One foot slightly ahead of the other–straight line from front of back foot should intercept the arch of front foot
Weight evenly distributed on balls of feet—heels should not leave ground
Knees flexed
Buttocks down so that chin is directly above the knees (stay low)
Head up
Elbows slightly flexed with arms just outsides the body line
Hands positioned with palms up
Hands are used to harass player with ball but head should not dip forward
Hands should move in an upward direction when harassing
Foot Movement
Feet never touch
Feet never cross
Side-to-side movement—defensive shuffle
Step with in direction in which you are going (if going right, step with right foot)
Opposite foot is used to push off, kept close to the ground, and moved not closer than 12 inches toward the other foot
Do not drag foot
Do not pick fett up in the air
Feet sholder never closer than 12 inches apart
Retreat step
Pivot on back foot
Swing front leg behind the pivot foot while still facing forward (never turn back to the ball)
Diagonal step
Pivot on foot opposite of the direction the offensive player goes (offensive player goes to left, pivot on right foot)
Swing other foot 60° to 90° by opening up (still facing offensive player)
Execute defensive shuffle until offensive player changes direction again
Position on Player with Ball
Half-player ahead concept
Try to force offensive player to go in one direction
The up foot in the defensive stance should be outside the foot of the offensive person, which is the direction defensive player is trying to take away (Example: if taking away an offensive player’s right, then up foot should be outside offensive player’s right foot)
Offensive player’s foot should point directly between the defensive person’s feet
Shoulder of offensive player should not point directly in the middle of the defensive person’s body (if taking away right, then right shoulder of offensive player intersects middle of defensive person’s body)
Offensive player can go in two direction
If going to the side that defensive person is overplaying, then defensive swing the up foot in the stance back and shuffles to get body in front of offensive player
If going to the side that defensive person is not overplaying, then defense must shuffle quickly in order to place body in front of offensive player
Straight up concept
Defensive player is positioned in a defensive stance to be head-to-head with offensive player
Defensive player must be prepared to shuffle in either direction in order to maintain position on offensive player
Dictate to player with ball; be aggresive
Defensive player should be one arm’s length away from the offensive person with the ball
When offensive player picks up dribble
Defensive person should get up as close to offensive player as possible without fouling
Use hands to harass offensive player by following the ball
If offensive player takes ball above the head, then defensive person brings arms up and crosses them in front of opponent’s face
Defense against the shot
Outside jumper
May use one of two methods:
Crowd offensive player by taking a step toward offensive person and extend arms straight up in air; do not leave floor.
Jump straight up and extend one arm to contest shot—do not leave floor until offensive player leaves floor
never foul on long distance shot
Inside shot
May use one of two methods
Crowd offensive player and extend arms straight up in air; do not leave floor
Jump straight up and extend one arm (preferably inside arm) to contests shot; do not leave the floor until offensive player does not
When contesting a lay-up go after block with inside arm (Example: If lay-up is from the right side, then go after block with left hand
Concentration point must always be on the mid-section of the offensive player
Off-the-Ball Defense
Body Position
Body Position
Should be facing the offensive player
Must be between the ball and the player being guarded
Positions of arms
Far arm from basket should be extended out into the pass lane with palm facing the basketball
Inside arm should be chest high with elbow out so that forearm is facing offensive player
Head should be positioned so that defense can see both the ball and the player being guarded
Foot movement
Players must use defensive shuffle in order to maintain position
Two options to defend a backdoor cut:
On backdoor cut by offense, use forearm to slow down the cut by the offense and continue to maintain original position
Use forearm to slow down cut by offense, but open up to the ball
Pivot on foot closer to basket
Swing other foot in the direction of the ball intil it is past the inside foot in order to open up fully
If offense comes back out to receive ball, pivot on same foot and swing other back to get into the original deny position
Always be prepared to help out teammates
Further the defense is from the ball, the further the defensive player may be away from the person being guarded
Always maintain ball-you-man principle
Be able to see both the ball and the player being guarded at all times; form a triangle
When guarding a person without the ball, as soon as defense sees an offensive player attempt a dribble penetration, defense moves in the direction of the dribbler
Face all cutters to the basket
If guarding person with ball, as soon as pass is made, move in the direction of the pass (jump toward the ball in order to make offensive player cut behind) and make contact
If guarding a player two or more players away from the ball, defense must step into cutting lane in order to front the cutter
Front the low post players
Be active with the feet
Attack offensive player depending upon position in the low post
If low post is below the box on the foul lane, try to attack for fronting positionfrom the foul-line side
If low post is above the box on the foul lane, try to attack for fronting position from the baseline side
Maintain contact with offense when fronting in low post
Defense against the pick
Switching
Defensive player on person setting the screen picks up offensive player using the screen
Offensive player on person using the screen picks up offensive player setting the screen
Either defensive person may call “Switch”
Check-and-recover technique
Defensive player guarding the person setting the screen
When offensive players comes off the screen, step out to make offense go wide
Lock other foot with player setting screen
Recover as quickly as possible to guard setting screen
Defensive player guarding the person using the screen
Fight over top of screen; step over top
Be physical
Continue to play offensive player using the pick
Defensive player on person setting screen gives help to teammate in order to give person time to fight over top
Communication with teammates
Call out all picks
Also call out “help,” “shot,” etc.
Taking a charge
Make sure feet are planted in offensive player’s path
Get body in position
Knees flexed in basketball position
Arms up at chest level with elbows out
When contact is made by offensive player
Fall backward to prevent taking full brunt of charge
Extend of backward fall will depend on amount of contact and momentum of offensive player
Throws arm back on contact after giving a slight push to offensive player to protect from excessive contact
Make moaning sound when hit
When hitting floor try to land on buttocks and slide on floor
Defenisve rebounding
Positioning
Distance from basket
Make sure not to get caught too far under the basket
Distance depends on length of shot taken by offense—the long the shot, the more distance needed between the basket and the defensive rebounder
Boxing-out
Made contact with offensive player immediately
Wide base with the feet
Knees flexed
Buttocks down so as to sit on the offensive player’s thighs
Elbows up so arms from shoulder to elbow are approximately parallel to the floor
Forearms extended up in the air, ready to grab rebound
Two methods by which to make initial contact with offensive player:
Reverse pivot
Pivot on foot opposite from the initial direction the offensive players decides to go (if offensive player goes right, then defensive person pivots on left foot)
Swing opposite leg around on an inside path
Make contact with buttocks
Front pivot
Move same foot as initial direction of offensive player (if offense goes to the right, defense moves right foot) directly in front of player so as to cut off the path to the basket
Make contact with forearm first, then hip and buttocks
Other foot becomes pivot foot
Shuffle feet so as to maintain contact with offensive player
Getting the ball off the board
Use legs to drive up to get ball
Extend both arms up
Grab ball with both hands
Be aggressive–go after ball with authority
Executing the Outlet pass
While coming down with basketball
try to take half turn to the outside (if closer to left sideline, then open up left shoulder)
Turn head to look over outside shoulder to try to pick up outlet person
Keep ball up near or above head while keeping it away from offensive player
After landing on floor
Step toward outlet person with closest person
Keep other foot planted
Execute two-handed overhead pass toward target
If being excessively pressured for initial outlet pass, then take one dribble to relieve pressure before executing pass