action. He needs to be no more than a step and an arm length from the picker and in an excellent defensive stance. He cannot be in a standup position. He has to be able to get down and move his feet. If the ballhandler is still able to get the split or to execute the short bounce to the picker on the short roll, (often now called the pocket pass), the defender on the picker must close up to whatever it takes to prevent the split or the easy catch and shoot/drive by the picker after a pocket pass.

There are at least three things that the team defense must be ready for which emphasizes the point we make that “it takes 5 men to defend a well executed ball screen (pick/roll or pick/pop).” Of course, one is that the ball handler can pull up and shoot, so the ball defender should be close enough to challenge that shot, but if not, the picker defender must do that. Along that line the most common mistake the ball defender makes in this coverage is to get to an extreme position in turning the ball down. A good defender can make the ball go sideline by getting no more than square to the sideline as he moves up into the ball handler when he hears his teammate yell that they are turning the ball down (regardless of what they name that coverage). The coach makes a good point about the mistake of always looking back to see the picker. Even worse most players want to get next to the picker and actually screen themselves instead of moving up into the ball handler.

If the ballhandler beats both men and tries to get to the rim, the weak side low defender must attack the layup. But the most common results are the pass to the roll man and the short pocket pass to the picker in the general elbow area (15-20 feet from goal).

On the roll, the picker defender who is in a good defensive stance will try to play 2 men as long as he can (the ball and the roller). Hopefully, the ball defender will be able to catch up and get between the ball and the goal and then each thus gets back to his own man, but that does not always happen. If the picker defender sees that the ball defender will not recover, he will communicate that he has the ball and the ball defender will make a late switch to get between the roller and the ball, if possible. In any event the weak side low man must get to the roller and take him, and yell for the original ball defender to go to “p[ass off the small defender”—meaning he is taking the roller and the man must go weakside and find a man to put his body on.

Of course, one can utilize options other than the “late switch” noted here. One can rule that theball defender will continue on with the ball and trap the ball with the picker defender. The weak side low man must take the roller and, of course, the other two defenders rotate to cover the weak side low and/or outside shot areas, depending on where the fourth/fifth men might be located.

If the short pass is made to the pop man on the pick and pop move on this, it is little problem if the pop man is not a good shooter.

The defender on him can just help with the ball man and recover back to his own man, though the weak side top man at the nail should at least stunt a little at the non-shooter, but not so much as to leave his own man who is probably a better shooter.

Assuming a player will not pop unless he is an adequate shooter, then the weak side top man must rotate to the popper and the rest of the defense rotates up a man as well, with the original defender on the picker/pop man going weak side low to pick up.

Much communication is required as is the constant case in all defensive maneuvers. Regardless, of how much time a team spends on this, or any other technique for defending ball screens, a team must have a plan B, and usually a plan C as well, when playing a pick and roll team. Some teams are so adept at the pick and roll game that they run as many as two or three in a possession and 50 to 80 in a game in the NBA. In fact the pick and roll is now being over-used in my opinion and the colleges are falling right into that trap. Too much pick and roll stifles ball movement and the penetration game. By that, I mean that if a man is always running at the ballhandler and bringing another defender to the ball, there are limited options for the ball handler to see the gap for penetration to get to the basket or to get inside the defense to create inside shots or kickouts for his teammates.

In the end the best defense against the ball screens is to switch the switchable ones. If you cannot do that, you can choose for various alternatives relative to the talent of the opponents in the action and that of the defenders in it. You will want to have a trap option normally. You may want to have a more aggressive option for your athletic picker defenders and a more containing one for the slower big players.

The easy way out is to have only one way or two ways. That way you do not have to teach and coach as much and can blame it on the players for just not getting the job done. Or you can take it on yourself as coach to be able to make the proper adjustments in your game plans or during a game at at time out to throw a wrench into the action that is beating you at the time.

Multiple defense does not mean that you have to have three separate styles of man to man and 4 different zone defenses. Not at all. Being multiple means that you can prepare your team to make adjustments to defend whatever actions are beating you at the moment. You don’t ever have to use a zone or you can use a zone 100% of the time and still have a multiple defense system. Many have misunderstood the meaning of being multiple.

Del Harris, GM Texas Legends
Author, On Point -four steps to better life teams
I told Coach Harris that I as a thank you for his giving me permission to post his thoughts, I would help to spread the
word about his book “On Point.”

You can read a free sample by clicking here: On Point Sample

This is what Coach Harris had to say about the book:

“Every coach should have his point guard read my book. It came as a result of my speaking at the Nancy Lieberman
Award in Detroit in 2010. I wanted to say something that would make sense to the hundreds who would be there who were not the women’s NCAA D-1 best point guard in America, getting the award named for Hall of Fame PG and all time greatest woman player. I came up with the idea of noting the qualities in terms of abilities and attitudes that made for great point guard play. Then I showed how we all could mine those elements from within ourselves on the various Life-teams of which we are and would become a part.

The book will not only be good for the PGs to read but will absolutely make the coach a better coach. I wish I had known all that I have written when I was in my 20s , 30s or 40s. I am totally confident that what I have written is truth and it is backed up totally by biblical principles.”

Best regards and blessings to all, Del

For another sample and if you are interested in purchasing the book, you can click this link to see it on Amazon:

On Point: Four Steps To Better Life Teams