Defensive Language

Defensive Language

The three pillars of our defense

11)   Ball Pressure = We must be within 6 inches of the player with the ball, using active hands to force the defense to get their eyes down or turn their shoulders away from the rim.

22)   Rotation = when the ball is dribbled towards the rim we immediately have the closest player attack it, once the ball is stopped and passed out we cover out depending on whoever is closest to the ball. (Closest man concept)

33)   Rebound = we only allow one shot at the rim, once that shot is taken we understand that we must attack the basketball and possess it.

Alley = the outer fourths of the floor, defensively we want the ball to be there and we try to keep it in this area.

Pin = on the ball defensive stance when the ball is in the alley. Our chest is parallel to the sideline as well as our feet.  We keep pressure on the ball in this stance and try to keep the ball in the alley.

Middle = the two middle quarters of the floor.  We can never allow the ball to be penetrated towards the middle away from the alley.

Closeout = when approaching the ball from further than 3 steps away, we sprint halfway, then widen our feet and chop them in order to slow our momentum.  We have our hands up to take away a quick pass and discourage a shot, but we position ourselves to take away the drive.

Contest = when a jump shot is taken, we do not attempt to block it. Instead we shoot one of our hands up a try to force the offense to miss the shot.

Lane Penetration = when the ball is driven parallel to the lane line, usually from the middle.

Fake and Take = when on a corner player and the ball is driven down the lane, we will Fake helping/trapping/rotating to the driver, and then Take away a pass out for a corner 3.

Baseline Penetration = when the ball is driven from the alley towards the baseline.

Middle Penetration = when the ball is penetrated towards the center of the floor.

Run and jump = if our on ball defender is beaten on Middle Penetration, the nearest defender will attack the ball and switch with the previously beaten defender.

The helpside I = In order to split the court in half, we imagine a capital “I” drawn from the tip of the rim to the middle of the free throw line.  It has two main spots low I and high I that must be filled at all times.

Low I = the spot at the base of the I, this player is considered the goaltender and will be the first player to attack lane or baseline penetration.

High I = the spot at the middle of the free throw line at the top of the I.  Whenever the Low I is vacated on a rotation the high I player must sink and fill low I

Wall up

Midpoint = The point midway between your offensive player and player with the ball, if you are 1 pass away you should be at your midpoint.  If the ball is in the middle and we cannot fill the I you should also be at your midpoint.

Shrink = If you are 1 pass away from the ball you should not need to move to help on a drive.  Instead your positioning should be your help.  Your positioning should Shrink the amount of floor the ball has or sees.

Third rule = the stance we are in if guarding a post player when the ball is in the Middle.  We are in a closed stance with one foot towards the ball and the other towards their man in the passing lane to that player, a THIRD of the way off the post player towards the ball.

Fronting Arc = an arc extending seven feet out from the center of the rim, if an offensive player has two feet inside this arc we want to front them.

Front = stance we are in when the ball goes to the alley and we are guarding a post player.  The defender who was previously in third rule swing the foot closest to the post player over their leg, and while AVOIDING contact slides to a position where their butt sits on the offensive players knee and their chest facing the ball.

Airplane = when guarding against a high low action against a post player and the ball goes from an alley to the middle.  The defensive player front pivots on their top leg and while avoiding contact puts their top arm thumbs down across the passing lane to the post player, the they push the offensive player towards the baseline with their inside arm. 

Wall Up = the stance we get in when the ball enters the fronting arc, our hands go behind our ears and we only make contact with our chest and hips.  Our goal is to make a shot as difficult as possible without fouling.

Pop Back = Whenever a ball handler squares their shoulders to the rim or brings the ball into their shot pocket ready to drive the ball. We want to POP BACK which is hopping or stepping straight back to give ground and guard an initial drive.

Active Feet = When off the ball, we want to be prepared to read passes, so we want our feet loose and moving, so that we are ready to move on airtime of a pass.

Solid Feet = When guarding the ball we want to have our feet in contact with the ground as much as possible so that we can react to a drive.  If the offense throws a jab or some kind of fake we will POP BACK but never move horizontally on fakes.  This is the opposite of active feet.

Defensive Breakdowns:

1 v 1 Ball Pressure = Defender must punch up at the ball and force the offensive player to turn their shoulders away from the rim.  Offense has no dribble for 5 seconds.  Whenever the Offense re squares their shoulders to the rim, we want the defender to practice POPPING back to give ground and guard against an initial drive before climbing back in to ball pressure.

1 v 1 Up Downs= The offensive player with the ball will have the ball either above their head or down in their shot pocket.  When the ball is up we want our defenders into the hips of the offensive player as they are looking to pass, when the offensive player brings the ball down we want the defender to POP BACK to guard against a drive.

2 v 2 jump to the ball = 2 defenders will guard 2 offensive players.  The Offensive player will be 1 pass away from each other and pass the ball back and forth.  The defensive players will work on jumping into their Midpoint/Shrink positions on the AIRTIME of the pass. After 3 or 4 passes the offense will shoot and the defense will rebound the ball to end the drill.

2 v 2 sprint to help = There will be one offensive player in each alley and two defensive players guarding them.  The ball will be skipped from side to side with the defense having to sprint to Low I on the airtime of the pass.  After 3 or 4 passes the Offense will drive the ball baseline and the defense will ROTATE to stop the drive.

3 Man defend perfect movement = There will be two offensive players, one at the top of the key and one at the wing.  There will be one defender guarding the wing player.  The drill starts with the ball on the wing, the ball is passed to the top and back twice and the defensive player will jump to the ball on airtime.  Then the wing player will move towards the corner while the ball will be driven down the lane line for the defense to fake and take at the ball while not losing vision of their player.

The wing will now move into the post with the ball at the top where the defense has to be in third rule.  The ball will be dribbled to the wing and now the defender will avoid contact and move into a fronting position and bury the post player by pushing them down towards the rim.