with Eric Flannery,
St. Edward's (OH) High School Head Boys Basketball Coach;
400 career wins; 2x Ohio Division I State Champions;
3x Cleveland Plain Dealer Coach of the Year and 2007 Associated Press Ohio Coach of the Year;
2013-14 USA Men's U17 Developmental National Team Assistant Coach (FIBA World Championship Gold Medal);
2010 USA Youth Olympic Games Team Head Coach; 2010 McDonald's All American Game Head Coach (West Team)
With the purpose of disrupting even the best offenses, a pressing team works to change the flow of the game. Eric Flannery demonstrates two pressing defenses that will help your team control the pace, and in turn, control the game.
The Read Press
In the Read press, your players will make the opposing offense think. By applying ball pressure, the initial look is to cause deflections. Once the ball has been entered, players look to swarm the ball, but not allow the same second pass twice. As the ball is reversed, the press changes its look from a diamond press to a 2-2-1 press, creating confusion for opponents. After the initial read, your team can throw multiple options at your opponent: Trap, Stay, or Squeeze.
Flannery give you the rules for the Read press, as well as where to position your team based on your personnel. Your best rotation may not work against long wing players or skilled big guys. The Read press gives you the flexibility to adjust the press rotations. This will allow you to mix and match the defense to put players into areas that can benefit your team.
L Cut
Coach Flannery shows how to use the L cut as a better way to trap on the first pass. Oftentimes in a full court press, you'll see the first trap coming at an angle from the inbound pass. Flannery has his players go up the floor and come in from the side, which cuts off the dribble to the middle of the floor. This is a great adjustment to prevent the ball from going to the middle and letting the offense use either side of the floor.
Man-to-Man Press
In the man-to-man press, your team applies the same ball pressure, with trapping options, but in a man-to-man setting. Flannery guides you through rotations to make your man-to-man press look like a zone, or even trap press. He takes you through any initial set-up that the offense will try to use against your the press.
Breakdown Drills
To cap his detailed look at a disrupting defense, Flannery breaks down the press into full court drills. Each drill builds a havoc mindset by focusing on forcing sideline and containing your opponents' best ball handlers.
A variation of the defensive zig zag drills, the Sprint and Turn drill helps teach players to turn and sprint and take an angle to cut off the offensive player. This drill is effective when teaching a press since too many players chase the basketball. This drill progresses into 2-on-2, forcing your defensive players to communicate to cut off the basketball with the trap coming from the backside.
If your team likes to get up and down the floor, this press from Coach Flannery would be great for you to utilize. It creates confusion and makes your opponents think, causing them to slow their pace of play. Your team is sure to love this style of play that gets everyone involved!
88 minutes. 2017.
BD-05297B:
with Eric Flannery,
St. Edward's (OH) High School Head Boys Basketball Coach;
400 career wins; 2x Ohio Division I State Champions;
3x Cleveland Plain Dealer Coach of the Year and 2007 Associated Press Ohio Coach of the Year;
2013-14 USA Men's U17 Developmental National Team Assistant Coach (FIBA World Championship Gold Medal);
2010 USA Youth Olympic Games Team Head Coach; 2010 McDonald's All American Game Head Coach (West Team)
Having a lockdown defense is critical in today's game. Being able to stifle even the best offensive opponents can allow an average team to become a great team. In this video, Eric Flannery breaks down every rotation and concept to teach you the basics of a match-up zone defense. Whether you're searching for a different look to your defensive philosophy or just something that will confuse your best opponents, this zone defense has it all.
Using several defensive set-ups, Coach Flannery teaches the match-up zone as if you were in his practices. Starting with the whole picture, he demonstrates how the rotations within the zone will allow you to disguise your defense, making your opponents think you're using your man-to-man defense. From 5v5 rotations, you'll learn how to guard a driving team from the wing, a team that has lights-out shooters, or mobile post players with some range. He gives detailed breakdowns of wing coverage, corner coverage, skip passes, screening action, and how to take away drives.
Man-to-Man Principles
In this zone defense scheme, man-to-man principles still apply. Players always apply ball pressure while closing out and shifting into help defense on the weak side. Forcing the ball sideline is the key, and athletes will deny one pass away. This ball pressure and man-to-man principles allow your defense to disguise itself by looking like a man-to-man defense. The match-up zone shifts and moves, and gives you the ability to have players in position to help and get steals off rotations. If the pass from the corner is able to make a skip pass, the zone shifts back into its original position and you're back into your match-up zone.
To help your players grasp concepts and movements, Flannery demonstrates how to defend different offensive set-ups. From a 2-guard front, to a 3-2 look, to a 1-4 high set up, Flannery's easy to teach concepts help athletes see the pattern of slides and coverages. Installing this defense is simple and can be fun to do. If you're an aggressive team, you can utilize the zone coverages to trap the ball in the deep corner or at half court, creating steals and scoring opportunities for your team. The match-up zone works in your favor by cutting the floor in half and forcing the offense to choose a side through constant ball pressure.
1-1-3 Defense
Flannery uses on-court demonstration to show his 1-1-3 match-up zone, which is aggressive like a 1-3-1. Ball pressure is a must when playing zone, and in this zone the defender puts ball pressure on the person in their area when they have it. You'll see the basic principles for each position, predicated on ball pressure and player movement to defend the offense.
Coach Flannery does an excellent job demonstrating his defensive philosophy for the match-up zone. If you're looking for a defense to stifle your toughest opponent, give this one a try!
"Our program is based around making the game simple, and this match-up zone defense was a great change of pace and aggressive look that we were looking for!" - Customer Review
76 minutes. 2017.