Mike Dunlap Metro State (now with Denver Nuggets) DEFENSIVE PHILOSOPHY

A.Corner stones

1. Ball pressure no free looks 2. Rotation-stop the ball 3. Basket protection ( no easy baskets) 4. Rebounding completes the defense x In brief, we want pressure on the ball the entire game. We do not

want our opponent to have free looks. The ball is the most important thing in the game and consequently we should give it the appropriate emphasis.

B.Pressure Points 1. Alleys we want the ball pinned on a sideline as much as possible.

Limited space and difficult reversals of the ball, make it particularly difficult for a team to run their designated offense.

2. Turning The Ball before the ball crosses half court line we want to turn the basketball 2 to 3 times and then keep the ball on the nearest sideline or what we call the alley

3. Wing position when the ball is pinned on the sideline alley at the wing position we will either front or side post the post while using help side defender to play the split line. In brief, we play the ball hard, deny one pass away, and play basket protection two passes away.

4. Post Position once the ball goes into the post e like to force the post player baseline and rotate our lowest basket protection underneath to double the post position. The defense is vulnerable when the ball goes inside and therefore the defense should address the fire in the house.

5. Screens we trap screens on the ball and rotate from that point. We see a golden opportunity when two offensive players come to the ball. This allows us to keep maximum pressure on the ball while we have our players in an optimum position to rotate for help.

6. Rebounding - I have stated to our players many times, you can make every defensive mistake known to man but blocking out and getting the rebound rights all wrongs. Defensive boards complete your defense and a team must execute this consistently in order to be any good. While blocking out is important, ball pursuit off the shot is most important. We must be warriors in this area.

C.Defensive Transition 1. Fundamental to our success as a basketball team will be in direct

relation to the number of easy baskets we allow. I believe defensive transition is paramount in our system.

2. In order to understand sound defensive transition, we first must analyze the fast break.

Made or missed, the fast break team is trying to: a. Get a quick outlet pass as far up the court as possible. b. Transfer the ball to a shooter at the other end of the court. c. Get an uncontested three point shot or lay-up off after the second

pass. d. Immediate ball reversal to the opposite wing and /or trailer as it is

very tough for the defense to go from ball side pressure to help side closeout.

3. Numbered Defensive Break a. Concept

1. Players roles- each player will have a designated lane ( i.e the same lanes as our numbered fast break)

2. Emphasis pressure the basketball while covering fundamental fast break lanes.

b. Rules 1. Stop the ball

a. Meet the outlet pass and get the guard to turn as many times as possible- slow the ball down, at least.

2. Sprint the lanes a. The first three steps are the most important because that is

when the break generally takes place. b. Once players reach the half court line, vision on the ball and

man should be a pint of emphasis. c. The key is to get below the level of the ball.

3. Match Up/ Rotation a. Match up to the offensive man in your lane. b. However, if there is not a man in your lane, rotate to the

nearest offensive player: at no time should the defensive player be solely responsible for his lane.

4. Help on Penetration a. The ball and its penetration is the single most important

thing to defend. Therefore, the emphasis should be keeping the ball in front of you. Since that does not always happen, immediate rotation to the ball cannot be stressed enough.

b. Two points should be mentioned first, quick rotation will not occur unless there is proper defensive spacing ( play up the line, or to the ball): secondly, whenever a player is beaten by penetration you can double the ball with the chaser as a rule of thumb.

5. Contest all shots a. Hands are essential in all phases of defense, especially when

it comes to defending the shot. b. It is imperative that all shots be pressured with the hands up

on the closeout. 6. Rebounding - Completes All Defensive Series

c. Responsibilities 1. 1- a free safety

a. Must get to the initial outlet immediately made or missed ( i.e. fast break teams want the ball inbounded / outletted quickly). If you condition your 1 man to jump to the ball instantly it will slow the break down.

b. In situations where the 1 man cannot get to the ball (definitely the exception) , he will fill the 2 or 3 lane, which ever is open

2. 2 sprints the right sideline lane. In cases where 1 cannot get to the ball quickly enough 2 will assume his responsibilities.

3. 3 sprints the left sideline lane. Occasionally, he will take the initial outlet pass.

4. 4 sprints inside lane nearest the 3 man and is responsible for any trailer. Additionally, he we assist on middle penetration should his man be dragging up the court.

5. 5 sprints to paint and will be responsible for the first cutter through the paint- he protests the paint.

D.Defensive Sets 1. The Press- While we use a specific number system (e.g. 2-2-1press is

called 22) the concepts remain the same. Hence we use different sets according to numbers. It makes our system flexible, yet we can keep our defensive constants.

2. Soft Pressure versus Hard Pressure a. We never compromise pressure on the ball but we do adjust our

pressure one and two passes away. Why? We can give more help with the ball defender.

3. The Zone In brief, the better the man defense you have the better you are in the zone.

E.Attitude

1. Statement- hard nosed attitude and approach to defense says it all about the Roadrunners. We need to invest in a few simple concepts, execute the philosophy, and know down to our bones that defense wins championships.

2. Conclusion Defense is like insurance: you better have it. The Roadrunners will be the BEST defensive team (as ranked by RMACstats) in the RMAC. We take pride in our defense.

Defensive Drills A. Objective We believe the ability to maintain a low and balanced stance

will determine how successful we will be. Therefore, we stress the defensive stance and the ability to hold the stance for long periods of time.

B. Drills We know that our teaching should be based on situation play. In other words, the drills all should have time, score, and competition in mind : this alleviates the monotony of the task.

C. Full Court Drills 1. 1- 0 (stance , slide, closeouts ) 2. 1 on 1 3. 1 on 2 4. 2 on 2 5. 2 on 3 6. 3 on 2 rotation 7. 3 on 3 8. 3 on 4 9. 4 on 3 10. 4 on 4 11. 4 on 5 12. 5 on 4 13. 5 on 5 14. 5 on 6

D. Half Court Drills 1. 1 on 0 (Stance, slide, closeout, post defense & reaction) 2. 1 on 1 3. 2 on 1 4. 2 on 2 5. 2 on 3 (Rotation, post denial & reaction, fighting and switching

screens ) 6. 3 on 2 7. 3 on 3 8. 3 on 4 9. 4 on 3 ( trap and rotate ) 10. 4 on 4 11. 4 on 5(rotation) 12. 5 on 4

13. 5 on 5 14. 5 on 6 (rotation)

E. Defensive spacing 1. 4 on 5

a. Close outs and ball pressure b. Communication c. Rotation d. Reaction e. Stop penetration f. Blocking off

2. 4 on 4 a. Channel ball to areas b. Denial c. Post denial and reaction d. Stunt penetration e. Blocking off ** Mouth, hands, bumping, spacing are keys *** We never compromise hard ball pressure and stance

3. 4 on 5 court a. Channel ball after turning it in the back court b. Rotation c. Blocking out x We want to contest the shots and teach anticipation here: absolutely

depend on each other no other way. 4. 5 on 5

a. Dead ball full (Press 22/5) b. Made match up zone c. Miss- man to man d. 1-3-1 court trap e. No switch/ switching

5. 5 on 5 court blocking off at the free throw line one of the most overlooked areas in the game. A very important detail.

6. 5 on 5 situation play We believe that situation play must be taught with time and score three times per week.