Full-Court "Cut and Pressure" Drill (1 on 1) Description: This is a good full-court conditioning drill, while working on defensive footwork.

. Equipment: Basketball Mechanics: Start with a line at one end of the floor. The first player in line becomes the defender. The next person in line attempts to dribble the entire length of the floor in a straight line, without having to cross-over or change direction. The defender, by using correct footwork, must try to "turn" the defender as many times as he can... i.e. force him to change direction or cross-over dribble. Once they reach the opposite end, the pair moves over to the opposite side of the floor and the original defender now becomes the dribbler and vice-versa for the trip back up the floor. Meanwhile, the next twosome can start up the opposite side of the floor. Players must stay on their half of the floor (to avoid collisions).

"Speed-Dribble at and Run With" Drill - defending in the open court Description: This is a good drill for teams that like to press. Oftentimes, when someone is speed-dribbling at the defender, the defender will simply reach-in and swipe at the ball as it goes by... and then he/she stands there and watches (instead of sprinting to the hoop). First, it is very difficult to actually stop a good point guard speed dribbling at you in the open court. This drill teaches our players to "run with" the ball, rather than reaching-in and watching the offensive player go to the hoop. Running with the ball gives us more defensive presence going to the hoop, and gives us another rebounder on a missed shot. Equipment: Basketball Mechanics:Additionally, look at diagram B (which is a common game situation)... if we have a defender (X5) back as in diagram B, as O1 speed-dribbles in, X5 often comes over to defend O1, leaving O5 for the pass. But if X1 runs with O1, even though he/she might not be able to actually stop O1, X1 can switch and get to O5 and break-up that pass, or defend O4's shot. Run the drill as in diagram A... 1-on-1, offense goes to defense, and defense goes to the offense line. ake sure your defender is in a good defensive position, and not standing flat-footed and upright. Knees should be bent, and weight on the balls of the feet. He/she should sprint all the way to the hoop, even if beaten in the open court.

Close-Out Drill Description: The Close Out drill teaches the defender to close-out on the offense while staying under control. If the defender is out of control, the offense will have an easy time beating the defender to the basket. This drill teaches the defender to stop and change direction at game-speed while in a low, defensive stance. Equipment: Basketball Mechanics: make three or four lines along the baseline, and a same number of lines just above the free-throw line extended. Each player along the baseline has a ball and makes a good sharp pass out to the perimeter player. Sprint halfway to the offense then lower down in a defensive stance and chop the feet the rest of the way. When chopping the feet, keep the butt down and inside hand high to contest a potential shot. Close out ends when the defender is about 1 arm length away from the offense.

Villanova Close-Out Drill Mechanics: This is another 2-on-2 drill. See diagram A below. Start with a player in each corner and each wing. Player 1 in the right corner starts with the ball and passes to Player 2 at the right wing. As Player 2 skip-passes to Player 3 (left wing), Player 1 sprints and closes-out on Player 3. Player 3 catches the ball in triple-threat position, makes a shot-fake, and then passes to Player 4 (left corner). Player 2 sprints and closes-out on Player 4. From there, we play 2-on-2 (diagram B). Equipment: Basketball

Arico Close-Out Drill Description: Here is a great, intense close-out drill that we got from Kim Barnes Arico, head women's coach at University of Michigan. The drill features three close-outs and then a live 3-on-3 drill. Mechanics: Diagram A below shows three offensive players, O1, O2 and O3 at the point and both wings. Three defenders start under the basket. The first defender X1 rolls the ball out to O1 and sprints out and closes-out on the ball. O1 then passes to O2, and for the purpose of this drill, X1 jumps to the ball and closes-out on O2. O2 passes back to O1 (diagram B) and the next defender (under the basket) X2 sprints out and closes-out on the ball. O1 then passes to O3, and X2 jumps to the ball and closes-out on O3. O3 passes back to O1 (diagram C). The third defender X3 sprints out and closes-out on O1, and now we go live 3-on-3 until either a score or a defensive stop. Equipment: Basketball

Deny and Corner Trap Drill Description: This is a defensive drill that emphasizes defensive slides, forcing the opponent to the baseline, and then trapping at the baseline. Equipment: (blue = assistants, red = defense) Basketball Use both sides of the half court, with an assistant holding a ball on each wing, free-throw line extended. He/she should hold the ball extended out with one hand toward the defender (X1). Mechanics: Diagram A. The defenders at the free-throw line (X1 and X2) slide over and back twice and touch the ball each time, being vocal ("deny, deny, deny"). On the third slide, before she can touch the ball, the assistant puts the ball on the floor and starts dribbling. The defender forces him to the baseline, where the low block defenders (X3 or X4) seal off the baseline and prevent further penetration along the line, and the two defenders trap him in the corner, or along the baseline (Diagram B). Once the assistant is trapped, the low block defender steps up to the free-throw line, the next player in line becomes the new low block defender, and X1 goes to the rear of the line.

Shell Drill This drill focuses on the basic concepts of "on-ball", "deny", and "help-side" Mechanics: Use a half court setup with 4-on-4. Four offensive players are positioned around the three point arc. Start with two wings and two players in the corners. Match-up four defensive players with each of the offensive players. You could also use five on each team with a point guard, two wings and two corners. Additional players can sub in and out at your discretion. The offensive players are initially stationary, with no cuts or dribbling. This is a defensive drill and the offensive players simply pass the ball around the arc. Make sure they make good passes (use this as a passing drill also), make sure they receive the ball in "triple threat" position, and have them make some skip passes too. The defensive players are not to steal or intercept the ball, since this is drill designed to emphasize proper positioning on the floor. The defensive players must work on proper relationships in positioning with the offensive player they are guarding. After drilling the basics, you can go to the "live shell" drill, or the "4-on-4-on-4 three stops drill" (below), and make it competitive. On-Ball Defense If the defender's man has the ball, he/she should be applying "on-ball" pressure, and force the offensive player toward the sideline or baseline. Deny Defense If your man is one pass away, you should be in "deny", but not a complete dead-ball denial as seen at the bottom of this page. You should be a little up the line and a step or two toward the ball (see Diagrams A and B). This way, you are in position to steal the pass, and yet still be able to give help to the on-ball defender if the ball-handler tries to dribble-penetrate. Helpside Defense If your man is two passes away, you should be in "help-side". If the ball is above the free-throw line (Diagram A), the help-side defender should have one foot in the lane. If the ball is below the free throw line (Diagram B), the help-side defenders should be straddling the "help-side line". Importantly, players must quickly rotate and sprint in and out of helpside. Sometimes players are lazy in their rotations and you must impress upon them the importance of rotating quickily. For more of an explanation, Once you feel your team has an understanding of these basic relationships, and all players have been on offense and defense, you can let them play half court all out with cutting, screens, shooting, etc. Watch the defenders carefully for proper defensive positioning. Blow your whistle when you need to make points with the players... somebody messed up, or somebody did something really well. Equipment: Basketball

Piston Full Court Drill Description: This full court drill emphasizes the speed dribble and lay-up, defensive hustle, and conditioning. The idea is to teach the defender to sprint and pursue the offensive player Setup and Equipment: Pair up, each player has a partner, and each twosome has a ball. Mechanics: The first twosome on each end start with one player (O2) sprinting up to the wing and other (O1) passing in-bounds quickly to O2. The O2 speed dribbles the length of the court and goes in hard for the lay-up. O1, after making the in-bounds pass, becomes a defensive player and sprints the length of the floor, and tries to catch up, and get ahead of O2, and prevent the lay-up. The shooter O2 then grabs the rebound, steps out of bounds and the roles are reversed for going back up the floor, on the opposite site of the court. The next twosome in line starts when the first twosome reaches half court. The drill is continuous, no stopping

123 Progression Drills Description: This is a progression drill that improves defensive footwork, one on one, and wing defense. Progression 1 Mechanics:

1 on 1 full court zig zag. The defensive player should focus on footwork, playing the angle, and staying in front of the ball handler. Once the offense gets past half court, they can go live. All these drills should be played live to a score. Equipment: Basketball

Progression 2 Mechanics: 2 on 2 - Full court zig-zag with wing defense. Be sure that your wings get in the correct defensive position and do what ever it takes to stop the ball.

Progression 3

Mechanics: 3 on 3 - full court zig-zag with 2 wings.

Defensive Challenge Drill Description: This drill is great because it provides a positive, fun twist to scrimmaging that encourages and rewards defense. It also gets your players in the mentality of, "I want to play defense." Equipment: Basketball Mechanics: Perform this drill with 3-on-3, 4-on-4, or 5-on-5 in the half-court or full court. Split your players into two teams. Only the defense can score points, either by forcing a turnover or securing a rebound. If the defense gets a defensive stop, the team stays on defense. If the offense gets a basket or the defense fouls a shooter, the offense and defense switch. Play to 5 points or whatever you deem necessary.

Tag Cutter Close Out Drill

Description: This drill aims to teach how to help the defensive player learn how to fight through a down screen. Mechanics: Player 1 starts the drill by setting a down screen on the low block for player 2. O2 will cut around the screen to the elbow. The defender should tag the cutter and go around the screen with him. Once past the screen, take the inside route to closeout. Many coaches, in this instance, will teach X2 to go over the screen (between the screen and his teammate, X1 X1 is not shown but he would be guarding O1). This is also fine, but by tagging the cutter (trailing closely behind), and then closing out, you can fight through the pick more easily. I am not talking about trailing lazily behing your opponent, but basically being his shadowclose enough to tag! Also, in order for this defensive method to work, X1 would need to step to the high side to eliminate the possibility of a curl cut. This defender will still be in position to defend a pass to the screener, O1. Equipment: Basketball

2 on 1 Stopper Description: break down the 2 on 1 situation for the defensive player. Technique, principles, and confidence can also be achieved in this drill. This drill also aids in the understanding of how to convert offensively in a 2 on 1 situation by making sound and fundamental decisions. Mechanics: Set up 3 lines as shown in the diagram. The drill begins with O1 dribbling down the middle of the lane. X1, coming from a help position, attempts to stop the dribble. If stopped, O1 attempts to pass to O2, who is cutting towards the basket. The defender must now convert to stopping O2 from scoring. The jab and retreat concept should be used by the defender. Active feet and active hands are necessary work on it!

Slide and Sprint 1

Description: This first drill is great for all basketball players as it works on changing speeds in all three primary classifications; forward, backward and laterally. Mechanics: Players start at the bottom cone facing half court. They begin the drill by sliding 3 slides across the middle of the key. Once they return to their original starting position they will now sprint to the first cone. Upon reaching the first cone the athletes will back pedal back to the first cone where they will again proceed to slide 3 times across the key and back. Players will now sprint to the third cone and once they are there they will back pedal back to the first cone. Again they will slide 3 times across the middle of the key and back and then sprint to half court to end the drill. Equipment: 3 cones

http://www.hoopsu.com/category/basketball-playbook/man-defense/individual-defense-drills http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/defense/man.html http://www.ihoops.com/practice-time/defense/close-out-box-out-drill.htm http://www.coachesclipboard.net/BasketballDrills.html