DEFENSE!!!
When the topic of defense is the focus, my eyes widen, my pores get larger and my breathing becomes more intense. There's just something odd that happens when I think (or play) about defense. The thought of trying to stop someone from scoring is a tremendous challenge. Add on top of that, to be able to help a teammate stop someone from scoring, just shows how complex defense is. The picture above is a perfect picture for me because this is how defense should look like when you have failed to stop someone from scoring :)
It's also going to be my approach for this blog. I will take pictures and talk about how defense is supposed to look like. I will have examples of what it should never look like as well as pictures that show a pretty close image of what it should look like. As usual, if you agree fine. If you do not agree, share your point of view or move on.
The Close out
Defense starts here. Whether you are in the transition phase of defense or in the quarter court, you will need to close out on your man. The close out is the foundation to how successful you will be in stopping your man from scoring. The way a player closes out in a contain situation is very different than how they are to close out in a pressure situation. Let me quickly explain the difference between the two situations.
Here we have an example of contain defense. If the ball is in this zone, the defensive player should be only getting ready to deal with penetration attack. Therefore, the defender should be a good arm length and a half away from the ball, low with hands out. The rationale is pretty logical; there is simply too much court for one defender to take care of. The offensive player has many more options than the defender has. However, if the offensive player is scanning the court while in the contain zone, the defender should be "checking" the offensive player. Checking is to simply quickly move up and tap the hip (or give a slight push) of the offensive player. After this check, the defender must quickly back off and resume his contain defend.
This is a picture of Pressure Zone. The darken areas are where the defender should be real tight to the offensive player while still maintaining a strong balance and low stance. Here the defender has very active hands either trying to deflect the ball or mirroring the ball. The offensive player must have a hard time scanning the court. Defender in this area should be a half arm length away from the offensive player. The sideline and baselines become an ally to the defender as well as the help defense is closer (or better able to anticipate the next move for the ball) than when the ball is in the contain zone.Both these zones, as it pertains to the close out situation, would translate simply as such:
Contain Zone- Half way close out
Pressure Zone- Check and back off close out
Now, what should a close out look like? Here's my lashing about that:
It should not look like this. Not only is the ball in the contain zone, but this player is higher than his opponent in terms of stance. What is making him be high in his stance? Both of his hands are up! This will naturally make the knees straighten up. I teach my players to attack such a close out. Make one move and get by that defender. This defender should have his hands much lower and in the passing lanes.
Now here's a picture of what a proper close out should look like. Although this particular defender is a bit too much on his heels, his hands and stance are exactly where they should be. The only other thing I would fix here is how close to the offensive player he is. He should be a bit closer as the ball is in the pressure zone.
So once the close out happens, it's on ball defending time. In this picture, the offensive player is scanning the court. The defender is doing a great job here limiting that scan (notice where the ball is) by being very tight (half arms lenght), lower than the offensive player and with arm out guiding the offensive player to his left (probably his weak hand). Another detail I like very much is the "check" arm. Notice, his hand is not on the offensive player's hip here. It is his forearm. This is key for when the offensive player decides to put the ball on the floor.
So now that the ball is on the floor, on ball defense must happen. Defender must always be thinking about the "next spot". Where is that ball going to be in one second from now? In the picture above, the offensive will have the advantage on the next dribble but not because the defender is doing the wrong thing with her "check" arm. I am guessing she is in that position because she dropped stepped instead doing a hip drop when the ball was put on the floor (a topic for another day). I like this picture because she is trying to keep the ball in her cylinder and she can use the "check" arm to help her do that. She should be lower and much squarer to the offensive player though.....
Here is a much more appropriate picture of what a defender should look like with the "check" arm in full effect as well as how square the defender is to the ball. The only issue in this picture is the defender is higher than the offensive player and he is trying to stop the best player on the planet............
I want to end my defense talk with this picture and put a little question out there. Do you think this defender needs help from the help defense? Put your answer in my comment box along with your rational. I will share with you my answer in my next blog; Team Defense.I would like to thank Google Images for all the pretty pictures :)
