When you watch high school or college basketball, try to take a game or even part of a game, and concentrate on the defensive end of the floor. It can be very revealing to witness the times your team is on defense and are out of position because of poor stances.
Regardless of what type of defense you want to play, it starts with stance. For a while, it was popular for the defensive team to "slap" the floor. This was an attempt to emphasis the defenders to get into and maintain a proper stance through out the possession. Regardless of the analytics, I am not convinced that games are won or lost at the offensive end of the floor.
Take practice or game video and count how many possessions you can find in which all five of your players are in a defensive stance at the same time. I know, if it's like the reviews I made, it can be disappointing to find your team seldom stays in a good defensive stance.
I have previously mentioned in other blog(s) we started most of our practices with a mass stance drill. If I had it to do over again, I would have added some variety to the drill such as the rehearsal of closeouts, help & recover moves, and post defense. I don't think there is any "magic" in starting practice with a mass stance drill but we felt it was important. I wanted our players to know defensive was a priority in our program.
We tried to teach several different stances:
1. On the Ball Stance:
a) Teaching Points .... Wide base. Knees bent. Inside hand low and outside
hand moving like a windshield wiper when your man is dribbling.
b) Gap .... Depends where you are on the floor. General rule the closer your
man is to the basket the less of a gap you can and should give.
c) Lateral Slides .... Pick up the lead foot and "reach" while pushing with the
back foot. Keep shoulders parallel to the dribbler. *You want to stay
"squared up" on the ball handler.
2. Denial on Perimeter: (1 pass away)
a) If you are playing a pack style defense you will be in a help side stance
on the perimeter.
b) If you are playing a push style defense and you are one pass away, you
should have your butt towards the ball. Inside arm up with elbow bent.
Palm facing the ball. Knees bent.
c) If you are in push style, you should be "up the line" and have your denial
arm on the line. Be away from your opponent at least 3-4 feet so you
can react to dribble penetration into a gap. Help & Recover!
3. Help Stance: (2 or more passes away)
a) Open stance ... Knees bent with active hands
b) Maintain a "flat" triangle. The triangle is the ball-you-man alignment.
You need to be off the line of the ball so you can see ball and your man
without turning your head if possible.
c) Depending on where the ball is you should be on the rim line or one step
off of it.
4. Closeout Stance: Hardest thing to do consistently well.
a) Sprint about 2/3rds of the distance to recover to the shooter
b) Breakdown into a stance with both hands above your shoulders.
c) Short "choppy" steps as you approach the person with the ball.
c) Depending on whether you are influencing to the middle or towards the
baseline. This will determine how your feet should be aligned.
5. Post Denial Stance:
a) Low post position .... 1/4 wrap if ball is on or below the free throw line
extended. If ball is passed or dribbled towards the baseline the post
defender steps over the top and dead fronts the post.
b) Keep your (defender's) foot above the top foot of the post
c) Use your inside arm bent and use it to keep a gap so the offensive
player can't get into your body.
d) If the ball is successfully passed to the low post, on the flight of the ball,
move behind the post and wall up. *Don't give up the baseline side.
Force post to move to the middle of the floor where you should
have help. **You may have to adjust based on scouting reports. If the
man you are guarded is right hand dominant, you guard the left
shoulder. If he is left hand dominant, guard the right shoulder.
e) When guarding the pinch post or high post we taught quarter wrap
stance. If the ball is passed from point to wing, we adjust on defense by
going behind the offensive post.
When you watch high school or college basketball, try to take a game or even part of a game, and concentrate on the defensive end of the floor. It can be very revealing to witness the times your team is on defense and are out of position because of poor stances.
Regardless of what type of defense you want to play, it starts with stance. For a while, it was popular for the defensive team to "slap" the floor. This was an attempt to emphasis the defenders to get into and maintain a proper stance through out the possession. Regardless of the analytics, I am not convinced that games are won or lost at the offensive end of the floor.
Take practice or game video and count how many possessions you can find in which all five of your players are in a defensive stance at the same time. I know, if it's like the reviews I made, it can be disappointing to find your team seldom stays in a good defensive stance.
I have previously mentioned in other blog(s) we started most of our practices with a mass stance drill. If I had it to do over again, I would have added some variety to the drill such as the rehearsal of closeouts, help & recover moves, and post defense. I don't think there is any "magic" in starting practice with a mass stance drill but we felt it was important. I wanted our players to know defensive was a priority in our program.
We tried to teach several different stances:
1. On the Ball Stance:
a) Teaching Points .... Wide base. Knees bent. Inside hand low and outside
hand moving like a windshield wiper when your man is dribbling.
b) Gap .... Depends where you are on the floor. General rule the closer your
man is to the basket the less of a gap you can and should give.
c) Lateral Slides .... Pick up the lead foot and "reach" while pushing with the
back foot. Keep shoulders parallel to the dribbler. *You want to stay
"squared up" on the ball handler.
2. Denial on Perimeter: (1 pass away)
a) If you are playing a pack style defense you will be in a help side stance
on the perimeter.
b) If you are playing a push style defense and you are one pass away, you
should have your butt towards the ball. Inside arm up with elbow bent.
Palm facing the ball. Knees bent.
c) If you are in push style, you should be "up the line" and have your denial
arm on the line. Be away from your opponent at least 3-4 feet so you
can react to dribble penetration into a gap. Help & Recover!
3. Help Stance: (2 or more passes away)
a) Open stance ... Knees bent with active hands
b) Maintain a "flat" triangle. The triangle is the ball-you-man alignment.
You need to be off the line of the ball so you can see ball and your man
without turning your head if possible.
c) Depending on where the ball is you should be on the rim line or one step
off of it.
4. Closeout Stance: Hardest thing to do consistently well.
a) Sprint about 2/3rds of the distance to recover to the shooter
b) Breakdown into a stance with both hands above your shoulders.
c) Short "choppy" steps as you approach the person with the ball.
c) Depending on whether you are influencing to the middle or towards the
baseline. This will determine how your feet should be aligned.
5. Post Denial Stance:
a) Low post position .... 1/4 wrap if ball is on or below the free throw line
extended. If ball is passed or dribbled towards the baseline the post
defender steps over the top and dead fronts the post.
b) Keep your (defender's) foot above the top foot of the post
c) Use your inside arm bent and use it to keep a gap so the offensive
player can't get into your body.
d) If the ball is successfully passed to the low post, on the flight of the ball,
move behind the post and wall up. *Don't give up the baseline side.
Force post to move to the middle of the floor where you should
have help. **You may have to adjust based on scouting reports. If the
man you are guarded is right hand dominant, you guard the left
shoulder. If he is left hand dominant, guard the right shoulder.
e) When guarding the pinch post or high post we taught quarter wrap
stance. If the ball is passed from point to wing, we adjust on defense by
going behind the offensive post.
We tried to keep the ball out of the middle of the floor. Our goal was to get the ball to the outside third of the floor and limit dribble or pass of a basketball into the middle third of the floor.
We tried to keep the ball out of the middle of the floor. Our goal was to get the ball to the outside third of the floor and limit dribble or pass of a basketball into the middle third of the floor.
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