Make em Guard You!

Regardless of if you are playing against man to man or any type of zone the goal of the offensive player is to get at least one more defender to guard you.

When I coached a varsity team in NY they were a group of tough-minded players that would do anything I asked. I gave them freedom to play the game using their talents but it had to be within the concepts I wanted. One of the things I preached every day in practice was to attack the defense. This opened up shooters and penetration lanes for other players. I one player who hit 71 3 pointers because of this attacking approach.

What we tried to do is beat the man on the ball and cause the help defender to commit. We then can kick out to the open man. In a zone this is a great approach because there is always a seam.

Here is the weekly basketball tip: two-on-two decision making

Purpose: To get the offensive player to force the defense to commit defensively. This drill also works on the off the ball defenders ability to recover and close out.

Drill: Have the offensive team start in different spots on the floor (point, wing, corner...) the teammate of the offensive player is always one pass away but with good separation to bring his or her defender away from the ball. The goal is to drive toward the teammates side but to keep the defense honest the ball handler can beat the defender away from help every now and again.

The ball handler is trying to penetrate hard on his or her defender get to the hoop. The help side defender needs to decide to help all the way, hedge and get back, or stay with the his or her offensive player. The ball handler needs to be able to control the dribble when help comes and make a quick accurate pass to the teammate when defensive helps stops penetration.

This drill should be done penetrating to the right and left so the ball handlers feel comfortable making plays to both sides.

Against a zone.

Same basic rules apply. The defense will jump to the ball on the pass in a zone so the offensive player penetrating a seam wants to make the defender have to travel further and much quicker than normal. This opens up shots and penetration lanes for teammates.

This drill can be done 2-on-2, 3-on-3 or 5-on-5. The key is to perform a lot of reps so players understand timing of the play. The player penetrating can't pick his or her dribble up too soon. They must make the defense commit, or if they don't, beat em to the hoop.

So there you go. Practice this often and you will have a great strategy to get you player be more aggressive offensively.

Play Hard,

Lee

P.S. If you are a defensive player you don't want to get beat! So you need to learn the techniques that will make you a defensive stopper. Go to www.MyBasketballSpeed.com and discover strategies to make you a great defender.

P.P.S. When I was growing up playing the game the "Jab Series" was drilled into my head. I learned to beat defenders by taking advantage of what they gave me. I especially loved using the pause step. It got me a ton of shots. To learn more about the pause step go to www.SportsSpeedEtc.com and check out Basketball Speed 2