TEN “MUSTS” WHEN ATTACKING
FULL-COURT PRESSURE

By

KEVIN EASTMAN
FORMER WASHINGTON STATE HEAD COACH
NOW PRESIDENT OF KEVIN EASTMAN BASKETBALL CAMPS
 

1. SPLIT CUT ON INBOUNDS PASS:
Whether you screen to get open or cut to get open, you must decide where you want your cutters to be to put the most pressure on the defense. Keep in mind that you want to be just as hard to guard on the second and third passes of your press attack as you are on the inbounds pass.

 2.  PLAY ABOVE THE HAS MARK EXTENDED ON INBOUNDS 
           PASS:

You must always put yourself in a position to be able to dribble out 
of a trap, if necessary, as well as to have enough room behind you 
to make a pass backward to an open man. Many presses will allow backward passes while denying forward passes.

3.   ALWAYS HAVE A LAG MAN:

Make sure you always have someone behind the ball to receive a 
pass; most presses allow this pass. If the defense takes this pass 
away, look for your reversal man flashing in behind the defense.

4. FLASH REVERSAL MEN IN FROM BEHIND THE DEFENSE:

You may need this option to reverse the ball or to provide a 
 release for the man making the inbounds pass. The key here 
is to “cut to daylight” (the open area) rather than to a designated
spot. Secondly, you must run “through” the ball and not just 
meet it; pressing teams want the ball as much as you do, and
just coming to meet the pass may not be enough against some
presses.

5. STAY ON ATTACK LINES THE WHOLE POSSESSION:

Make sure you do not allow the defense to use the sidelines or
baseline as n extra defender by getting too close to them; give
yourself room to be able to dribble out of a trap.

6. LOOK MIDDLE—LAG—SKIP:

Many coaches teach the passer to look sideline-middle-reverse,
but most presses take the sideline pass away better than any
other pass. Therefore, I think it is better to survey the floor by
looking for the openings that are more often available against
most presses. In order, look middle-lag-skip.

7. DON’T BE AFRAID TO THROW OVER THE TOP:

If you do not allow your team to skip pass or throw over the top,
then you are taking an effective option out of your press attack.
Sometimes the skip pass is the best option to employ.

8. PASS BALL OVER HALF-COURT LINE VS. DRIBBLING 
OVER:

Use this as a guideline rather than as an absolute. Often a player
who dribbles the ball over the line gets trapped just past the line.
If you can pass the ball over the line, you can usually advance the
ball deeper into your court. It is very important that if you do dribble over, you must get to the depth of where the old 28-foot
hash marks used to be. If the ball is picked up here, you at least
have the option of passing backward without getting a back-court
violation.

9. HAVE A “CHECK” SYSTEM:

In order the keep the press honest, you have to be able to challenge the defense and loosen it up. Being able to throw long will accomplish this.

10. ATTACK ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE OPPOSITE HASH
MARK:

Do not become a team that gets the ball over half court and says, “whew, we made it.” You are setting yourself up for eventual failure. Instead, attack the press all the way through the depth of one of the has marks on your free-throw line. Often you can get an open cutter as the opponent is regrouping from your pass into their half-court defense. Remember that attacking all the way down does not mean you have to shoot quickly.

             These should be used as guidelines rather than rules (guidelines are 
             Things you do 75% of the time whereas a rule should be executed
             100% of the time—a good teaching point). Take all or some of these
             “musts” and fit them into your system so that it is consistent with 
             your philosophy.

             Finally, let me say that being pressed is many a coach’s nightmare!
             We have all dreamed of that game where we cannot get the ball past
             Half-court and lose 72-0. I would encourage you to put your press
             Attack in during your first practice session so that the players get
             Comfortable with it early in the year, and it becomes second nature
             To them. This will also make you feel more prepared as your first
             Game approaches.

              Please feel free to contact me on any area of the game by email:
              Kevin@kebccamps.com.

              (This article was first published in BASKETBALL SENSE, The
               Magazine for Winning Coaches.    www.basketballsense.com