(Rental)-Establishing A Full Court Pressure Defense

Establishing a Full Court Pressure Defense

In his first year as the head coach at Minnesota, Richard Pitino took his team to a NIT tournament title. He was also named the 2017 Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading the Gophers to a 24-10 record and a berth in the NCAA tournament. Pitino’s success is largely related to his style of defense. In this video, Coach Pitino demonstrates how he disrupts his opponents with an aggressive full-court man-to-man defense.

White & Blue Presses

Coach Pitino goes onto the court to go through his White and Blue pressure schemes. White is a man-to-man press that focuses on tremendous ball pressure. Defenders continually look for the optimal trapping opportunities.

Blue is another press that allows the entry pass into the short corner where the first trap can be made. The ball is usually reversed to the inbounder who is not normally a good ball handler. That is what Pitino wants so he can force the inbounder into a mistake. Coach Pitino also reviews adjustments that opponents have made and how to counter those.

Full Court Pressure Defense Drills

Coach Pitino shares a number of drills that you can use to build relentless ball pressure in both the full-court and half-court. Pitino uses a series of drills beginning with 3-on-3 and progressing to 4-on-4 and 5-on-5 to help build a better understanding of the defense and to build a more aggressive attitude.

Scramble is another drill that helps players learn to cover the open man and continue to apply pressure with active hands. Coach Pitino guides you through every situation an opponent can throw at you. As a result, your defense will be prepared to apply pressure continuously and frustrate opponents.

Also included is one of Coach Pitino’s favorite conditioning drills. To apply pressure all game long takes well-conditioned athletes so Pitino shares “85 and 2.” It’s a full-court drill that prepares players to play full-court pressure defense.

The whole idea of Coach Pitino’s defense is to create unconventional possessions by the offense. It takes a relentless attitude to do so and Pitino shows you how it can be done in this extremely informative presentation. Rent this full court pressure defense DVD today.