Encyclopedia of Modern Defense: Close Outs, Defending without Fouling, Rotations, Scramble Drills & More!

with Greg Young,
Troy University Associate Head Coach;
University of Texas - Arlington Head Men's Coach from 2021 to 2023;
University of Texas - Arlington Assistant Coach from 2009 to 2021;
2020 Sun Belt Conference Assistant Coach of the Year;
2017 Sun Belt Regular Season Champions;
2012 Southland Conference Regular Season Champions;
2x NIT Appearances (2012, 2017);
2x CIT Appearances (2016, 2017);
Jacksonville College Head Coach from 2005 to 2009;
2009 Region XIV Coach of the Year

Long-time collegiate coach Greg Young is known for guiding his teams to defensive greatness. Young’s teams have been known for smothering opponents and making opposing shooters settle for tough contested 2-point shots.

All of this has been done by creating a program culture based on defense and by developing a defensive language that makes it fun for players to play hard-nosed ‘D’ while continuously communicating with each other.  

In this instructional coaching video, Coach Young lays out an encyclopedia of his most-used close-out drills, favorite teaching techniques and defensive rotations he’s used again and again to put together some of the best defensive teams in the country. 

Close-Out Drills 

How you defend opposing shooters and the ability to force them to become drivers is often a key component that keeps you in games. Forcing opposing ball handlers to dribble away from the paint and stay out toward the sideline can frustrate opponents. To develop this defensive technique, your players must have a mastery and understanding of proper close-out technique and footwork.

Coach Young demonstrates highly effective close-out drills that he relies upon to break down defensive close outs into simple instructions that fit into your defensive philosophy. 

In the ‘Line-of-4-Close-Outs Drill,’ players are taught to use a high-hand up technique to prevent an easy shot and combine it with a ‘hand out’ to prevent an easy drive to the paint. 

In the ‘Box Close-Outs Drill,’ Coach Young demonstrates how to teach your players the proper technique for sprinting to the open shooter from a long close out and taking a single lunge toward the ball. These closeout drills, as well as a few others that Coach Young offers in this section, are sure to help build a solid foundation for your defense. 

Defensive Terminology – Creating a Defensive Language 

Creating your own unique system of communication on defense is a great way to confuse opponents. Doing so, also creates excellent team chemistry and forms a bond that keeps your team together on the defensive end of the floor.

In this segment, Coach Young takes time to cover the importance of defensive terminology and compares the overall concept of your defense to ‘defending the house.’ With offensive paint touches being the equivalent of an opponent getting ‘into your house.’ 

Coach Young explains why and how players must learn to force opponents out of the middle of the floor and prevent them from getting into your house. In the case that an opponent does penetrate the middle, then the coach explains why it’s critical that your players know how to position their bodies, so opponents are forced to use their weak hand if they want to get a shot off.  

Ball-Rotation Defense

Using a series of 1-on-1, 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 drills, Coach Young teaches players how to properly close out from any defensive position, while still being in position to provide strong help-side defense.

In a drill he calls ‘1-on-1, Long/Short-Close-Outs-and-Charges Drill,’ Young explains why players must fly from help position to close-out position while sliding into proper defensive position to take a charge. This is a great hustle drill that emphasizes beating your opponent to the spot and preventing them from getting an easy layup.  By teaching players how to use their body to foul players will feel comfortable playing defense with their feet and body to contain players.  

Building a strong defensive foundation begins with the close out. How you defend shooters and force them to put the ball on the floor is an excellent way to start. Adding in your own defensive terminology will play a big role in getting your players to feel connected to one another, with one goal in mind: Stop the ball.  

 In this must-see on-the-court video, the veteran coach Greg Young guides you through all of the essential close-out drills and ball rotation drills he uses to create a defense that ‘protects the house!’

Customer Review: 5 Out of 5 Stars. ‘Excellent defensive video. Coach Young does a great job of explaining each drill, the purpose of the drill and how the skills learned in it, fits into an overall defensive philosophy. This is also an excellent video for teaching players to hustle!’

63 minutes. 2023.