USA Basketball Coaches Network about the best ways to teach players to apply defensive pressure.

When guarding an opponent who is advancing the ball up the court, do the following: pick-up, lead, and influence. Picking Up As the dribbler approaches, make sure that you are moving at the same speed and in the same general direction. If the dribbler is moving much faster than you, there is little...

Coaches spend hours and hours orchestrating offenses while saying that defense is mostly hard work. Offense takes talent, goes the coaching saying, defense takes desire. It is true--more can be accomplished on defense with hard work over skill. But that is not to say that basketball coaches...

A few weeks ago we asked the USA Basketball Coaches Network about the best ways to teach players how to break defensive pressure . This week, we’re switching to defense: What are some of the ways you teach players to APPLY defensive pressure?   Don Showalter, head coach, Iowa City...

  Every youth basketball coach has his or her own reasons for playing a certain style on the court. Of course, a little guidance from veteran coaches doesn’t hurt. And so, here is this week’s question for the USA Basketball Coaches Network:   When it comes to team defense,...

Shot blocking is one of the great equalizers in basketball. If you know where to look, you can see it everywhere. Walt Frazier, of the New York Knicks of the 1960s and '70s, is considered one of the best defensive guards in NBA history. He had Willis Reed to protect the basket for him. Examine...

Defense is 90 percent heart and 10 percent skill, and your success is determined by your will and commitment to the task. That being said, there are a few teaching points to remember when playing perimeter defense on the ball: Stay Low Remember to begin with your shoulders lower than the person you...

Talk to any coach and one of the deciding factors on playing time is a player's defensive abilities (or lack thereof). While most coaches will tell you that it's all about effort, the truth is, it's more than just effort that makes a good (or great) defensive player. It's about footwork, balance,...

Used oftentimes when a team is trailing and time is running out on them, the 2-2-1 full-court press is an aggressive, full-court defense used to pressure the offensive team into committing quick turnovers. It is also often used by teams who want to create a helter-skelter like tempo, with a frantic...

The two-three zone is the classic zone defense. It is based on the fundamental belief that five players can more successfully guard defined areas than they can specific players. It’s primary goals are to force the opposition to rely on their perimeter shooting to score points, and to goad their...