Randy in Worcester emailed me looking for advice on [tag]defensive basketball drills[/tag]. Here’s a response from Ben that has“ been successful. “
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This might not be the newest idea on the block, but I have implemented this into my game plan and we have been able to beat [tag]basketball[/tag] teams that are more athletic or bigger than us, but not as quick in their minds. We make up [tag]defensive[/tag] sets.
We run three different presses during a game. We have each press matched up with some style zone and some style of man to man. If we make a basket we go to whatever press we are in, and if they break it we fall into a zone of some style. If we miss the bucket we go immediately into the matching man to man. We call these sets just like offensive plays.
For example – Defense “1” would be a faceguard off a miss but a 1-2-1-1 press on make falling into a 1-3-1 if they break the press. Defense “2” would be a basic man to man off a miss but a 1-3-1 full court trap off a miss with a 2-3 if they break the press. The thing about this is not that we are great defensive players (our total attendance in our high school is only about 60 students) but we are able to keep the offensive team out of a set rhythm. Last year we were 17-9 and this year we are playing an even tougher schedule and this defensive scheme is working well. Just a thought.