Basketball Drills - Man-to-Man Defense Breakdown Drills

From the Coach’s Clipboard Basketball Playbook, @ http://www.coachesclipboard.net

First read the article on how to teach man-to-man pressure defense. This article presents a number of breakdown drills designed to teach the skills needed to execute good man-to-man defense. Post defense, defending screens, and perimeter defense will be discussed. Also see drill progression for teaching half-court man-to-man defense and drill progression for teaching how to defend screens.

Contents

 

1-on-1 Drill

All defenders must learn how to play good 1-on-1, on-ball defense. In this drill, each player has a partner (opponent) that he/she goes 1-on-1 against. Each pair has a ball. Use both ends of the court. The player with the ball starts at the top of the key and tries to make a move, or shoot the outside shot and score on the defender. The defender must stop the offense, box-out and get the rebound. The offense gets a point for (1) each basket made, (2) for each offensive rebound and (3) if the defender fouls. No second shots are allowed. Each pair keeps track of their score. Have post players paired up with post players, and guards paired up with guards. Play until each player gets five offensive possessions. At the end, the losers do 5-10 push-ups.

Rotation (see arrows in the diagram)
After a pair has finished their duel, they get in line on the other end of the floor, but switch offense and defense for the next possession.

This drill is also great for offensive players working on their 1-on-1 moves... jab step, shot fake, dribble moves, etc.

 Man-to-man defense drill, 1-on-1

Low Post Fronting Drill

When the ball is on the wing, we 1/2 or 3/4 front the low post from the baseline side (and double-team with our opposite wing player). Fronting from the baseline side stops the baseline drop-step move. The defender straddles the post player with one foot behind and one foot in front with one arm wrapped around the front of the post player.

When the ball is at the point, we then step below and around, and get both feet above the offensive post with an arm bar on him/her and a hand in the passing lane. We step under (rather than in front of the offensive player) because we never give up inside position this way. If you step in front, it is possible for the offensive player to seal you and get inside position for the quick inside pass.

See the diagram. Pass the ball back and forth from the wing to the point. The post defender must quickly re-position with each pass. You can use both low blocks to teach defense on both sides of the court. This is a very simple but important drill in teaching correct fronting and defensive footwork.		 Man-to-man defense drill, defending the low post

Pass into the Low Post, Double-Team

Sometimes the pass will get into the low post. We double-team this with our post defender on the baseline side (see above drill), and our opposite wing defender (who is already in the paint in helpside) from the lane side. This allows us to keep our opposite post defender on their other "big man".

This drill stresses helpside positioning of the wing defenders and double-teaming the low post, and correct 1/2 - 3/4 front positioning by our low post defender. We start with the ball on the wing, allow the pass into the post and then set the double-team. The ball is skipped passed to the opposite wing, the wing defender sprints out to close-out, the opposite wing slides into helpside and the ball is passed into the opposite post.

Pointer: On the skip pass from the post to the opposite wing, instead of the our helpside wing defender sprinting all the way out to his/her man, we will have our point defender cover this pass and the helpside wing defender jumps out to cover the point guard, who is closer and easier to get to. We call this a defensive "X-cut". You can drill this 5-on-5.
 		Man-to-man defense drill, defending the low post

Defending Baseline Dribble Penetration

Baseline dribble-penetration is also double-teamed by the dribbler's defender and the ballside post player. The opposite post must slide over quickly to pick up the post player vacated by the trapping post defender, while in this case, the weakside wing defender drops down to defend the weakside post player. In this situation, the weakside post player is less of a threat since he/she is nearly two passes away.

You can drill this with either a 3-on-3 drill, or by adding the opposite wing defender (4-on-4 drill). You can run this drill in conjunction with the previous drill (Pass into the Low Post drill).

 Man-to-man defense drill, stopping baseline dribble penetration

Post Defense vs Cutter

We want our post defenders to impede or slow-down cutters by getting in the cutter's way and using an "arm bar". We do not grab, elbow or do anything unsportsmanlike here, but simply try to use our strength and footwork to disrupt the cutter's timing or put him/her off the intended path of the cut. This drill also stresses correct helpside positioning when the ball is on the wing, and correct baseline fronting position.

See the diagrams below. Two offensive wing players, one offensive post and one defensive post are used. Start with the ball on the wing opposite the offensive post player. The post defender should now be in helpside with one foot on the helpside line (imaginary vertical line in the center of the paint). The offensive post player cuts to the ballside block. The defensive post tries to impede the cutter with an arm bar and then 1/2 - 3/4 fronts from the baseline side. The ball is passed to the opposite wing, the defender moves into helpside, and the cut and "bump" are repeated going back to the ballside.

Man-to-man defense drill, defending the post cutter

Defending Inside (Post) Screens

We "step under" all inside lateral post screens. If the cutter cuts low, we "stay" with our man and do not switch. If the cutter goes high, we "step under and switch" the screen. The screener's man yells "screen, screen, screen!". The defender being screened immediately takes a step back toward the baseline and steps under the screen. Now if the cutter goes low, he/she can just stay with his/her man and both defenders are in good position (see the top two diagrams at the right).

Now look at the bottom two diagrams. Again the screened defender steps under toward the baseline. If the cutter goes high, the defense switches. By stepping under, the X5 defender is in good position to step around and front O4 from the baseline side.		 Man-to-man defense drill, defending lateral post screens

You can work this drill from both wings. At the start, one post defender should be 1/2 fronting from the baseline side while the other post defender should be in helpside.

Wing Deny Drill

This drill emphasizes denying the pass to the offensive wing player. We want to deny both the pass to the V-cut outside and also deny the pass to the backcutting wing player.

See the diagram. You need a lot of balls for this drill. Your assistant or a manager makes the rapid fire pass to the wing V-cutting. The defensive player denies this pass by tipping it away with his/her right hand (on the right side of the court). Using that hand allows the defender to still see and stay with his/her man. If the other hand is used instead (incorrectly) and the deflection is missed, the defender is easily beaten by the backcut.

After deflecting the pass to the V-cut, the offensive wing makes the quick backcut toward the hoop and the assistant tries to make that pass. The defender tries to deflect that pass as well. A good defender will be able to deflect both the V-cut pass and the backcut pass. Each rotation features both passes. Players waiting in line can help supply balls to the passer (assistant).

 Man-to-man defense drill, wing deny

Wing Helpside, Skip-Pass and Close-Out Drill

Our wing players must learn to play correct helpside defense (in the paint) when ball is two passes away on the opposite wing. This will help protect the paint from inside dribble-penetration and passing, and we can also use this helpside wing to double-team the low post (see above). On the other hand, the wing player must also close-out quickly when the ball is skipped-passed back to his/her man. See the diagrams below. Use two offensive and two defensive wing players. The ball is skipped passed back and forth while the defenders work on correct helpside positioning and closing-out. Rotate offense to defense after several passes back and forth.

Man-to-man defense drill, skip pass and close-out

Wing Skip-Pass, Deny Cutter Drill

Wing players must learn to play helpside defense and react to and deny cutters. Start with the ball on either wing, with the opposite wing defender in helpside. When the ball is skip-passed, the helpside defender closes-out (we teach on the top shoulder, forcing baseline). X2 drops toward helpside, as O2 tries to cut in front of X2 into the lane for the pass and shot. We teach our wing players not only to drop into helpside when the ball is skip-passed, but also to immediately "jump to the ball", that is the first steps are toward the ball. This puts the defender in the path of the cutter, in a position to use an arm bar (not a push) to force the cutter off the intended path of the cut, so the defender can stay between the ball and the cutter. O3 can pass to the cutter. Otherwise the cutter rotates back out to the wing for the next skip pass, which keeps the drill going. Note that when the cutter O2 moves back out to the wing, the defender (X2) stays in the paint in helpside, rather than chasing the cutter back outside. Rotate offense to defense after several passes.

Man-to-man defense drill, skip pass and deny cutter

Wing Skip-Pass and Box-Out Back-Side Drill

This a helpside, close-out and box-out drill. Start with the ball on either wing, with the opposite wing defender in helpside. When the ball is skip-passed, the helpside defender closes-out. X2 sprints to helpside. O3 shoots and O2 goes for the back-side rebound. X2 must find and box-out O2 and rebound. X3 must box-out the shooter (without fouling). Rotate offense to defense after several shots, using both sides.

Man-to-man defense drill, skip pass and box-out

Pick and Roll Defense Drill

We "jump-switch" outside pick and roll screens, and also hand-off (weave) screens. The screener's man yells "screen!" as the pick is being set. He "jumps" out on the ball, switches and stops dribble-penetration. Meanwhile, to prevent the bounce-pass to the "roller", the screened defender aggressively steps around and maintains contact with the screener as he/she rolls off the screen. An over-the-top lob pass can be intercepted by our low helpside players.

If the ball-handler goes in the opposite direction instead, the defenders do not switch, and X2 must now aggressively step around O2 to deny the bounce pass. After several possessions, rotate offense and defense. You can play live, keep score, with losers doing push-ups.
 Man-to-man defense drill, pick and roll defense

Defending Back-Screen Drill

We switch back-screens. This can create a size mis-match, but at least we have both offensive players guarded. We try to switch back at the earliest opportunity.

The screener's man yells "screen!" as the pick is being set and switches, picking up the back-cutter. The screened defender aggressively steps over and around the screen to avoid being pinned by the screener. In this 3-on-3 drill, we try to make the pass from the point to either the back-cutter or the screener. Defenders must deny both passes. Rotate offense to defense after three possessions. Man-to-man defense drill, defending back-screens

Defending Down-Screen Drill

We chase the offensive player around a downscreen and do not switch. It would seem to make sense to switch this screen, except that switching makes you vulnerable to the flare cut to the short corner (see diagram below right). So we aggressively chase around the screen. Use this 3-on-3 drill, with the point guard trying to pass to either the cutter or the screener. Rotate offense to defense after three possessions.

Man-to-man defense drill, defending down-screens

Close Seam and Recover Drill

We like tight pressure on the ball. But this can make us vulnerable to dribble-penetration. We try to deny dribble-penetration by "closing the seam", getting the adjacent perimeter player to "hedge" (help and recover). Players must move their feet quickly to get position and not just reach-in and swipe at the ball. When the ball is passed back out to the helper's man, he/she must recover quickly to the ball. Players should understand that the goal is not to double-team the ball (we don't double team in the middle of the court). Rather, the help defender must stop the dribbler, and then quickly recover to his/her own man. See the diagrams below. Go 3-on-3 and play live. The offense must attack the seams. Keep score. Losers do push-ups. You can also run the drill 2-on-2.

We also vary this drill sometimes by starting all three defenders down near the basket, and have a coach or manager roll the ball out to one of the three offensive players. This also teaches our on-ball defender to close-out on the ball, and our help-side defender to get helpside (if the ball is rolled out to a wing).

Man-to-man defense drill, help and recover

Defense vs Dribble-Penetration from the Top

Dribble-penetration from the point is a problem since the helpside defense is not established when the ball is at the point. We try to stop this by closing the seams (see previous drill), and also having our post defenders "hedge". We don't want our posts to completely leave their men down low, as this then allows for the easy bounce pass to their vacated person for the lay-up. Instead we have our posts hedge up toward the dribbler (O1) as if they were going to attack but then quickly drop back on their men. Hopefully this will confuse the dribbler and result in a pass that we can intercept, or cause him/her to pull-up or delay and give our point defender X1 time to recover to get some pressure on O1's shot.
 Man-to-man defense drill, defending dribble-penetration from the point

Use this 3-on-3 drill, allowing O1 to dribble-penetrate on X1. The post defenders must hedge and get back to their men. X1 must try to recover quickly. After several possessions, rotate offense and defense. Keep score, losers do push-ups.


Here's a helpful video from Tom Izzo, Michigan State Head Coach, whose teams are noted for their tough defense.
Tom Izzo: Dominating Rebounding & Man-to-Man Defensive Drills
Tom Izzo: Dominating Rebounding & Man-to-Man Defensive Drills
By Tom Izzo, 2000 NCAA Champions, 3X National Coach of the Year. Coach Izzo shares one of the most dominating man-to-man defensive and rebounding systems in college basketball today. Izzo's teams have been among the nation's leaders in rebounding margin (+11.7) and scoring defense (58.9) since he took over in the '95-'96 season. The seven defensive drills that Izzo covers include... (more info)

Price: $39.99
Buy Now from Championship Productions!