Defensive Essentials: On-Ball Techniques, Ball Screen Strategy & Rotations

with Nathan Davis,
Bucknell University Head Coach from 2015 to 2023;
2x Patriot League Coach of the Year ('16, '17);
4x Patriot League regular season champs ('16-'19);
2x Patriot League Tournament champs ('17, '18);
former Randolph-Macon College Head Coach;
2x ODAC Coach of the Year ('14, '15);
3x ODAC regular season champs ('11, '14, '15);
3x ODAC Tournament champs ('11, '13, '15);
through 2019 season, Davis' .732 career winning percentage is 11th-best among all active Division I coaches

Having learned from a wide variety of coaches through the years, Nathan Davis presents some of the best defensive drills he has inherited from his mentors. In this on-court presentation, Davis demonstrates drills that teach on-ball defense, ball screen defense, and defensive rotations.

On-Ball Defense

The first aspect of defensive basketball that Coach Davis covers is on-ball defense. He teaches his teams to force the ball to the baseline and bother the ball when in a defensive stance by mirroring the basketball with two hands. If the ball is in the middle of the floor, the ball is forced to the dribbler's weak hand.

In one of the drills that teaches on-ball defense, the defensive athlete works to get a deflection off a pass in order to get out of the drill. In addition to on-ball defense, Davis covers the science behind better closeouts. Different types of closeouts are taught to defend different types of offensive players. Using "Curry", "LeBron", and "Rondo" closeouts, Coach Davis discusses the different ways in which defenders close out on the ball. The variance for distance can be anywhere from two steps from the ball, to all the way into the body to prevent a 3-point shot.

Ball Screen Defense

Davis details his approach to defending ball screens since they are becoming more and more common in modern basketball. He prefers to "ice" ball screens only if the screener's defender is coming from below the screen. Otherwise, the defense will be taught to "mush" the screen if the screener's defender has to come from above the free throw line extended.

A drill that is used to teach defense against a ball screen is the "Combo Drill." This 3-on-3 defensive drill requires active hands and communication. Coach Davis places an emphasis on active hands by the on-ball defender as he "ices" the ball screen to prevent the pocket pass. The screener's defender must communicate the defense's action and direction to make this approach work.

Defensive Rotations

The hallmark of any great defense is its ability to rotate accordingly. Davis uses a four-out shell look to teach how the defense must correctly rotate against dribble penetration.

While a normal shell drill starts out with passing the ball to work on defensive positioning, Davis conducts his "Shell DeVoe" drill by pointing to a player who will then execute dribble penetration. With defenders in their gaps, the defense rotates to the driver to prevent lane penetration and take away easy passes to other players on the perimeter. If a ball does find a perimeter player, the defense recovers based on the rotation.

Coach Davis presents a great smorgasbord of defensive drills that can be applied to just about any program's defensive drill book!

42 minutes. 2019.