Press Offense

An opponent’s full court press can open many easy scoring opportunities to the offense, if they are prepared and have patience. Pressure defense should not be looked at as “pressure”; but rather, an “opportunity” to score quickly and easily. Follow these guidelines and defeat full court pressure. 1. Take the ball out deep behind the baseline and avoid the space occupied by the back-board. Use the lane lines as your floor guide. 2. Immediately look deep for a potential long pass over the press while taking the ball out of bounds, especially after an opponent’s score. 3. Inlet men, avoid the corners and potential traps by posting yourself at the low block. Give yourself room to get open. 4. Slow down and stay calm. Five seconds to pass in and 10 seconds to cross mid- court is a long time for the defense to cover everyone. 5. Eat it (hold onto the ball) rather than panic and throw a poor pass. The worse that will happen is that the defense gets the ball out-of-bounds. 6. Face your basket and do not dribble immediately. Look to pass ahead in this order: sideline, middle, cross-court, back-pass (reverse). 7. When the ball is passed up-court on the sideline, look to take it down the side immediately. Look to score or pass to a teammate who is better able to score. 8. When the ball is passed to the middle of the court, treat it like a rebound and go get it aggressively. 9. When the ball is caught in the middle, pivot and face the basket, then look to pass it to the opposite sideline. (Cross-court) 10. Middle man should cut to the low post as soon as a pass is thrown up either sideline. This can turn into an easy scoring opportunity. 11. If you have “numbers” in the forecourt, attack the rim and try to score. Being satisfied with just getting the ball safely up-court is not a wise move. The press will never be at a disadvantage and can press all night with low risk. 12. Don’t let a turnover get you down. Stay calm and execute better the next time you are pressed.

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