Championships in basketball are won with defense. 80% of 1 bid league champions in 2009 ranked either 1st or 2nd in their conference in field goal % defense. I've had some great opportunities to grow as a coach during my stops as an assistant coach. Each one was a very good defensive coach, but all four went about in very different ways.
Mike Deane (at Marquette): Pack Defense defending everything inside-out.
Phil Martelli (at Saint Joseph’s): Defensive pressure and doing anything to keep offense off balance.
Jamie Dixon (at Pitt): “Thug ‘em, Mug ‘em Defense.” Just tough, hard-nosed defense built through their practices where they do the same set of defensive toughness drills every day from October to March. “You couldn’t bring soft recruits to practice because they’d be scared.”
Nick Marcachuk (at Fordham): 1-3-1, 2-3, 1-2-2. Loved Zones
1. We dictate to you on defensively. We attack
2. Force ball sideline and baseline -- our chin on your top shoulder. We don’t drop our feet to open up. We dictate defensively what you do. EXCEPT on baseline or at the top of the key where you are chest-to-chest (defense there at the top of the key is so important because that’s the penetration that really kills you because it is so tough to help on).
3. Make teams play faster than they want
4. Switch 1-4. You might call us lazy because we don’t want to fight through picks, but I just don’t think I have tough enough or smart enough kids at my level to get through screens. We switch everything – downscreens, backscreens, ballscreens, dribble hand-offs. You need to be strong and athletic to play this (2 things we emphasize heavily in recruiting). Tough kids are so rare today.
5. Energy + Intensity. We have to have it.
