It is a foregone conclusion that anytime that your team is ahead late in a game, you are going to see some form of pressure defense. Chances are, you may also seem more than one kind of pressure. In addition to the above circumstance, some teams press regardless of the situation. These teams begin the game in a press and will continue whether they are behind or ahead. When you encounter pressure defense at these times, will your team handle the pressure? Will they be prepared? Or will they be rattled? Will they choke?
In teaching offense against pressure, the best approach to take first is a philosophical one. If your team is hesitant, if they are trying to prevent mistakes when faced with pressure, this negative thinking will mar their overall performance. All of the best patterns will not help this team as much as positive thinking. The correct idea to sell is that when the other team is pressing, it should be lay up time. If they are pressing our team, it is because they cannot beat us without doing so. Once we beat their press, they will be in big trouble. If your team is spread out, a few quick passes can produce a lay up. The best way to beat a press is to score and score quickly.
Many teams, when on offense against pressure, simply look to get the ball past mid-court and they are satisfied with not having turned the ball over. If you put yourself in the place of the pressing team, think how this approach is affecting their team. They will know that no matter how many mistakes they make, it will not matter because you will not be looking to score off of their mistakes. This will give them added confidence and allow them to gamble all the more.
Next, ask yourself and your team, why are your opponents pressing? If they are behind, it could be because they are panicking and pulling out all the stops. If a team is pressing at the beginning of a game, and many teams do, then they may be using the press as their chief offensive weapon. Yes, I do mean offensive weapon because the press can start fast breaks. Ask yourself why. Do they have little or no confidence in their perimeter defense? Do they expect little or no results from their perimeter defense? Must they depend upon the press to get them the needed points? Think how this will affect the pressing team if you and your team can neutralize their chief weapon.
Perhaps they are pressing due to a lack of size. They may feel that if they can cause many of your possessions to result in turnovers. This will mean you are taking fewer shots. If you are a taller team, these shots could be close in shots. If you are a better rebounding team, turnovers from a successful press will result in fewer shots for your team to rebound.
If you do not give in to the pressure, it could frustrate them. Better still; think how much fun it will be to score points off of their press. To score lay ups off of a pressing team will not only frustrate them it could demoralize them. This will also affect other phases of their game and thus make them a weaker team.
Try to convince your team that when the other team presses, it is lay up time. If your players have the right mental approach, it is half of the battle. They will now respond more positively in a crucial situation. Remember that it only takes 5 minutes to teach an offensive pattern but it takes many hours to teach a point of view. Never give up and never give in. Keep stressing ideas as you have stressed ball and player movement.
Once the players have their heads on straight, the next successful coaching technique is to remember the KISS philosophy (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Think about how much practice time that you have to devote to this phase of the game. It is probably not enough. You could conceivably have an offensive pattern for every particular press imaginable. You would probably confuse your players. Not only would this be impossible to teach properly, but think what will happen to your team when an opponent springs a press on them at an unexpected time. They will waste more time thinking what would be the best press offense that they should be using than they would actually use to beat the press. Many players cannot remember multiple sets. So keep them to a minimum. Be sure that they fit the personnel that you have and be sure that it is not too much for them to handle. It is not important how many offenses a coach knows. What is paramount is how many offenses the players know and can execute well.
I have found that only 2 press offenses are enough to successfully combat and beat any possible press. When your opponent presses you, your players must ask themselves two basic questions. Is the defense letting us in-bound the ball? Secondly, is the press a man-to-man press or a zone press? The answers to these questions will dictate one of the two approaches that the offense should take.
Let us assume that the
pressing team will not allow the offensive team to in-bound the ball. The format
for the first offensive set will be shown in Diagram #1. The two best ball handlers
and dribblers (#1 and #2) will be at the corners of the free throw line. The
best available passer (#3) will be in-bounding the ball. The other two players,
usually the center (#5) and the big forward (#4) will be between the foul line
and mid court but next to the sidelines.
Since the defense is trying to prevent the in bounds pass, the guards must work to get open. The quickest, safest, most reliable method is to set a screen. Doing this quickly is important because, once #3 has picked up the ball to pass in bounds, he only has 5 seconds to do this. To get a player open, the guard ball side (#1) sets a screen for the other guard (#2). Proper screening technique is a must. If the defensive player is permitted to fight around the screen, or if the offensive players just do not realize the importance of this facet of the offense, then a turnover will occur even before the ball is in bounded. What I mean by this is there will be a 5-second violation. (See Diagram #2)
The proper screening technique
is to teach the players the idea of "head hunting". It will not suffice
merely to run to the spot to set a screen. It does not insure that a teammate
is getting open. The screener must run right at the defender of the teammate
that he is trying to get open. Of course, he must stop short of contact or else
he will commit a blocking foul. This will be a turnover. This is what we are
trying to avoid. As long as the defender is forced to run around the screener
or is momentarily bumped by the screener, this will be all the time that the
offensive player needs to get open. (If the screen does not work, the player
who cut across to get open (#2), should turn around and run back to set a screen
for #1.)
Just as important as #2 is as a potential receiver, I firmly believe that the person most likely to get open when a screen is set properly is the screener himself! Look at Diagram #2. If player #1 sets a screen and pivots against the player he screened, he has an open lane to the ball. He could receive a pass. The key is: on contact with the defender, turn and face the ball.
Assuming that one of the guards is open, #3 will pass him the ball. In this example, it will be #2.
At this point, the players must determine if the defense is man to man or zone. If it is man to man and it is simple coverage, (i.e. no double teaming, no run and jump) the other players should back off and let the guard, #2, bring the ball up the floor one on one. If the players get out of the way, it will not allow the defense to double team or run and jump. If the defense is trying to double team, regardless of whether you are trying to get out of the way or not, then follow the offense as it is diagrammed. If it is single coverage man to man, allow the guard to dribble up the floor one on one. This will permit you to get the ball past mid-court to set up your offense. In this case, do not follow the diagrams. If you do not have one player who can bring the ball up the floor one on one, then you have some problems. Only working on the fundamentals will help this.
Getting back to normal pressure situations, you now probably are seeing a zone press of some kind. #2 has just received the in bounds pass from #3. When this happens, the big man ball side, #5, will take a few steps down the sideline toward the ball. Also the other guard, #1 will start to drift away from the ball. The in bounder, #3, will step in bounds as soon as he passes the ball. And the big man weak side, #4, will flash into the middle of the floor as a post.
The most important player in any offensive set is the post player. At any given moment the post player can be a guard, forward or a center. But to have a post player in the middle of the defense controls the structure of the zone. It does not let the zone spread out too much. The defense must protect the middle of the zone. What #2 must try to do is get the ball to #4 or #5. If he cannot, the ball will be swung (as quickly as possible) back to #3 and over to #1. While this is occurring, the posts will move as follows: #4 will cut to the sideline on the ball side where he was at the beginning of the set. #5 will break to the middle of the floor from the far sideline.
At any time that one of these big men is open, they should receive the ball. Once one of them gets the ball, the defense will begin to break down. With sharp, quick ball movement, it will not take long. (See Diagram #3)
For the sake of argument, Diagram #4 follows Diagram #2. The sequence is that #2 was able to throw the ball to #4 in the middle. Once the offense can get the ball to #4 or #5 (in this case it is #4 and it will usually be the man in the middle) then the following movements will take place. Going back to diagram #2, we will assume that the ball did not have to be swung back and forth. The weak side guard, #1, will run up the sideline. #5 will also move up his sideline. #3 and #2 will both trail the play and spread apart. It is important that the players know that there must always be a safety valve and, more importantly, the peace of mind that there will always be somebody open. There will never be a reason to panic. (See Diagram #4)
This will usually create a 3 on 2 situation. If the post cannot get the ball to either of the players cutting down the side line, (#1 and #5) a simple pass back to #2 or #3 will prevent a double team or steal from behind. If this occurs, #1 and #5 must turn around and come back to support the ball. They will then assume the same positions that they had before the ball was passed to #4 (Diagram #2). Usually the first pass into the post will cause most presses to fall back.
A few points are important when teaching this. #4 and #5 are allowed to move to get open and should be encouraged to do so. However, to prevent a double team or collisions with teammates, they must be told to stay out of the middle of the floor. If they stay near the sideline they may come up to the end line or cut deep for a long pass. Should the ball be passed to them right away in this situation they should look for a guard as soon as possible. If the ball is passed back to a guard as they are moving up or back, they must get to their assigned spots right away. Once the ball is passed in bounds, the posts will now follow in their normal movements (i.e. one moves to the middle from the weak side, while the other remains on the near sideline). Another aspect of neutralizing pressure is composure. If a team realizes that they are being pressed, they must not panic.
It is a disadvantage of
this press offense that it is structured. Certain people must be in assigned
spots. If they take their time getting to their designated spots, because of
laziness or confusion, you could be faced with a 5-second violation. Stress
to the players that they must get to their assigned spots as quickly as possible
and to be aware of what is going on. Also tell the player who is in bounding
the ball to take his time getting to the ball. Tell him to walk to the ball.
He should be looking at his teammates to insure that they are getting in place.
If not, he can use this opportunity to direct them as he is walking to the ball.
Once he picks the ball up, the 5-second count will begin. Put these two concepts
together, composure and awareness, and you will never be hit with a 5-second
violation.
The next pattern to be discussed deals with the first question that was asked. If the defense is allowing the offense to in bound the ball, it will dictate the following pattern. If they are allowing the in bound pass, the defense is most likely in a zone press. If the press is simple man to man, and the other team is letting you in bound the ball, then tell everyone to clear out and let your guard bring the ball up the court.
If the defense is in a zone, follow the second type of press offense. It is a very easy concept to teach. We merely tell our players to go opposite. What this means is that any zone occupies certain positions on the floor. Conversely, a zone leaves certain positions open on the floor. For example, a 1-3-1-1 press leaves certain parts on the floor uncovered.
For full court pressure, have one guard, #1, in bound the ball. #2 will stay near the end line. The forwards, #3 and #4, will begin at the hash marks. The center, #5, will go deep to the other end of the floor. (See Diagram #5)
This type of alignment is useful against most type of zone presses. #1 will pass to #2. The forward on ball side, #4 will come up to the side line a few steps and the forward, #3, will break to the middle. #2 can pass to #1, #3, or #4. If he passes back to #1, both #3 and #4 will adjust. #3 will go back to the sideline from which he came. #4 will break from the side line weak side to the middle. (See Diagram #6)
This will create a fast break opportunity. As #4 dribbles up the middle, #3 will fill the lane on his side. #5, who begins as deep as possible, is now in a position to be a receiver in the fast break. The reason that #5 goes deep in the beginning is that the defense must cover him and this will spread things out for the other players. It will be more obvious if someone is open.
Let's go back to the concept of going opposite. If the defense is pressing with a 1-3-1, the original alignment will be fine to begin with. However, once the ball is passed from #1 to #2, the following movements will take place. The forward at the opposite hash mark moves to the middle as a post. (That will be #3.) The forward ball side, #4 will drift back a bit behind the defender who is near him. The center, #5 will move up the weak side as shown in Diagram #7. We how have gone opposite. To counteract the 1-3-1 press, we go with a 2-1-2 offense. What we now look to do is split the offense.
Two important points must be emphasized here. The post player, #3 in this case, must constantly work to be open. He must be over the top of the defender in the middle of the zone and not allow the defender to deny him any passes. Secondly, people ball side, #4, must move a bit closer to the ball than people weak side, #5. The weak side player will drift to split the defender on the weak side. He, the defender, must worry about #1 and #5 in this case. As before, the off guard should remain behind the ball, #1, to allow the ball handler, #2, a safety valve to pass to.
Should the defense use
a 2-2-1 press, follow the same beginning as outlined in Diagram #8. After #1
passes to #2, #3 will flash to the middle, #4 will be sure to be between the
defenders in front and in back of him. #1 will curl around to be even with #4
and #3. #5 stays deep. Notice that we have gone opposite once again. Against
the 2-2-1, we have gone with a 1-3-1 alignment.
The above situations deal with full court pressure. If the opponents were to employ half or three-quarters court pressure, how would we handle it? If we wanted to get complicated, we would try to break things down for each of these situations and for each of these presses. Remember the KISS philosophy. There is no reason to treat this kind of pressure any differently. Of course, the offense should occupy slightly different positions on the floor, depending on the pressure being full, three-quarters, or half-court pressure. But the players' relative positions to one another should be the same. If you see a 2-2-1 press, always use a 1-3-1 against it. If you see a 3-2 press, use a 2-1-2 offense against it, etc.
In conclusion, it is best to teach a philosophy to a team first before embarking on any X and O diagrams. Tell them to get hungry, that you expect lay-ups against pressure. If they believe in themselves and what they are doing, it will work well. Next, spend as much time as possible drilling them with the two basic options that have been outlined. There are only two to teach. This should allow more time to do these well rather than making time to deal with many different sets.