PETE NEWELL: DEFENSIVE POST PLAY

1.       In transition, beat the offensive post player to favorite spot.

2.       Key to defensive post play is footwork.

3.       Defensive post player must communicate her positioning.

4.       Must take away initial path to cutter.

5.       Good defensive post players never lose sight of the ball.

WHAT'S YOUR PAINT GAME

For the large majority of us, we are well into the beginning of the off-season.  A major part of the off-season for the best of coaches is a thorough review of their system of play.  As I view the NBA plays-offs, my question to us is this: WHAT'S YOUR PAINT GAME?

I'm a strong believer that championships are won in the paint.  This speaks to both offensive and defensive philosophies.

In 2011, the Miami Heat lost in six games to the Dallas Mavericks.  The Mavs dominated the paint and the Heat settled for jump shots far too many times.  In that off-season, LeBron James called up Hakeem Olaguwon and asked him if he would work with him that summer on his paint game.  You have to give great credit to LJ for first recognizing what he need to work on to improve his game and then for not hesitating to ask for help -- those are the two marks of a great player.

Too many coaches think that a "Paint Game" means isolating a  big post on the block and working the ball inside.  And if you have a big that certainly is a good thing to do.  But just because you don't have a big doesn't mean you don't have a paint game.  Here are some  ways to get the ball to the paint:

1. Low Post Play: develop your post players -- regardless of size -- to post, seal, move without the ball and to finish.

2. Transition Offense: beat the defense to the paint before they get there.

3. Dribble Penetration: being able to put the ball on the floor and drive it to the paint has become increasingly popular with so many teams utilizing the Dribble Drive Offense.

4. Flash Game: flash players into the paint for a touch...this can be post players or perimeter players.

5. Post Up Guards: you may not have a big but if your posts can step away and shoot you can post up your guards inside.

6. Offensive Rebounding: working and emphasizing offensive rebounding above and beyond what other teams might do is another way to create a paint game.

We are not suggesting that you abandon your offensive system but having a paint game allows you a chance to score and draw fouls on the opposition when the mid-range or 3-point shooting has gone cold.  Some people point to the fact that Duke and Mike Kryzewski has become great proponents of the 3-point shot.  Watch how many of them come off of a paint touch -- either dribble penetration or post feed to a fan pass.  The "Paint Touch 3" is a great way of setting up a good three point shooter while still pressuring the defense to play interior defense. 

Part of having a solid paint game on offense is understanding defenses and how they are played today.  We all know the Chuck Daly mantra of "Spacing if offense and offense is spacing."  Well, the same can be true of defense.  While offense is looking to spread the defense, defenses are now looking to shrink the floor -- getting and sitting in gaps.

Even the best low post players have a difficult time of getting a good look off of the same side entry pass in offensive play.  Two keys that will be beneficial include:

1. Reversing the basketball.  While at LSU, with Sylvia Fowles dominating the inside, we would tell her to start opposite the ball in our motion offense and reverse the ball to her side forcing the defense to go from help to ball and ball to help.

2. Occupy the helpside.  Movement away from where you want to enter the paint with the ball is critical.  Making defenders guard two things at once will help you to get the ball to the paint more efficiently.  Another one of our basic concepts is for players to "cut to create help."  If we are cutting hard and correctly, we have a chance to draw a helpside defender which creates more space for drives or post feeds.



 

DON MEYER: GETTING OPEN IN THE POST

Big man faces the lane (defender usually plays inside) and spins inside and seals him strong. (Don Nelson technique)

Take your man away and flash right back to the ball.

You don’t have to move a lot in the post until the ball is across half court.

Let the ball get into scoring position instead of battling a defender with no chance of ball entry.

If your man is guarding you low (baseline side) try to bury him low while keeping your chest centered to the ball and wide for a post entry pass.

If your man is guarding you high (toward top of the key) take a step up the lane and show the low side hand for entry.

 

SEAN MILLER: KEYS TO TRAPPING THE LOW POST

1. You can’t trap once he catches it.

2. Anticipation is huge

3. LP Defender ¾ to behind.

4. LP Defender: Take away baseline

5. Trapper: Not trying to steal it… trying to give other 3 chance for steal.

JOHN BEILEIN: 11 THINGS THAT ARE CHANGING THE GAME

One more set of notes from John Beilein thanks to Allen Osborne:

1. CLOSEOUTS

High and Hard
Talk 3 x’s (mine, mine, mine)
Practice every day!

2. QUICKMAN

4 on 3 stuff, 2 on 1, 5 on 4 (all w defense at a disadvantage)

3. BALL SCREENS / DEFENSE

Have more than 1 option

4. SWITCHING

5. PRESSURE DEFENSE

Sometimes it can create offense
You need the personnel

6. BE ABLE TO GUARD THE BALL SCREEN IN TRANSITION

7. DRIBBLE VS PASSING GAME

Do shell defense drill with the dribble.

8. POINT & BIGS HAVE TO BE IN THE BEST SHAPE

Shooters just stand in the corner and space
Point and Bigs are always running3 guys can’t have a bad practice
Coach, Point, and best player
Bring the energy and correct frame of mind

9. BE ABLE TO SCORE OVER STRONG ARMS/WALLED UP LAYUP

Big Ten defense with arms up and chest into the shooter on the way up and hands pointing back

10. SCORE AGAINST GREAT GAP DEFENSE

11. USE OF LOB PASSES ON BREAKS

Had to start practicing lobs because we couldn’t do it in games. It was always “my bad” in the summer

 

 

 

 

JOHN BEILEIN: 9 THINGS THAT WILL NEVER CHANGE IN BASKETBALL

Thanks to my junior high coach and mentor Allen Osborne for passing along these clinic notes from John Beilein:

 

1. Skill Development

Develop drills and time them

Gives kids a sense of achievement when they improve.

2. Shooting

3. There are a lot of ways to win

Press, zone, man, half court, full court, guards, bigs, etc.

No magic formula

4. Culture is going to win

Teamwork, the importance of “The Team, The Team, The Team” - Bo Schembechler

Coaches need to have a relationship

Know mom, dad, brothers, sisters, names, etc.

Coach Beilein incorporates Cazzie Russell and Glen Rice “spots on the floor.” Helping to create the culture while recognizing the past players who have helped pave the way.  And it is strategically sound information. Glenn Rice is 28 feet from the rim on the wing, and Cazzie Russell is in the corner.

5. Stance, Talk, Balance

“Kids can’t Text or Tweet though a screen”

“Why can’t we be the best talking team in the country?”

6. Pivoting

Sweep, over head, Waffle

Practices a lot. National Runner Up and we do “grade school pivoting drills”

Fewest Turnovers in the country

7. Jump Stop

8. Passing out of the post

So tough to defend

Get the ball behind the defense

Opens up so much

9. Use of backdoor

Have a backdoor option

 

GREAT PLAYERS CAN EVELEVATE YOUR LEVEL OF TEACHING

This past spring I spoke at A Step Up Assistant Coaching Symposium and my topic was about coaching special players and how to elevate them to even greater heights.  One of the things I spoke about was coaching Sylvia Fowles, a 6-6 athlete with great feet and hands and a wonderful attitude.  After her sophomore season I had taught Sylvia all I knew and for me to take her to the next left I had to take myself to another level.  I reached out and spent some time in Nashville with Coach Don Meyer before heading north to stay a few days with then Ohio State coach Jim Foster -- all to talk about developing post players -- especially talented ones with size.  I became a better coach and that lead to Syl becoming a better players.  That's why I enjoyed this following story from Coach Wooden. 

JOHN WOODEN: "Each year I just wanted to do better, and knowing that we can't stand still, at the end of every year I would take some topic about the game and research it.  I might take rebounding or I might take zone defense or I might take the fast break.  I would take all the books written by coaches who I thought excelled in that particular area and I'd read them all and take notes on them.  About some things I would call coaches and try to get all the information I could.  When Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) came, I'd never had anyone approaching his size, so I started contacting Wilt Chamberlain and coaches that had extra-tall players and talked to players personally to get all the information I could acquire from them in regards to working with an exceptionally tall and talented player.  So I think that working on these things in the off-season kept me sharp...It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."

From "Taking People With You" by David Novak

DICK BENNETT: ON POST DEFENSE

Following are a few notes from a clinic I attend listening to Dick Bennett:

Hardest defensive segment to teach

Man to Man Defense: How you play in the post determines how you play on the perimeter.  If you play behind the post, back off the perimeter.  If you front the post, pressure the perimeter.

If the ball is above the free throw line extended, we do not want any low post feeds...especially from the top.

Don’t get caught on the top in the mid-post.

If the defensive player is stronger, we want to lean into the offensive player and be more physical...if the offensive player is stronger, we want to use arm bar and quickness advantage.

On the post feed from the side, we want the low post defender to step behind the offensive post player receiving the ball and take away the drop step.  We want to come with the other post player, no matter where he is, and trap from the top side.  We will choke off the pass back out to the wing.  The opposite perimeter players will rotate like this:

     -Lowest one slides to the middle of the paint and calls “rim”
    
     -Highest one slides to free throw line area

 

POST PLAY TEACHING POINTS FROM KEVIN EASTMAN

1. It is fist fight to get open, it is a foot fight to score

2. It is a leverage game to get position, it’s a shoulders game, low shoulder wins

3. Three C’s- Catch Chin and Check…check for (1) cutters (2) Traps (3) Digs

4. Perpendicular Post ups- create an angle with you baseline foot, at that point your shoulder should be square to the ball

5. The floor always shrinks at the next level- quickness and length

6. Your knees are involved in leverage

7. Your feet give you the advantage, the ball gives you separation

8. See 90% of the floor when you catch the ball

9. Give up position for possession

10. Butt into thigh…No deny

11. Play low to high

12. You must sprint to spacing

13. When you catch the ball pause for poise

14. Let the garbage clear before you go to work

15. Post depth…Depth makes the game easier

16. When posting don’t be concerned with the defenders feet, rather the deny arm

17. Dribble the ball to get in line with the target hand when feeding the post…”get the palm”

18. Offensive rebounding…know your teammates because it gives you a head start

19. Run rim to rim not free line to free throw line

20. Don’t waste a post-up when the ball can’t get to you, it’s better to be late than early

21. You can’t play straight up--- mid line- rent- homeless