Dynamite Defensive Drills: Developing Players Who Are Poised Under Pressure

Steve Forbes, Wake Forest University Head Men's Coach;
2022 ACC Coach of the Year;
East Tennessee State Head Coach from 2015 to 2020;
2020 Hugh Durham Award;
2020 SoCon Coach of the Year;
2x SoCon Regular Season Champions;
2x SoCon Tournament Champions;
Wichita State Assistant Coach from 2013 to 2015;
in his first year, the Shockers went 35-1;
in his second year, they advanced to the Sweet 16;
Northwest Florida State Head Men's Coach from 2011 to 2013;
Back-to-Back NJCAA Division I National Runner-Up

What is your team’s practice identity? Wake Forest’s Steve Forbes emphasizes that whatever drills you choose to utilize in your daily practices, they should all match and fit into your team’s identity. Forbes says that defense is the one area in basketball where a coach can have some control over and build in some organization into a chaotic game. 

In this fantastic coaching video, Forbes showcases his go-to defensive drills – the ones he has used daily in his practices to build a solid defensive foundation and form championship programs throughout his coaching career. 

3-on-4 and 4-on-3 Drills

‘Disadvantage practice drills’ are great ways to build communication and anticipation, while placing pressure on your players in practice that will transfer into real-game pressure scenarios. By utilizing disadvantage drills, your players will develop a better understanding of what to do when they play short-handed for a short amount of time. 

Coach Forbes shows off several 3-on-4 and 4-on-3 disadvantage drills that he utilizes regularly. In these drill scenarios, players are forced to handle tough ball pressure on the offensive side of the ball and learn how to create good traps when they have a defensive advantage.

Coach Forbes explains why and how players learn to cut through openings to stay out of traps, while staying strong with the ball when they’re put into a trapping situation. Defenders also learn to anticipate the next pass and how to smother good ball handlers while forcing them into a corner. 

Defensive Build-Up Disadvantage Drills

Build-up drills are another excellent teaching tool for preparing offensive players to attack a situation while defenders learn how to play short-handed and maintain quick rotations. In this segment, Coach Forbes presents his favorite 3-on-3 to 4-on-3 drills to teach players how to force the offense toward the sideline in transition.

In showing these drills, Forbes explains why keeping players out of the paint gives defenders a chance to defend and pressure the ball until their teammates get back on defense. In these types of drills, defenses learn to force the skip pass and anticipate where the drive is going to come from to protect the paint. On the offensive side, your players will also learn how to move the ball quickly and get solid looks in the paint for a solid post-up opportunity.  

In the ‘4-on-4 Into 5-on-4 Disadvantage Drills,’ Forbes adds another player on both ends of the floor to better simulate a game situation. This disadvantage drill allows players to push play into the open court and forces the defense to be comfortable helping each other out and scrambling to get a stop.

All of these drills lead Coach Forbes to showcasing the ‘Continuous-Fast-Break Drill,’ which is a classic build-up drill, where players learn how to play very fast and look to get organized on both ends of the floor. It’s an ideal transition drill, starting out with a progression that flows from a 2-on-1, to 3-on-2, to 4-on-3, and finally, into 5-on-4.  

Shell Drills, Conversion Drills 

Drills that simulate game-like situations are a great way to teach the game. Players are playing at a fast pace and learning at game speed, while simultaneously developing the ability to adjust on the fly..

Coach Forbes shares his ‘5-on-4, Circle-Conversion Drill’; in this drill, players are put into situations where they are forced to stop the ball early and create a shape around the perimeter. With a post player running for both teams, Forbes explains how this is also an excellent conditioning drill that teaches players how to get up and down the floor while playing smart basketball.

A key to this drill, according to Coach Forbes, is that the offense must push the pace of play instead of running any type of set break, adding, ‘Sometimes players start to think that if they always practice their secondary breaks, then they don’t have a primary look to score.’ In this drill, getting the ball to the basket quickly is the offense’s No.1 goal. 

Finishing with shell drills, Forbes demonstrates how they maintain a philosophy of building a wall around the paint in practice, while defending the hottest actions seen in today’s game. By defending dribble handoffs and down-screen actions, for example, your players learn how to force sideline and protect the paint by going over the top and jamming up the ball handler on the perimeter.  

Defense is what wins championships. Players must know how to scramble and develop a comfort level with being placed in tough disadvantage situations to protect the paint. In this highly valuable instructional coaching video, Coach Forbes shows why and how he has built solid defensive teams at all levels of the game.

Coach Forbes teams know how to contend transition play and force offenses toward the sideline. Coaches at all levels of competition will love these transition and half-court drills, as they simulate game-like situations, while preparing your players for anything!

Customer Review: 5 Out of 5 Stars. ‘Coach Forbes knows how to keep the game simple, while teaching with terrific, highly competitive drills. I loved his build-up drills and your players will develop confidence while learning how to protect the paint.’

66 minutes. 2023.