4 Seasons Basketball Press Defenses Run & Jump 1 As mentioned earlier, the full-court version of run-and-jump defense involves influencing the dribbler toward the sideline by overplaying him to one side. Since most teams combat full-court-man-to-man pressure by sending the other offensive players down court and isolating the dribbler to bring the ball down on-on-one, a measure of defensive control of the dribbler is necessary. If the dribbler is not moving down-court at high speed to elude his defender, the run-and-jump movement may fail to take him by surprise, in which case the attacking advantage may shift dramatically to the offensive team.
Sideline-Influence Run-and-Jump Defense Defensive player 1 makes offensive player 1 think he/she has an open sideline, dribbling freely. Defensive player 2 covers offensive player 2 and is in position to cover a pass to offensive players 2. Defensive players 3, 4 & 5 continue down the floor positioning themselves in-between their man and the ball in deny defense. Defensive player 2 is in position, slightly towards the center of the court ready to come in from behind offensive player 1 as player 1 crosses half court. In the trapping defense, the defenders attempt to pressure the ball handler into making a bad pass, aggressively double-teaming him and using the other three defenders to cut off the primary passing lanes. Pressure on the ball is increased, but defensive pressure away from the ball is necessarily reduced, if the ball handler is capable of finding an open man. It is very important that the trapping defenders do not slap at, or
try to take the ball away. They both should stand still with their arms stretched straight-up. We want the ball handler to lob a pass out of there that can be intercepted. Although the run-and-jump can occur anywhere, and can be performed by any defender besides the one on the ball, it is best executed along the sideline by a player on the side of the court away from the ball. In the figure to the left, as offensive player 1 crosses half court defensive player 1 cuts the dribbler off & defensive player 2 comes in from behind to try & make the steal or trap. Defensive player 4 will take away the pass to offensive player 2, also defensive players 3 & 5 will move up slightly to deny any pass to their man or in their area.
4 Seasons Basketball Press Defenses Run & Jump Breakdown Drill 1 on 2 This is a great drill for teaching the run & jump and also a great drill for the ball handler avoiding pressure. Start out with the ball near the out of bounds line, the offensive player tries to beat his defender up the floor. The defender tries to force the offensive player up the sideline opposite of player 2. When the offensive player crosses half court player 1 will cut the offensive player off, while player 2 comes in behind the offensive player and jumps him/her. Many times player 2 can steal the dribble without the offensive player ever knowing they’re there. If a steal doesn’t occur trap the offensive player without fouling. Hands up trace the ball. Do not reach. Run the drill until the defense steals or stops the offense or the offense score or take a shot.
1 on 2 An adjustment to the run & jump is when the ball handler changes direction & dribbles up the same sideline as player 2 is positioned. Instead of player 1 cutting off the dribbler he/she will run the dribbler into the trap with player 2. Run the drill until the defense steals or stops the offense or the offense score or take a shot.
2 on 3 This is the same drill as above except we will add two players. An offensive player that will help bring the ball up the floor with player 1. Also added is an “interceptor”. As the ball comes up the floor and player 2 is getting ready to jump the ball handler he/she has to leave their man. The interceptor player 3 has the job of intercepting the pass to the offensive player 2. If defenders players 1 & 2 jump right across half court, look for the pass across court. This is a great opportunity to steal the pass for a lay-up. Run the drill until the defense steals or stops the offense or the offense score or take a shot. See next page for more drills.
4 Seasons Basketball Press Defenses Run & Jump Drill 3 on 4 This is the same drill except we will add two players. One offensive player just across half court. Also added is another “interceptor”, player 4. It is important to be patient and not to tip off the ball handler that a trap is coming. We are in deny defense looking for a bad pass or loose ball from the ball handler. Run the drill until the defense steals or stops the offense or the offense score or take a shot.
3 on 4 If player 3 is on the same side as the ball (strong side) player 3 will have to deny his/her player. Player 3 can only leave their player if they know they can make the interception. Then player 4 will become the interceptor. Player 4 is the next closest man to the jump. Player 4 will leave their man to deny the pass to player 2 across court. It is important that we have our hands up when trapping so that we make it difficult to make a pass to an open player that may not be guarded in a 5 on 5 game situation. Run the drill until the defense steals or stops the offense or the offense score or take a shot. 4 on 5 Player 5 is added and has back responsibilities. Player 5 will play center field and help player 4, covering their man. By running these series of drills we be able to teach each position & show any weaknesses in our run & jump. The more you run the run & jump the better you become. Play 5 on 5 stopping and explaining when mistakes are made. Run the drill until the defense steals or stops the offense or the offense score or take a shot.
4 Seasons Basketball Press Defenses Run-and-Jump Full-Court Pressure Defense As mentioned earlier, the full-court version of run-and-jump defense involves influencing the dribbler toward the sideline by overplaying him to one side. Since most teams combat full-court-man-to-man pressure by sending the other offensive players down court and isolating the dribbler to bring the ball down on-on-one, a measure of defensive control of the dribbler is necessary. If the dribbler is not moving down-court at high speed to elude his defender, the run-and-jump movement may fail to take him by surprise, in which case the attacking advantage may shift dramatically to the offensive team. Diagram 1
Sideline-Influence Run-and-Jump Defense Defensive player #2 covers offensive player 2 and is in position to cover passes to either offensive players 2 or 4. Defensive player #4 slides back and away from his defensive assignment as the dribbler begins his movement down-court, then sprints into position to cut off the dribbler before he reaches the front court. His teammate, #1, completes the switch by continuing down court to cover offensive player 4. A pass from dribbler to his teammate #4 (not shown in the diagram) is extremely difficult to complete, particularly if defensive player #4 succeeds in making the dribbler reverse-pivot toward the middle to protect the ball. In a trapping defense, either offensive players #2 or #4 would be open; however, in the run-and-jump defense neither player would be open. If the defense has played the run-and-jump to full advantage, offensive player #1 will have no one to whom he can pass the ball. All the defense has done in this case is to have switched defensive players #1 and #2's defensive responsibilities. Having used up his dribble and being desperate to pass the ball away before a ten-second backcourt violation is called, offensive player 1 is more likely to throw the ball away
if the defenders away from the ball continue to cut off the passing lanes between their men and the ball. Offensive player #1's pass is made even more difficult by the fact that defensive player #2 forced him to pivot away from him and the resultant pass will have to be made left-handed. Even if offensive player 1 is able to pass to teammate 2, the offensive team still has not advanced the ball past the half-court line and a ten-second violation is still a possibility. In the trapping defense, the defenders attempt to pressure the ball handler into making a bad pass, aggressively double-teaming him and using the other three defenders to cut off the primary passing lanes. Pressure on the ball is increased, but defensive pressure away from the ball is necessarily reduced, if the ball handler is capable of finding an open man. It is very important that the trapping defenders do not slap at, or try to take the ball away. They both should stand still with their arms stretched straight-up. We want the ball handler to lob a pass out of there that can be intercepted. In run-and-jump pressure, the ball handler encounters similar situations, but aggressive coverage away from the ball will reduce the ball handler's ability to pass the ball. As a result, whereas trapping may be more likely to produce intercepted passes for the defense, run-and-jump defense is generally more effective in
4 Seasons Basketball Press Defenses Run-and-Jump Full-Court Pressure Defense Diagram 1
producing charging fouls, ten-second backcourt violations, or passes thrown out-of-bounds. Run-and-jump defense seldom gives up lay-ups, since no one is open down court when the switch occurs. Although the run-and-jump can occur anywhere, and can be performed by any defender besides the one on the ball, it is best executed along the sideline by a player on the side of the court away from the ball. Defensive players #2 and #4. Many teams use the nearest defender on the ball side (defensive player #3 in Diagram 1) in making the run-andjump switch; however, this movement is more commonly associated with zone pressure defense, since the dribbler can see defensive player #3 coming up (or #4 if the dribbler is dribbling along the other sideline. In my opinion, the form of run-and-jump coverage shown in Diagram 1 is superior to the weak-side guard technique, since the dribbler is naturally inclined to look for the guard on the other side of the court when he pivots away from the defender who is performing the run-andjump. In Diagram 1, however, offensive player 2 is still covered by defensive player #2 and it is #4 whom is the switching defender.
Don’t get in a hurry in the Run & Jump Defense Diagram 2
Diagram 3
The following example shows why we need patients in running the Run & Jump defense. See diagram 2, as the ball is being brought up the floor defender 1 is pushing their man up the sideline, we have all players in deny defense. Between the ball and their man. Diagram 3 shows defender P1 & P2 both get in a hurry & trap to soon. Look at the amount of floor space offensive players 2,3 & 4 have to get open. By trapping to
Diagram 4
soon we have to extend our defense and take a bigger risk getting beat giving up an easy basket. Offensive P1 can easily rotate the ball to P2. We do not want defensive P4 to be to far away from his/her man. This makes it impossible to cover P2 on the ball rotation. We must show patients as in diagram 4. We can cover the passing lanes much easier when waiting to set the trap after the ball crosses half court. P4 baits the pass as does P5. We cannot reach or foul. We can get a 5 second call, deflect the pass or steal the pass for an easy fast break opportunity.
