At Functional Basketball Coaching we have completed some of the hard work for you by compiling a Fab 5 series of Half-Court Man to Man Defence Drills. In the world of basketball coaching there is so much information if you know where to look, that we have selected five of the best. Are these drills everything to everyone? Of course not but they are drills we have seen used in a number of programs to great effect.
At Functional Basketball Coaching we have started with the basics first and the initial Fab5 defence drill series is focused on half-court man to man defensive principles.
It is important to mention that no matter the level of complexity to your defensive system the basic building block is the individual. Work hard to improve individual defensive technical skills to make your team defence more effective, efficient, flexible and dynamic.
For the vast majority of teams half-court man to man defence is the primary defence chosen for large parts of any game time. Perfection will be difficult to obtain, but it is a goal that should never be given up on. Functional Basketball Coaching’s selected defence drills will help in that effort.
In all the research you do as a coach, studying other coaches and championship-type situations, you find that all those teams combined talent with great defence. You’ve got to stop other teams to win.
Fab 5 Half-court Man to Man Drills
Two Man Close-out Drill: two person defensive rotation drill, great for focusing on effort, help defence and defensive rotations at pace
Denial to the Wings Drill: 2 v 2 drill which helps players defend one pass away from the ball
Home, Top and Ball Drill: 4 v 3 drill that highlights fix spots to rotate from for off the ball defenders
Shell Drill: popular drill for the teaching of fundamental half-court man to man team defence principles
UCLA Defensive Cutthroat Drill: drill which pressures defence with scrambling player match-ups at the start of the drill
