Full Court Trapping Systems for Controlling Tempo

Most teams only press when they are behind and are looking for a steal. This can be great if it works, but too often non-pressing teams that try to press have limited success.

Dana Altman presents his Oregon Press system, which is about controlling tempo. Coach Altman presents both his Blue Press and Green Press. He clearly defines the parameters of each press and lays out important pressing rules for his players. This pressing system allows a smaller team to take advantage of teams in the full court and limit their time within the shot clock.

Blue Press

The Blue press starts as a 3/4 court press with trapping opportunities. It's used to control tempo to keep the opposition uncomfortable and burn time off the shot clock. It also allows your team to trap on either side of half court, but with a preference of the defensive end. Coach Altman teaches you how to divide the court into sections to help teach your players how to press, how to use certain areas of the court to entice your opponent into trapping situations, and how to extend or bring back a full court press dependent on the game situation.

Green Press

The Green Press is a more aggressive 1-2-2 full court press to use when your team is behind to get back in the game. This press is similar to most diamond presses, but Coach Altman shows you how to use it to create an up-tempo game, giving you more possessions on offense.

In the Green Press you will learn:

• How to press with a man on the ball
• How to make the trap off the first pass
• How to press against multiple press breaks such as the 1-4 and 3 men at half court press breaks
• How to neutralize a star point guard and force them to give the ball up
• How to utilize your personnel so they are in the right position during the press

Bonus Features

Coach Altman closes his presentation with some bonus tips that will help your team become an effective pressing team. He shares how to:

• Trap if the ball is brought up the sideline
• Effectively trap in the half court
• Trap an inexperienced player and how it can benefit your team

A full court press can be a game-changer for any program. With practice, your program can become a consistent full court defense that opponents have to spend game planning for.

Produced at the Fall 2014 iPracticeBuilder Clinic.

61 minutes. 2016.