Coach Rick
Forum Replies Created
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If you don’t won’t to take those 3 point shots, then do everything you’ve been doing (continue to Pin & Skip), but tell your team that you are hunting for defensive close-outs that you can drive. Usually the Pin & Skip forces a rotation of positions in the zone. When you drive the close-out, it forces another rotation – something most zones are not adept at.
Your players without the ball must react to your own dribble penetration in case the penetrator cannot get the shot that he/she wants. That’s why you need to keep working on your general Read&React actions. Ultimately, that’s how you’ll get your shots.
Don’t forget that after ever Pin & Skip, the screener can be open inside. That’s another way to get shots in the lane. Seek the contact and go to the FT line.
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No problem!
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Bob – During practice, teach and require your players to do the following two things with the ball every time they catch it:
1. HAIRCUT: Get 3 point contact with the ball: two hands and a piece of one of your shoulders. Rip the ball across the top of your head to the other shoulder – sometimes I say “from ear-to-ear”.
2. SWEEP: From 3 point contact on one side of your body (either your shoulder or your hip), rip the ball below your knees like you’re trying to sweep the floor with the ball and establish 3 point contact on the other side of your body.
Tell your players that they must do both in any order before passing the ball. HAIRCUT & SWEEP or SWEEP & HAIRCUT. This will slow down ball movement, force your players to take care of the ball in a more powerful position, and it will square them up to the goal and give them more time to actually look at the cutter and consider passing to them!
NOTE: If the cutter is open, you’ll not have time to complete your SWEEPING or HAIRCUTTING and that’s OK. The goal is to deliver the pass to open cutters. If they are not open, SWEEPING & HAIRCUTTING will give the cutter more time to fill out or make any other decision and it will give time for a teammate to fill the cutter’s empty spot.
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FUSION: Create your own zone offense REHEARSAL STEPS and put the zone defense in DRIBBLING MODE. Start with 2 ball dribbling so that the offense can see open players and make successful passes. As your offense improves, switch the defensive mode to ONE BALL DRIBBLING. It gives the defense one hand to deflect passes. Eventually go to TUCKING and 2 HAND HOLD. When it looks like you want, go to WILD SCRIMMAGES and test it.
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Good stuff!
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Make your teams keep a running score of their made baskets so that they are FOCUSING rather than “getting up shots”.
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I would treat tryouts like its the first day of practice. I would go straight into Layer 1 and show them how to get into it from transition and eventually scrimmage with the expectation that they do it. It will tell you who is TEACHABLE and who can shoot lay-ups, pass, catch on the move, and run the floor.
It will also allow you to see which kids can keep up with all of this on DEFENSE.
If a kid can’t do these basics, or rather, WON’T do these basics, I would not want him/her on my team regardless of their skills.
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Here are some ideas (like Byron’s). You don’t have to do them all – just what works for you.
Start your post on the perimeter and drag the post defender outside. Teach your team to Dribble-At your post player. This sends him cutting to the basket – then he gets open in the post – leg whip, or whatever. Defenders are not used to guarding that kind of action.
If you feed the post, the post can make a move AFTER the Laker Cutter goes by – not before. This gives the post time to see if anyone is going to help and if the lane is open and which way to make his move.
If you don’t feed the post, the post backscreens for the cutter and then SHAPES UP to get the ball if the cutter is not open. This is a great way to give your post the ball in an iso situation.
If your post is weakside, his number one job is to set Pin Screens on helping defenders. Sell him on how this gets the ball back to his side of the floor.
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I agree with your statement “Anyone who relies only on Pass & Cut for an offense is in trouble regardless of what defense is run.”
It would be like giving a fighter only the JAB to use in a fight. The JAB is one of many tools that a fighter uses. You can score some points with it, but it is primarily used to measure distance and set up other weapons.
Pass & Cut is the same as a JAB. You need it. Its part of our circulation system, you can score occasionally with it, but it is primarily used to set up almost everything else in the Read & React.
Packline Defense was made to stop dribble penetration and crowd the ball-side of the floor. Your counter-move is to Pin & Skip from every spot on the floor. Treat the sagging/helping aspect of Packline like a Zone. Pin, Pin, Pin. You don’t have to shoot the skip pass. You can use it to drive the close-out or feed the screener inside, etc.
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Kevin – I used Fusion in a Zone-Attack-only practice with Emmanuel College Women’s team. I created my own Zone rehearsals on the fly and it worked like a charm. Here are some of the rehearsals:
1. Pass, Cut, and try to score with NailEm or FlankEm. We kept moving the ball from side to side until we could pass to a Nail or Flank.
2. Start the possession with double Baby Pins and let the point choose which side to skip to. I trained them to flow into the Nail & Flank.
3. Pass, Cut, and fill the Nail & Flank. Then set an immediate Cross-Key or Classic Pin screen. Skip and flow into Nail & Flank.We tried all of the defensive modes, but Coach Bona and I liked the two ball dribble mode the best. The offense began to see each other better.
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Bnong – How to guard the ball is probably the most important level of defense at that age. If you can get the others to help (Level 2), you will be ahead of most.
Steve – I agree on every point. I have a suggestion for you. Start your season the way you’ve done it in the past: 90% offense 10% defense. But then slowly change the percentages (as they become adept at the offense) until you have switched the ratios by the post-season – 10% offense 90% defense. That’s when you want to be your best defensively. Your offense will be just as good if not better because they have to play against a defense that’s getting better everyday. Iron sharpens iron.
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I agree with Byron. As the ball begins to move, it will sound like:
“I’m cutting”
“I’m filling out”
“I’m filling or I’m filling up”
“I’m Posting”
“Laker Cut high”
“Laker Cut Low”
“Driving right”
“Right – Right”
“Driving Left”
“Left – Left”
“Dribble-At – Go!”
“Pin – Pin”
“Back screen”If you add your defense talking, you’ll have the sound of a winning practice! “A quiet gym is a losing gym.”
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Jeasthon – you can always start the Fusion and watch their interest and energy. When you see their energy go down, call a Wild Scrimmage. Then go back to Fusion. You should start to get a feel for how long your players can do it. I did it with a 15U boys (4on4) and we went for an hour before their energy dropped.
Bob – you’re right – the first time (set up and explain and remind) takes a little longer. But every day thereafter, it gets faster and more “player-led”.
Jeasthon – look down the list of 32 steps until you find a step that you’re team has not mastered – maybe even never rehearsed. That’s where you’ll find the advanced concepts. In fact, you should go to the Reference section and watch all 32 – it will take you less than 30 minutes because there’s no need for you to watch all 4 rehearsals of each step. Get a feel for the entire process and then let me know.
Byron – thanks for the comments! One of my goals was to capture the imagination and energy of the players. If you can do that, your practice goes to another level!