Mike Rhoades' Full Court Pressure Defense System with Breakdown Drills

Creating havoc for the offensive game plan of opponents has long been a staple for the VCU basketball program. In this video, head coach Mike Rhoades takes the full court style of play that Shaka Smart brought to the national spotlight and breaks it down for you to install in your program. You'll learn simple breakdown drills that emphasize little techniques to help your players be in the right place at the right time to wear down opponents.

Fist Cover Press

To teach the beginnings of the full court havoc system, Rhoades breaks down the rules of the press and the responsibilities of each player. Simple tactics shown help players understand how they should create pressure on the ball handler while staying between them and the basket.

In 3v3 stunting, Coach Rhoades lays out the foundation of getting teams to play at your pace. Your players will learn how to jump to the ball, see both ball and man, and jump back toward the offensive player. Rhoades also explains why strong communication is a must within the press.

Double Fist Press

In the Double Fist Press, you'll see how Rhoades' players create an element of surprise when they trap. Unlike an aggressive trap that forces players to trap immediately, Rhoades teaches how to be aggressive playing man-to-man defense while forcing opponents out of the middle of floor toward the sideline. As the ball handler dribbles up the floor looking to turn the corner, Rhoades brings a trapping player over once the ball handler turns their head away from the defense.

In order to train a players' ability to recognize when to trap, Rhoades uses a series of build-up drills, starting with 2 on 1 Corral. In this drill, athletes learn to force sideline and speed up the ball handler. It's important that all players know how to trap so teams cannot use a post player to dribble up the floor. From there, Rhoades progresses to 2v3 Corral, 3v3 Trap the Turn with an Interceptor, and 4v4 Trap Interceptor to teach full court rotations. The goal is not to force or get turnovers right away, but to wear down your opponent and force them to turn the ball over late in the game.

Diamond Press

Rounding out Rhoades' instruction is the Diamond Press. This press isn't your typical Diamond Press that forces the opponent into corners and chases all over the floor looking for traps. Instead, this version of the Diamond Press uses a series of stunts to get opponents out of the middle of the floor and into a third of the court closest to the sideline.

Using a 4v4 drill, Rhoades demonstrates how to rotate out of a trap and get into an intercept spot. Once there, players must square up and stunt at the ball handler, allowing them to swing the ball and get into another trap.

This is a fantastic video to add to your collection, especially if you're looking for a video that will kick your full court pressing defense up a notch!

"This video stands above other press videos because of the breakdown drills. I'm looking forward to using them with my team for the upcoming season. Highly recommend this video for all coaches!" -Customer Review

100 minutes. 2018.