Basketball Press Offense - Attacking the Full-Court Man-to-Man Press

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

This article has been generously shared with the Coach's Clipboard by Coach Joao Costa (JC) who played professional basketball in Europe. He subsequently moved to the United States to expand his knowledge of the game and train to be a basketball coach, and now lives in Seattle, Washington. Coach JC started his coaching career in the United States and coached in the Seattle area before going on the road to develop his coaching techniques. Coach JC has participated in practices and observed the coaching techniques of some of the best NCAA Coaches in the country: Coach Mike Krzyzewski, Coach Roy Williams, Coach Eddie Sutton, Coach Hubie Brown, Coach Tom Newell, Coach Bob Bender... just to name a few. Coach JC has been coaching in USA for several years, ABA, WBA, ProAm as well as internationally, and has conducted coaches clinics and basketball camps around the World. He has been a featured guest speaker on both the national and international level. Visit Coach JC's web-site.

Attacking the Full-Court Man-to-Man Press

Facing aggressive full court man-to-man defensive pressure can be a challenge for any team. For teams to be consistently successful advancing the ball against man-to-man pressure, perimeter players (1, 2 and 3) must develop the ability to advance the ball to the frontcourt with the dribble against a one-on-one defender. Teams that rely only on their point guard to advance the ball will struggle against pressure.

During practice it is critical to create one-on-one situations for ballhandlers in order to prepare them for the game time pressure. Remember that players 1, 2 and 3 are interchangeable and any of them can get the inbound pass and advance the ball up the court. This is what attacking any full court press is all about.

Here are some plays with options to attack the pressure.

Note from Coach Gels... this attack should work well not only against man-to-man presses, but match-up press defenses as well, since after the first pass or dribble, the match-up (and most press defenses for that matter), assume man-to-man principles with trapping, deny and helpside.

Side

Step 1
Player 3 begins the play by breaking to the ballside wing asking for the ball.
Player 2 screens 1's defender then cuts towards 4 (inbounder) to get the ball.
Player 1 cuts to baseline looking to get the pass from 4.
Player 4 can inbound the ball to 3, 2 or 1 to start the fast break.

Note: If player 3 gets the pass from 4 he will take the ball down the court while player 2 takes the right lane and 1 the left lane. Player 4 will be the trailer.

Quick Break

Step 2
Player 1 dribbles down the court.
Players 2 and 3 fill the lanes with 4 as trailer.
Player 5 stays at elbow then moves opposite low post.

Quick Break

Step 3
Players 3 and 5 screen for 2.
Player 1 passes to 2 at left wing.
Player 4, the trailer, cuts to the basket.
Player 2 can shoot or feed 4 inside the box for layup.

Line 321

Step 1
Player 3 breaks to the ballside wing asking for the ball.
At the same time player 1 cuts to opposite short corner to get screened by 2.
When player 2 screens 1's defender he then seals the defender at baseline and reaches for the ball towards the inbounder 5.
Player 5 can inbound the ball to 1 or 2.

Quick Break

Step 2
Player 1 takes the ball down the court.
Players 2 and 3 fill the lanes.
Player 4 goes to the left side of the block.
Player 5, the trailer, stays behind player 1.

Quick Break

Step 3
Player 5 screens for 2 and rolls to the basket.
Player 1 passes to 2 for a shot at the top of the key.

If player 2 cannot shoot then he passes to 5 inside the lane.

Shuffle

Step 1
Remember, players 1, 2 and 3 can take the ball down the court and initiate the half court offense.
Player 3 screens for 1.
Player 2 screens for 3 and rolls to the basket toward 4 the inbounder.
Player 4 looks to hit 1, 2 or 3.

Quick Break

Step 2
Player 2 dribbles down the court.
Players 1 and 3 fill the lanes.
Player 5 goes to the top of the key.
Player 4 is the trailer.

Quick Break

Step 3
Player 4 runs down the court to the opposite low post.
Player 5 down screens for 4.
Player 4 comes up to the elbow to get the pass from 2.
Player 4 looks to feed 5 inside the box. ("Hi-Lo" pass)

Big 5

Step 1
Player 3 screens for 2 then gets open on the weakside corner.
Player 2 moves to the ballside corner.
Player 5 cuts toward the inbounder 1 to get the ball.
Player 5 catches the ball and quickly hands off to 1.
Player 4 takes position at the elbow.

Quick Break

Step 2
Player 1 advances the ball.
Players 2 and 3 fill the lanes.
Player 4 stays at elbow.
Player 5 is the trailer.

Quick Break

Step 3
Player 1 passes to 2.
Player 2 hands off to player 1.
Player 4 for screens for 3.
Player 1 drives to the basket for layup.
At the same time player 4 screens for 3.

Note: If 4's defender tries to stop 1 from going to the basket, player 1 looks for 3 at free throw line for a shot.

See also: Selecting Your Press Offense(s)

Helpful DVDs

	Bruce Weber: Drills for Breaking Full-and Half-Court Presses By Bruce Weber, University of Illinois Head Coach; 2005 NCAA Runner-Up. In this DVD, Coach Weber assembles the pieces that make up a successful press attack; it must be simple, provide continuity and be consistent. Features of this presentation include Press Attack by Fast Break, which requires a quick inbounds pass to the point guard up the floor. Nine drills are shown... (more info) Price: $39.99
	Secrets of the North Carolina Secondary Break By Roy Williams, University of North Carolina Head Coach, 2005 National Champions, 4X Time National "Coach of the Year," Winningest Active Coach in College Basketball. After 17 years as a head coach, Roy Williams unveils the secrets to the North Carolina Secondary Break! It all started with legendary coach Dean Smith at North Carolina and was "passed down" to Coach Williams... (more info) Price: $39.99
	Roy Williams: Tar Heel Offense & Transition Drills with Roy Williams, University of North Carolina Head Coach; 2009 and 2005 NCAA Champions. Explore the secrets of the Tar Heel offense with four-time National Coach of the Year, Roy Williams Get easy baskets using this tournament-tested transition offense. Discover drills to improve your primary and secondary breaks. This offensive system guided North Carolina to 90.2 points per game in 2009. Many of Roy Williams' current beliefs were developed in his early days of coaching high school basketball in North Carolina. This basketball DVD will illustrate the "Tar Heel Running Game" with the use of players in an impressive on-court demonstration. This style relies on running the floor and sharing the ball with teammates. Advantages of this style are that the running game negates the defense's ability to get set, which leads to many easy baskets. Coach Williams covers his three offensive rules against a set defense... (more info) Price: $39.99
	Mike Krzyzewski: Duke Basketball - Breaking the Press with Mike Krzyzewski "Coach K", Duke University Head Men's Basketball Coach; NABC "Coach of the Decade," 12X NABC "Coach of the Year," Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2001), 3X NCAA National Championships ('91, '92,'01). Learn how to break any press on your basketball team from the National Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Decade, Mike Krzyzewski Basketball drills for beating any press Numerous tips and insights to all your team to enter the offense quicker and create scoring opportunities without generating turnovers More and more teams are using half-court, three-quarter court and full-court zone presses to disrupt their opponents' continuity and produce turnovers. With this in mind, Coach K takes the court at Cameron Indoor Stadium to share his effective press break drills and his revered coaching philosophy. (Examples: … "players need to acquire the basic skill of catching the ball by meeting the pass" … "most teams need to cut down on the dribbling … use passing to advance the ball quicker!"). Coach Krzyzewski guides you through a series of effective drills used to break the 2-1-2 half-court press, 1-3-1 half-court press, 2-2-1 three-quarter court press and the 1-2-1-1 full-court press... (more info) Price: $44.99
	Tom Izzo: The Numbered Fastbreak with Tom Izzo, Michigan State University Head Coach; 2000 NCAA Champs, 3X National "Coach of the Year". Learn the numbered fast break from three-time National Coach of the Year, Tom Izzo Tactics for having a successful fast break Two- and three-man drills are first step in building a productive fast break Coach Tom Izzo believes in scoring quickly by pushing the ball up the floor. The numbered break puts each player in a position to score. Izzo stresses that this fastbreak limits turnover and confusion by players. Two- and three-man drills are the first step in building a productive fast break. These drills can serve as a warm-up and are good for conditioning. Other drills... (more info) Price: $39.99
	Morgan Wootten: Foundations for Successful Basketball Full-Court Offenses with legendary high school coach Morgan Wootten, De Matha High School (MD). In this video, Coach Wootten demonstrates his most effective full-court press breakers, fast breaks, and sideline inbound plays. Wootten uses live demonstration to teach each offensive set, and includes great drills to build each offense. He also demonstrates methods for being aggressive during press breaks and teaches an effective primary and secondary fast break. Great for junior high and high school-level coaches! (more info) Price: $29.99
	Billy Donovan: The Unstoppable Transition Game with Billy Donovan, University of Florida Head Coach; 2007 & 2006 NCAA Champions, 2000 NCAA Runner-up; One of only two people ever to serve as head coach, assistant coach, and player in a Final Four. Coach Donovan shares concepts for winning transition basketball that are usable at any level of basketball! The basis for his offensive philosophy is imbedded in fundamental skill and player mentality. Donovan demonstrates the drills that helped turn his inexperienced team into a "teamwork machine." Practice drills are the Two-Man Sideline drill, Three-Man Sideline drill and Five Cycles drill. A popular peer pressure drill is the "Laker Fastbreak" drill, where the ball is not allowed to touch the floor. The Gator transition game is based on concepts instead of patterns, which offers many obstacles for the defense.... (more info) Price: $39.99