(Rental)-Handling Defensive Pressure

Handling Pressure - Defensive Drills

Northridge Prep (IL) head boys basketball coach Will Rey has turned his program into a champion with 265 wins and 12 championships in just 14 seasons. His player development skills are a big reason why. He shares his philosophy and drills in this video presentation.

Coach Rey discusses player development in three distinct categories:

• Physical and athletic performance
• Basketball-specific skills (dribbling, shooting, passing, footwork, etc.)
• Mental attitude and fortitude

Controlling the Neutral Zone

The neutral zone is the area between the offensive and defensive player that belongs to neither individual. Whether on offense or defense, players must learn to control that neutral space. When they do, players instantly become more effective one-on-one offensive players. To teach this, Coach Rey emphasizes:

• Being in a low, athletic stance
• Moving the ball from side to side using the “U” concept
• Moving your feet faster than your opponent by pivoting
• Passing “through” the defense by attacking one of five passing zones
• Staying “close to the floor” when being trapped in the neutral zone

Building on these, Coach Rey introduces the Lions in the Cage drill. Four players work the ball around the key versus two defenders. The goal of the drill is to control the neutral zone. You’ll see how to dribble into a pass and be aggressive on offense. There are also a series of trapping drills illustrated here to help players deal with pressure.

Progression Defensive Drills

Coach Rey uses a series of full-court drills that combine a variety of skills. This maximizes time and increases the intensity of each drill. To start, one offensive player goes against two defenders. Then is it 2-on-1, placing the defense at a disadvantage. The drill progresses from 1-on-2 to 2-on-1 to 3-on-2 and so on up to 5-on-4.

The keys in the Progression drills are positioning and spacing. Players learn how to defend at a disadvantage and offensive players learn how to attack weak spots of a disadvantaged defense. You’ll see how to make cuts to get ahead of a trap situation and how to move the ball forward instead of backward against pressure.

If your team loses its space and gets overwhelmed by pressure, Coach Rey’s presentation is for you. After using these drills and techniques, you will find your team beating pressure and wreaking havoc on opponents. Rent this defensive drills DVD today.