Basketball Coach

We attack a half-court trap much the same way we attack a 3/4 court trap (2-2-1, Box). Again we will set up in our regular press breaker, assuming the defense will pressure full-court. 04 takes the ball out of bounds, 03 working the right side of the floor and 02 working the left side of the floor. Both 02 and 03 will break long first and then come back hard for the ball if necessary. 05 will line up at the free throw line and 01 near the top of the key, but against a half-court trap we should be able to safely inbound the ball to 01.

Once the ball is inbounded to 01, 04 and 02 interchange, 02 stays behind the ball, 03 works the right side of the floor, 04 works the left side of the floor, and 05 works the middle of the floor.

Most half-court traps look to trap near the sideline, so the middle becomes a key area in attacking the half-court pressure. In order to be effective offensively 05 must be active and continue to work the middle of the floor by moving in and out, attacking from behind the defense.

01 must know where he is going to pass the ball before he picks up his dribble. If 01 were to pick up his dribble then decide where to pass, it would be too late. The defense would have time to quickly form the trap using the half-court line and sideline as two more defenders. It would be like 5 on 7.

01 will first look to the middle of the floor to 05. If 01 is able to hit 05, 05 would receive the pass and then turn and face the basket, looking to hit either 03 or 04 breaking towards the basket.

01’s second option would be to reverse the ball to 02, after the defense had started to commit itself. 02 must be sure to be completely across the half-court line, if 01 had already crossed the line, to avoid an over and back violation. 02 would then look to hit 05 who is actively working the middle of the floor. If 05 is not open, 02 looks to 04 who has moved towards the baseline to spread the defense, to 03, and then back to 01. 02 also has the option of dribbling the basketball.

This may be a good option, especially if 01 got the defense to start to commit before reversing the ball to 02. If 02 decides to dribble the ball, he must be able to get by the front line of the defense. 02 must not simply take a couple of dribbles and then pick up his dribble, falling into an easy trap.

We will look to attack the basket against a half-court trap. If nothing develops, we quickly move into our half-court zone offense overload.

When we begin to attack a 3/4 court press, we will start in the same press breaker as we do against full-court pressure. We set up in this press breaker assuming the defense will use full-court pressure. 04 takes the ball out of bounds, 05 and 01 work in tandem, 03 works the right side of the floor and 02 works the left side of the floor, as shown in diagram 44.

Once the ball is inbounded we will attack things differently than we do against a full-court pressure. After 04 inbounds the ball to 01, 04, and 02 will interchange. 05 works the middle of the floor. 03 continues to work the right side of the floor and 03 will move down the floor to spread the defense, see diagram 45.

We still need to maintain 45 degree angles. We need someone behind the ball to relieve pressure (02), keep good floor spacing, and Z the floor.

01 will begin to advance the ball up the floor by looking to pass to 05, if he is open in the middle of the floor. In moving the ball up the floor it is important to remember the quickest and most efficient way to advance theball is by passing the ball.

01 dribbles the ball towards the half-court line and will hit 05 immediately if he can, as shown indiagram 46. If 05 is not open 01 continues to dribble towards the half-court line and tries to get the defense to commit (start to form the trap). Just before being trapped or before crossing the half-court line, 01 reverses the ball to 02, as shown in diagram 47. Remember in a Box (2-2-1) press the defense is looking to trap the ball near the half-court area, so we must turn the ball before crossing the half-court line. Hopefully, we can do so after forcing the defense to shift to one side.

When 02 catches the ball he is looking to advance the ball across the half-court line and attack the basket. 02’s first look will be to 05 who continues to work the middle of the floor by moving in and out and attacking from behind the defense. If 05 is open we will look to hit 05 right away, as shown in diagram 47 and create a 3 on 2 situation, like we see in diagram 48.

If 05 is not open right away, 02 will look to hit 04 who has moved towards the baseline to spread the defense or to 03 on the right side of the floor. Ifthe defense had already begun to shift to form the trap on 01, 02 may be able to advance the ball across the half-court line with the dribble. We again look to attack the basket, but if we do not have an advantage we will bring the ball back out and set up our half-court offense. 02’s last option would be to return the ball back to 01.

Once we inbound the basketball we want our offensive players to Z the floor, this means our players will be at 45 degree angles from the ball or at 45 degree angles from a teammate. In forming our 45 degree angles we create a pattern that looks like a backwards letter Z. Z-ing the floor creates good passing angles and good floor spacing.

In diagram 43, 01 has the basketball, 04 is behind the ball at a 45 degree angle, 05 is ahead of the ball at a 45 degree angle and 03 and 02 are both at 45 degree angles from their teammate 05.

1. Can they run the baseline? (Can they move?) You may run the baseline after a made basket, a made free throw, or after a defensive goaltending call. When in doubt ask the official.
2. Do not take the ball out of bounds from underneath the basket.
3. Know the height of the ceiling, the light fixtures, the scoreboard (if any scoreboard hangs down over the playing area), and any other object that may hang down over the playing area.
4. The inbounder has five seconds to release the ball.
5. The number of timeouts your team has left(only old NCAA rules).
6. Know where the out of bounds markings are on the floor.
7. How much room you have in the out of bounds area. How far you can move backwards.
8. The amount of time left in the game.
9. The amount of time left on the shot clock. (if applicable)
10. Your primary and secondary options for attacking the defense.

Full court pressure may come on any inbounds play in the back court – but often after a made bucket and especially after a made free throw.

• #4 takes the ball out of bounds.
• #5 and #1 work in a tandem with #1 breaking off of the screen of #5.
• #3 and #2 break long first and comeback for the ball if necessary.
• The ball is inbounded most often to #1.

Ideally we want to pass the ball down the floor, not dribble the ball. It is quicker to pass the ball and we lessen the chance of a turnover.

• #1 now has the ball.
• #4 stays behind the ball at a 45 degree angle.
• #5 is ahead of the ball at a 45 degree angle (often this will be in a circle),
• both #2 and #3 are up the floor from #5 at 45 degree angles.
• #1 is looking to pass the ball before the trap is allowed to form.

When #1 catches the ball his first look will be to #5 in the middle of the floor. We look here first since this pass will usually break a diamond press. If #5 is not open #1 then looks to #3 or #2 and then back to #4. If a pass were made back to #4 we would go to our original press breaking positions.

• #4 has the ball but may be “last man back”
• #5 and #1 work in a tandem with #1 breaking off of the screen of #5.
• #3 and #2 break long first and comeback for the ball if necessary.
• The ball is returned most often to #1 via a short pass or dribble hand-off or “Utah”

If none of these options are open, #1 may use the dribble, but we want to limit the use of the dribble against pressure.

As the ball is passed from #1 to #5,

• #5 now has the ball
• #4 will stay behind the ball to relieve pressure as he aligns himself at a 45 degree angle from #5.
• #1 moves up from the ball at a 45 degree angle.
• #2 moves up the floor and now gets at a 45 degree angle from the ball.
• #3 now gets at a 45 degree angle from #2.

Try to maintain good floor spacing, good passing angles, someone behind the ball to relieve pressure and try to spread the defense the full length and width of the floor.