Pressing Defense

I feel the press is one of the most potent weapons that you can have. We have always been known as a pressing team, and we like the reputation. I feel that if your team is always a pressing threat, your opponent may have to spend valuable practice time working against the press that he could very well be using for some other aspect of the game.

You can stress the following points to your players when teaching the press.

1. The PRESS is a psychological defense which you use to try to upset an opponent. You force teams to increase the tempo of play. A ball control team can be hurried when you throwon the full-court press. The surprise angle is very important.
2. To be good, a press must be a five man operation. If one man lets up, the press is ineffective.
3. You are gambling and should expect to give up an easy basket now and then. There is always going to be a man open so cheap baskets will result on occasion.
4. You should attempt not to foul although a progressive defense of this type will produce fouling.
5. You must be mentally ready to throw on the pressing defense.
6. The offense many times will stop and set up even after penetrating your press. So, nothing has been lost. You can regroup your defense again.
7. Many times even good shooters will take hurried and forced shots because of the pressure.
8. After getting possession, due to the opponent's error, always look up first and then move. Don't hurry your pass and give the ball right back.
9. Concede the first pass and start the ten second count. Make the offense commit themselves first. Encourage the dribbler. The average team will start to get panicky after five seconds have elapsed and commit an error.
10. Force the man with the ball to the middle for a possible double team. As the front line makes the attack, the middle and back line takes on zone responsibility looking for the long pass. DON'T LET THEM DRIBBLE DOWN THE SIDELINE.
11. Once the ball gets past the front line of defense, have them retreat to the line of the ball.
12. Once the ball penetrates into the front court return to your normal defense.

On many occasions we will press a particular opponent during the entire game. It is interesting to note that one year our team pressed twenty-six opponents full-court for the entire game and WON all twenty-six games. On three other occasions that year, for various reasons, we decided not to use the press, and we lost all three; two of them by a single point. I decided right after that season that we would stay with the press when it was going for us, and forget the experimenting.

In setting up the full-court press, we pick up our opponents after a successful field goal or free-throw attempt, a violation, or an interception. Sometimes a man will miss his assignment, and the opponent will break through for the easy basket, but this is to be expected when you are pressing. Tell your boys to forget about this. You plan on getting some easy baskets too.

This type of defense takes personnel who are in perfect physical condition. This is why you should stress the conditioning plan so religiously. You want your boys to "scurry" all over the floor, going all out on double teaming and trying for the interception in the back court.

I have used three types of zone press, and the man-to-man press in my coaching life, but stick to the 2-2-1 zone press as my basic pressing defense.

Charts 1-10 show the 2-2-1 zone press. I have broken it down into sequence, so you can get a good picture of what to do.

PRESSING  DEFENSE

Here is the basic set up. Your guards could be in a "wrestler's" stance, inviting the pass in from #2, to #3. Your forwards are three feet in from the sideline, and the right forward has his left foot forward, and the left forward has his right foot forward. They let the offensive forwards go by if they choose to do so. Your center should play back of the center circle and have his left foot forward.
USE THIS AS A DRILL, and tell my front line to "pinch" to the inside, keeping their hands off the offensive player. They attempt to force the panic or lob pass by giving the opponents a lot of pressure. I instruct the back men to gamble for the interception.

BASIC ZONE PRESS 2-2-1

KEY = -O- Defensive man
2-3-4-5-6 offensive men

DIAGRAM  2—PRESSING  DEFENSE  2-2-1
The first pass in has been made, and the two front men immediately become the attack men, ready for a hard pinch. The right front man on the side of the in-bounds pass, is one to two steps to the outside, so #3 cannot go to the outside, and dribble down the sidelines. Tell him to get low on defense and drive the man toward the middle so that he can get help on the pinch.

The middle man on the right side swings over to stop the pass to #5. The middle man on the left side gets ready for the pass to #2, 6, or 4.

The center, or back man, has zone responsibility. He stops all long passes toward the defensive basket.

DIAGRAM 3—PRESSING DEFENSE 2-2-1

There has been a return pass from #3, who received the in-bounds pass, back to #2, who was the in-bounds passer. This is where the most difficult phase of the press occurs. It is exceedingly difficult for you to impress upon your boys the quick lateral movement that is necessary to stop #2 from dribbling down the sidelines. The lateral shift by your front men must be very fast. You are not going after position, your primary objective is to stop #2's dribble. Don't close yet for the pinch.

Impress upon the boys not to go high in the air and leave their feet. Don't contact the man; the pinch is the thing. Keep hands high, forming a "cup," and force the high lob, desperate, or side-arm pass.
The two middle men swing over to the ball side. The left middle man swings over to stop the sideline pass to #4. The right middle man swings over to stop the cross court pass to #5 and possibly burst in to intercept the cross court pass to #3. The back man again has zone responsibility.


DIAGRAM 4—PRESSING  DEFENSE  2-2-1  

 

Let us now assume they do get the sideline pass away to #4. The middle man on the ball side breaks to the sideline, and turns in to stop #4 from dribbling down the sideline. The front man on the ball side moves over quickly to complete the "pinch." The front man on the right side drops back to pick up any loose pass. The middle man on the right swings over and takes the middle of the floor to stop any cross-court passes, and the back man swings over and watches for the long pass to #6.

   DIAGRAM 5—PRESSING  DEFENSE  2-2-1

If #4, or #5 come up to receive the ball, the middle men come up with them, as far as practical. Don't let the defense stop at the center line. If the center goes up, let him go, and the two front men will retreat to the line of the ball for the quick pinch. The back man will stay back for zone responsibility. STRESS VISION; NEVER LOSE A MAN FROM YOUR SIGHT.

DIAGRAM 6—PRESSING  DEFENSE  2-2-1

If a direct pass is made to an offensive forward near mid-court, immediately go into the phase diagrammed in the 4th phase of the press. The middle man comes up fast to the outside and "pinches" with the front man on the ball side. Always stress to your front men, retreat only to the line of the ball. The right front man floats back toward the middle for the cross-court pass; the middle man on the right side swings over to stop the pass to #5, and the back man swings over to the ball side and watches for the long pass down court to #6.

DIAGRAM 7—PRESSING  DEFENSE  2-2-1

This is an option that has been used against our press on many occasions. At one time it gave us trouble, but after our boys practiced against this attack every day for two weeks it never bothered us again. We practice against this phase two to three times every week.

No. 3 has thrown the ball in to No. 2, and the two front men set up the pinch. No. 2 manages to pass to No. 5 breaking into the center of the floor. The middle man on the right side immediately moves up to the outside and helps the front man on the right set up the pinch. The middle man on the right side releases his position and moves across to intercept No. 3 if he receives a return pass from No. 5. The left middle man slides over to protect against the cross-court pass to No. 4. The left front man retreats to the line of the ball and looks for the cross-court pass to No. 2. The back man swings over to the ball side and has zone responsibility to protect against the long pass.

DIAGRAM 8—PRESSING DEFENSE  2-2-1

I will, on a prearranged signal, have the back man follow the center up into the front court if our opponent has established a pattern of passing to his center man in the middle of the floor. The back man checks #6, and as the front men close for the double pinch, the back man slides over to intercept the possible return pass to #3. The two middle men must drop back to cover the area that the back man has vacated. Usually the middle man to the ball side stays up, and the opposite side middle man drops back to defense against the long pass.




DIAGRAM 9—PRESSING  DEFENSE  2-2-1

If (and we work hard to see that this doesn't often happen) they get past our front line of defense on the dribble, the front man to the ball side follows the dribbler and helps the middle man to the ball side with the pinch. The middle man to the ball side should then anticipate the high pass to #5 and be ready to quickly drop back, and make the interception. The front man on the left side drops back to the line of the ball and becomes a floater, looking for the cross-court pass. The middle man on the left side must depend on his vision to tell him that he is needed to cover #6. This releases the back man to cover #5 so he cannot receive the sideline pass.

DIAGRAM  10—PRESSING  DEFENSE  2-2-1

If #2 would manage to dribble past the front line of defense, (and this should never happen) the middle man on the right side moves quickly up to check the dribbler. The front line quickly retreats to the line of the ball and sets up the pinch while the middle man, who has checked #2, falls back to cover #5. The middle man on the left side stops the cross-court pass to #4. The back man plays the zone area stopping the long pass to #6.



1-3-1   ZONE  PRESS

You can often alternate this press with the basic 2-2-1, so that the opponents have difficulty setting up a definite pattern of attack against your press. Use the same basic philosophy of the "pinch" in this press, with the "point" man working with either of the two front men on the pinch.
Try to put your fastest, or quickest boy on the "point," your two best defensive men on the two front positions, and your two best "thinkers" as the two back men.

When you set up this press in practice, give your boys the same basic instructions you gave when setting up the 2-2-1 press. All of the men assume the "wrestler's stance" and invite the offensive team to throw the ball in towards the sideline. The point man plays to the middle of the floor, forcing the man throwing the ball in to throw toward the corner.

The front man on the right has his left foot forward, and the front man on the left has his right foot forward. The middle man moves slightly to the ball side of the floor, ready to stop the sideline pass and also ready to react to the cross-court pass. The back man has his left foot forward and plays a zone area, always ready to stop the long pass.

In this diagram, I have the offensive team in the positions you will normally find them when using this press in the game. Notice the point man is playing toward the center of the floor, inviting #2 to throw the ball to #3. If this pass is made, the point man and the left front man converge on #3 and "pinch" him very hard. Concentrate on making him throw the lob or cross-court pass. The middle man should swing over to the ball side to stop the sideline pass to #4 while the right front man drops back to stop the cross-court pass to #5. The right front man also watches for the cross-court pass to #2. The opposite is true if the ball goes to the opposite side of the floor on the original throw in. The back man is always the safety man, and watches for the long pass down court.

MAN-TO-MAN PRESS

When I use the man-to-man press we switch so that we can create as many double-teaming situations as possible. All of the players must be very aggressive, but we do not want them to foul. I stress peripheral vision; I want the man to be able to see the ball and his opponent at the same time.

If I do not respect our opponent's ball handling, I will sometimes allow my two guards to go down into the front court and harass the two ball handling guards. At other times, if the opponent's guards are careless with their passes, I will let one of my guards go down and attempt to make an interception on the throw in.
 

THE 1-3-1 ZONE TRAP

Over the years my teams have acquired quite a valuable reputation with our 1-3-1 zone trap defense. For many years I used this defense successfully on the high school level and for the past several years my Northern Michigan University teams have successfully competed against many outstanding college opponents using the 1-3-1 trap as our basic defense.
We have an eleventh commandment here at Northern Michigan which we direct at our opponents. We say, "Thou shalt not penetrate the Power Zone." We draw an imaginary line fifteen feet from the basket and tell our players that a shot in this area is a great percentage shot so our opponents must NEVER penetrate this "power zone" with a direct pass and get the easy shot.

I know with our zone we are going to give up some 17-20 ft. jump shots, but we hope to give them up under pressure.

I believe that in order to win consistently you must dictate the terms under which your opponent gets his shots. I know that we are in trouble if the shot is consistently taken inside the fifteen foot radius. We always try to force our opponents to take their shots outside this area.

I give our players the following instructions which specifically outline individual responsibilities.

First, it must be accepted that the key to any good defense is HUSTLE. The primary strength of the 1-3-1 zone trap is designed to stop the inside shot. Everyone must concentrate on his position. DON'T GAMBLE FOR THE INTERCEPTION, GO TO YOUR SPOT AND PLAY YOUR POSITION AND WE WILL STOP THE HIGH PERCENTAGE SHOT.

Positions

POINT MAN: You set up half-way between the ten second line and the top of the slot. Split the guards if they attack with a two man front. You always let the weak-side wing man be responsible for picking up the guard away from the ball on the cross-court pass, however, you must always try to play to the side so you force a lob cross court pass. When the ball penetrates you go to the free throw line or deeper if necessary and front the high post man. You always go to the broken line in the lane as a rebounder.

WING MAN: You should establish your first line of defense up high, the top of the slot extended.

If the guard forces you with the ball, and an offensive forward is playing high, feint the guard to try to stop his dribble, then release him to the point
man and slide back quickly to defense the forward. If the forward dribbles toward the baseline you play him man-to-man and trap him  aggressively in the corner with help from the baseline man. If he passes to a baseline offensive player you follow the pass and again trap with the baseline defensive man. Trap very aggressively with high hand action.
If you are on the weak side play inside the broken line to stop diagonal penetration with the ball, and you must also recover quickly to defend against the outside man on a quick return pass. You also are responsible for crashing the weakside board.

BASELINE MAN: You should set up in the center of the floor on the broken line of the free throw circle. You must cover the corners on both sides of the floor. Stay in the area under the basket and front any offensive man there. Anticipate the pass to the corner and FLY OUT THERE, but don't leave too early. We would rather give them the corner shot than let them take the ball inside. Go to the corner with your body under control so that you can stop the baseline drive and also be in a position to aggressively double team the man with the ball with the wing man. When the ball is passed back outside, SPRINT back to your low post position. If the ball is passed into the low post position you must sprint back and try and double team the ball with the defensive low post man. YOU MUST BE ALERT AND VERBALLY HELP OUT YOUR TEAMMATES. You can see the entire floor so you must direct your teammates to the areas where they are needed.

POST MAN: Front everyone who sets up inside the lane on offense. Play high to the ball side if your man sets up past the top of the slot. FRONT EVERY ONE DOWN LOW. You must sprint to the low post to cover when the baseline man leaves that area to cover the corners. One of the big keys to the defense is for you to never let our opponents make a direct pass to the post man when he is inside the top of the slot.

BLITZ: Sometimes we make an all out attempt to steal a pass or force our opponents into a turnover. We do this out of our 1-3-1 alignment and key the action by having our baseline man call out "Blitz". This indicates to the other four defensive men the defense we are in.

We use the same 1-3-1 alignment but the point man and our weakside wing man now assume different responsibilities. As our opponents penetrate with the ball our point man slides to the sideline and sets up so he can seal off the passing lane from the corner up the sideline. The weakside wing now moves up to front the high post area. Now we have five defensive players on the side of the ball, and have sealed off all the passing lanes. The two men double teaming the ball must of course exert tremendous pressure to keep the offensive man from making an unmolested or uncontested pass.

Remember, when you "Blitz" you are taking a gamble, but the surprise element and the tremendous pressure you can exert on the ball will quite often consistently get you the ball. Over the years it has won us a lot of games.

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