At practice yesterday, we're working on some shell defense stuff. Our by far quickest player, and when I say quick, I mean extremely quick. Probably the quickest player I have ever seen on one of our teams. For some reason, no matter how quick he is, his on-ball defense is terrible. He can't keep an offensive player in front of him. As this is happening, I talking to another of the assistant coaches and we get into this discussion on what is more important defensively. Is it on-ball defense and keeping players in front of you off the dribble, or is it having great team helpside defense? Now, of course both would be the ideal and what every coach/team is going to strive for, but what if you had to choose one?
I decided to go with the on-ball defense as more important. Mainly my reasoning behind this was that if you have great on-ball defense, then you don't need to help. This thought brought me back to a discussion I had a few years ago with a different assistant who has since moved on from teaching and coaching. We talked about if you, as an on-ball defender, can stop the offensive player you're guarding for two dribbles, you have won. If he can't get by you in 2 attacking dribbles, he probably isn't going to beat you. (This only applies in the half-court and typically once the ball has been passed from the point guard to initiate the offense.)
When you think about it, if you can get in the dribbler, play solid defense without fouling, and hold him from penetrating your defense beyond two dribbles, you have won.
When thinking about helpside defense and if your on-ball defender can't stop his man in 2 dribbles, then you have to rely on helpside. The negative side to this is that your defense is probably going to be scrambling, a mismatch is going to be inevitable, and the offense will win that possession. I understand the great need for helpside defense, don't get me wrong. There is always going to be a time when you need helpside defense. Fact:Defensive players are going to get burnt. It's going to happen. Just like a cornerback in football. They have no idea what the receiver is going to do. They have to react. Sometimes your reactions are going to be slow. Your teammates must help you. But if you can stop your offensive player for their 2 dribbles that they are trying to beat you to the basket you will be successful. After two dribbles, he will know that he can't beat you. The trick is in 2 dribbles, they can also score.
If you stop your man, then there is no need to help. There is no scrambling. There becomes no mismatches. Keep your man in front. End of story.
Interesting article here by Luke Winn and Ohio State's defense and how they don't foul.
Daily improvement. Working towards excellence. Striving for perfection. Doing it with integrity and class.
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