Basketball Defense Tip Article

Below you’ll discover a great basketball defense tip article written by Dave:

First Line of Defense – Defending the Basketball

What stands out most in the minds of basketball fans around the world is the
flashy T-Mac drive, spin and dunk or the fierce dunk over three defenders by Shaq,
but it has been said that defense wins games. The Detroit Pistons of recent times were a prime example of that. Although they definitely could score, it was their swarming defense that won them the NBA title.

Basketball Defense Tip #1 – Defense is a state of mind, an attitude. Your desire, hustle and level of
energy are as much important if not more than your skill. You should be a
proactive player, not a reactive player.

Your main focus is always an urgent “get
that ball back”. The attitude, concentration and teamwork you bring to the game are
key elements to success. The skills of defense can be taught; only you can develop
the desire to win.

Basketball Defense Tip #2 – Transition play is one of the essentials of defense. You must get back to
your defensive assignment quickly. Avoid letting the offense beat you down court.
All too often players get lazy or waste time arguing a no-call; don’t let that happen
to you. Hustle back down court and get that ball back!

Basketball Defense Tip #3 – Another essential is defending with a purpose. Mainly, prevent easy shots
and get that ball back (heard that somewhere?) through steals or rebounds. Make
the offense earn their points. Make them score under pressure.

Basketball Defense Tip #4 – Always apply pressure and stay low. Usually your head will be level with
the ball-handler’s chest. Keep yourself positioned between the basket and the ballhandler.
Wave your hands, make noises, anything to distract your opponent. You
can even fake body movements such as pretending to charge the ball. The main
thing is to stay low and apply pressure.

Basketball Defense Tip #5 – When guarding a player with the ball, always be ready. You should have one
foot forward, the foot opposite of the ball-handler’s most dominant hand. If he is
right handed, your left foot will be forward along with your left hand extended out,
palm up. This will allow you to quickly flick at and steal the ball.

Usually you will
keep that lead hand at whatever level the ball is; if the ball is low, so is your lead
hand. If the ball is being held high, turn your palm so it facing the ball. You should
also be waving your off hand so you can prevent the passing lane.

Basketball Defense Tip #6 – Position yourself between the ball-handler and the basket at all times. Cut
off his path by maintaining your position between him and the basket by sliding over
and staying in front of him. Don’t cross your feet.

If the ball handler gets by you,
sprint to reestablish your defensive position between the ball-handler and the
basket. A player without the ball should be able to sprint faster than a player
dribbling the ball. Keep a cushion between you and the ball-handler. If he tries a
spin move or reverse and you are too close, you could end up with an unnecessary
foul. Always prevent penetration first, then pressure the ball.

If he stops his dribble, attack the ball while staying in your defensive stance.
Try to force a bad pass or you can back off a little if the ball handler is out of
shooting range, but always avoid the unnecessary fouls.

There are a number of different basketball defense tips, techniques and drills. Each position
has its own special requirements, but the one common denominator is to prevent the
offense from scoring easy or uncontested points. Always apply pressure by staying
low and positioning yourself between the ball-handler and the basket. If you can
master that you will be well on your way to earning a nickname like “The Glove
(Gary Payton) and winning defensive player of the year!

-David Huizar

[END BASKETBALL DEFENSE TIP ARTICLE – COACHING TIP]






Matt & Dave run http://basketball-plays-and-tips.com and enjoy teaching basketball players and coaches more about the plays, drills, fundamentals and coaching tips that result in individual and team success. For our free report, “5 Keys to Discovering the Successful Coach Inside You”, plus two additional player/coach reports, send a blank email to basketballtip@aweber.com

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Increase Your Over-All Stamina With These Proven Basketball Conditioning Drills

Use the following basketball conditioning drills to vastly improve your quickness, strength, stamina, running and jumping abilities.

If you want the ability to outlast your opponents on the court, use these proven conditioning drills. Eventually you’ll be running circles around everyone as they stand around gasping for air.

We’ve listed a few general muscle building drills first and then the more specific basketball conditioning drills second.

(Be sure to stretch and warm-up first)


General Conditioning Drills

Basketball Quickness1) Pull-Ups

Grab the pull-up bar with your palms toward your face.

Pull your body up slowly until your chin is even with the bar.

Do 2 sets of 10 reps.

Now do the same with your palms facing away from you.

2) Push-Ups

Begin this basketball conditioning drill, or exercise, on your stomach and your legs apart slightly. Place your arms about shoulder-width apart and push yourself off the ground. Your back should stay straight and your toes provide balance. When you go back down, don’t allow your body to touch the ground. Do 3 sets of 10-15 reps.

3) Squats

Begin with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your toes turned out slightly. Your back should be straight, your hands on your hips and your weight on your heels. Bend straight down and then come back up. Do this drill slowly and under control. This basketball conditioning drill, or exerxise, will help strengthen your quadriceps.

4) Sit-Ups

Lay on your back with your legs apart slightly, knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Cross your arms over your body so your right hand is on your left shoulder and vice versa. Bring yourself up off the floor about a third of the way, leaning in toward your knees. Go back down and up again. Do 3 sets of 15-20 reps.


Basketball Conditioning Drills

5) Six Inches

This basketball conditioning drill helps to build the upper body.

Start drill by laying on the floor and putting your hands under your head.

Then lift your feet about six inches off the floor. Hold that position until the coach’s signal. Don’t drop your feet. This is a good exercise to do before practice or a game.

6) Jumper

A basketball conditioning drill to increase your vertical jump. Jump up as high as you can at least 10 times right before you go to bed and when you wake up.

7) One Mile Run

This basketball conditioning drill will keep players in shape while building mental toughness as well as the leg muscles. It also helps players play harder and last longer during games. Start jogging for 20 seconds, then run for 20 seconds, then jump for 20 seconds and then walk for 20 seconds. Do this continually for one mile. Run this drill three or four times per week for maximum benefit.

8) Suicide

Cardiovascular drill that builds leg strength. Begin the drill at one of the baselines and run out to the foul line and then back to the baseline. Then run out to half-court and back. Next, run to the opposite foul line and back. Finally, run the full court down and back. Don’t slow down or stop – just keep truckin’.

9) Pyramids

A variation on the “Suicide” drill. Start the players at the baseline, sprint to opposite baseline and do one push-up. Then sprint back and do two push-ups. Continue this up to five push-ups. When this is done, continue the drill using sit-ups, jumping jacks and then five straight sprints. This basketball conditioning drill will end at the same baseline where it began.

By the way, would you like to learn how to dramatically increase your quickness and speed as you’re conditioning?

10) Venture Drill

This basketball conditioning drill really works on agility, speed and endurance. Cones should be used and be sure that the players make good, sharp cuts.

Begin on the baseline on the lane line. Sprint to the near sideline even with the foul line. At the foul line, change directions and sprint to mid-court. At mid-court, slap the floor into a defensive stance, continue diagonally to the foul line, change direction and proceed to the lane line at the baseline. Finish with a sprint to the near sideline and then back-pedaling to the opposite baseline. This drill can be done for reps or time.

11) Turn About

This basketball conditioning drill works on different fundamentals like defense, rebounding and running. It helps simulate running down the court in quick bursts, quick back-pedaling to get into position on defense, maintaining proper footwork, jumping for a rebound, etc.

Line the team up in one corner. Player 1 sprints down the sideline to half-court, immediately spins around and runs backwards down the rest of the sideline. Once they reach the opposite baseline, they immediately drop into a proper defensive stance and step/slide along the baseline until they are under the basket.

At this point, Player 1 should jump up and try to touch the bottom of the backboard, then drop back into their defensive stance and step/slide the rest of the way across the baseline. Player 1 is in the opposite corner from where the drill started and they now repeat the same routine down the other side of the court. Player 2 starts drill after Player 1 has reached half court, Player 3 starts after Player 2 reached half-court and so on. Each player should do at least 2-3 laps.

Be sure your players push themselves throughout the entire basketball conditioning drill. Run, jump and back-pedal as fast as possible, maintain the proper defensive stance and footwork.

As a variation, have each player try to catch the player in front of them. Whoever is caught must run an extra lap. Watch how much this makes your team work even harder.

12) 15 man scrimmage

This one works on your transition offense, secondary break and defensive communication and turns it into a fun game. Assemble three teams of five for this basketball conditioning drill (blue team, gold team and white team).

The gold team starts at one basket, blue team at the other basket, and the white team at mid-court. Give the white team the ball first and have them play five on five against the blue team while the gold team does another drill (a shooting drill, inbound plays, free throws, etc). Once the blue team gets the ball by either a turnover, rebound or off of a made basket by the white team, they (blue) push the ball up the floor and play five on five against the gold team while the white team does another drill. The gold team must call out the number of the person they are guarding while the blue team goes directly into the secondary break into the offense. Once the gold team gains possession, they push it up the floor against the white team and the cycle continues.

A good time limit on this drill is eight minutes. Keep score of all three teams and make the two losing teams run. As variations, you can give points to the defense for turnovers, defensive rebounds, etc and extra points for the offense on offensive rebounds.

13) 40 in 2 Minutes

The idea for this basketball conditioning drill is to make 40 combined lay-ups in 2 minutes. Start with half the team at one end and the other half at the other end. Have one player from each team dribble as fast as possible to the other end and try to make a lay-up. When one player finishes, the next person under the basket rebounds and sprint dribbles to the other end.

14) Criss-Cross

A basketball conditioning drill to help shooting, passing and conditioning. You need four passers, each with a ball, two located in the low corners and at two the foul line extended. Two rebounders are also needed, and one shooter. The shooter starts at the left low block in post up position. The shooter receives the bounce pass from the corner, squares up, shoots, then hustles up to the right elbow where they receive a pass, catch it, square up, and shoot. Then hustle straight down to the right block, catch the bounce pass, square up, and shoot. Turn and cross to the left elbow, catch the pass, square up and shoot. Then hustle down to the left block and the pattern starts over.

Give each shooter one minute. Put an emphasis on receiving the pass and squaring up. As a variation, you can have the two rebounders play hand up defense when the shooter gets in the block area. Or, you can add extra rebounders and play hand up defense at the elbows.

To best help you improve your quickness after you’ve warmed up , we’ve teamed with the Truth About Quickness team.

We encourage you to click here and gain an understanding of how this resource can help you.

If you’re a youth, high-school, college or recreational player or coach looking to dramatically improve speed & quickness, consider the Truth About Quickness

Basketball Big Man Drills

If you’re looking for fantastic basketball big man drills to help you master the low post, stay right where you are!

On this page, you’ll discover how to master the inside moves and dominate the paint. Dedicate yourself to these big man drills and watch your game flourish. Practice!

By the way, although we’ve called this page “Big Man” drills, every player must be good at scoring inside. Even if you’re a perimeter player, you’ll be more valuable to your team if you master the inside game, too.

Basketball Dunk article

How to Buy a Basketball Hoop Guide

Basketball Big Man Drills

Basketball Big Man Drill #1) Hops

Basketball Drills What you have to do is keep your knees locked and just jump off the ground about an inch. You can’t bend your knees at
all. You should do it for about 1-2 minutes. Helps you jump if done correctly. It will work if you keep it up for 2 months and work hard at it. If you get better put a ball in your hands and do this basketball big man drill for a longer time.

Big Man Drill #2) Reverse Lay-Ups

Start with your back to the baseline under the basket. Take
one step, drive your opposite knee up and shoot a reverse lay-up. Rebound the ball and shoot a reverse lay-up on the opposite side. Keep going until you make 15 shots.

Basketball Big Man Drill #3) Cooks Drill

Have someone hold a punching bag or something soft under the rim. You start on either side of the court with the ball. Drive to the goal and jump into the defender to force the contact and make you score the layup. The key is to shield the defender from blocking the shot and to draw the foul. Will make you score more points.

Big Man Drill #4) Big D

First get two players set up on wings of the key two to three steps away from the baseline, set the center up in front of one and have the other one with the ball. The object is the center turns takes quick steps and gets over to defend the shot or swat. Good for double teaming as well. As the center you need to take balanced steps not to big and not to small as yuo need to be able to get there and jump as well, try not to foul. Enables big men to react quicker, helps with jumping, rejecting and taking a charge.Variations – Add an extra defender and slowly build up to rotating one side to the other.

Basketball Big Man Drill #5) Pick-Ups

This drill requires two players and two balls. It’s designed to help inside players develop strong inside moves. Place a ball at each block. The shooter aggressively picks up a ball, makes a power move and then does the same thing on the opposite side. The second player rebounds the ball and places it on the floor. The players switch positions after the shooter makes eight shots.

Big Man Drill #6) Barkley Drill

Begin on either side of the basket, jump up, hit the ball forcefully against the backboard and always maintain possession of the ball. Land balanced and then jump again. Continue for five jumps and then score. Move to the other side and repeat. This basketball big man drill will develop strong hands and explosive inside moves.

Basketball Big Man Drill #7) Hook shots

Start on the right side of the basket about 3 to 4 feet out. Do a right handed hook shot. Then go to the left side and do a left handed hook shot. Do this until you make both like make-make. Not make-miss-make. Then start on the right side again except do a left hook shot. Then go to the left side and do a right handed hook shot. Same as the other way. Start getting farther back as you make them.

Big Man Drill #8) Mikan

Similar to #7 but with a little different twist. Start in the middle of the lane about one step back from the basket. Take a step, drive your opposite knee up and take a hook shot. Rebound the ball without letting it hit the ground. Take a step and shoot a hook shot from the opposite side. Keep going until you are good on 15 shots. Don’t let the ball drop below your shoulder level.

Basketball Big Man Drill #9) Tip Drill

Throw the ball off of the backboard while holding the ball above your head on either side of the basket. Catch the ball in the air and before landing tip it off of the backboard again. Use your fingers and wrist to control the ball and keep your tipping arm fairly straight. Do about 20 of these and then score. Do on both sides of the basket. Continually tap the ball off of the backboard and then make it at a chosen number.
basketball big man dunk Basketball Big Man Drill #10) Superman Drill

This drill improves lateral quickness and hand strength. Start outside the free-throw lane, approximately at the block. Throw the ball off the board and retrieve it on the opposite side. Rebound the ball so your feet land outside the free-throw lane. Continue going back and forth across the lane for eight rebounds.

Big Man Drill #11) Jackrabbit

A good basketball big man drill for jumping lay ups. Stand to the left or right of the basket and throw the ball off the backboard. Jump up, rebound the ball with both hands and come down. Do a lay-up. Make five baskets and then repeat on other side. Make sure you use your weak hand on that side.

Basketball Big Man Drill #12) Back-to-the-Basket Moves

Start under the basket with your back toward the baseline. Throw the ball out to the edge of the free-throw lane, slightly higher than the block. Go and get the ball and execute an inside move. Rebound the ball and execute the same move on the opposite side. Work on the following moves: drop step, jump hook, turnaround jump shot, wheel to the middle and up and under (for details on the fundamentals of these five moves, check out the Inside Moves section on our basketball moves page).