2-2-1 Press for High School Basketball

with Kevin Sutton,Kansas State University Director of Basketball Strategies;
Florida Gulf Coast Assistant Coach from 2021 to 2022;
Rhode Island Assistant Coach from 2018 to 2021;
Pittsburgh Assistant Coach from 2016 to 2018;
Georgetown Assistant Coach from 2011 to 2013;
George Washington Assistant Coach from 2011 to 2013;
Montverde Academy Head Coach from 2003 to 2011;
2x High School National Champions;
USA Basketball Junior Select Team (U16) in 2011 (Gold medal);
played collegiately for James Madison

Coach Sutton's concept of defense is to force turnovers and create offense on the other end. The "55" is a 2-1-2 full court zone press and is a defensive cornerstone in this program. While doing this the opponent will become fatigued, leading to more success. Defensive principles are important and include: Ball pressure, containing the dribble, force the ball into trap areas and up the sidelines. Sutton's scramble/recovery mode is based on closet man/closest ball. The first press illustrated by Sutton is the 2-2-1 zone press. The first line of defense contains two guards and they apply pressure first. The two half court players have middle and deep coverage based on ball position. They are also used as interceptors when longer passes are thrown. The last player has the back line and protects the basket. Sutton shares another press, 56, that starts in a 2-1-2 alignment. Both presses are tools to dictate tempo and speed up a game to the disadvantage of the opponents in many ways.

55 minutes. 2008.