Open Practice: Ball Pressure Defense Drills

with Grey Giovanine,
Augustana College Head Men's Coach;
2019 Basketball Times Coach of the Year;
2017 D3hoops.com National Co-Coach of the Year; 2017 NCAA DIII Runner-Up;
2015 NCAA DIII Runner-Up; 2015 Basketball Times National Coach of the Year;
five straight CCIW regular season and tournament Champions (2015-19).
Overall has led Augustana to eight regular season and five tournament championships; 8x CCIW Coach of the Year; Ranked 3rd in final 2016 D3hoops.com national ranking

Augustana has become a perennially dominant team in Division III college basketball with their core principles of defending, rebounding, and running. In this video, you will learn how Coach Giovanine develops a team defense that is capable of consistently holding opponents to one contested jump shot or less. You will learn the fundamentals of this man-to-man defensive system through lecture, game film, and practice drills.

From building your defense from the stance, to 1v1 drill to team drills, you will see everything you need to build a championship man-to-man defense. You'll see how Giovanine gets his players to stay in proper stance with drills such as Shadow and Slide, Run, Slide and, you will see how he builds his defense into 2-on-1, 2-on-2 to teach defensive closeouts, ball screens and post defense. Finally, you'll learn how Coach Giovanine teaches the 4-on-4 shell drill and his transition defense.

Defensive Philosophy

Giovanine outlines the hallmarks of his Augustana program and the "Defend, Rebound, and Run" philosophy. Talking points include:

• Simplifying the game to its core 6 elements in an attempt to build the most complete team each season.
• State the program's identity and how it factors into the style of play utilized on game days.
• List the defensive cornerstones and how they relate to a group of 5 acting as 1.
• Define the traits that can define the program and can be used to track success as it pertains to defensive strategy.

Teaching Stance

A strong team defense begins with the fundamentals you establish in your players. The Illinois D series will improve the mobility of your defenders. Your opponents will have a hard time shaking your players as they enhance their ability to stick with the ball through five practice drills.

Building Your Defense

Giovanine gives you the keys to effectively build your defense using breakdown drills. If you need a drill that can efficiently teach multiple defensive concepts, look no further than the 1-on-1 Operational drill. Players work on denial defense, helping on dribble penetration, close outs, and on-ball defense. Develop strong defenders on the block with two drills that teach seven different facets of post defense. Two practice drills force your players into constant closeouts to teach them how to prevent open shots while not giving up dribble penetration.

Transition Defense

Your defensive stand begins the second your opponent rebounds the ball. Quickly getting back in transition to set up your defense is critical. Being able to withstand a numbers disadvantage in the early seconds of a possession separate great defenses from the rest. Three transition defense drills, such as 3-on-2 Chaser, will train your players how to succeed in these scenarios. The Tip to Perfect Defense drill is the ultimate test to determine if your team is ready for game competition. You will see if your team can execute defensive fundamentals amidst the chaos of transition.

Shell Drill

The ultimate way to install your team defense is with the Shell Drill. Giovanine works through four progressions of the Shell Drill that have his players focusing on positioning, anticipation, defending perimeter exchanges, and rotating to stop baseline drives. These progressions culminate in the Perfect Defense drill that challenges your team to maintain flawless defense for an entire possession.

Coach Giovanine gives you everything you need to be an elite defensive team. From building your defense from the stance to 1v1 drill to team drills, this video gives you everything you need to build a championship defense.

79 minutes. 2016.