Silly Defensive Question???

I get constantly teased by parent responses after the game."Its over there Coach!" or "I saw it coach!" The "it" in question is the basketball. The reason for the teasing is fans will hear me constantly barking out the seemingly obvious question "Where is the ball?"

Now a 250lbs man hopping up and down the sideline screaming about whereabouts of the only orange object in the game which has everyone's focus could be laughable. It is in fact! The issue is that I am trying to cue up an important concept in my kids defensively.

Our defense is predicated on the simple concept of: We want the ball!

What is the first step? Knowing where the ball is! What is the second step? Working as a group to get it.

My feelings on defense are pretty well known to people who watch us play at all. There is one ball, if you get it the other team can't score. Over the years we've done different things defensively: zone, m2m, traps, matchups . . . you name it I've tried it. The constant has been you pressure the basketball. If the ball is pressured we can get it.

If the player with the ball is allowed options we must defend those options. If the player with the ball has to dribble because it is the only option left to avoid pyschotic pressure then we need to defend one option. If you are guarding a player without the ball you need to shift to help stop the ball or cover for a teammate who is going to be helping stop the ball.

We go through a lot of the same questions and comments with first time players in the program: Coach my guy is a shooter! But I'll get beat on a cut! But what about the screens/ cuts to the basket? My answer is pretty standard, they can't score they don't have the ball. If we make the guy with the ball bounce it into trouble, then stop him and make him try to get it out of trouble he'll throw us the ball.

A player under tremendous pressure from one or two defenders is not thinking clearly or making great reads. They are trying to get rid of the ball without making a decision that is going to get them benched. So if we pressure them and leave their only options to be things that will risk getting them benched if it doesn't work, we should end up with the ball a lot and their best kids in a lot of trouble with their coach.

"Where is the ball?" If we stop it they don't score. If we get it they can't score and their coach is ticked off.

Know where the ball is and load up on the ball and the ball's options. No one else can hurt us until the get it. Pretty simple stuff.