Run and Jump Press

The run and jump press can be one of the most effective presses out there, especially against teams that like to use a dribble break with a really good point guard.  The run and jump is a great way to get a star ball handler to give the ball up.  There are different versions and approaches out there, so we are going to take a look at some popular versions of this style of pressure defense.

Dean Smith Run and Jump Defense

Forrest Larson Run and Jump Press

Snake Bite Run and Jump

Run and Jump Q and A

Eddie Andrist Sample Run and Jump Practice

2-1-2 Press

I feel that a great compliment to the 2-2-1 press is the 2-1-2 press.  We often will run this after a free throw situation.  We always put our guards in the lane when we are shooting a free throw.  This allows us to get into our full court pressure immediately.  Some coaches like to keep their bigs in, but we tracked figured that the number of offensive rebounds we actually got off of free throw situations did not outweigh the benefit of being able to get into our pressure defense immediately.

The 2-1-2 is not really that much different that the 2-1-2 in my opinion and we are able to run the same trapping schemes out of it.  We simply put our best combo defender in the middle of the defense.  This play needs to be athletic, but more importantly, a really good decision maker as to when to trap and when to stay home or even fake trap.

I hope that these 2-1-2 resources provide some good ideas as to what you can do with the talents and skill sets of your players.

Vance Downs 50 Press

Crowly County 2-1-2 Press

Scramble Defense

This is one of the most interesting defenses out there for me.  It encompasses a variety of difference pressing and stunting options.  It really became popular by coaches from coaches like Dean Smith, Cheryl Burnett, Dan Ninham and  Jim Larranaga.  The scramble defense can be ran different ways, but it is predicated on running different trapping and pressure sequences based on certain situations in order to keep the opponent off balance.   Therefore, it can be quite complex to teach.  However, with a little bit of thought, you can come up with your own scramble package quite easily and not make it too hard to teach. Therefore, we will look at some resources from different coaches who have ran a scramble package.  Hope they give you some ideas.

Jim Larranaga Scramble Defense 1

Jim Larranaga Scramble Defense 2

Jim Larranaga Scramble Defense 3

Cheryl Burnett Scramble 1

Cheryl Burnett Scramble 2

Cheryl Burnett Scramble 3

1-2-1-1 Diamond Press

The diamond and 1 press is a very common press system used by coaches.  Coaches such as Bruce Pearl, Bobby Gonzalez, and Tubby Smith. This style of press can be very aggressive.  What I find interesting is that most zone presses shift into a diamond formation after the ball is declared.  With that being said, we are going to look at a number of resources on different 1-2-1-1 presses.

Bruce Pearl Diamond Press

Bobby Gonzalez Black and White Press

Tubby Smith Black and White Press

Craig Escherich 1-2-1-1 Press

2-2-1 Press Variations

The first press style that we are going to look at today is the common 2-2-1 press.  This is one of my favorite presses because there are so many different things that you can do within it to cause problems for teams.  Some coaches will use it as a means to simply slow teams down by means of containment looking only to get long lazy passes.  Other coaches will use it as a very aggressive style to trapping and causing turnovers.  There are a number of coaches who are known for using a 2-2-1 variation press.  We will take a brief look at some of these coaches.

Jim Calhoun 2-2-1 Press

Vance Walberg 2-2-1 Press

Dave Leitao Attacking 2-2-1 Press

Tom Moore 2-2-1 Press

Andy Landers 2-2-1 Press

John Kresse 2-2-1 Press

As you review these resources, you will find some common elements between them as well as some noticeable differences.  Hopefully you will find something that you can use, even if it is just a teaching point, concept or drill.