- On-the-Ball Defense
- Stance
- Feet approximately shoulder-width apart
- 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
- Zone Defense Fundamentals
- React when ball leaves player’s hand
- Protect against penetration
- Keep hands up to limit passing lanes
- Use player-to-player concept on ball