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Pressing Basics
Description

As a coach, deploying a full-court press defense against your opponent can be a very effective method to control the tempo of the game and dictate the other team's offense.

The success of your press is entirely up to the ability of your players to execute it well and recover if it is beaten. The article below gives you the basics of a good full-court press. Whatever alignment you use for your press, choose the one that is easiest for you and your players to understand, practice, and execute in a game.

Why Press?
  • To put pressure on your opponent and eventually wear them down.
  • No basketball player likes to be pressed. It takes more energy just to get the ball over half-court and start the offense.
  • By exhausting an opponent physically and mentally, you gain an advantage.
  • Set the tone for your team to be aggressive.
  • The press is not a passive defense by any means. It takes energy and aggressiveness to be effective.
  • By actively involving all players in the press, this aggressiveness can also carry over to the offensive end.
  • As a coach, you have a way to control the game's tempo by deploying the press. Hopefully it is in your favor!
  • The press takes team out of their offense.
  • The press many times disrupts and creates confusion as to how your opponent should run their offense.
  • The faster tempo that the press creates often causes the other team's players to lose their composure and take shots they normally wouldn't take.
  • If the other team forsakes their half-court offense to attack the press, you are dictating their offense.
  • If the other team decides to run their half-court offense after beating the press, you have lost nothing by pressing.
  • A press can ignite a comeback or a run.
  • There's no doubt that a good press, especially when the opponent is unprepared for it, can allow your team to score in bunches.
  • By being aggressive in the other team's backcourt and causing turnovers, easy scores can be made.
  • Gets everyone on the team involved.
  • Of course, a good press takes quite a bit of energy and if you're using it often, you'll need to substitute often so that your players stay fresh.
  • By involving reserves, you allow them to build their confidence as they gain game experience and contribute to the team's effort.
Fundamentals of Pressing
  • Trapping the ball.
  • Trappers should come together to form a "T" with their feet when trapping the player with the ball.
  • Trappers should be moving in with their hands up to guard against any escape pass attempts and to block the ballhandler's visibility.
  • Encourage your players to be vocal when trapping and yell, "Trap! Trap! Trap!" Be physical and intimidating as the press feeds off of the opponent's panic and fear.
  • Don't let your players reach in! Explain to them that having a player trapped and then getting a reach-in violation is counter-productive to what you are trying to do.
  • Instruct your players to suffocate the trapped player. If they put the ball over their head, move in and take away the space for them to bring the ball back down. The defenders should trap with a wide stance and mirror the ball movement with their hands.
  • The goal of the trap is a held ball, a forced timeout call, or a turnover either by a direct steal or from a weak pass out of the trap.
Transition Defense
  • Players must sprint back when the press is broken.
  • If playing man, encourage players to sprint back into the paint and then work to pick-up man assignments by actively communicating.
  • Players sprinting upcourt behind the ball can attempt to poke the ball awy from behind the dribbler and to a teammate.
  • Players must hustle back so that the press isn't beaten with an easy score!
Practicing the Press
  • Although it may seem a bit chaotic and out-of-control, the press is definitely a defense you must teach your team in practice.
  • Drill your team on the basics of good trapping, defending the full-court passing lanes, and recovering when the press is broken.
Coaching the Press
  • Be realistic about your personnel when deciding whether to press in a game or ever during your season. More than anything else, it takes a certain amount of athleticism to press.
  • If you decide on the press to be a major part of your defense, commit to working on it in practice and perfecting it. Don't expect your players to know how to press without being shown how.
  • If you're coaching at a very young level, it's not a good idea to press at all. Most leagues at the younger levels forbid pressing altogether. Know the rules beforehand.