Clinic Notes from:
I hope you might get a couple ideas to help teach and evaluate your individual defensive players. These ideas can be used whether you’re a man-to-man coach or a zone coach.
Rick Torbett from Better Basketball speaking on Better Basketball’s Dynamic Defense
Level 0 footwork
- For example, rebounding footwork
Rebounding near the basket is power base on power base.
DNA “Dadgum Nasty Attitude”
Rebounding away from the basket defensive rebounder’s shoulders perpendicular to offensive players shoulders. Check the player, arc them, pursue the basketball.
Rebound like a quarterback with the ball and shoulder. Three points of contact, two hands and shoulder, it to protect the basketball
Level 1 Defender can guard the basketball and keep it out of the middle third of the floor.
Level 2 Defender can guard away from the ball and if a teammate gets beat on the dribble level two defender can help keep the ball out of the middle third of the floor.
Level 3 Defender can guard situations which might include ball screens, switching, rotating, among others
Level 4 defender can help everyone recover back to their original assignments
The middle third of the floor is called the highway.
The outside third of the floor is called the arc alley.
Guarding the ball is a handshake distance-conversation distance.
Close talker is in my space and making the ball uncomfortable. They play inside the offensive player’s bubble.
Teach players to cut off the middle third of the floor with their hips not their head and recover back to the offensive player’s bubble.
Terminology
Forces twilight = player with the ball can half see and half not see.
Noon = player with the ball can see clearly.
Midnight = player with the basketball can’t see the floor at all.
Great Level 1 Defender
- Is a close talker, takes away the wrist shot drive and pass.
- Forces midnight=the offense can see the floor.
- Takes away triple threat position.
- The offense can’t open at the defensive player’s hips
Good Level 1 Defender
- Plays at a conversation distance away from the player with the basketball.
- Bothers shots, but does not take them away.
- Deflects passes.
- Stops drives after one dribble.
- Can arc the ball to the half line and doesn’t need help.
OK Level 1 Defender
- High talker (needs to play further off the ball than a close talker or a conversation distance
- Can’t force anything.
- Put and OK level 1 defender on a catch and shoot only player.
Still completions for level one defenders
- Arc the ball outside
- No baseline drives
- On a dead dribble, eat space
- Interrupt rhythm dribble pull up shots
- Dominate 1 on 1 in the highway
- Draw charges, 4 inch fall in the direction of the drive
Level 2 Defender Responsibilities
- Level 2 defender plays in space.
- Intercept passes and recover
- Establish a position to:
- Help outside the highway
- Stop the ball from being shot
- Meet and greet cutters in the lane
- Quickly recover to level 1 position when the player you are guarding receive a pass
- Adjust positions on every pass
- Goal is to guard 2/3 of the court, keeping the ball from going back into the highway (middle 1/3 of the court), while offensive actions are taking place, without having to switch.
- Fulfill all responsibilities deep into a long possession
- Cause skirmishes that create doubt in the ball handler’s mind
Every time there is one closeout, there should be 4 others.
The help behind the closeout is critical
On correcting mismatches or rotations—defense must find and cover the open player before the offense does.
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