I broke back into the Diary yesterday, and after writing a new post, I took the time to re-visit some posts that I wrote 5-6 years ago. What I learned is that writing is not like riding a bike...I have become a very poor writer as I have left my skills lay dormant. I will get back on the bike and before long I will be riding with no hands again. Please be patient with me in the meantime...:-).
As a college basketball coach, my strength after many years of doing everything the wrong way became teaching the defensive side of the ball. I do not know why it took me so long to make my team's defense our priority. It really makes no sense. If anyone watched me play throughout high school and my unimpressive college career, they would quickly tell you that my strength as a player was my defensive strategy and instincts. I could keep anyone in front of me, and I could make the best of the players uncomfortable and frustrated, as I worked very hard to take away their strengths and make them beat me with their weaknesses.
After reviewing my 79 some blog writings over these last 6 years, you can imagine how disgusted I was with myself that I found I have never written a blog about defense. Granted, defense is not sexy. Most coaches do not teach it at clinics or camps. It may be taught at those venues but not near as much as offensive strategy and offensive skill set. Good defenses slow the game down. They can make the game a struggle to watch, so you don't see a lot of great defensive possessions popping up on SportsCenter; outside of your occasional great block or coast-to-coast steal with a big dunk at the end. Sorry, ESPN. That is not defense.
So, where do I begin? How do I make defense sexy? Would a National Championship excite anyone? Well, if you watched my old friend Brad Soderberg and the Virginia Cavaliers last year, that defense shut down some of the most potent offenses we have seen in years at the college level. Every offensive possession was a struggle, and they made great players have to make great plays to win the game. There is only so much magic in every hat, and the Cavaliers made every team have to find more than was in theirs. They won a National Championship with great defense, outstanding team rebounding, and infectious sharing of the basketball. You may not have loved to watch the game as a novice fan, but a seasoned college coach would tell you that you got to see the Mona Lisa in action. It was a pure masterpiece designed by two of the best coaches on the planet...who rarely get their due.
Coach Bennett and Coach Soderberg teach the "Pack-Line Defense". No defender ever leaves the 3-point line, and everyone pinches to the ball eliminating driving lanes, passing lanes and interior scoring. The "Pack-Line" forces teams to shoot quick and have to win the game from 23 feet. It is very smart basketball and the reason the UVA wins 30 games almost every year.
I have never been patient enough to teach the Pack-line. I do not have the ability to watch teams run 30 seconds off the shot clock every single possession for 5 straight months. Maybe for a few weeks, but 5-months would put me in the mental ward.
I have always been a big believer in up and on-the line man-to-man. I believe in forcing teams to the corners and to the elbows and eliminating one pass away. The hardest shots on the floor are shots off the dribble at the elbows (because you are shooting with defenders in both sides of your peripheral vision and typically the tallest defender in front of you). Shooting from the corner is equally tough because you do not have a backboard behind you to give you sensory depth. How often do you see young people in a gym shooting from the corners? Nah, that is no fun. Kids don't practice it and that is why we want them taking lots of shots in games from there.
The defenders that are two passes away straddle the rim-line and force players to re-think attacking the rim off the dribble; and therefore; makes the offense play on one-side of the floor. Any basketball coach will tell you that the key to good offense is making the ball move from one-side of the floor to the other while making the defense have to move the farthest and work the hardest. The more times the ball is reversed, the more likely the defense will get lazy and eventually make a mistake. So, for me, it is complete common sense to eliminate ball and floor reversal for 32 (high school) or 40 (college) minutes and make teams beat you on one-side of the floor.
I do not want to make this blog too long, but talking team defense was not my sole purpose of today's writing. The sexy part of defense is what I was great at...shutting a singular player down. If 5 guys can shutdown the other 5 guys, the game will be over very soon...See 1990's Chicago Bulls and 1980's Detroit Pistons.
How do you become a lock-down defender? 3 very simple strategies:
1. Play on a defender's hip and force them (I mean pin them) to the sideline. Take away the middle of the floor and use the sideline as your trapping mate.
2. Keep your eyes on the offensive players belly like your life depends on it. Too many kids watch the offensive player's eyes or the ball. Those visuals will only deceive you. The belly is going nowhere and will never lie to you.
3. Never be afraid to retreat and re-attack. If a player makes a quick move, dive your feet toward the basket and create space between you and the man while continuing to protect the middle of the floor. When the offensive player sees that the move did not open up the middle, and you still did not give them a straight lane the rim, they will get soft and it is time to immediately attack again and pin again.
*You don't have to be the quickest guy on the floor to be a great defender, but you have to be the smartest. If you are only giving the ball-handler one direction to attack, you can anticipate and beat him their with your feet every time.
Ahhh! The monkey is off my back. I did it! I wrote an entire blog about defense...and although I am still disgusted with myself for taking this long, I am thrilled that the coaches reading this have some fun talking points to take into practice tomorrow.
Happy Hunting! Go shut a team down tomorrow. It starts in practice! Make it feel like the Octagon. No one comes out until someone is knocked out :-)
Matt Rogers
Twitter: @madcoachdiary
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/rogersmatt16
Blog: madcoachdiary.blogspot.com
Phone: (312) 610-6045
Matt Rogers is a 22-year high school and college coach veteran. He has led two teams to the NCAA National Tournament and one team to a High School State Championship. His teams hold numerous school and one NCAA record. He has mentored and coached players at every collegiate level while serving as an athletics administrator at the high school and NCAA levels. He currently is the Senior Recruiting Specialist for NCSA - Next College Student Athlete where he has helped thousands of young men and women from around the world achieve their dreams of playing at the college level. Coach presently lives in the Denver, CO area with his wife of 22 years and his two children.
To request Coach Rogers to speak at your school or event, you can reach him through any of his contact information above.
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