Advanced Defensive Cone Drills

Advanced Defensive Cone Drills

by Coach Dave Stricklin
It has become extremely obvious in recent years that having superior athletes is going to help ignite your defensive presence. With athletic players on the defensive side of the ball you will be able to apply additional pressure on the ball handlers and passers, stop dribble penetration and transition from defense to offense quicker and more effectively (which is seldom emphasized).

I am sure that every coach would like to see his team improve in those three areas. However if you walk into various gyms throughout the country you will find many coaches only implementing various shell type drills in order to teach all aspects of defense. While these drills are great for working on team defensive specifics it does not address individual defensive agility. No matter which defensive scheme you run, it will be more effective if you have better athletes.

One area that athletes really need to work on is the transition from defensive slide to full sprint. Below are three drills that train that very movement. After spending as little as 10 minutes 2-3x a week your athletes will notice an incredible difference in their defensive footwork speed.

This first drill is great for all basketball players as it works on changing speeds in all three primary classifications; forward, backward and laterally. Players start at the bottom cone facing half court. They begin the drill by sliding 3 slides across the middle of the key. Once they return to their original starting position they will now sprint to the first cone. Upon reaching the first cone the athletes will back pedal back to the first cone where they will again proceed to slide 3 times across the key and back. Players will now sprint to the third cone and once they are there they will back pedal back to the first cone. Again they will slide 3 times across the middle of the key and back and then sprint to half court to end the drill.



In the second drill players will again line up facing half court. To start players will slide to the first cone 5 feet away and then they will turn and sprint to the farthest cone. After reaching the farthest cone they will turn around and now sprint to the sideline.



The last drill is great for teams who utilize a full court man to man press. Athletes will start on the free-throw line facing half court. Just like when guarding a ball handler, athletes will now slide backward diagonally to the first cone and then will turn and slide in like manner to the second and third cones as well. Once they slide past the third cone, the players will now full on sprint to the three point line. The emphasis of this drill is on improving the quickness of the first 3 steps of each player's sprint.


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Teaching Man to Man Defense

To develop athleticism, you have to play 1v1 on-ball defense. There is nobody to trap or bail you out, except for help defense. So you have to move faster, work harder and smarter, and react quicker to keep the ball in front of you or out of the middle of the court. 

Players develop  better basketball IQ playing man to man defense.  While playing man to man a defender is transitioning to different spots on the floor and learning to defend screens, cutters, post players, ball handlers, shooters, etc.

I plan to teach Man to Man along with the Shell Drill for help defense.

Things to teach:

Move on the pass, NOT the catch. By simply by moving on the pass, you get an extra second to get to your position. In fact, many times your can actually get to their position at the same time the ball arrives!

Keep you knees bent in an athletic stance, even when you are two passes away on help side defense.

Know who you will be guarding ahead of time.

An easy way to improve mental quickness and anticipation is to study your opponent. Smart players will sit on the bench and watch  the moves of the player they will be guarding.

When defending the player away from the ball:
1. Stay between your man and the ball. See your man and the ball at ALL times!
2. Deny all penetrating passes.
   
3. Be close enough to stop the player you are guarding if the ball is passed to him.
   
4. Be close enough to help! You should be close enough to the player with the ball to prevent him from getting into the danger zone if he dribbles by the defender that is guarding him.
   
5. Always stop the ball if it is in front of you!


When One Pass Away:

1. Be Close Enough to Help - When a player is one pass away, the defensive player should be off the player he is guarding and both "Up the Line" and "On the Line."

2. Up the Line - The line we are referring to is the imaginary line between the player with the ball and the player that the defender is guarding. The defender should be a 1/3 to 1/2 the distance up that imaginary line. This distance allows the defender to be close enough to help on dribble penetration. It also allows him to be close enough to stop the player he's defending if the ball is passed to him. If the ball handler gets by the defender and you cannot get there in time to help, you are probably not far enough "Up the Line."


3. On the Line - This refers to when the defender should have his feet or hands in the path of that imaginary line. This positioning may vary depending on whether you allow or deny the perimeter pass. If you allow the perimeter pass, you may take a step back so you can stop penetration. If you deny it, you'll definitely want to have a foot and hand on the imaginary line to force more turnovers.


4. Be Close Enough to Stop the Player You Are Guarding - You want to be close enough to help, but you also need to be close enough to stop the player you're guarding if the ball is passed to him. If you cannot get to your player in time to stop him, you are probably too far "Up the Line."


5. Be Ready to Move - Just like any other position on the court, you must have your knees bent and ready to move quickly!

6. See Man and the Ball - You should be able to see the man you are guarding and the player with the ball at all times. This way you can see if your man moves. You can also react to help on dribble penetration if the ball handler penetrates. Never turn your back on the ball.

Head Position
Something that is crucial while seeing your man and the ball is head position.

When you're one pass away, you always need to see your man and the ball at all times, so head position is really important. Your head should essentially be looking straight between the ball and your player so that you never have to turn it.

If you have to turn your head to see the ball, or if you have to turn your head to see the player you're guarding, you're in the wrong position. It's very important to see both the man and the ball without turning your head.

A big mistake that most players make is that they're constantly looking back and forth. If you have to look towards the ball for a split second, your man can cut behind you and beat you for a lay-up to the basket. If you take your eye off the ball to look at the player you're guarding, the offensive player might dribble-penetrate by the defender and you'll be too late to help or rotate.

1v1 Full Court Defense Drill

This is a great drill that improves ball handling, 1v1 defense, and athleticism. It also conditions your players and is a vital foundation for any team defense.

Instructions

    •    The offensive player and the defensive player start on the baseline.
    •    The offensive player tries to beat the defensive player down the court.
    •    If the offensive player goes by the defender and the defender does not recover, the offensive player goes back to the spot where the defender was beat and starts from there again.
    •    Offensive player and defensive player alternate after one trip.

Variations:
    •    Use the whole court. This gives the offensive player more space and creates more of a challenge for the defensive player. However, you can not have as many players participating in the drill at the same time.
    •    Man in the hole - defensive player has to play defense 3 consecutive trips against 3 different offensive players. Each line would require four players. This is a great conditioner and forces the defender to become mentally disciplined.
    •    No Ball - the offensive player does not have a ball and tries to get past the defender. Good challenge if you have a great athlete on your team.

Here are a few things to emphasize:
    •    All Feet. Don't Reach. When practicing this drill, players tend to reach. Reinforce "All Feet" to make sure they are not reaching. Not only does reaching increase the number of fouls committed, when players reach, they lose their balance for an instant. 

    •    Chest Up. Remind the players to keep their torso up. You want the neck/chin is above the toes, this is a good position. 

    •    Chest Forward. The player is leaning too far back and is putting too much weight on his heels which makes it difficult to stay balanced and explode in either direction. 

    •    Front Of Feet.  Heep the majority of the weight on the front of the feet to stay balanced and ready to move in any direction. 

    •    Don't Lean.  When players lean too much to one side, they will lose balance. When players stop, they reposition their shoulders in the new direction they are heading. This helps prevent the upper body from swaying and the player from losing balance. 

    •    Run! Sometimes, a player may be lightning-quick and the defensive player will struggle to keep up using just the defensive shuffle. So the player has to run with their upper-body facing the offensive player to stay in front. A lot of athletic development coaches call this the crossover step. Players will also have to turn and run to get in front of the offensive player if they have gotten beat.