(Rental)-Bob Huggins: Full & Half Court Pressure Defense

Bob Huggins: Full & Half-Court Pressure Defense

West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins is the master of pressure defense and shares with you system in this video. Huggins has over 850 career wins and has taken his teams (Akron, Cincinnati, and West Virginia) to 24 NCAA tournament berths. He has done it largely because of his relentless full-court pressure defense.

In this video, Huggins gets into the details of his defense, how it developed, keys he uses with his players, and drills that he uses on a daily basis.

Press Philosophy

For Huggins, pressure defense is all about effort and activity. You will hear Huggins talk about how to encourage players to play with maximum effort. Coach Huggins will show you how the principles of half-court defense are extended into the full court.

One of the most basic principles in Huggins’ system is forcing a ball handler to go to his weak hand. Another is making big post players dribble. Huggins likes to expose weak ball handlers. His defense does not give up any space and pressures opponents for all 40 minutes of the game. Players must pressure the ball at all times, deny inbound passes, and look for trapping opportunities. After a made basket, Huggins’ players immediately find their man and deny them the ball.

Disrupt Spacing

Offenses are based upon spacing which can help provide direct passes that lead to good shots. Coach Huggins’ defense forces teams to pass over, under, or around, but never through. Forcing passes that are not direct translates into poorer shots for offenses. Huggins believes in fronting the post to force lobs which take time and allows for the defense to rotate and get into position to defend it.

Trapping

Huggins makes all of his players constantly look for traps. Defenders force the ball to lines and give help defense in line. This leads to trap situations and also prevents direct drives to the basket. Players are taught to never play with their hands down. When they do, they are easier to screen.

4-on-4 + 1 Drill

When you press and trap, you are going to have to play at a disadvantage at times. To prepare for those situations, Huggins uses this drill which he demonstrates for you. In 4-on-4 + 1, the defense plays at a disadvantage. The defense must rotate properly and pressure the ball to take away direct passes. Those playing help defense are on the help line and defenders one pass away are in the passing lane.

Q&A Session

Huggins finishes the session with a question and answer session. He is asked about pressing on a miss, trapping on a ball screen, and much more. If you are looking for a defensive system that can really frustrate opponents, Coach Huggins’ DVD is for you.