DEFENSE PHILOSOPHY

Secret to Winning
1. Generally, stay between your man and the basket- overplaying him to his strong side.
2. Never relax on defense- always be ready to move.
3. Be in a position to watch your man and the ball. If there is any doubt - your man is your first responsibility.
4. Be alert to help a teammate if he needs help.
5. Don’t slap downward at the ball- slap upward or to the side- you should try to eliminate un necessary fouls.
6. Sink on the weak side to help jam the middle - remember to move back out quickly when the ball is passed back to your man.
7. Never trail your man - hustle and cut him off.
8. Talk on defense especially on picks.
9. Don’t leave the floor on defense, unless you jump straight up to hurry the opponent's shot or pass.
10. When a shot is taken, box out your man and go for the rebound.
11. Keep your hands off the opposition, exception of feeling your way through blocks and screens.
12. It is a cardinal sin to let your man drive baseline.
13. If your man screens, step forward and cal “switch”, when playing a switching man-to-man defense.
14. When we lose possession of the basketball we are immediately on defense— Think de fense.
15. Be alert for interceptions and opportunities to double team.
16. Keep your tail down, knees flexed, and hustle at all times. Hustling on your part creates mistakes by the opposition.
17. NEVER RELAX ON DEFENSE! If you must rest do it on the offensive end of the court or on the bench.
18. IF THE MAN YOUR GUARDING IS HAVING A “BAD NIGHT” ITS PROBABLY HIS DEFENSIVE MAN IS HAVING A “GOOD NIGHT”.

OVER PLAY THE MAN:
If the man you’re playing cannot go to one side or the other, then over play him. If he can’t go to his left, over play his right side and force him to come to your strength. When you over play a man to his right, your left, you move over to that side about two feet. You have your left foot extended in front extended in front of you and you have your weight back, ready to move to your right. So what happens is your left foot discourages the offensive man from driving in that direction; and since your weight is shifted to your right, you can go with him if he moves to his left. Practice over playing men on both sides and just reverse the stance and movement if you over play him to the left.

OVER PLAY THE MAN WITHOUT THE BALL:
If you’re playing a great scorer, the secret is to prevent him from getting the ball. You can do this if you’ll over play him before he gets the ball. To do this, you must have the courage to get on the line between him and the ball and stay at least six feet away from him on the line closest to the ball. You must use peripheral vision, because if you watch either the ball or the offensive man, you can be faked easily. You must keep your body low so that you can move quickly at anytime. Play the man at all times. If he’s away from the ball, don’t worry about helping someone else. Stay with the top scorer and bother him. Convince him that wherever he goes, you’ll be right there. Never get more than five or six feet away from him, just far enough away so he can’t fake you. In over playing, remember the one on one offensive principles. If you’ll analyze your offensive patterns, you’ll learn how to play defense. Against one on one players, don’t give them a side to drive on. Play away from them unless they force you to play tight by hitting the outside shot. If your ever in this situation your coach must think highly of your defensive play.
DEFENSE IS WORK AND MORE WORK!!

THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN IMPROVE YOUR DEFENSE IS TO CONSTANTLY PRACTICE.

YOU MUST WORK HARD.