Basketball Plays

In this drill, we are removing the chaser and focusing on the box zone principals. Teaching Point: Imagine the box is connected by rubber bands. When I point to the wing, the entire box shifts that direction while maintaining its shape. Top defenders adjust their depth, bottom defenders pinch or widen - but they move together. Common Mistakes to Watch: * Box getting too wide or narrow * Defenders moving individually instead of as unit * Weak side defenders not shifting far enough

Basic Shadow Drill Setup: Start with three players: 1. Offensive player starting at top of key 2. Chaser (defender) in denial position 3. Passer on wing with basketball Coaching Points: I tell my chasers - imagine there's a string connecting your hip to their hip. Stay connected, but don't reach. When I see defenders reaching, I remind them that their feet do the work, not their hands. Teaching Progression: We start every rep from one side of half court. As the defensive player gets better, we expand the space to the entire half court. By the end of the week, we're running this drill full court to build endurance.

The box and 1 is a hybrid defense that combines man-to-man principles with zone concepts to create defensive chaos and neutralize a dominant scorer.

This is a continuous offense that is particularly effective against a 2-3 zone. It is depicted here with the defensive shifts and all of the potential options. This offense works best when your players are equipped with basketball skills, such as the "read and react" knowledge.

This play is best used against 2-3 zone but will work against man-to-man if players make good cuts.

This is a quick hitter play that is great for the end of a quarter. It works best against a zone, but also works against man-to-man.

This is a continuous offense that can be used as a quick hitter. This works against any half court zone.

The high post is a vulnerable position in the 1-3-1 zone defense and we try to force the ball out of there as quickly as we can.

In the tight 1-3-1 Zone Defense, all the same rules apply except the defense is not trapping AND the players are more tightly packed in during the entire defensive possession. The main goal is to prevent the ball from entering the zone, and if it does, to quickly collapse on it and force it back outside.

As the dribbler crosses the half-court line, the ball-side wing will step up and set a trap. We try to force the offense to pick up the dribble and throw a weak lob pass that we can pick off.

As the name suggest, the 1-3-1 zone defense is set up in a 1-3-1 formation. It can be used in a multitude of ways - as a base defense, a change-of-pace defense, a trapping defense, and more.

If we want to put extra pressure on the offense we can play a 1-3-1 Zone Defense where we start picking up the ball at the opposing free throw line.

When the offense passes the ball to the corner we want to trap the player with the ball and force a soft lob pass over the zone that we can pick off.

In the 2-3 Zone Defense you want to avoid the ball going to the High Post at all cost! If it happens anyways, a good passer has 4 passing options which makes it very hard to defend. Our goal is to pack the zone and prevent a high-low pass. At the same time, defenders need to be prepared to close out on shooters after a pass.

When the ball is in the corner we try to prevent passes to the high post and low post. We can sag off and pack the paint, or force the player with the ball to make a play.

When the ball is on the wing the job on the zone defense is: * To deny a pass to the high post (very dangerous) * Deny a pass to the low post We are okay with passes to the corner or back to the top of the key / ball reversal.

In the 2-3 zone defense with the ball at the top of the key our job is to: * Make sure that the point guard can't attack the paint * Deny the pass to the high post We are encouraging a pass to the wing, the forwards have to be ready to help out if necessary.

The 2-3 zone is the most popular and well-known zone defense. It can be used as a way to change pace, slow down a more aggressive team, or equal the playing field. It can also be used as a way to showcase your athleticism and length, force turnovers, and make teams uncomfortable.

This is a inbounds play run by Barcelona against a zone defense. This BLOB is a good way to put pressure on the zone in multipe areas.

This BLOB can be run by teams on almost any level - it's a very simple play to install.