• Learn effective man to man help defence. Players can ‘hide’ or learn bad habits in a zone defence.
• A commitment by coaches to full court as well as half court man to man defence. So that players are forced to move anticipate and rotate with good talk.
• If and when playing Zone understand that it as a secondary team defence. • As such we must ensure that the
mentality is that we “play man to man out of zone” thereby ensuring we are working to the same defensive team principles of single on ball coverage, effective footwork for close outs and good split line vision and rotations.
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Here’s What Coaches
Are Saying:
“The first step in order to build a good team defence is for the player to learn the correct positioning that he/she must have in front of the player he/she is defending, in relation to both the attacking players position on the court and where the ball is.”
“It is fundamental to establish the correct defensive positioning whilst the ball is moving through the air and not once it has arrived in our opponents’ hands.”
Ettorie Messina
“In the UK for many years we have taught help principles that have now, in the modern game, become obsolete. It is time to change our mindset and philosophy to allow our players to learn revised and new principles which will allow us to compete at the highest level.”
Tony Garbelotto (BBL championship winning coach)
“Defending 5 out or 4 out penetration drive and particularly the on ball penetrate and kick game is our key defensive
challenge at the international level. Getting over the ON-Ball screen, our OFF-Ball positioning, effective rotations and the technique of the close out become the key to success in defending the pick and roll.”
Warwick Cann, British Basketball National Teams Director
“The pick and roll and penetrate and kick game are very popular at all league and championship levels. Defence must be more capable in defending this tactic if you want success.”
Tom Maher, 2012 GB Senior Women’s Coach
“Defence wins championships.”
Multiple coaches!!
Recommendations For The
National System
• Change our mindset and equally focus our defensive principles to allow our players to learn and value team defence. This will include OFF-Ball positioning and rotation to help. • Develop a coaching mindset that
restricts opposition teams particularly at the international junior level. This will become a priority for national teams. Defence targets for each quarter will be established. This will become a team key performance indicator for success. • Use your team defensive system
(including OFF-Ball pressure) to dictate terms to the offence, force the ball towards the sideline/baseline, pressure the ball and the line of the pass and bump cutters & screeners. Generally be disruptive off the ball, stopping or disrupting the offence from doing what it plans.
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• Be disruptive OFF the ball as well as ON-Ball. Encourage active hands and highlight deflections as an indicator of intensity and good team defence. • Defensive team concepts, principles
and techniques will be referenced in the team defence master checklist. These will be used for coaching for understanding and situational OFF-Ball drilling.
• A common approach to teaching the shell drill with established key principles and teaching progressions will be developed for all national development programs.
• A consistent approach in teaching the OFF-Ball defensive principles. This includes stance, help positioning, rotations, and defence against cuts and screens as they occur at junior levels. U16’s will feature some screening while U18’s and seniors will involve multiple screening situations to be defended. Screen defence should feature as needed at the U16 level but the basic screen defence concepts must be introduced at this level and refined and rehearsed at U18 level and beyond. • Our players need to be able to defend
multiple positions and situations. Talls and Bigs need the challenge of closing out, containing and then defending OFF-Ball on the perimeter.
• All players should be able to defend the post, the cutter and post up.
• Our players need to learn to anticipate and break the timing and rhythm of opponents’ offensive play through individual and team disruptive techniques. Bumping cutters, being physical and using the slash arm motion to defend both cutters and posts will be encouraged.
• Trusting and highlighting that your team mate contains their opponent especially with dribble drive or 1v1 is a key aspect of OFF-Ball decision to help. • Stop players over helping by trying to
give help or rotate when help is not needed or penetration has not yet been effected.
• Adapting shell defensive principles versus dribble drive and kick offense, and defending the ON-Ball screen with penetration kick to 3pt shooters.
• More attention to close out footwork and starting position for the close out (i.e. from help or hedge and recover to the deep 3pt shooter).
• Coach closing out shorter vs dribble drive kick game. Coach both a short close out for containment and a long close out for pressure.
• Help line not digging in to the keyway to stop the dribbler when penetration has not been effected, especially when ball is above the foul line.
• Understanding there is baseline, side and middle penetration. Each of these situations need slight different
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• Our team defence finishes when we have the ball. Defence finishes with blocking out, securing the rebound and advancing the ball in transition.
• The national system preference is to develop a more effective defensive stance with good vision; the open stance or “pistols position” when
playing OFF-Ball to players on the help- side. So the help-side defence is open stance with an ability to reverse pivot and open up against dribble
penetration when help and rotation is required.
• We wish to play more towards the line of the pass for both pass denial and for closer close out movement against the skip pass and flare cut. Generally the defender will be two steps (defensive slides) off the offensive player, with an ability to adjust to play closed denial one step off the player.
• National system coaches will be required to coach effective team
offense specifically off ball movement in order to then be able to coach effective OFF-Ball defence. This also applies to coaching the post concepts and principles in order to be effective in defending it as part of OFF-Ball defence.
• While our national system will force baseline we must understand that all dribble penetration does not always occur along the baseline and as a consequence the help positioning rotation and timing will require additional attention. Side penetration (side of the keyway, i.e. mid block or higher) requires adjusted positioning
and judgement of the driving line and the passing line to the weak side corner shooter. Similarly when penetration occurs down the middle (through the foul line area) the home defender has to judge and decide when to come off the passing line and dropping to the driving line and stopping the drive for the layup. Each of these penetration areas offers options which must be defended and understood in terms of OFF-Ball defence positioning and movement.
• The national system has two clear communication responsibilities for the help line players; we refer to these positions as “home” and “top”. All penetration, passing and cutting action is neutralised by the effectiveness of the help line to communicate and fill these positions. Home is the defender of the lowest player on the weak-side and top being the second lowest player.
• British Basketball coaches should coach the over the screen with a hard show and recover.
• The switch should be explored by national teams once the over and show is mastered. All national teams must also have the ability to double/trap the dribbler and rotate effectively from the help line.
• Develop a coaching mindset that restricts opposition teams particularly at the international junior level. This will become a priority for national teams; defence targets for each quarter will be established. This will become a team key performance indicator for success.
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